Implementing SANS 1752 at a blue-chip Insurance Company (Facilities Management)

01/09/2023

The challenge

A blue-chip insurance company's FM function needed to demonstrate alignment with SANS 1752 (Strategic Facilities Management System — Requirements) and ensure the right governance artefacts were in place to support a credible self-declaration of compliance—including being able to produce documented proof if challenged.

Approach

  1. Leadership engagement & discovery
    Conducted multiple working sessions with senior FM management to confirm SANS 1752 expectations, understand the existing service delivery model, and clarify the facilities portfolio under FM responsibility.
  2. Leverage existing ISO governance (reduce duplication)
    Reviewed existing governance documentation and confirmed strong alignment potential given existing certification to ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 (similar management system structure). Proposed an Integrated Management System (IMS) approach: incorporate SANS 1752 requirements into existing ISO governance documentation rather than creating a parallel document set. This approach was accepted by the client, reducing cost and resource impact.
  3. Gap audit & remediation plan
    Performed a structured gap audit comparing ISO governance coverage against SANS 1752 requirements. The outcome was split into:
  • Documents to update (e.g., "Context of the Organization" and "Performance and Improvement" content updated to reflect SANS 1752 expectations), and
  • New documents to create where ISO governance did not meet SANS 1752 requirements (notably an FM Policy and FM Objectives and Targets).
  1. Workshops & best-practice alignment
    Facilitated workshops with relevant departments/sections to understand current processes, confirm how work is done in practice, and recommend enhancements (or new processes where required) aligned to FM best practice and the standard's intent.

Deliverables

  • Updated governance documents aligned to SANS 1752 requirements (embedded into the existing ISO governance structure).
  • Newly developed SANS 1752 artefacts where required (including FM Policy and FM Objectives & Targets).
  • A final approved documentation set delivered to the client, together with written confirmation of compliance readiness for SANS 1752 self-declaration.

Outcome / value delivered

The A blue-chip insurance company's FM Department received a complete, approved governance documentation baseline to support SANS 1752 self-declaration, while avoiding the overhead of maintaining duplicate systems by integrating SANS 1752 requirements into their existing ISO-aligned governance framework.

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