Innovation at the 5th international FM Day

The highlight of the 5th International FM Day was certainly the guest lectures from science and practice, for example by Prof. Iris D. Tommelein, University of California, Berkley and Christoph Jäggi, Managing Partner walkerproject ag, Zurich. Tommelein, University of California, Berkley and Christoph Jäggi, Managing Partner walkerproject ag, Zurich. The host was the IFM Institute for Facility Management with its new director Prof. Dr.-Ing. Antje Junghans.

Antje Junghans opened the ZHAW's fifth FM Day on 10 March 2017 and provided an insight into current developments and projects at IFM with its comprehensive bachelor's, master's and continuing education programs. In addition, seven PhD candidates are currently working on their doctorates at the IFM in cooperation with international universities.

The English-language Master's programme is accredited by the International Facility Management Associaten (IFMA). Research focuses are Workplace Management, FM in Health Care and Real Estate Management. Teaching, research and practice are interlinked at IFM.

Lean Design and Facility Management

With Prof. Iris D. Tommelein from the University of California Berkeley and Christoph Jäggi from walkerproject ag, two keynote speakers presented their topics this year. In her lecture on "New ways of thinking - Lessons learned from lean design and construction", Tommelein explained her innovative perspective on lean management and discussed her experiences with the professional audience on the possible applications of lean thinking in the FM sector.

As a renowned expert in the field of lean construction and project management, she made it clear that lean thinking not only means lean management, but above all holistic management that is aligned with customer requirements, is flexible and does not generate unnecessary excess. In order to be oriented towards customer needs, an integrative approach is required that takes all relevant stakeholders into account. The call for a very early consideration of FM modalities in the project and construction process became clear once again.

Christoph Jäggi from walkerproject ag then spoke on the topic of "Patient First: Lean Thinking and Integrated Facility Design in Action" about the relevance of lean hospitals and lean hospital planning. Jäggi impressively explained that the allotment thinking of individual clinics and areas of a hospital often impedes cooperation in the sense of an integrative patient orientation. What is needed is a new way of thinking that is completely patient-oriented. Modern approaches to service design thinking and integrated facility design have proven to be successful.

You can find out more about the 5th international FM Day at this Link