Assets and facilities
ISO 41001:2018
Facility management systems
ISO 41001 sets out requirements for a facility management system.
A certified organisation, whether it provides facility services to others or manages them for its own premises, aligns those services with the needs of the organisation and of the people who use its buildings and workplaces, and manages them consistently across sites, in-house teams and suppliers.
Who it suits
Facility management providers, integrated and outsourced service companies, the property, estates and workplace teams of large organisations, and public bodies responsible for hospitals, schools, campuses and offices.
What certification involves
ISAO, or a certification body accredited for ISO 41001, audits the system in two stages: first the scope, how the organisation has understood the requirements its services must meet, and readiness; then how services are planned, delivered, monitored and improved in practice across the sites in scope, including services delivered by suppliers. The certificate states the services and sites covered. Certificates are normally valid for three years, with surveillance audits at least once a year and a recertification audit before expiry. ISAO carries out this certification itself, and also accredits certification bodies to do it. Every certificate ISAO issues, and every certificate issued under ISAO accreditation, is recorded on the public register.
Key themes
- Understanding the needs of the organisation and of building users, and turning them into service requirements
- A facility management strategy aligned with the organisation's objectives
- Planning and integrating services such as maintenance, cleaning, security, catering and workplace support
- Managing service providers and contracts
- Managing facility data and information
- Monitoring service performance and user satisfaction, and improving
Edition
- Current edition
- ISO 41001:2018
ISO 41001:2018 is the first edition, published in April 2018. An amendment published in February 2024 asks the organisation to consider whether climate change matters to it when it reviews its context, and adds a note that interested parties may have expectations about climate change. ISO has a revision of the standard in progress. Until a new edition is published, ISO 41001:2018 remains the edition that certificates refer to.
Check a certificate for ISO 41001:2018
- Enter the certificate number or verification code at Verify a certificate, or scan the QR code on the certificate. The record shows the certificate's status today, for example valid, suspended, withdrawn or expired.
- Compare the organisation name, scope and sites on the record with the copy you were given. Check the services and sites named in the scope, especially where several providers share a contract.
- Check who issued the certificate, as named on the record. Where a certification body accredited by ISAO issued it, the record shows the status of that accreditation and its accreditation number, and says so if the accreditation did not cover ISO 41001:2018 when the certificate was issued.
- If the certificate is not on the register, ISAO cannot confirm it: it may have been issued under another accreditation, or a detail may be wrong. Ask the issuing body, and report a concern if something does not look right.
Related standards
This is ISAO’s own summary, not the text of the standard. Copies of ISO 41001:2018 can be bought from ISO or from national standards bodies.