Facility Management Consultants

ISO 41001:2018 Facility Management System — Three years on — Problem solved or just another standard?

In late 2018, the long-awaited International Standard Organization published ISO 41001:2018 — Facility Management system — Requirements with guidance for use. Some two and a half years later, we look at whether it has been a success story or whether it has failed to live up to its pre-launch expectation.

Introduction

The questions I will answer are:

Should we pursue ISO 41001 and become certified?

What is the certification process and the stages involved?

What are the benefits of certification and will it add value?

In Part 1, dated June 2019, I looked at early indicators of how the standard was received by the profession and industry, less than a year after it was launched. At the time, I experienced varying opinions from around the Globe. It was evident however that the ‘FM Mature’ countries were not adopting the standard as quickly as its pre-launch expectation suggested. There were numerous reasons for this, mainly due to a) a lack of awareness of the standard; or b) organisations were already certified to any one of several other associated ISO Management System Standards (MSS), notably ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 and that until they felt a need or were being persuaded that ISO 41001 was a must, they would refrain for the time being. It should be noted that pursuing any ISO MSS is a resource intensive and time-consuming process that also involves business disruption and a great degree of business process re-engineering. Regardless of this fact, less ‘FM Mature’ frontier countries have been quicker to embrace this w standard and have viewed it as a way of demonstrating compliance and projecting themselves as ‘exemplar’ within the FM space.

My original intention for Part 2 was to articulate compelling reasons to become certified to ISO 41001, after all, I represent the UK’s British Standards Institution (BSI) on ISO’s Technical Committee 267, the body responsible for developing the suite of FM Standards, and firmly believed that it was the answer to advancing the FM profession in a way in which FM could position itself alongside, quality, occupational health & safety and environmental standards and demonstrates strategic value within an organization.

Less than two years later, the world has been shaken to its core by the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on society in general and of course on almost every business, throughout the world with regular lockdowns being widespread everywhere.

Focus on ISO 41001 has therefore understandably shifted during this time to more reactive approaches that needed to deal with the threats of the pandemic and associated workplace related knock-on effects. During this time, I am also pleased to report however that the excellent work of ISO TC 267 under the stewardship of Stan Mitchell and now Duncan Waddell as the respective Chairs of the committee is preparing the next set of FM ISO Standards, either published or in the making, including standards covering FM Strategy, FM Policy, Influencing Behaviours for better FM Outcomes, Sustainability in FM, Performance Measurement in FM to name but a few. The committee is aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and other Technology-based standards are also being developed by the committee. Indeed, FM is and will be in a far better place through the sterling work of the authors and contributors of the TC 267.

So, fast forward to Q2, 2021, how is ISO 41001 currently positioned as we hope to see light at the end of the pandemic and prepare ourselves to return to work where hopefully, normal practices will resume, or will they?

Through being an active contributor to ISO’s TC 267, and an ISO 41001 Certified Lead Implementer Professional, an ISO 41001 trainer on behalf of BSI and some 30+ years of FM experience, I consider that I am reasonably qualified to be able to answer these questions with an honest opinion.

1. Should we pursue ISO 41001?

With my ISO hat on, I would say absolutely yes, as it’s the right thing to do for an FM organization. Without my ISO hat on, I would say, absolutely yes, if you plan it properly and develop a SMART Facility Management System (FMS). What is the difference I hear you ask? The difference is significant. Pre-ISO 41001 when organisations adopted what is possibly ISO 41001’s closest cousin in ISO 9001 supplemented by ISO 14001 for Environmental Management and OHSAS 18001 (now ISO 45001) for Health & Safety, the system; was cumbersome, involving several MSS and was never a perfect fit for FM services. ISO 41001 has been developed specifically for the FM sector and is therefore our very own tailored FMS. Part of the problem we face today is the same problem that was being muted in 2019 — it’s a chicken and egg situation! The legacy ISO MSSs still exist and therefore the interest in adopting ISO 41001 has not manifest as I expected, partly due to the legacy but linked to this is the lack of widespread awareness and appreciation of the standard.

Developing or frontier countries in certain regions have been quick to adopt the standard as they consider it as a way of closing the gap between the more mature FM countries and regions and themselves. The widespread adoption of the standard is particularly true in the Middle East and in parts of Asia.

As the world starts to emerge from the pandemic, organisations will seek assurance from their non-core supporting service (FM) that robust systems exist with appropriate controls to safeguard potential future risks and threats to businesses, people and places, the foundation of what is essentially FM within each organization. Indeed, after salaries and arguably the IT infrastructure, property, property related costs and FM is the biggest expense to an organization, so it makes perfect sense to insist on building a foundation and structure that caters for all FM in its richest tapestry on a robust Management System.

ISO 41001:2018 provides a wonderful baseline which is constructed from first principles. These are:

Context of the organization — understanding the needs of your organization from an FM perspective.

Needs and expectations of interested parties — whether internal or external, your organization will have numerous interested parties which will interface to some greater or lesser extend with the FM function. Their needs need to be captured, documented and catered for

Determine the scope of the FM system — apply a ‘risk and opportunities’-based approach to developing your FMS.

Developing your FM model around these three core principles is the correct way of doing developing your scope. It does not rely on legacy matters nor does it purely roll-over from previous years, as is often the case. It will be fresh, fit for purpose and lean in nature but with a sharp focus on risks and opportunities.

Essentially, there are three main reasons why organisations would wish to pursue the standard: 1) to become certified and recognised accordingly; 2) To genuinely seek a better way of delivering, managing and administering FM services; or c) both.

If it is purely for 1) then it is usually to achieve the ‘badge of honour’ and any business re-engineering necessary will be viewed as a ‘necessary evil’. The organization will learn little form the process and it is unlikely that the certification would enable positive change, only limited change at best. Furthermore, if senior management are not totally committed and engagement and buy-in is not obtained from your colleagues and those that will be responsible for operating within the framework then there is a high probability it will fail.

If, however an organization starts its ISO 41001 FMS journey from a desire to establish a robust structure within an appropriate framework and also targeting business improvement, then there is every chance that the benefits of not just certification but the intended benefits of the FMS will manifest. Why is this so? The answer is that facility management is a supporting role where, according to ISO 41011: 2017 Facility management — Vocabulary, is an “organizational function which integrates people, place and process within the built environment with the purpose of improving the quality of life of people and the productivity of the core business”. Ultimately, its all about providing the right support to the core business, not for any other reason.

If we consider the Standard within the defined Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle that it derives from, the starting point will be the ‘planning’ stage and specifically to understand and establish the context of the organization, including the interested parties, as already stated. More often than not, outside of ISO 41001, FM plans do not usually start from this point, they usually start from a position of ‘this is what we’ve done before’ By examining what we need to do to satisfy customers and any interested parties, both internal and external, we can start planning around the precise needs of the organization and tailor the facility management service accordingly. As we emerge from the pandemic, striving to plan and strategize to steer our organisations on the right path, this is an ideal time to implement the standard, after all ISO 41001 is intended as a framework, not a rigid structure and so the initiatives and objectives can be factored into the FMS accordingly. It should be considered as the central fulcrum of the FM plans and operations.

