Whether the space is a factory, office, hospital, shopping mall, airport, museum or stadium, someone makes sure the building and all of its components work properly. That person is a facility manager. Facility managers (FMs) makes sure systems in the built environment work together as they should, that buildings fulfill their intended purposes, and that personnel are healthy and productive.
What is facilities management?
"Facility Management is an organizational function with integrates people, place and process within the built environment with the purpose of improving the quality of life of people and productivity of the core business."
Why is Facilities Management important?
All organizations exist to fulfill a core function, from generating profits to serving a community's needs. Facilities Management is the essential spine of any sucessful organization. They support in a variety of ways:
Productivity
The first and foremost function is to ensure the staff, employees, and occupants are able to fulfill their job duties effectively. This means making sure the space is clean, organized, and ready to use. It also means vehicles, equipment items, and technology are functioning properly when neneded.
Comfort & Safety
Tied closely with productivity is making sure that all building occupants are safe and comfortable. Ensuring the buildings and equipment are inspected to meet safety standards is critical to minimizing liability and risk. Facilities managers also monitor ways a facility can better meet occupant comfort.
Profitability
Productivity, safety, and comfort must be created efficiently. Facilities management is often the largest expense due to its far-reaching impact across the organization, so any efforts to minimize unnecessary operating costs are important for the business's bottom line.
Scalability
As organizations grow, expand capital assets, change locations, or adapt to changing work environments (the introduction of a virtual work environment as one example), facilities management is at the forefront of ensuring the scucess of these changes. The team needs to know the faclities inside and out, as well as the people and assets within them, to best advise on new opportunities.
Sustainability
Beyond EHS (environment, health, and safety) compliance, facilities managers bear a social responsibility to promoting greener practices for the organization. This can mean a reduction in waste, optimizing energy efficiency, or leveraging new best practices. Sustainable Facilities Management promotes a positive brand image for the organization and reduces their overall energy consumption costs.
Facilities Management Technology
Now, more than ever, facilities management teams are held accountable for storing accurate and available data, choosing sustainable practices for their buildings, and prioritizing building and environmental health.
There are countless technologies to help teams achieve these goals.
Utility Tracking Software
Most organizations want to decrease energy costs, keep their facilities as energy efficient as possible, and track sustainability goals. However, most forgo these initiatives because of the manual data collection process. Utility tracking software automates this tedious process by pulling an organization’s utility bill data into their facilities management software system. This gives staff the ability to:
Uncover trends to support capital investment projects and equipment upgrades
See a breakdown of costs by building to pinpoint waste or inefficiencies
Optimize energy usage for each building and predict future spending
Assess and compare costs across buildings to catch inefficient operations
Sensor Technology
Leading facilities management teams use sensors to drive operational decision and make buildings more effiecient. Air quality, occupancy, and equipment sensors can alert you when they detect abnormalities during data collection. This data can improve occupant comfort and health, equipment performance, and building efficiency. To take action quickly, consider connecting these sensors to your facilities management system to dispatch technicians, prioritize work, and make data-driven operational decisions.
Facilities Management Software
Facility management software is a digital tool that supports the day-to-day operations of facility management. The software helps organizations:
Keep buildings clean and safe for occupants with routine servicing and custodial services for all areas of your facilities.
Prevent details from slipping through the cracks with an organized maintenance schedule and intake process.
Consolidate your communication into one location with real-time updates for everyone involved in a task.
Make data-driven decisions based on staff and equipment performance.
While there are defined categories of facilities management software (CMMS, CAFM, IWMS software, or EAM software), the boundary lines are somewhat nebulous. Each software provider will offer its own feature set (regardless of what category they fall into).
When selecting the software for your facilities, it’s best to start by identifying the desired capabilities for your organization and then choosing the appropriate system.
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