Summary

One of the recurrent themes in facilities management is the failure of the design team to understand the needs of the building users. The end-user frequently feels aggrieved at the perceived lack of foresight applied by the design team. The operation and maintenance manuals provided are often neither practical nor useful. Examples of an impressive array of carefully indexed and titled FM manuals are often found collecting dust, with the construction record drawings becoming out of date as changes take place. There have been moves to bridge the gap between construction needs and end-user needs, with the introduction of the CDM Regulations, and various research initiatives. This has been primarily aimed at the construction industry rather than the building user.