Senate uses Granlund Manager’s auditing application and auditing services from Granlund’s building services experts to evaluate the quality of service providers’ operations.
”We offer our customers either the GM auditing tool alone, which enables property owners or management companies to take responsibility for auditing by themselves, or auditing services,” says Tommi Söderström, Granlund Oy’s Group Manager, Facilities Management. ”We act as independent experts who offer consistent evaluations of different service providers. We physically visit the site and analyse factors such as the technical systems and the condition of the outdoor areas.”
Consistent results
Manager is used nationally in properties where Senate is responsible for maintenance. In southern Finland, Granlund is responsible for the majority of quality audits, but in the area covered by property manager Tuomas Igoni, quality audits are carried out by Granlund every other year, with the property manager himself conducting audits in the intervening years.
”Auditing is systematic work that enables the identification of faults and deficiencies that cannot be investigated from the office and that may not even be visible to the building’s occupants, even though they cause the most problems on-site,” Igoni says. ”Granlund Manager works well in the field, and the mobile user interface is quick and convenient. For example, it is easy to attach photos.”
Building services expertise is required to conduct audits.
”Not every property manager is able or willing to conduct audits, but I would be happy to do more of them,” Igoni says. ”However, with respect to resources, we need to use consultants, which is also useful because we gain an additional perspective on the site. It is pleasing that the auditing grades that I give are in line with those given by Granlund’s experts, and there have not been any differences of opinion.”
”We receive good auditing reports from Granlund, with clear and detailed notes, complemented by comprehensive photographs,” says Juuso Anttonen, Senate Properties’ Advisor on Workplace and Maintenance Services. ”Granlund’s experts hold an appropriately strict, consistent line. No personal connections are apparent in the auditing results.”
Audit results are used to develop maintenance
More than anything else, audits are a way of evaluating operations. Thanks to a standardised inspection model, maintenance services can be compared regionally.
”The auditing model is site-independent, and we can use the results to reach conclusions on several topics,” Anttonen says. ”For example, we track site trends, react to deviations, develop expertise in specific sub-areas and update requirements if necessary.”
There is always a training and teaching aspect involved in auditing.
”We use audits to tell our service providers which maintenance-related matters are the most important in our view,” Anttonen says. ”After all, this is a model that guides operations, as well as a learning process for all parties involved. We receive good comments from the field, including suggestions for developing auditing templates. The results enable us to adjust the weightings of audits; for example, we are currently highlighting the importance of indoor conditions.”
Bonus-sanction model incentivises parties to work towards targets
Auditing also measures whether service providers’ work complies with agreements.
”Granlund Manager has been integrated into the information system that we use to evaluate how well our service providers are complying with the duties assigned to them,” Anttonen says. ”The numerical value obtained from the audit is connected to a more extensive bonus-sanction model. The most important objective of this model is to steer the operations of our service providers. Property managers will be rewarded for investing in the most important matters. Overall, it is profitable, and the benefits eventually become apparent at a national level. For example, when the working conditions improve in properties used by the State Administration, work becomes more productive. Often, energy efficiency also improves. This is a win-win situation.”
Granlund Manager adapts to different types of audit
The organisations began working together on auditing by conducting technical quality audits related to property management. Senate has recently expanded its question bank to cover other services.
”We use Manager to audit cleaning services and compliance with the Contractor’s Liability Act,” Anttonen says. ”At the moment, auditing related to the structures and ventilation in properties is currently in the pilot phase. This will form part of Senate’s proactive programme of operations related to indoor conditions. We will roll out the new audits on a larger scale next year.”
”At Senate, I have been working with Granlund for a long time. We have worked very well together. When we give feedback, it is taken seriously, and they quickly take up our ideas for development. It is apparent in everything Granlund does that the company will not settle for the status quo – it wants to constantly develop. This is important because, in the near future, general requirements for system data processing capacity and availability will reach unprecedented levels. Granlund is good at taking customers’ needs into consideration, and, above all, we receive consulting in operations-oriented business terms.”
– Juuso Anttonen, Senate Properties’ Advisor on Workplace and Maintenance Services