When a long-standing client asked me whether I thought they could manage their FM operation themselves after many years of outsourcing on a large scale, my answer was ‘no’, as not only had they outsourced all the FM services for many years, but they had also out tasked their processes and systems over several years and they did not have a base point for managing their own hybrid FM aspirations……but, by baselining their objectives and goals within the framework of ISO 41001 and developing their plans from first principles, then, yes, they could certainly achieve this.

Although FM has existed well before the arrival of the standard, ISO 41001 provides a fantastic opportunity for every organization to deliver what the business expects of it and to do it in a value and performance based demonstrable way.

It is also worth noting that the standard took two years to prepare with inputs from numerous facility management experts from all over the world. It is a well planned and structured approach to planning, delivering and managing facility management services. It has also been developed more so for the demand or client organisations as opposed to the FM service supplier.

Yes, of course you should implement ISO 41001: 2018 Facility Management System for your FM business needs and to satisfy your organisations and other stakeholders’ expectations.

2. What are the certification stages?

There are several preliminary stages to consider in implementing any ISO MSS and ISO 41001 is no different. Ultimately it will be a commitment by the organization in more ways than one, it will be resource intensive and will require senior management commitment.

The initial stages will involve, asking the usual questions of:

why do we need to do this?

What is the cost?

What will it involve?

How long will it take?

Do we have competent internal resources, or do we need a consultant?

Will we get senior management commitment?

What are the benefits?

Following a positive decision to proceed, another key question should be:

Shall we become certified or test the water, develop and apply the system until it is systematic and integrated across the business and then go for certification?

Either way, the next step will be to undertake a baseline audit, a gap analysis that will serve as an objective evaluation of your organisation’s current arrangements against the requirements of ISO 41001.

Each section of the FMS Manual (FMSM) has sub-sections which will define the requirements. The FMSM will be a descriptive document which describes how the organization structures itself around the requirements of each section. This is supported by and substantiated by ‘Documented Information’. Documented information refers to all the important information within the business that must be kept organized and controlled.

This includes documents and records. Documents will include any of the following:

Policies

Processes

Procedures

Tasks

Technical documents

Process maps etc.

Usually, if an organization is already accredited to another MSS, such as ISO 9001, some common vocabulary would already exist to satisfy the common sections within the MMS hierarchical structure. This can therefore be reproduced quickly to satisfy the equivalent requirements of ISO 41001, but more likely with some revision required to satisfy FM as opposed to another service. There will also inevitably be an element of tailoring form say a pure quality, environmental or health & safety aspect to FM.

As a rule of thumb, I would estimate that any MSM produced since 2015, probably provides between 30% — 40% of the overall requirement to satisfy ISO 41001, particularly if it has been prepared for a service organization.

Either way, the baseline Gap Analysis will tell you how much work you will need to align your MSS to the requirements of ISO 41001.

Once the gap is known, including the actions necessary to close the gaps; senior management commitment established, and resources identified a programme will be established to develop the Facility Manual and the supporting documented information.

Critical to success will be a) obtaining senior management commitment; and b) establishing competent resource(s) that has the required capacity to do what is necessary to prepare the FMSM.

It is at this time that you should also seek proposals from and appoint an accredited certifying body to conduct the external audit.

Following completion of the FMSM and the documented information the next step will be to conduct an internal audit. The purpose of the internal audit is to assess the effectiveness of the facility management system against the organizations needs and the requirements of the standard. It also serves as a mock external audit, which will follow by the certifying body.

It is worth noting that the certifying body would like to witness at least 3 months use of the FMS and evidence of this will be tested during the external audit. This should therefore be factored into the programme.

The external audit arranged with the certifying body will involve either a site visit to a virtual audit and will cover the following:

Testing the effectiveness of process and policy

Adherence to compliance and statutory requirements

Process flow analysis from policy to records

Staff interviews

Checking facts and evidence

Prepare audit report

Subject to the outcome of the external audit the auditor will pass or fail the audit. The auditor may also issue minor or major observations or nonconformities and will expect the organization to address these within a reasonable time which will be mutually agreed with the external auditor.

The certificate will be valid for three-years and will also comprise annual surveillance audits to ensure that the organization continues to comply with the requirements of the standard.

3. What are the benefits of certification to ISO 41001:2018 and will it deliver value?

There are indeed many benefits to any organisation in adopting and becoming certified to an ISO MSS. Research carried out by both British Standards Institution (BSI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) identify several business benefits for every organization.

Whilst most of the research has been carried out on the primary ISO MSS, ISO 9001, Quality Management Systems, transferable benefits would be true to a greater or lesser extent to ISO 41001. Its fair to say that the results are compelling and speak for themselves.

Whilst there is no disguising the effort required to set up a new MSM with associated documented information, it will pay dividends in the long run. Implementing an effective and robust MSM for FM will help you to focus on the important areas of your business, save money and improve efficiency. The management processes that will be established throughout your business will provide a sound foundation, leading to increased productivity and professionalism. This in turn will improve your customer satisfaction.

As with ISO 9001, I believe that ISO 41001 will soon become the internationally accepted and stated facility management standard, which, for similar reasons to ISO 9001, will be the eventual ‘FM’ expectation of every organization as the norm, much in the same way as the other key MSSs. It will undoubtedly deliver many benefits and provide competitive advantage to the host organization. This said, there will be those that will always doubt or challenge the need for the standard as the foundation for the facility management operations within an organization.

The challenges and my corresponding responses are:

Instead of focussing on the challenges of implementing an ISO 41001 based FMS, lets consider the benefits. Take it from me, someone that has significant experience of the standard, both from a research, implementation and training perspective, if the key dependencies are established and addressed then it is all upside. The dependencies are:

Commitment of senior management throughout the development process

Adequate time for planning and development

Appropriate resources deployed and external consultancy support as required

A budget is allocated

Governance through robust programme and project management

Accurate planning stages with the organization and interested parties

All parts of the standard are addressed within the FMSM

The responses given to the challenges above

Having addressed the challenges and the recipe for success, let us look at the clear benefits from developing an ISO 41001 based model.

Provides standard and integrated FM approach and system across the business

Demonstrates the value of FM to the business

Puts you in control of your FM business

Improves FM business performance

Deploys effective stakeholder communications

Improves reporting standards

Manage your supply chain with confidence

Optimises your FM resources and suppliers

Enhances customer satisfaction

Create cost savings and working efficiencies

Effective measurement of your FM performance

Covid-19/viruses emergency preparedness & business continuity

Mitigate/reduce business risk

Minimises mistakes

Meet your CSR & environmental targets

Encourage innovation and continuous improvement

With so many clear benefits to adopting ISO 41001, it is difficult to accept the reasons for not doing so, at least the principles and framework of the standard, if not seeing it through to certification. I have discussed this point with many senior representatives from various global entities, more and more are starting to get it and appreciate the benefits it will bring.

Although FM provides so much value to the core business in what it does and achieves, it continues to be considered by many as a silent partner at best, at worst, a cost cutting commodity that is always a cost saving or cost reduction target. Regardless of how its perceived, the benefits of ISO 41001:2018 Facility Management System are unquestionable. The advantages by far outweigh any perceived disadvantages.

