International Facility Management Association
 | |
| Established | October 1980 |
|---|---|
| Type | Professional association |
| Headquarters | Houston, Texas, USA |
Region served | Facility management |
Membership | 24,000 (as of 2016) |
| Website |
ifma |
The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) is a professional association to guide and develop facility management professionals by providing services, products, resources and opportunities. IFMA headquarters is located in Houston, Texas.
IFMA was founded in October 1980 by a group of 40 people led by David Armstrong of the Facility Management Institute (FMI) in Ann Arbor, Michigan as the National Facility Management Association (NFMA), a not-for-profit incorporated association. The name was changed to IFMA in 1982 due to a growing Canadian contingency. As of 2012, IFMA has more than 22,600 members in 127 chapters, 15 councils and six communities of practice in 78 countries worldwide.
IFMA certifies facility managers, conducts research, provides educational programs, recognizes facility management degree and certificate programs and produces World Workplace, a facility management-related conference and exposition. The official publication of IFMA, Facility Management Journal (FMJ),[1] is a bimonthly publication written for facility professionals concerned with developing and maintaining productive workplaces.
Credentialing Programs
As of April 2012, IFMA has three credentialing programs. The Certified Facility Manager (CFM) is designed to assess competency in the field through work experience, education and the ability to pass a comprehensive exam. Since the program began in 1992, more than 3,100 facility managers from 32 countries have achieved this recognition.
The Facility Management Professional (FMP) credential is an assessment-based certificate program demonstrating a proven comprehension of the foundations of facility management. In September 2010, the FMP credential was updated and enhanced to align with the most recent IFMA global job task analysis, ensuring that it teaches and tests the knowledge demanded by today’s global employers.
Introduced in 2011, the Sustainability Facility Professional (SFP) credential helps facility professionals play a key leadership role in creating, managing and operating sustainable facilities by giving them the skills to continually improve their facility’s impact on the environment and the community. Earning the SFP credential helps bridge the gap between the professional and the property, teaching facility managers how to implement sustainability concepts that align with corporate strategy. A forum is also created to enable Facility Managers and Officers alike to get online assistance on some crucial facility management issues that normally arises as a result of managing the Wares and tears in Building/Facilities in general
World Workplace
IFMA's World Workplace[2] is an annual conference and exposition geared toward the learning and networking needs of professionals who support facilities — from FM, IT, PM and HR to engineering, security, real estate and sustainability/energy specialists.
World Workplace welcomes more than 4,000 attendees from 40 countries and from every state in the U.S. Attendees represent more than 2,000 companies and a range of workplace-related industries. Practitioners, educators, authors, students, government representatives, members of IFMA and partnering organizations, and exhibiting companies attend annually.
Facility Fusion
This educational event[3] is an opportunity for networking with like-minded FM professionals and develop innovative FM solutions.
Planned to fit in one location, Facility Fusion features high-level FM education, dynamic networking, IFMA volunteer leader training, management skills development, best practices, sustainability strategies and product solutions.
Facility Fusion is designed to meet a range of professional development needs for every FM. From soft management skills to the hard decisions strategic partners are facing.
IFMA Foundation
Established in 1990 as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation, the IFMA Foundation promotes research and educational opportunities for the advancement of facility management. The IFMA Foundation is supported by the facility management community, including IFMA members, chapters, councils, corporate sponsors and private contributors.
Councils
IFMA created councils to meet the networking and information needs of its members.