ABSTRACT
The University of Miami's (UM) facilities management contract covered several areas: the scope of services, management responsibilities, costs, relations with the university, and terms of the contract. The UM's problem in the area of facilities management in retrospect was in the negotiation of the contract, an area in which one can take action to minimize the potential for problems. None of the goals stated was measurable, and there were no deadlines. One of the positive factors that all Facilities Management Company's (FMC) stress is their ability to call upon "high-powered" consultants from within their organization at no extra cost. Moreover, the contract's statement "FMC agrees to furnish notification in writing to the UM prior to the replacement of any of its key personnel" sounds good but does nothing. UM did terminate their contract with its FMC in accordance with the contract.