As the facility management role has evolved in emerging from the pandemic, with ever increasing responsibility and risk, organisations will once again turn to facility management for answers. There is no doubt that, as a profession and industry, we will rise to the challenge again, but our work will be so much easier if we have a solid baseline to work from.

Integration of technology and sustainability targets into FM will be the next big challenges which we will need to embrace in addition to the post-pandemic enforced challenges and changes that will be thrust upon us.

The time has never been better to start your journey. Don’t delay, do it now!

Richard Davies

Managing Director

May 2021

[email protected]

Evbex https://evbex.com

In Part 3, we will review innovative approaches to how we can embrace the benefits of other allied standards or good practice guides in an integrated way that will provide organisations with a firm baseline to build around ISO 41001. This will enable organisations to benefit from quick wins, evident in other Standards into the overall Facility Management System Manual. Prime examples would be the Standards around quality, environmental, occupational health & safety, sustainability, social accountability, asset and energy management. Of particular interest will be ISO/PAS 45005: 2020 — Occupational health & safety management — General guidelines for safe working during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Evbex is an estates, property and facilities management consultancy, advisory, technology and training company that is headquartered in the UK and has bases in Asia, the Middle East and North America.

We are an ISO 41001: 2018 Facility Management System, Certified Lead Implementer Professional and an Associate Consultant of the British Standards Institution. We deliver ISO 41001 training programmes on behalf of BSI and support organizations all over the world to implement the standard.

In June-2021, Evbex will be launching its ISO 41001: 2018 Facility Management System Platform as part of FM Navigate, an FM Technology solution that serves the demand organization (https://www.evbex.com/fm-navigate-facility-management-software/)

FM Navigate — Management System is a comprehensive cloud-based ISO management system, which enables you to select a management system of your choice. Once you have made your selection you can develop and build your MSS within FM Navigate using ISO’s high-level management structure. The platform allows you to allocate roles, responsibilities and authors to develop each section or element as appropriate. You can select your internal auditor and when ready, select your external auditor to proceed towards certification in your chosen MSS. The external auditor can access the platform through an ‘auditor’s portal’ and will therefore be able to carry out remote audits.

Regardless of whether you wish your Management System to be certified, you can also use this as your Management System framework to introduce a consistent and professional approach across your business.

For more information, checkout:

[email protected]

Smart buildings go far beyond saving energy and contributing to sustainability goals. They extend capital equipment life and impact the security and safety of all resources — both human and capital. They enable innovation by creating a platform for accessible information. They are a key component of a future where information technology and human ingenuity combine to produce the robust, low-carbon economy envisioned for the future. Intelligent buildings will use machine learning and artificial intelligence to proactively support occupants by learning from these inputs and enabling decisions that will benefit users.

This article provides a concise overview on everything that’s ‘smart’ and ‘intelligent’ within our buildings today. This offers a vast array of opportunity for facilities managers to do what they do best in creating efficiencies, cost savings and provide the basis for informed decisions to be made, based on accurate data.

Introduction

The ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution has instigated the use of large-scale machine-to-machine (M2M) and modern smart technology (IoT etc.) for increased automation, improved communication and self-monitoring, and the production of smart machines that can analyse and diagnose issues without the need for human intervention.

Now, with decreasing physical human intervention, the discussions around ‘Smart buildings’, ‘Intelligent systems’ and ‘IoT-based industrial solutions’ have increased dramatically in recent years, and for good reason — competition. Buildings are being forced to look at all aspects of their design — management, amenities and operations — to be more attractive to owners and occupants than their competitors. At the same time, market pressure from consumers is forcing buildings to keep up with the rapid pace of innovation. Hence the move to smart or intelligent buildings.

In this digital age, all ‘smart’ devices have practically emerged just from being cool new gadgets to essential tools for conducting business. Now, temperature and lighting controls have gone from being thermostats and switches on the walls to Wi-Fi controlled from a mobile application, the prevalence of big data in decision-making processes and Internet of Things (IoT)- based solutions, all have become quite common. They have entered the commercial building market, performing controlling and monitoring operations and are ripe for data extraction and analytics.

What are smart buildings?

A smart building can be considered as one that is using technology to share information about what goes on in the building between systems so as to optimise the building’s performance. This information is then used to automate processes, including heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting and security and access control systems.

In parallel with creating operational efficiencies of the various building systems a key benefit of smart buildings is to optimise the use of energy and resources, both to cut cost and to improve energy efficiency.

The main features of smart buildings

Connected Systems — The most fundamental feature of a smart building is that the core systems within it are linked. The term ‘smart’ is usually considered as the ability of similar and different systems to talk to one another.

Sensors — Sensors are an integral part of smart buildings and play an important role in collecting data to inform decisions about where to allocate resources. For example, footfall counters may be integrated into the building to provide information on where people are at certain times of the day and which areas are high traffic.

Automation — Information is continuously gathered and analysed by building systems within a smart building. This ongoing monitoring allows for automated adjustments that can control conditions across an entire building at appropriate times of the day and on a seasonal basis.

Data — Smart buildings generate a large volume of valuable data which serves to continually improve controls and outputs and of course enables both operational staff and senior management to make key and timely decisions.

For a building to be considered ‘smart’, it should use technology to deliver useful, consistent, user-focused experiences as well as space and energy efficiencies.

A smart device or system uses IoT-based microprocessors and devices, are programmable to execute a pre-defined set of actions or sequence of operations and communicates with external systems via a computer network. The intricate collection of such devices and systems constitutes a smart building — it monitors various building characteristics, analyses the data and generate insights around usage patterns and trends that can be used to optimise the building’s environment and operations.

While smart technology provides greater control within your building, smart building technology allows you to manage and control operations, they are much more than just advanced ‘connected’ buildings.

Is it being ‘smart’ or simply being ‘connected’?

The word smart is increasingly being used to generally act as a user-friendly way of presenting the IoT to the general public. But being used as a catch-all term for a huge range of goods and services has led to uncertainty over what ‘smart’ actually means and is much more than just ‘command and control’ systems.

Connected

Connected buildings tend to feature technologies that have been plugged together, often for the benefit of owners and operators instead of the occupants — think lights that automatically turn off after 60 seconds when movement hasn’t been sensed, to save power, thus plunging people into darkness and resulting in the inevitable arm waving and star jumps to restore functionality.

Smart

In contrast, smart buildings are centred around the needs of the users, with consultants and Main Technology Contractors frequently being involved in the design stage of a project by seeking to understand exactly who will be using the building and what they’ll be doing in it. The services will be designed in reference to the user — by mapping out their day-to-day journey with any pain points established, allowing the design team to understand where technology can help to eliminate the issues — or even better, enhance people’s experience.

Smart buildings take a more integrated approach by considering the bigger picture — what people are trying to achieve within the building — and working downwards so that each device and system is considered. This results in more useful outcomes, such as personalising a user’s experience so that they can be more productive, or managing room temperatures more holistically by responding to the position of the sun and the weather that day rather than simply turning off the heating simply because the summer has arrived.

