ISO 41011:2017

Facility management — Vocabulary (first edition, withdrawn)

Edition: 1st edition, 2017; withdrawn and replaced by ISO 41011:2024
Withdrawn: Withdrawn and no longer current. Replaced by the second edition ISO 41011:2024. Retained purely as a historical record: contracts and manuals citing the 2017 edition should be updated.

Why it exists

This was the first international vocabulary standard for FM and thus the moment the European definition debate took a global form.

Scope and content (paraphrased)

Paraphrased: the first international record of core facility management terms, including the function itself, facility, facility service, user and client. Historical; use the 2024 edition.

Main concepts

The transition from European EN 15221 terminology to an international definition.

Who should understand it

Executive or client receiving FM accountability
FM director and policy owner
Contract, sourcing and procurement manager
Auditor, quality and compliance officer

What it means in practice

Strategic

Historically: marked FM as an internationally defined discipline.

Tactical

Trace old contract references forward to ISO 41011:2024.

Operational

No current effect; the standard is withdrawn.

Historical significance

With the 2017 edition, definitional authority over FM moved from CEN to ISO. That the 2024 second edition barely changed course shows how stable the European starting point ultimately proved.

Relationships to other standards

ISO 41011:2024The current second edition.
EN 15221-1:2006The European predecessor of this vocabulary line.

Related services

All facility services within the scope of the management system.

Services Atlas

Related capabilities

Standards literacy and policy formation
Performance measurement and accountability
Contract and supplier oversight

Knowledge Domains