--- title: "Soft FM vs Hard FM: What's the Difference? | SPS Group" url: https://spsgroupservices.com/guides/soft-fm-vs-hard-fm description: "Soft FM covers services for people using a building, such as cleaning and security. Hard FM covers the building's fabric and systems. See which services fall where and why it matters." lang: en-GB --- Skip to content Clean · Protect · Detect · Maintain · Train · Integrate · Yorkshire and Lincolnshire since 1992 01482 226570 (+441482226570) Facilities management guide # Soft FM vs hard FM: what's the difference? In short Hard FM covers the physical building and its systems, such as heating, electrics, plumbing, lifts and fire systems. Soft FM covers the services that make a building safe and pleasant to use, such as cleaning, security, waste and reception. Many contracts mix the two. Written by the SPS Group team · Updated 29 October 2026 ## Which services are hard FM and which are soft FM Fire and security systems are usually treated as hard FM, because they are fixed building systems that must be installed, maintained and certified to British Standards. | Hard FM (the building and its systems) | Soft FM (services for people using it) | | --- | --- | | Heating, ventilation and air conditioning | Cleaning: daily, periodic and specialist | | Electrical systems and lighting | Washroom services and consumables | | Plumbing and water hygiene | Security officers and reception | | Fire alarm and detection systems | Mobile patrols, keyholding and alarm response | | CCTV, access control and intruder alarms | Open-up and lock-up | | Lifts, building fabric and roofing | Waste management, grounds and pest control | ## Why the difference matters - Hard FM is driven by compliance: fire alarms, emergency lighting and water hygiene all have legal or British Standard maintenance requirements - Soft FM is driven by people: standards, staffing, supervision and how the building is used day to day - The two meet constantly. Cleaners and officers are often first to spot a faulty door, a damaged camera or a fire panel fault - Contracts that split them completely can leave gaps, with faults passed between providers ## Where SPS Group fits SPS Group covers soft FM and the security side of hard FM: cleaning, security, fire alarm, CCTV, access control and intruder systems, PAT testing and machinery repairs, plus accredited training. That combination lets one group connect what its people see on site with the systems that protect it. How SPS Group does it ICS Cleaning and SPS Security deliver the soft FM services, SPS Technical and TESS deliver fire and security systems, and ICS Maintenance provides PAT testing and machinery repairs. Teams on site report faults straight to the right specialist through the group. How our integrated facilities management works (https://spsgroupservices.com/integrated-facilities-management) ## Questions Is security soft FM or hard FM?▾ Manned security, such as officers, patrols and keyholding, is soft FM. Security systems, such as CCTV, access control and intruder alarms, are usually treated as hard FM. Is cleaning soft FM?▾ Yes. Cleaning is the largest soft FM service in most buildings. Are fire alarms hard FM?▾ Yes. Fire detection and alarm systems are fixed building systems and are usually part of hard FM, with maintenance carried out to BS 5839-1. Can one provider deliver both soft and hard FM?▾ Yes. Some providers cover both. Check which services they deliver with their own specialists and which they subcontract. Related - What is integrated facilities management?: https://spsgroupservices.com/guides/what-is-integrated-facilities-management - Facilities services we provide: https://spsgroupservices.com/services - Integrated facilities management: https://spsgroupservices.com/integrated-facilities-management Facilities management across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Facilities management in Hull and East Yorkshire: https://spsgroupservices.com/facilities-management/hull-east-yorkshire Facilities management in Grimsby and North East Lincolnshire: https://spsgroupservices.com/facilities-management/grimsby-north-east-lincolnshire Facilities management in Lincolnshire: https://spsgroupservices.com/facilities-management/lincolnshire Facilities management in South Yorkshire: https://spsgroupservices.com/facilities-management/south-yorkshire Facilities management in West Yorkshire: https://spsgroupservices.com/facilities-management/west-yorkshire Facilities management in York and North Yorkshire: https://spsgroupservices.com/facilities-management/york-north-yorkshire Talk to us about facilities management for your sites. We'll arrange a site review and show you where combining services makes sense. 01482 226570: +441482226570 Integrated FM: https://spsgroupservices.com/integrated-facilities-management Accredited and approved ## Independently accredited across every capability All accreditations and frameworks (https://spsgroupservices.com/accreditations) - Image: SIA Approved Contractor, held by SPS Security (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/3d7d7139b_image.png) - Image: BAFE SP203-1 fire detection and alarm systems, held by SPS Technical (https://media.base44.com/images/public/6989f2350e53aab8836435e3/406d9784c_bafe-logo.png) - Image: SSAIB certified security systems, held by SPS Technical (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/c9e7dc74b_image.png) - Image: ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, UKAS accredited certification, held by ICS Cleaning, SPS Security, SPS Technical (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/3f160a20c_image.png) - Image: Crescent Purchasing Consortium supplier, held by ICS Cleaning (https://qtrypzzcjebvfcihiynt.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/base44-prod/public/698d1493256c3e7612121fcc/c6b8bd093_CrescentLogo_Suppliers.png) - Image: CHAS accredited contractor, held by SPS Group (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/a31a34ebe_image.png) - Image: SafeContractor, held by SPS Group (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/8031d3964_image.png) - Image: BSIA member, held by SPS Group (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/93e58a076_image.png) - Image: Achilles Network Silver Plus, held by SPS Security (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/4a8991034_image.png) - Image: Achilles BuildingConfidence, held by SPS Security (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/6d454a108_image.png) - Image: Acclaim Accreditation (SSIP), held by SPS Security (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/79dcd06bd_image.png) ## Structured data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "Soft FM vs hard FM: what's the difference?", "description": "Soft FM covers services for people using a building, such as cleaning and security. 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