The level of integration is often a key point of difference between connected and smart buildings.

Intelligent Buildings

At the other end of the scale, we have ‘intelligent’ buildings, something we are increasingly able to achieve by inculcating technology that’s able to do even more to support occupants.

Though an exact definition has not been agreed upon, it tends to exercise the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence as the line between smart and intelligent.

Intelligent buildings will use machine learning and AI to proactively support occupants by learning from these inputs and making decisions that will benefit users. This continuous cycle of learning, responding to feedback, and optimising will theoretically make intelligent buildings capable of looking after themselves as well as their occupants.

The technology stack used in the creation of smart buildings is significant. Since many of the common smart building technologies tend to overlap with or frequently interact with one another, it’s important to distinguish them individually since each provides a distinct layer of functionality.

1. IoT at the Core of Smart Buildings Trends

Significantly, IoT has the capacity of solving real, everyday problems. It delivers practical results needed by your enterprise. Perhaps the most important and widespread smart building technology, the IoT is a system that uses a common Internet Protocol (IP) platform to connect multiple devices (such as sensors or microchips) to exchange and analyse information, optimizing each device’s controls automatically. When aggregated across an entire building, IoT allows for asset digitization throughout — and, therefore, immediate efficiency improvements.

IoT can leverage inexpensive wireless devices that can retrofit an existing building to monitor and control critical systems (e.g., HVAC). Certainly, retrofit IoT installations incur a fraction of the cost of installing or replacing an existing Building Automation System (BAS).

2. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Artificial Intelligence (AI), like IoT, is a buzzword that’s been getting quite a bit of attention lately but is frequently misunderstood. AI is the process by which machines or software mimic human behaviour and intelligence, with an ability to both acquire and apply knowledge. This allows for automation (basically, decision-making) within the machine or software without human intervention. Machine Learning (ML), often confused as a synonym for AI, is, in fact, a technique for realizing AI: It refers to the process by which a machine acquires knowledge or skill.

The applications of AI within smart buildings are extensive, especially being that AI is easily integrated with IoT sensors and devices. Such devices apply deep learning to hierarchically understand objects and environments, making adjustments according to learned user preferences or an analysis of historical trends.

For example, an AI and IoT-enabled asset management system will pick up on abnormalities in asset functioning — like a leaking refrigerator — based on what it has “learned” about the machine’s energy intake or output when functioning normally. AI-enabled Service Automation software then predicts upcoming maintenance and even reviews and approves work orders with minimal human intervention.

3. Software-Defined Networking and Cloud Computing

Software-defined Networking and Cloud computing offers virtualized platforms with flexible networking, compute, and storage services. SDN and Cloud platforms are generally run as a service based on big data centres and enable additional computational and storage capacity when needed. Cloud computing can eliminate on-premise infrastructure requirements and make networking and computing flexible from an enterprise perspective.

4. Aerial Drones

Drones are used to provide intelligent support within a building or retail space. They can handle many routine or time-consuming tasks, and may also use AI for autonomous operation such as facial recognition, surveillance, pre-programmed response, surveys, photography, routine tasks, capture data, video, and photos in hard to reach locations.

In advanced-level applications, drones can perform surveys for office space, retail facility, or even a grocery store by searching shelves for expired products. They can provide security surveillance and act on AI-based triggers, such as gunshot detection, and act as an additional set of simply manoeuvrable “eyes & ears” that sense minute details and work at all hours of the day.

5. Building Automation

Building Automation is a comprehensive infrastructure that permits centralized control of the HVAC, lighting, security, and other systems in a building. Building Automation is managed by either the Building Management System (BMS) or the Building Automation System (BAS). These systems are also compatible with IoT solutions and can monitor and control essential factors such as temperature, humidity, electricity, water pressure etc.

AI and IoT coupled with BAS make intelligent decisions to provide efficient and cost-effective operations.

6. Building Information Modelling (BIM)

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a smart 3D model-based method that records and displays a facility’s physical and functional characteristics. Historically, AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) professionals mainly used BIM, but it has become increasingly more prevalent within the context of facilities management.

A highly practical tool for both building maintenance and continuing use, BIM acts as a building “handbook” of sorts that provides access to real-time asset profiles as well as increased knowledge of asset locations.

This visual and spatial knowledge is astonishingly useful when restoring or renovating buildings. For example, BIM can tell where precisely a specific electrical circuit or equipment component is located behind a wall. Beyond geographic knowledge, it also offers insights into spatial knowledge, light analysis, and building component quantities and properties.

Additionally, BIM enables endless test situations without ever having to touch the space physically, which means reduced downtime and reduced labour spending.

7. Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented Reality (AR) is a live, copied view of a real-world environment with computer-generated sensory input complementing its elements. It requires a camera and a display device like a laptop, smartphone, or even eyeglasses; expanded reality superimposes an imaginary object onto a view of one’s actual, physical environment.

The AR technology is incredibly helpful for facility management when used in combination with BIM.

Programmed with current BIM models, the glasses enable displays of “hovering” digital representations over each piece of equipment, offering recognition and additional information. Such knowledge may include written instructions, alerts, installation dates, and problem-solving, all of which are particularly useful during outages or emergencies.

8. Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) goes a step further with computer-generated sensor input providing a full immersion experience by blocking out the physical world and putting the user into a realistic, virtual environment. The design and construction industries have adopted VR as a useful tool during the mockup phase.

VR-powered mockups enable a customer to view a potential building as if visiting the space. The customer may walk around, inspect windows and staircases, and get a sense of the constructed structure’s layout and function before any work has begun.

While virtual reality within the facility management industry is still far from widespread, the technology has started to become more powerful and affordable in recent years. But it can be integrated into applications for facilities management and used for repair and upkeep.

Benefits

Asset Digitisation

IoT facilitates asset digitization at the whole building or individual asset level. IoT can capture granular data from those critical HVAC assets in the building, including supply/return temperatures, fan speeds, vibration, flow rates, compressor run times, total energy consumption, etc. All of these measures can be captured in real-time to enable key operational insights (e.g., AI). Critically, IoT connects you to key assets in a building. When aggregated across the entire building, IoT delivers asset digitization across the entire building.

Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality Monitoring

IoT will continue to produce outsized results in the quest for energy efficiency because market penetration has only just begun. An alarmingly low percentage of buildings today have access to any form of real-time energy reporting. Too many buildings continue to rely on manual meter reading.

IoT provides the fastest, most economical method of augmenting your building’s infrastructure to enable real-time IAQ monitoring. Even the most advanced BAS will barely support modern IAQ measures such as Particulate Matter (PM) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

Workspace/Workforce Management

IoT sensors have made increasing amounts of data available to understand how occupants use the space. For example, wireless lighting control systems can embed occupancy sensors in lighting fixtures to gain a granular understanding of workspace usage. Reconfiguring space based on employee usage shows much promise in minimizing lease costs, while also increasing employee productivity and tenant satisfaction. Thus, the savings potential goes way beyond the usage of IoT for energy savings.

How can smart technology help Facilities Managers?

