TS EN 15221-1

TS EN 15221-1 is a glossary standard for facility management that organises the relevant terms and definitions and gives a basic framework for understanding the discipline’s scope. Facility management is a multidisciplinary field concerned with coordinating buildings, infrastructure, support services and the work environment so that an organisation’s core activities can run more effectively.

How the terminology framework is organised

This standard supports a common language for key facility management concepts. In general technical use, terminology standards such as this one help clarify the relationship between roles, processes, services, resources, user needs and the physical environment. That shared vocabulary is especially useful in contracts, technical documentation, service descriptions and internal communication, where the same word can otherwise be interpreted in different ways.

The standard also gives insight into the broader context in which facility management sits. Conceptually, it brings together matters such as building use, operational support, maintenance coordination, space use and service quality under one management perspective. Its purpose is not to prescribe individual services in detail, but to define the main terms and conceptual boundaries of the field.

• Creates a common reference language for facility management terminology.
• Provides conceptual guidance on the scope of the discipline.
• Helps align technical, administrative and service-oriented stakeholders.
• Clarifies the relationship between building management and service management at a conceptual level.