Integrated Facility Management Software

Usually common people might think of Facilities Management as just the “maintenance man” that changes smoke detector batteries or HVAC filters. But, the reality is, Facilities Management goes way beyond these superficial items into a full integration of people, places, and processes with the appropriate technology to manage a host of requests and processes. It is facilities manager’s responsibility to stay on top of everything involving residential buildings, commercial and office spaces, as well as the safety and security of the employees they involve.

Balancing a diverse workload

As facilities manager, are constantly juggling multiple responsibilities. In addition to fixing broken equipment, there’s always preventative maintenance and ongoing updates that need to be taken into consideration. The day to day may involve more mundane items like basic plumbing, or electrical items. They might probably work with outside vendors to handle functions like pest control or painting. They probably also supervise cleaning operations and make sure all health and safety standards are upheld.

Considering all these factors the question becomes, with so many variables in tasks thrown at facility managers on a daily basis, how do they manage the workload? Do they have processes that streamline the day to day activities? How do they communicate back and forth with clients about their issues? How do they manage their technicians?

Facility Management Software benefits

If facility managers, manage their daily workload using spreadsheets or even post-it notes plastered all over the workspace, there are benefits to finding a software package to help manage everything that comes their way.

1.    Prioritize and report on workload

With issues coming in from clients, and possibly from external vendors, a software package would be able to capture all the requests coming in, so nothing gets lost. Facility managers can also then group items together so that more urgent priority items don’t get missed or delayed. Being able to report on their activity and determine trends can also go a long way in potentially justifying additional manpower, or equipment needs.

2.    Integrate processes across departments to get the complete picture

If facility managers are involved in any workflow processes, such as invoicing, they might interact with other departments like accounting, it’s possible that they may have software to manage their processes. FM software should be integrated with other department software to be able to be handle input from users across departments. This will give a clear picture on the profitability of the particular contract with cost input coming from all the departments.

3.    Schedule preventative maintenance

One of the most important things as a facilities manager is to make equipment last as long as possible. They can’t constantly be buying new items, so from a cost perspective, keeping items running is critical. Using a software package allows them to track when preventative maintenance was completed on any piece of equipment. It can even remind them when maintenance should be completed.

4.    Communicate with clients and vendors

Everyone wants to know the status of their request. Good software will let you capture entire threads of communication back and forth about the request. Keeping information about phone calls or emails stored in one place increases everyone’s accountability and knowledge.

Ultimately, all of these benefits give facility managers a more streamlined workday and easier access to pull information for updates when your management requests it. Getting rid of the sea of post-it notes swamping your workstation, or the spreadsheet that hasn’t been updated since you caught a breath three weeks ago, makes it much easier to know what tasks they have ahead of them and what they have already completed.