By predicting potential issues Monitoring and maintaining the different systems within a building is time-intensive and many facilities managers find themselves trapped in a reactive role, responding to things when they go wrong or dealing with complaints, with no time for forwarding planning. Smart technology allows you to take a much more predictive, proactive role as you have a clear picture of everything that’s happening across all your buildings or spaces at any one time.

By reducing administrative work Smart sensors gather a wealth of data which, when plugged into the internet or ‘cloud’, can be displayed in various formats, helping you to see what’s important to you. This work is all done for you, saving the effort of producing reports by hand. Cloud platforms can transform your data into easy-to-read dashboard or reports, making it easy to benchmark and spot potential trends. This clearer, overall picture helps to reduce siloed ways of working.

By helping you comply with industry standards Using smart sensors to monitor the performance of your buildings and machinery makes compliance with industry standards far easier. The data they produce enables you to spot potential problems before they occur and can also help to minimise things like energy use.

Smart Buildings connecting to an Intelligent Future

Smart buildings go far beyond saving energy and contributing to sustainability goals. They extend capital equipment life and also impact the security and safety of all resources — both human and capital. They enable innovation by creating a platform for accessible information. They are a key component of a future where information technology and human ingenuity combine to produce the robust, low-carbon economy envisioned for the future.

In the long run, smart buildings will play an essential role in our sustainable efforts, our relationship with our working environments and with one another. We will continue to have more smart buildings, whilst existing smart buildings will get even smarter, and advances in technology will continue to push the capabilities of our surrounding built environment.

Exactly what this will look like in the long-term, no one can be certain, but one thing is for sure: smart buildings will play an essential role in the development of our future.

For More Information:

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Emerging from the pandemic and meeting sustainability objectives — Facilities Management at a crossroads, chasing shadows or a bright new future?

Facilities management (FM) is often seen as the poor relation within many organisations, a commodity where costs continuously need to be scrutinized and cut accordingly. As organisations start coming out of the worst pandemic for over a hundred years and seek to secure financial stability through reducing their property needs and portfolio size, does this spell more danger for the FM industry or is it an opportunity to spearhead organisational sustainability objectives?

As the world eventually emerges from lockdown, FM will inevitably need to change to a more ‘on demand’ based service to suit the changes enforced on organisations due to the pandemic and new approaches and strategies towards business planning and operations. This presents an ideal opportunity for organisations to re-consider their wider property needs and requirements, holistically across the entity and in doing so, embrace sustainability in facility management in the race towards the United Nations ‘Sustainability Development Goals 2030’ and ‘Net-zero 2050’ Target.

The questions I will attempt to answer here are:

What is the considered view of FM as organisations recover from the pandemic?

What are the key objectives and goals for organisations in moving forward?

How can FM help drive the sustainability goals & objectives?

Although FM is an absolute necessity in each organisation, it is usually perceived as a commodity where the costs continuously need to be reviewed and cut as it does not appear to contribute towards meeting organisational objectives and goals.

It is often considered as a ‘means to an end, a ‘necessary evil’ where organisations need to ensure that their buildings meet regulatory compliance and are fit for purpose. It also seeks to ensure that organisational employees are optimised to contribute towards organisational profitability.

The official definition of Facilities Management, in the International Standards Organisation (ISO) 41001:2017 is ‘an organizational function which integrates people, place and process within the built environment with the purpose of improving the quality of life of people and the productivity of the core business.’

This definition would lead us to believe that, arguably, FM should be considered across all levels of organisational architecture i.e. strategic, tactical and operational, whereas it is mainly considered as an operational function by many organisations.

Indeed, based on research undertaken by Evbex, as up to 35% of an organisation’s costs are attributable to the fixed and varying factors that constitute FM, one could argue that it really deserves more prominence within organisational hierarchy and value.

Indeed, ever since my FM career started in 1990, FM has always been under pressure to reduce and cut costs. With organisations starting to re-emerge following the worst pandemic for over 100 years, will FM be better off or worse off?

1. What is the considered view of FM as organisations recover from the pandemic?

Emerging from the impacts and effects of COVID-19 the FM industry and profession is arguably at a crossroads.

Globally, organisations will wish to reduce the size of their property portfolio to remain competitive and even survive. The pandemic showed us that employees can work effectively from home and the latest thinking suggests that we will not need as much property to support our businesses and that a blended hybrid of employer property-based and home working hybrid will result in less demand for the traditional work from the office or workplace location. This is already happening in retail where online shopping and global lockdown has forced retail organisations even more towards online shopping. The same will be true, to varying degrees, for offices, manufacturing and public buildings. Trust in their workforce to work from home was forced upon organisations during the pandemic and it largely worked so why wouldn’t businesses organise their future resource structures around this premise and further reduce property costs?

This will undoubtedly mean further cost reduction targets for the FM sector.

2. What are the key objectives and goals for organisations in moving forward?

In recent times and before the pandemic, sustainability has become a high priority on organisational agendas. As organisations have largely adopted the UN’s ‘Sustainability Development Goals’ and in doing so, created their own ‘Net-zero’ goals and objectives.

To achieve these goals, organisations are signing-up to or adopting various sustainability-based Standards or Good Practice guides in their quest to becoming carbon-neutral, conserve water, and support a clean environment.

Sustainability in facility management in this context can be defined as the avoidance of the depletion of natural resources to maintain an ecological balance.

Whilst organisations do not generally include much on FM in their corporate agendas and published goals and targets, meeting sustainability targets and the annual reporting of progress against these targets certainly features on most companies’ websites and social media channels. Indeed, organisations with properties certified by any of these green organisations will gain positive recognition and economic gains from such certifications.

Three broad principles of sustainability in facility management can be considered as being made up of 3 pillars — the economy, society and the environment or as a triple bottom line of financial, environmental and social. These principles are also sometimes referred to as profit, people and planet.

Within the context of FM, there is a strong correlation with two of the three pillars, people and plant and of course there is an indirect link with profit.

How are organisations interpreting sustainability and how can they develop strategies that align with and deliver the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals in meeting their ‘2030 — Sustainable Development Goals’ and ‘Net-zero 2050’ objectives with least 50% reduction in emissions by 2030, which is only 9 years away?

In order to answer this question effectively, we can consider sustainability and its relationship with FM from the following perspectives:

Sustainable Buildings — Energy and Environmental considerations

Sustainable Teams — People Performance and Wellbeing considerations

Sustainable Communities — Supply Chain; Organisational Responsibility & Accountability considerations

Sustainable Buildings — Energy & Environmental:

Considers impacts of the built environment. Advocates sustainable energy sources. Steps are taken to incorporate energy efficient practices, including the use of renewable energy in the design and use of buildings.

Sustainable Teams — People Performance & Wellbeing:

In this context, employees are considered in terms of their performance and outputs against the buildings they occupy. People are our most important assets and it is therefore imperative that their wellbeing is prioritised accordingly.

Sustainable Communities — Supply Chain; Organisational Responsibility & Accountability considerations:

Social responsibility is also a means of achieving sustainability goals. When an organisation adopts key responsible principles such as accountability and transparency, it can demonstrate that it ensures the long-term sustainability and success of an organisation or system.

