FMS CAN WELCOME THE LAUNCH OF A NEW HARMONISED INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY MEASUREMENT STANDARD (IPMS)

January of this year a new harmonised International Property Measurement standard was launched. The initiative was propelled by the shared desire of organisations, governments, companies and professionals to build a genuinely global language for measurement.

The International Property Measurement Standard is a global open-source standard aimed at creating a uniform approach to measuring buildings. IPMS All buildings is applicable to all types of Buildings independent of their use or their occupation. It has been published by a Coalition of 88 property organisations representing hundreds of thousands of property professionals globally and dra ed by an independent Standards Setting Committee (SSC) group of 18 experts from 11 countries, who represent the various property disciplines including academics, architects, engineers, surveyors and facility managers.

At a time of unprecedented challenge for all real estate professionals the need for transparency and consistency in measurement has never

Inbeen greater. Ambiguities around space make it di icult for global investors and occupiers to make informed business decisions on space requirements. ESG, data and technology are playing an increasingly central role in driving benchmarking and performance measures, so an International Standard for Measurement is critical at the outset.

IPMS All Buildings supersedes all previously published IPMSC standards for individual asset classes by utilising the concepts and objectives contained in those specific versions of IPMS into one harmonised standard.

The main benefits of using IPMS in all buildings is to o er building professionals confidence and consistency in property measurement. Broadly, IPMS will:

Provide a mechanism for benchmarking property measurement information across international markets.

Provide a common and transportable method for property practitioners to use.

Enable all occupiers, investors, and owners the ability to benchmark their property assets without needing to spend significant sums of money and resource calibrating space measurements.

Provide greater transparency and consistency to all property users, wherever they are located. Provide consistency in the data which sits alongside valuations and financial reporting. Provides fundamental economic building block of all property metrics used in operation, leasing, acquisition and disposal of property.

IPMS All Buildings provides the foundation for incorporation into and adoption of building measurement conventions in the many global jurisdictions. It is available, free to an individual or organisation. There are no costs incurred in requesting or using IPMS All Buildings to measure property. Organisations that use IPMS All Buildings can seek additional guidance and support from any of the Coalition organisations that have signed up to implement the standards.

Consistent measurement to enable e ective decision making and benchmarking has never been more critical. It will be invaluable to all those working in the built environment and in particular the FM sector who are faced with a range of challenges on the use and measurement of workspace.