THE DYNAMICS OF BUSINESS CONTINUITY MANAGEMENT AND FACILITY MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Business Continuity Management (BCM) is a holistic management process of identifying potential crises, and the development of plans to respond to such incidents. Business continuity depends greatly on the functionability of the facilities and buildings which house infrastructure and business processes. As the first research committed to this topic, it investigates the dynamics of BCM and facility management - the relationship - analyzing the current state of Singapore's real estate industry pertaining to BCM. The relevance of BCM to facility management explains the integration of BCM measures into facility management procedures. Such dynamics were analyzed through the tenets of awareness, preparedness, and readiness. A survey was directed at industry participants, and four case studies were carried out. The Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Wong Kan Seng, expressed keen interest in this study, and had arranged for an interview to be conducted with one of his Directors, to provide the Government's opinion on terrorism in relation to real estate. The remaining three case studies gave the experiences of facility professionals currently engaged in BCM for facility management. The key findings encompass the following. With SARS and terrorism, the industry has become more aware of the perceived threat from crises, but practicing BCM components to protect facilities remains low, as awareness is not translated into action. However, the industry is prepared to an extent to ensure business continuity in times of crises as facility professionals continue to play complementary roles in the BCM process. BCM looks to grow in the realm of real estate.