Many certifiable Standards and Good Practice Guides now exist to guide organisations towards their sustainability goals and the take up of such standards has risen significantly in recent times. Listed below are some of the main Standards available today:

Sustainability Standards

Sustainable Buildings — Energy & Environmental:

BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for master planning projects, infrastructure and buildings.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world

ISO 50001:2018 is the newly revised international standard for Energy Management providing the most robust framework for optimising energy efficiency in public and private sector organisations.

Sustainable Buildings — People Performance & Wellbeing:

The WELL Building Standard is a vehicle for buildings and organisations to deliver more thoughtful and intentional spaces that enhance human health and well-being.

Sustainable Society — Supply Chain; Organisational Responsibility & Accountability:

SA8000 is an auditable certification standard that encourages organisations to develop, maintain, and apply socially acceptable practices in the workplace.

ISO 26000 is intended to assist organisations in contributing to sustainable development.

As organisations strive to become certified and adopt the above standards to meet their sustainability goals, they will embark on a fragmented, stop-start journey.

Why is the sustainability journey fragmented?

Certification to the relevant Standards will inevitably be a resource and business process re-engineering obligation by an organisation which will be backed by senior management commitment. Establishing eventual certification to the required standard will certainly not be a simple task or a ‘one-off ‘event. Organisations will need to demonstrate ongoing and continued adherence to the requirements of sustainability standards as this will need to be demonstrated periodically through periodic maintenance or surveillance audits.

As already identified, there are also different standards and certification routes to match each of eth three perspectives of sustainability. Furthermore, there are also competing standards organisations and institutions that want your business. This has to be considered against other organisational objectives from an economic perspective.

Unlike FM, where there are defined service lines and roles, there are no sustainability-based natural resources, beyond management activity, which can deliver sustainability related tasks in a collective and cohesive manner. This can cause difficulties in maintaining continuity of sustainability certification in between audits, particularly where there is a disconnect sustainability in facility management.

It is commendable that so many organisations now demonstrate such commitment to sustainability through their corporate values and goals but it will take on-going effort and input to maintain accreditation along the journey towards ‘Net-zero’. As stated, this is generally underestimated in terms of allocated resources on a day-to-day basis within an organisation’s normal operations.

On a positive note, recent developments and convergence in methods and objectives on the green Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) is starting to make in-roads in recognising the need for a common approach for certification through targeting similar approaches.

3. How can FM help drive the sustainability objective and agenda?

The FM function within an organisation is usually consistent and always there to ensure that new practices and tasks can be developed, applied, monitored, measured and improved.

As a rule, we do not employ operatives to specifically to deliver sustainability agendas. How else can this therefore be achieved in an effective and cost-efficient way. Step in FM!

The range of sustainability-based procedures and tasks required to maintain the relevant certifications and sustainability based working practices to achieve the organisations goals can and should be delivered by FM resources. Traditionally, this is often not the case but this is a monumental opportunity for FM to step out of the low-cost commodity shadows and show that it can deliver real additional value through ensuring that sustainability goals will be met.

FM services typically cover the vast majority of needs to maintain accreditation to the relevant Standards and in doing so, support organisational objectives in this regard.

Indeed, there is a strong argument that our mature FM resources and teams that are ever present within our workplaces could and should deliver the vast majority of the sustainability related operational tasks at zero or negligible additional cost through modifying the FM specifications. As the FM industry will undoubtedly be driven towards an ‘on-demand’ service post-pandemic, this is the ideal time to do it.

Table 1 — Examples of combining sustainability tasks within facilities management service lines

There is no doubt that FM needs to change, top become more of an ‘on-demand’ type service so as part of this change, we should also look at ways of integrating the sustainability requirements.

All these services play a key role in informing the sustainability agenda and in ensuring that the sustainability journey is a smooth one Through revised FM models and structures and the re-designing FM specifications, contracts, measurement frameworks etc. FM can rise from the shadows to finally project itself as a critical resource and service that demonstrates value against 30% upwards of an organisations costs but also providing additional value in assisting organisations to meet their ‘Net-zero’ targets.

If the FM profession and industry can create the clear links and association between sustainability and FM then it promises to be an exciting time for the FM sector. Yes, it will need to re-invent itself again as a combined ‘Sustainability & FM’ function with potentially far more credibility and relevance than it has ever had before.

Much in the same way that FM was historically expected to pick-up compliance, health and safety and environmental responsibilities, a greater opportunity now exists for the industry — to lead the sustainability charge!

As the world eventually emerges from lockdown, FM will inevitably need to change to a more ‘on demand’ based service to suit the changes enforced on organisations due to the pandemic and new approaches and strategies towards business planning and operations. This presents an ideal opportunity for organisations to re-consider their wider property needs and requirements, holistically across the entity and in doing so, embrace sustainability in the race towards the United Nations ‘Sustainability Development Goals 2030’ and ‘Net-zero 2050’ Target. It is considered that as much as 80% of an organisation’s sustainability needs for certification and meeting organisational targets can be delivered through FM resources.

Such a move will inevitably ease the financial burden on FM as an entity in its own right, as funding and budgets will be made available for meeting sustainability targets.

The future for FM should be bright, it should embrace the opportunity and show the world that ‘they are the guy’s to deliver this agenda’, as FM transforms once again to delivering valuable strategic support to the core business.

For more information:

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www.evbex.com

In this series of articles, we will be reviewing the significance and changes that technology disruption offers the Facilities Management (FM) industry. We will begin with software solutions for effective tracking of portfolios and assets, further advancing to “BIM” — an interactive 3-D model-based process that gives insight and tools to efficiently plan, design, construct and manage buildings and in part 3, we will review a new type of software developed for managing FM requirements within an organisation, epitomized by ” FM Navigate”, a new breed of Enterprise Resource Planning software that serves as a client-based system that considers facility management holistically as a value-based support service to the organisation.

Cost savings and efficiency gains from facilities management

The facility management sector has emerged from a resource-based task orientated service to a fundamental support service that empowers the businesses. This involves keeping up with the demands of increasingly diverse portfolios, advancements in multiple sites, optimising the occupancy of space by larger — scattered teams in the workplace along with other diverse administrative functions. The roles, responsibilities and engagement of the facility management industry has become more complex and vital.

Businesses expect a greater return on the investment from their assets where efficiencies and optimisations need to be demonstrated. The traditional aspects of the buildings and infrastructure also need to be effectively managed through concurrent inspections, maintenance and repairs. Now, along with taking care of the ‘core’ activities that are driven by strategic tasks adding value to the customer-supplier relationships, ‘softer elements’ or ‘non-core activities’ like space allocation, asset monitoring, booking schedules etc. should also be covered.

So, as the prerequisites and sub-processes are becoming intertwined for the successful continuation of business and commerce, the roles of facility managers become more complex and eminent. Now, the focus has to be repurposed from taking care of day-to-day inspection, maintenance and repair tasks so that the focus is on the bigger picture, providing the clients with leading-edge solutions that helps them to proliferate in the growing market.

This clearly demonstrated how much benefit is gained from a tool that collects and analyses data.

