World Facility Day Launched In Accra

The Greater Accra Chapter of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) has held the press launch of the annual World Facility Management (FM) Day in Accra.

The program which was organised at the Ghana International Press Centre on Thursday, March 14, 2015, marked the outdooring of activities for the 2019 celebration of the World FM Day.

The events earmarked for this year's edition of the World FM Day includes a Round Table Forum with industry players on May 14, a mini World FM Day on May 15 in Accra and Kumasi concurrently, and a facility tour on May 16, 2019, in Accra and Kumasi Respectively.

Mr. Opare Agyemang (middle) and other members of IFMA at the launch of the World IFMA Day

Speaking at the launch of the program, president of the Greater Accra Chapter of IFMA, Mr. Sampson Opare Agyemang urged both IFMA members and non – members to equip themselves with Facility Management skills in order to change the narrative of poor maintenance in the country.

He said, “I want to use this occasion to encourage members and non – members alike to take advantage of the subsidized professional development training programs organized by the chapter to properly equip themselves with the tools and skills needed to at least change the narrative of poor maintenance culture in our built environment.”

Some participants after the program
Contrary to the widely held notion of lack of maintenance culture been the cause of poor facility management in the country, Mr. Opare Agyemang stated that the absence facility management education is rather the cause of the situation.

He explained that, the Association, following various discussions with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the university last year, has introduced facility management to its programs. He added that IFMA is in talks with the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) in ensuring standards brought out are communicated to the public.

He also noted that the day is in celebration and recognition for the facility management profession. It is time to bring the behind the scenes heroes of the built environment into the limelight and share well – deserved thanks for keeping our facilities healthy, safe and productive, he added.

Elaborating on the theme for this year’s celebration in Ghana, which is “Empowering the Facility Manager through training to enable positive experiences,” which is in line with the global theme, “Enabling Positive Experiences”, the president stated that, the Greater Accra Chapter of IFMA is a source of facility management education, information and interaction and will bring together the international association’s vast resources directly to members in Ghana.

Currently, the Greater Accra chapter of the Association is made up of more than 100 professional members and 22 students members. Internationally, facility management has 11 certificate managers over the past couple of years and have earned the must – have Facility Management Professional (FMP) certification in Ghana. Additionally, 14 members have taken international certification courses in the Essentials of Facility Management.