International Facility Management Association

The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) is the largest recognized professional association for facility managers in the world. IFMA headquarters is located in Houston, Texas.

IFMA was founded in October 1980 by a group led by David Armstrong at the Facility Management Institute (FMI) in Ann Arbor, Michigan as the National Facility Management Association (NFMA), a not-for-profit incorporated association. The name was changed to IFMA in 1982. As of 2010, IFMA has more than 19,000 members in 125 chapters and 16 councils in 78 countries worldwide.

IFMA certifies facility managers, conducts research, provides educational programs, recognizes facility management degree and certificate programs and produces World Workplace, the largest facility management-related conference and exposition. The official publication of IFMA, (FMJ), is published bimonthly.

History

In the early 1970s, two significant, simultaneous events helped set the evolutionary course of facility management. First, the use of independent, freestanding dividing screens in the office environment –– popularized in the 1960s –– gradually faded in favor of today’s increasingly sophisticated systems furniture, commonly known as "cubicles". Next, the introduction of the computer terminal into the workstation challenged facility managers to solve computer, wiring, lighting, acoustic and territory problems. The office scene was becoming more complex and the facility manager needed...
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