Facility management (FM) includes management, operation, maintenance and renovation of existing buildings. Proper utilization of FM will lead to better buildings, sustained value, improved indoor climate and reduced amount of energy needed for heating. These issues will subsequently lead to reduced depopulation and less impact from buildings on environment.
In Europe, maintenance and operation of buildings has been in focus for many years, resulting in high competence in the industry and service providers. Nevertheless, a huge amount of buildings in the Barents area, including the Nordic countries, are in a very bad condition and are degrading at a fast rate. Even relatively new constructions show clear signs of degradation. Lack of proper operation and maintenance, and renovation lead to several problems:
- Degradation of urban areas
- Loss of value
- Buildings need repair due to leakage, frost problems, condensation, mold growth
- Poor and unhealthy living environment
- High costs for operation (energy)
In a longer term, continuous building degradation may lead to social problems and depopulation of urban areas and cities. In the Arctic region, we see a clear trend (from statistical data) that population is decreasing. Part of the reason can be poor living standards of the population.
The project group also see that FM has potential to be further developed in the Arctic region as a product that can be sold to customers. This segment of the building sector is not yet well developed in the Arctic region. The project will contribute to further development of ideas, services and systems that can be a base for creating more cross border activities in this area.