For the software to work in harmony with the buildings FM, there needs to be access to a certain level of asset information, document management and energy functionalities.
This planned preventative maintenance approach is crucial when selecting a FM software provider. There are systems available on the market that consider planned preventative maintenance by pre-planning tickets for certain assets maintenance. However, while this model works with stand-alone buildings and small portfolios, it is not scalable for large portfolios and doesn’t support standardised maintenance planning.
Part of the FM software provider selection is thinking about your long-term operational needs and anticipating your needs in many years to come. When working with an FM software that allows you to map out your long-term maintenance needs, reflect the maintenance contract and standardise maintenance tasks, the time, cost and energy savings will inevitably follow.
When working with an FM software that allows you to map out your long-term maintenance needs, reflect the maintenance contract and standardise maintenance tasks, the time, cost and energy savings will inevitably follow.
For example, in the Nordic region, energy and water costs are over one-third of the operational expenses in a typical office building. I pose the question – how will a ticketing tool alone grant the building owner visibility and control over the time and energy wasted and money lost?
We must not forget the importance of document management as a critical component in a building’s maintenance strategy. Many ticketing tools advertise the use of a document management feature. However, the only capabilities available are uploading supporting pictures or documents when tenants raise a new ticket. While this is a useful function, I believe, at a minimum, document management must feature the ability to house building drawings, technical manuals and support document clarification.
For building owners to embrace this unified approach, there must be fundamental changes to the way the FM operations are managed. They must digitalise and streamline maintenance processes to ensure all stakeholder’s benefit.
Salesman’s Epilogue
When presenting our CMMS system to prospective customers, we often find ourselves in situations where we are compared to other service providers. While this provider comparison is a natural part of the sales process, in most cases, the benchmarking is not accurate as the competition is still in the early stages, and their solution is usually a rudimentary ticketing tool.
Luckily, as a comprehensive solution provider, I don’t believe these systems pose any real competition. Particularly when working with customers who fully understand and value the notion that FM operations go beyond reactive maintenance. They appreciate that preventative maintenance gives them visibility and control over their assets.
