(last updated in 2024)
It seems like every time I see someone write, or hear someone speak, about my line of work, they will say something to the effect of "This could better be described by [INSERT TOTALLY NEW AND COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY ACRONYM HERE]".
If you have ever found yourself typing or uttering those words, or something similar, just stop yourself. Please.
Alright. Having grown up in the engineering industry, in the age of CAD, and a burgeoning data management movement, and the expansion of BIM, I am surrounded constantly by acronyms.
The icing on the cake was that the facility I worked longest in was a medical center, so I had to be familiar with many of those as well.
The title of my post is Three Letter Acronyms / Four Letter Acronyms for Facilities Information Management and Integrated Workplace Management Systems.
So, yes, it IS nicer to be able to say that in far fewer letters. The only problem is, which letters to use?
Enough ranting and meme-sharing, though. I have collected a series of these acronyms for reference, which I come across often in my work.
Please feel free to comment any others which you see or use regularly.
CAFM - Computer Aided Facilities Management
CMMS - Computerized Maintenance Management System
IWMS - Integrated Workplace Management System
FAM - Facilities Asset Management
FIM - Facilities Information Management
AM - Asset Management
AIM - Asset Information Modeling
CRE - Corporate Real Estate / Commercial Real Estate
EAM - Enterprise Asset Management
EIM - Enterprise Information Management
CPIP - Connected Portfolio Intelligence Platform
FCA - Facilities Condition Assessment
HRIS - Human Resources Information Systems
ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning
BAS - Building Automation System
BMS - Building Management System
IAQ - Indoor Air Quality
IEQ - Indoor Environmental Quality (air quality, light, acoustics, temperature)
DCIM - Data Center Infrastructure Management (datacenter & facilities; energy, equipment, and space are efficient)
CAD - Computer Aided Design/Drafting
GIS - Geographic Information System
BIM - Building Information Modeling
IPD - Integrated Project Delivery
COBie - Construction Operations Building Information Exchange
IFC - Industry Foundation Classes (not Insulating Concrete Form, dyslexics of the world untie!)
BEP/PxP/BxP - BIM Execution Plan / Project Execution Plan / BIM Execution Plan
DTEP / D-TEP - Digital Twin Execution Plan
PIM - Project Information Model
LoD - Level of Detail
NCS/NBIMS - National CAD Standard / National BIM Standard US
AEC - Architecture, Engineering, and Construction
AEC/FM - AEC & Facilities Management
AECO - AEC & Operations
BOMA - Building Owners and Managers Association
IFMA - International Facilities Management Association
AIM - Asset Information Management
AIM - Asset Information Model
AIP - Asset Investment Planning
CDE - Common Data Environment
UDF - User Defined Field (~shudders delicately~)
EBS - Essential Business Services