20 December 2012 – Planon announced that it is proud to see that the ‘Work on the Move’ book – which Erik Jaspers, chief technology officer (CTO) at Planon, contributed to – has received a distinguished author award during the International Facility Management Association’s (IFMA) World Workplace Conference 2012. The Awards of Excellence programme aims to reward efforts that have helped drive the development of facilities management (FM) professionals around the globe and were announced at the IFMA World Workplace Conference 2012. The event was attended by over 3000 members of IFMA from over 45 countries in the world and it hosted over 60 educational sessions, supported by over 270 exhibiting vendors amongst which Planon.
Planon was the first partner to fund and contribute to this project in 2011, helping to make the project possible. Erik Jaspers at Planon contributed a chapter on the ‘technology and the future of facilities’ which explores how emerging technologies are enabling organisations to mobilise the workforce and impact the role of FM professionals. As employees adopt a mobile mindset to working, FM leaders are becoming responsible for introducing new practices that support flexible working. By leveraging existing IT systems and the information they carry, organisations can create “intelligent infrastructures” that analyse how facilities are being used and ensure resources effectively meet current usage patterns. This helps FM professionals measure the supply and demand for workplace services on a daily basis, whilst also helping businesses to reduce their running costs and environmental footprint.
Pierre Guelen, CEO and owner of Planon, comments on the award win: “We are proud of our contribution to the IFMA’s book which helps organisations address demands for greater agility in the workplace in a way that delivers benefits back to the business. Planon has been involved in the project from an early stage – not only did we contribute to its content but our sponsorship initiative made this project possible for the IFMA. We are happy to contribute to developing the global knowledge in our field through collaborating with the IFMA and it is satisfying to see that this project has been received so well. So far, the publication has been one of the IFMA’s best selling books of 2012 and has been adopted by some higher education institutes as part of their curriculum. We congratulate the IFMA for what it has achieved with this book.”
Erik Jaspers, CTO at Planon, comments on the growing need for advice on developing strategy and change in the workplace: “We are currently experiencing a change in the traditional definition of a workplace as employees demand the ability to connect and work from anywhere. To ensure that the needs of the workforce are being met, facilities managers are adopting an agile approach designed to support the consumer technologies that staff use to access corporate information on the go. By using mobile working as an opportunity to manage the workplace more efficiently, organisations can successfully reduce costs, attract new talent and boost employee loyalty, adding competitive advantage to the business.”
