Tricks Of The Trade: The Role Of The DIMWIT

By James C. Elledge, IFMA Fellow, CFM, FMA, RPA, RIAQM
Published in the April 2007 issue of Today’s Facility Manager

Q Do you know of any groups that have a chief technical officer forthe facility management (FM) organization? This person would providehigh level input on new IT developments and tell us how we could bestuse them.

Roy Allen
Director, Business Services, FM
University of Texas
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

A Some organizations may be slowly evolving to the functionalorganization I call DIMWITS—Department of Infrastructure Management,Wiring, Intelligent Technology, and Security (yes, DIMWITS).

As buildings become more intelligent (through the useof automated building systems), security is physical as well as cyber,and the workforce becomes more mobile. Consequently, the assimilationof FM and IT may make more sense. Budget money may also be easier tojustify with this “hybrid” department

Elledge,facility/office services manager for Dallas, TX-based Summit AllianceCompanies, is the recipient of the Distinguished Author Award from theInternational Facility Management Association (IFMA), is an IFMA Fellow, and isa member of TFM’sEditorial Advisory Board. All questions have been submitted via the “Ask TheExpert” portion of the magazine’s Web site. To pose a question, visit this link.