There are many excellent books covering specific aspects of Facilities Management but few that capture the breadth and depth of our complex discipline. The following list highlights some of the better offerings from my overcrowded bookshelves which cover the core principles of facilities management:
1. Total Facilities Management by Brian Atkin and Adrian Brooks is one of the oldest and most widely read textbooks on UK style facilities management. The third edition was published in 2009 with updated and additional information covering the expanding role and the relationship between FM and facilities planning.
Published by Wiley-Blackwell ISBN-10: 1405186593
2. Workplace by Design by Franklin D Becker and Fritz Steele is an expert analysis from 1995 of how facilities design can be used as part of a broader FM strategy to support organisational goals. Becker is one of the founding fathers of modern FM and any of his works merit a place on an FM top 10 list.
Published by Jossey Bass ISBN-10: 0787900478
3. Facilities Economics UK by Bernard Williams is now the only way to buy his groundbreaking 1986 book Premises Audits which has been incorporated in the 2002 2 nd edition which also summarises each facet of facilities management prior to majoring on the economic issues.
Published by Building Economics Bureau ISBN-10: 0904237397
4. Facilities Management in Practice by Derek Paxman was published in 2007 and describes FM at the coal-face from the perspective of one of FM’s pioneers. It was written to help people on both sides of the commercial fence to gain a better understanding of tried and tested routes to successful delivery of FM solutions.
Published by Building Economics Bureau ISBN-10: 0904237400
5. Organization Development for Facility Managers: Tracing the DNA of FM Organizations by Stormy Friday is a first class guide to the planning and structure of an effective FM organisation. Written in 2003 from a US perspective of FM, it has principles which are entirely transferable to other FM environments.
Published by AMACOM ISBN-10: 0814406300
6. The New Office by Frank Duffy provides an expert analysis of the “new ways of working” phenomena by the architect credited with introducing US style space and facility planning to Europe. The international case studies date from 1997 but successfully explores the dissolving of boundaries between office and home.
Published by Conran Octopus Ltd ISBN-10: 1850298912
7. The Facilities Management Handbook by Frank Booty is an accessible reference work providing relevant legal compliance, strategic policies and good practice information on a wide range of FM activities. The fourth edition was published in 2008 with comprehensive updates on topical areas.
Published by A Butterworth-Heinemann ISBN-10: 075068977
8. Sustainable Practice for the Facilities Manager by Sunil Shah provides practical guidance and information which can be implemented to integrate sustainability into the day–to–day activities of those who manage buildings. Published in 2007 it is the only FM book to thoroughly address the sustainability issue.
Published by Wiley-Blackwell ISBN-10: 07506897
9. Facilities Management and the Business of Space by Wes McGregor and Danny Shiem-Shin Then reprinted in 1999 provides another expert analysis of the relationship between FM and workplace design. It focuses on the correlation between work and workplace and between the workplace and work effectiveness.
Published by A Butterworth-Heinemann ISBN-10: 0340719648
10. Facilities Manager’s Desk Reference by Jane Wiggins was first published in 2010 and provides relevant, practical information on the all the principal facilities management services, as well as information on legal compliance issues, the development of strategic policies and tactical best practice information.
Published by Wiley-Blackwell ISBN-10: 1405186615
Like the rest of my Ten Top Things series this list is in no particular order. It represents a cross section of ideas and information from some of the leading thinkers in facilities management from the 1970s to the present day.
The practice of facilities management is continually evolving and the process of book writing and publishing is extremely slow. This makes it difficult for FM textbooks to reflect the latest thinking and best practice. The FM trade media, smart use of internet search engines and personal engagement with FM practitioners in real and virtual networks are much more useful for the latest information. However the history and development of FM is an important area for study as the discipline moves forward; Understanding the past is frequently the key to understanding the future.