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“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change” – Charles Darwin

Evolution is inevitable. It’s how we adapt to change that differentiates us from one another. Technological advancements in the past couple of decades are remarkable. From portable devices, remote controlling the temperature in your house, and even pushing towards a carbon neutral world, the evolution of technology in the past 20 years has been incredible. 

Technological evolution in the Romanian Facility Management market

Since the beginning of Facility Management in Romania, in the mid 90’s, things have known an amazing upward trend. High end office buildings represent the top trendsetter in Facility Management, providing constant technological advancements, from machine learning building management systems (BMS) to net zero energy buildings (NZEB). A couple of decades ago, terms like geothermal heat pump or passive cooling were non-existent. Moreover, the appearance of building assessment systems like BREEAM or LEED did a tremendous job in ensuring constant technological evolution.  

People have also adapted to these new trends and are, in general, more educated when it comes to the Facility Management services. SLA (Service Level Agreement) and KPI (Key Performance Indicators) are now common terms of a Facility Management Contract. CAFM (Computer Aided Facility Management) systems are also on the landlords or property managers lists when it comes to hiring FM companies. 

But in the end, even if this phrase is hard to accept, it’s all about the money – the new office building will eventually be sold – this was its initial purpose. Therefore, all services and accreditations need to be top-notch, because concepts like sustainability and work-life balance are what top corporations look for when renting an entire floor or even an entire building.

An ever-growing industry

Nowadays, the worldwide Facility Management market is estimated at around 1.5 trillion euros and will reach 2 trillion by 2027. For Romania, this segment is evaluated at more than 3 billion euros – this represents an immense growth, comparing to 0 (zero) in the mid 90’s.

While most of the facility management market in Romania is covered by office buildings, logistic parks and commercial properties, the residential segment has also started adopting facility management services. Of course, it is still a very young market but that is the exact way facility management services started in Romania in the first place.

Sustainability is also a relatively new concept that brings quality in the facility management services. Environmental care or sustainable development are key-elements when it comes to the life-cycle of a building. 

Passing on to future concepts, integrated facility management (IFM) services represent common sense in more developed countries, and it will soon be the same in Romania. Large corporations and investment funds prefer to manage all services of a building with only one Facility Management company and have already started this process in our country. Better management, better communication and also more competitive pricing are prerogatives that beneficiaries consider when auctioning such services.

All in all, the facility management market in Romania is on a constant scale of evolution and if you want to keep up, you must adapt and embrace the new.