Implementing a technology tool is one of the fastest ways to reduce facility management spending. Simply moving from an error-prone, inefficient pen-and-paper system to a digitized and automated platform decreases the time and resources that must be dedicated to working order management, allowing teams to instead focus on forward-thinking and preventive measures. Plus, access to advanced analytics makes it easy to pinpoint patterns of overspend and core areas of improvement so that these can be quickly addressed and reversed.

Preventive maintenance can create cost savings and efficiencies by reducing the number of breakdowns and emergency repairs that business experiences each year, while also preventing warranty leakage and unnecessary equipment replacements. With an automated preventive maintenance schedule in place, assets will last longer, and overall maintenance spending can be accurately controlled.

Having discussed FMS and its sophisticated yet robust features, let’s consider what the industry offers from a traditional manual approach to a technology driven opportunity to capture, administer and report on relevant data in a digital format.

Computer-Aided Facilities Management (CAFM)

CAFM systems offer features that simplify tasks, optimise workflows, eases building management tasks and ensure that the building and user-information are available as a single-source-of-truth.

Referencing to the definition of facility management, contributing to the efficient interaction of people, processes and places from an optimisation perspective. This type of technology solution combines business administration, behavioural science, architecture and engineering concepts to optimise the functioning of the organisation. It is a comprehensive commercial facility with many different facets and functions that focuses on the simplification of maintenance and repair processes.

The utilization of Real-time data to promote comprehensive maintenance

The real-time data is utilised to promote comprehensive maintenance. Real-time data collection can help facility managers to engage in preventive maintenance and proactively address any sudden fault detection in the system. Work orders can be effectively monitored and required regulatory strategies can be employed. The routine operational maintenance will be monitored, reported and communicated via digital means. Continuous data collection will facilitate prompt fault resolution without much workforce concentration at a particular task.

All of this effectively contributes to effective asset management, as the allocation of the resources at the required site will have a smarter and intelligent approach.

Physical building administration

One of the most impressive features of CAFM systems is the feature for handling the actual infrastructure inside a facility.

The utilization of CAD (Computer-aided design) elements and visuals allows us to create interactive building designs that help to previsualize the setup. It helps in effective space management inside the building and optimized resource allocation beforehand. This is eminently useful for real-estate organisations as they can present the interactive plans to customers and allow potential buyers to walk through the home that is not even built yet.

Administrative Support

CAFM isn’t entirely focused on physical facilities and assets. Such technology platforms offer a range of administrative support capabilities that can also help streamline resources.

CAFM even be used to manage human resources services and can act as a resource-allocation check system to ensure that people required in the facility are present. In addition to functioning as a human resource allocation check system, when deployed at the essential locations, this can be a bonus of increased security for the organisation without additional costs.

Since CAFM platforms cover not only the building but everything in it, administrators can use it as a roadmap for all kinds of asset management, predictive planning and meeting long-term needs, for example, planning for capital improvements. This helps to effectively cut down costs without compromising the quality and makes the facility operations happen more efficiently.

Concept Evolution — A CAFM based Facility Management Software solution

Concept Evolution from FSI (FM Solutions) is a cloud-based facilities management solution. The core functionality includes maintenance management, asset management, capital program management, lease administration and portfolio management. The solution is designed to cater to the needs of a single user as well as large multinational companies.

How facility management was transformed by CAFM?

Before CAFM, Facility Management as a profession and industry was underdeveloped in terms of its use in generating cost savings and cost reduction initiatives CAFM was the first platform to empower decision-makers to tap into the savings potential of their facilities using data. The integration with AutoCAD was key to enabling this, using imagery to make data management a user-friendly experience.

No doubt, CAFM was the first software focusing exclusively on handling facility management requests but significant and innovative improvements are lacking. Despite improvements, ‘legacy CAFMs which have developed significantly over the last 20 years can now appear to be inflexible and limited for use in the post-COVID era.

New generations of FM data driven technology solutions have been introduced, backed by 3-D modelling, cloud storage and agile features to help you steal the march on your competitors in the FM space.

Advancements in Software deployment

Software deployment has a significant impact on the organisation implementing it, if not necessarily on the eventual end-user.

On-premise software is hosted by hardware on your premises. This hardware usually requires an extensive IT team to maintain and troubleshoot, as well as the physical space to store it. On-premise also offers more options for customization, as you have almost complete control over the program. Essential staff should be extensively handling and monitoring the system regularly. Proactive fault detections and preventive strategies are absent in this case.

Cloud-based deployment is typically agile and can be a lower cost solution than on-premise, as the associated costs will invariably be cheaper than legacy on-premise systems. Customisation of a web-based system can however become costly as the value is derived from the standard product. Web-based solutions are also agile and accessible from any user portal with an internet connection, making it a lightweight and practical solution for many companies. Because the onus of data security falls on the vendor for this deployment method, most offer some of the most comprehensive security options on the market for their customers’ data. This is more accepted and user-friendly due to the absence of all hefty specially-dedicated physical systems — You just need a good internet connection and a machine to work on — anytime, anywhere.

Hybrid is, as the name suggests, a combination of the two formats. This can take many different forms and is unique to different industries. It usually includes the ability to switch from on-premise to cloud-based as the users’ needs change.

Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) — The advanced CAFM

CAFM and IWMS solutions are essentially the same but positioned at different stages in the evolution of facilities management, with IWMS being the more advanced technology that is more current than CAFM in the workplace today. IWMS can be thought of as enhanced CAFM.

IWMS is a software that is institution-specific e.g. hospitals, universities, businesses and governments all need different things from their facilities and an IWMS platform enables each to create strategies unique to their own needs. If you are managing an agile environment and need data spanning multiple locations or an entire real estate portfolio, IWMS is the way to go. This is a platform that optimizes facilities in accordance with their greater purpose whether it is related to security, compliance, productivity, wellness, sustainability or all of them.

Along with the incorporation of CAD drawings in a facilities management database, as in CAFM software, IWMS take matters a step further by integrating with increased levels of data, systems, technologies, and a deeper workflow framework that makes IWMS a more useful communication platform for all stakeholders.

Difference between CAFM and IWMS

Whereas CAFM focused more on an actionable approach — optimizing maintenance, operations, and space planning, IWMS software offers expanded deployable resources — simply reducing costs to also enhancing productivity by optimizing facilities around the missions that they support. IWMS solutions accomplish this in three primary ways.

Deeper integration

Integration with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, IoT sensors and other systems means deeper and more detailed data on everything. Integration with more advanced technologies like 3D BIM and GIS means a more sophisticated visual interface. Organisations can link automated systems to real-time data, providing previously impossible benefits.

Top-Down Planning

IWMS tools funnel all data into performance metrics in the form of performance dashboards, so that managers can easily generate reports, track trends, investigate workflow, measure results of initiatives, and simulate different scenarios.

Agile Workflow

An agile workflow framework allows organisations to define user roles for every level of their organisation, controlling security access while connecting even contractors in the field with mobile apps and cloud systems.

Research from Research & Markets states that the deployment of an IWMS solution leads to a reduction in facility maintenance costs of 14%, an improvement in workspace management by up to 40% and an increase in facility usage efficiency of 42% (Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) Marketplace: IWMS Platforms, Software, and Solutions Market Outlook and Forecasts 2018–2023, 2018).

