“From Broomclosets to Boardrooms”: Herman Miller and the Origins of Facility Management

This article examines the origins of facility management as a field of practice that was first developed in the 1970s when the open plan office concept first became popular in the United States. The author focuses on the influence of the furniture manufacturer Herman Miller and its subsidiary, the Facility Management Institute (FMI), on the development of this new field and its rapid professionalization and growth through the latter part of the twentieth century. She argues that FMI played an essential role in the founding of facility management as a dedicated field: defining it, establishing its core values, processes, and methods; and increasing its visibility as a professional discipline. While initially promoted by FMI as a human-centered discipline that emphasized using the workplace to support workers, as facility management increased its influence and organizational position “from broomcloset to boardroom,” it evolved to become a more fiscally minded field that sought to cut costs, outsource services, and leverage space for financial benefit.