Our association headquarters at 1 East Greenway Plaza in Houston, Texas, has served us well over the years as the nexus for our international operations. 
The IFMA Foundation's purpose is to provide greater resources and educational opportunities to facility management professionals and those who support the FM industry. 
A Fortune 500 company with estimated 2009 base revenues of $6.0 - $6.3 billion, EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE: EME) is a global leader in mechanical and electrical construction, energy infrastructure, and facilities services.
Don Schnell
Media/Press Resources
IFMA - International Facility Management Association
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IFMA Fast Facts*All statistics are approximate and subject to change (updated July 2011) |
|
| Members: |
20,000 |
| Chapters: | 127 |
| Councils: | 16 |
| Countries represented: |
78 |
| Certified Facility Managers (CFMs): | 3,353 |
| Annual purchasing power: | US$100 billion (for combined membership) |
| Major events: | World Workplace Conference & Expo Facility Fusion Conference & Expo IFMA's Virtual Conference & Expo |
| Year founded:
|
1980 |
| Place founded: | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Name change: | 1982 (formerly National Facility Management Association) |
Upcoming Major Events |
|
| World Workplace 2011 Oct. 26-28 |
Phoenix, Arizona, USA |
| Facility Fusion 2012 Apr. 11–13 |
Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| World Workplace 2012 Oct. 31-Nov. 2 |
San Antonio, Texas, USA |
| World Workplace 2013 Oct. 2-4 |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| World Workplace 2014 Sep. 16-18 |
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA |
IFMA Vision
To serve as the ultimate resource and representative for facility management professionals and to be the leader in promoting excellence in management of the work environment.
IFMA Mission
To advance the facility management profession by providing exceptional services, products, resources and opportunities.Profile of FM Professionals
Facility management professionals are a diverse group of leaders concerned with the form and function of the built environment. They include facility managers, architects, engineers, designers and real estate professionals. Within their organizations, they are senior decision makers consulted by executive management for strategies, answers, advice and mandates that affect people, place and process. Facility management professionals hold the key to the future of their organizations and must be prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century and beyond. They are willing and able to explore new possibilities, form plans for growth and restructure their businesses to comply with the demands of an ever-changing work environment.IFMA helps its members face these challenges by providing best-in-class education and research delivered via traditional channels and through the latest advances in Internet technology. The association also prepares its members by keeping them up to date on business trends and future developments that will impact the built environment and their managerial decisions.
Profiles 2007 Salary Report
Facility Professionals Survey Demographics:
Brief History of IFMA
In the early 1970s, two significant, simultaneous events helped set the evolutionary course of facility management. First, the use of independent, freestanding dividing screens in the office environment –– popularized in the 1960s –– gradually faded in favor of today’s increasingly sophisticated systems furniture, commonly known as “cubicles.” Next, the introduction of the computer terminal into the workstation challenged facility managers to solve computer, wiring, lighting, acoustic and territory problems. The office scene was becoming more complex and the facility manager needed guidance.At the time, many facility professionals were members of other international organizations, but those groups could not supply the information needed to manage the offices of the future. The first step toward the formation of a more specialized organization occurred in December 1978 when Herman Miller Research Corp. hosted a conference, “Facility Influence on Productivity,” in Ann Arbor, Mich.
This conference was the meeting place for the three founders of IFMA. George Graves of Texas Eastern Transmission Corp., Charles Hitch of Manufacturer’s Bank in Detroit and David Armstrong of Michigan State University voiced a need for an organization comprised of facility professionals from private industry.
In May 1980, Graves hosted a meeting in Houston to establish a formal organizational base for a facility management association. By the end of the meeting, a new organization known as the National Facility Management Association (NFMA) had a constitution, bylaws, temporary officers and plans to expand nationally.
At the first annual meeting of NFMA in October 1980, there were 47 participants — 25 were direct members of the association. The attendees from Houston helped establish the first chapter and committed to host the second annual national conference. Shortly after the 1981 conference, the name was changed to the International Facility Management Association to accommodate a large Canadian membership. The growth of the new organization began to accelerate.
Today, IFMA serves more than 20,000 members in 78 countries with 126 chapters. The association’s structure of 16 councils serves the vertical and specialized interests of those who manage educational and cultural institutions, manufacturing and petrochemical plants, research and development laboratories, financial centers, call centers, corporate headquarters, utilities and health care facilities –– as well as those who focus on environmental health and safety concerns, computer applications and real estate issues.
To date, more than 3,300 Certified Facility Managers have been designated through IFMA’s certification program — an examination designed to test skills and knowledge in eight core competencies.
IFMA’s annual World Workplace Conference & Expo event and its counterpart conferences attract thousands of attendees each year and continue to elevate the importance of the facility manager worldwide.
Photo Library: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ifma
Video Library: http://www.youtube.com/user/IFMAGlobal
Encyclopedia of Facility Management Terms
