IFMA created industry-specific councils to meet the networking and information needs of its members. By providing opportunities for interaction that transcend chapter and regional boundaries, councils enable members to meet other professionals who share an interest in a specific FM practice area or who work in the same business sector.
Below please find a list of all the IFMA Councils. For further information, please contact IFMA Headquarters or contact the Councils directly via their websites.
Council Resource Manager at IFMA Headquarters
Leslie Scantlebury
IFMA
1 E. Greenway Plaza, Suite 1100
Houston, Texas 77046-0194
Ph. 713.623.4362
Fax. 713.623.6124
leslie.scantlebury@ifma.org
The Academic Facilities council provides a forum for sharing information directed at academic facilities including, but not limited to, primary and secondary schools, technical and community colleges, and private and public colleges and universities.
The Airport Facilities council's membership is open to IFMA members who have some degree of responsibility for an airport facility and those offering specialized products or services to meet their needs. The mission of this council is to effectively address the challenges of managing airports in a global economy. The Airport Council will focus on benchmarking, security practices, business development, and emergency/disaster planning within airport facilities. IFMA councils provide members with focused networking, targeted information, a community of interest, information sharing and a heightened marketability.
The Banking Institutions & Credit Unions council focuses on issues such as security, money handling, banking equipment and regulations, customer liability, drive-up lanes, information privacy, disaster recovery and benchmarking. Educational and networking sessions are a focus at meetings.
The Call Center council focuses on the 24x7 operational needs of call center facility managers, including security, custodial and food service functions, voice and data systems, computer rooms, cabling systems, UPS and backup power systems. Furniture lines specially designed for call centers, firms specializing in call center design and construction, and those specializing in outsourcing customer service functions would benefit from membership in this council.
The Corporate Headquarters council focuses on facilities that serve as central control points for business operations. Common characteristics of membership include leadership and executive presence, financial/MIS operations, primary offices and associated services, and churn.
The Corporate Real Estate Council will focus on the real estate and facility issues affecting the day-to-day operations endemic to corporate America. Focus areas include: workplace innovation, national and global real estate leasing/occupancy trends, corporate resource management, service delivery trends and Web based real estate technology.
The Environmental Health & Safety council is a forum for facility professionals to share ideas and experiences regarding such complex issues as ergonomics, disaster recovery, blood-borne pathogens and asbestos abatement.
The FM Consultants council supports new and existing FM consultants as they build a career around their workplace expertise. Through geographical and cross-discipline networking, best practices and small business management skills, the council empowers members to step out into the marketplace. This is a noncommercial forum for members to network and share ideas.
The Health Care council welcomes facilities managers working for hospitals and other related organizations. Members learn about the latest innovations in the field, tour health care facilities and network with other professionals.
The Information Technology council reviews computer-aided facility management and general business hardware and software; develops criteria for evaluating the usefulness of FM-specific programs in addressing the major functional areas of facility management; and develops procedures to be used in the automation of FM operations.
The Legal Industry council shares information among FMs from law firms, corporate legal departments and academic legal departments. Discussions center on vendor issues, easier and more efficient ways to perform services, emerging technology, ADA, OSHA and other regulatory information.
The Manufacturing council would provide the opportunity to share similar interests, insights, technical innovations and efficiency improvements, as well as unique processes and procedures, to meet the future demands and challenges of external and internal customers. The council's membership is open to those that have some degree of responsibility for a manufacturing facility and those offering specialized products or services to meet their needs.
The Museum/Cultural Institutions council meets the highly specialized needs of its members by providing education and training specific to management of science centers, performing arts centers, libraries, historical sites, art institutes, theatres and zoos.
The Public Sector Facilities council is for those managing, maintaining or constructing government buildings and facilities. The council addresses the constraints of budgets, organization policies and bureaucracy in city, state, provincial or federal government agencies.
The Research & Development Facilities council is dedicated to enhancing the expertise and productivity of FMs dealing with R&D facilities. The council provides a communication link through which members can share information on technical challenges involved in supporting the research and development missions of their employers.
Members of the Utilities council function within the regulated and unregulated utility industries. The council's twice-yearly meetings feature benchmarking sessions, reports, best practices presentations and round table sessions, offering an exceptional exchange of ideas and information.