Planon — A IWMS based Facility Management Software solution

Planon is a global software provider that helps to building owners and occupiers, commercial service providers, and financial controllers to streamline business processes for buildings, people and workplaces. Planon is an integrated (IWMS) software that helps national and multinational real estate owners and occupiers to optimise workplace performance by simplifying business processes and reducing costs during every phase of the real estate lifecycle. IWMS system specifically helps service providers to create operating efficiency, increase customer value, and enables business innovation through radical process automation, seamless system integration and analytics.

The Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) System

The difference between CMMS and other software solutions can be easily understood based on needs. “It is software that centralises maintenance information and facilitates the processes of maintenance operations and are unique to industries where physical infrastructure is critical. It helps optimize the utilization and availability of physical equipment like vehicles, machinery, communications, plant infrastructures and other assets.” — IBM

It is a component of CAFM that is entirely focused on handling the facility needs of a facility and who manages them. This solution is quite specific to the needs — when only maintenance outputs are important, CMMS is the way to go. The core of CMMS is the database. It has a data model that keeps the availability of assets and maintenance organisation in sync. It holds and organises the information about the assets and the maintenance organisation is responsible for maintaining the equipment, materials and other resources to do so.

Making the correct choice — IWMS vs CMMS

The singular focus of CMMS is on managing maintenance. When, other aspects of facilities management are less relevant, choosing CMMS makes it a good investment for an organisation. IWMS will however roll in the maintenance requests alongside other aspects of facilities management. It allows facilities managers to more efficiently oversee maintenance and can also shed light on common problems and the associated costs to fix them.

For example, if your role as facility manager involves fielding employee support tickets and passing them on to maintenance and other departments, IWMS is a good option. But, if support tickets are submitted directly to maintenance or an office manager, a CMMS would suffice.

IBM Maximo — A CMMS based Facility Management Software solution

IBM’s Maximo is an enterprise asset management software that has comprehensive CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) capabilities. The maintenance app is best suited to manage complex maintenance management requirements within asset-intensive industries. Its top users are from the utilities, Oil and gas, nuclear Power, Transportation, Aviation and Life Sciences industries. It handles everything from line maintenance to complex assembly maintenance.

Use case demands dictate software support

CAFM offers numerous benefits for forward-thinking organisations utilising them. The efficiencies enabled by these programs is invaluable and is vital to progress in the competitive market. Identifying needs and pairing them with the right software will position you accordingly to make a smart investment. Few companies deploy multiple software strategies for optimization whereas some intelligently exploit one and get ahead of the curve.

You can also consider the type of system that may be nest for your organisation within a Plan-Do-Check-Act decision process to ensure alignment with the support required for the core business.

The planning stages are critical as many organisations end up paying for a higher percentage of system functionality than is sometimes necessary and what is actually used.

Either way, in 2021 and more so in the post-COVID era, the technology solutions referenced in this paper will be invaluable in shaping your current and future facility management requirements in the most cost effective and optimised way possible.

ISO 41001:2018 specifies the requirements for a facility management (FM) system to ensure conformity of an organisations FM operation in an effective and efficient manner in supporting the demand business.

ISO 41001 is considered as a game changer for Facility Management services. Accreditation will ensure that you deliver demonstrable ‘Best Practice’ FM services throughout your organisation.

ISO 41001 is the new International Management Standard for Facility Management, it is an accredited standard in the same way as other ISO Management Standards, but it is tailored specifically for FM services. Adoption of this Standard will enable you to project your organisation as a world leader in facility management services and able to represent your respective business effectively and efficiently on a global basis.

As a Certified Lead Implementer Professional organisation, let us unlock your full potential and provide you with the tailored FM Management System with a focus on Operational Excellence, through our 30 year experience, enabling you to implement ISO 41001 as your primary FM system, in the most effective way possible.

ISO 41001

Benefits — Our approaches to assist organisations gain accreditation and our ISO 41001 reviews are underpinned by our core guiding principles of establishing and delivering value; as a catalyst and springboard for achieving World Class FM performance, and to mitigate and/or manage your risks. We will combine our core principles in taking you through the ISO 41001 accreditation process to ensure that your organisation benefits from a tailored solution that meets your business needs.

ISO 41001 — Facility Management System

Benefits of adopting ISO 41001 Management System & Accreditation

Standard and integrated FM approach and system across the business

Puts you in control of your FM business

Improve FM business performance

Manage your supply chain with confidence

Optimise your FM resources and suppliers

Enhance customer satisfaction

Create cost savings and working efficiencies

Effective measurement of your FM Performance

Reduce business risk

Meet your CSR & environmental targets

ISO 41001:2018 specifies the requirements for a facility management (FM) system to ensure conformity of an organisations FM operation in an effective and efficient manner in supporting the core business.

ISO 41001 is considered a game changer for Facility Management services. Accreditation and SMART implementation will ensure that you deliver demonstrable ‘Best Practice’ and Value-added FM services

Introduction to ISO 41001:2018 Facility Management

Value of Knowledge and Implementation:

ISO 41001 is the International Management Standard for Facility Management (FM), it is an accredited standard in the same way as other ISO Management Standards but is tailored specifically for FM services. Adoption of this Standard will enable you to project your organisation as a world leader in facility management services and able to represent your respective business effectively and efficiently on a global basis.

As a Certified Lead Implementer Professional (CLIP) organisation, let us unlock your full potential and provide you with the tailored FM Management System with a focus on Operational Excellence, using our 30-year experience, enabling you to implement ISO 41001 as your primary FM system, in the most effective way possible. primary FM system, in the most effective way possible.

Introduction to Evbex:

We are an Estates, Property & Facilities Management (FM) consultancy, technology and training company that specialises in workplace, people and building occupation and operation services.

For over 30 years organisations have benefitted from our specialist FM advice and support, achieving cost savings and quality enhancing solutions based on our core principles:

Creating value

Optimising performance

Minimising risk

Our services comprise:

Facility Management Consultancy & advisory

FM Navigate Technology Solution

Training Services

FM Certified Products

Lean Organisational Transformation

FM Tendering & Procurement

Cost Reduction & Control

Quality to Value index to achieve Operational Excellence

Resource Optimisation

Performance Management

Scope of ISO 41001:2018

ISO 41001:2018 Facility Management System applies to every organization, regardless of the type, size, nature or geographic location. The standard is relevant to a small-scale, medium-scale, or large-scale company, despite the industry it is operating in. It is a non-sector specific standard and thus, applicable to all public and private sector companies.

Key Benefits of ISO 41001:2018

Our approaches to assist organisations gain accreditation and our ISO 41001 reviews are underpinned by our core guiding principles of establishing and delivering value; as a catalyst and springboard for achieving World Class FM performance, and to mitigate and/or manage your risks. We will combine our core principles in taking you through the ISO 41001 accreditation process to ensure that your organisation benefits from a tailored solution that meets your business needs.

Benefits of adopting ISO 41001 Management System & Accreditation

• Standard and integrated approach and system across the business

• Puts you in control of your FM business

• