IFMA Announces New Floor Measurement Standard

The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) now has a new floor area measurement standard. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) recently approved and published “E1836-08: Building Floor Area Measurements for Facility Management,” a standard that provides a definitive procedure for facility managers to use when measuring and classifying floor area in buildings.

The standard provides a simple, step by step procedure to measure floor area that makes it easier and faster to determine how much floor area is available for space planning. It includes measurement rules for floor areas in text form and an easy to read matrix. ASTM-E1836-08 should be used in tandem with “E2619-08: Measuring and Calculating Building Loss Features that Take up Floor Area in Buildings,” which allows users to determine the amount of floor area that is rendered unusable for occupants or core business functions by specific physical elements of the building.

Essential for allocating and charging back space, IFMA’s new standard can be applied to space planning, strategic facility planning, and specifying occupant requirements. It enables owner-occupiers and tenants to perform space planning activities and charge back business units for the amount of space they occupy.

This new standard provides a common measurement to allow collaboration between The Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) and IFMA standards, eliminating the overlap of terms between the two organizations.

“This standard is positioned well for the future. It is the first time two standards have been put in alignment,” said Lynne Blair, president of LY Blair & Associates and chair of the IFMA Standards Committee. “Using this standard, we can share data more easily than ever before. The new standard allows for the reduction of costs by facility managers and building owners and helps transfer data between departments in an organization, which had previously been a stumbling block.”


1 COMMENT

  1. It’s too bad that you all went ahead to develop a “new floor measurement standard” when the federal Govt spent 2 years developing the 2006 Facilities Inventory and Classification Manual.
    Kreon Cyros

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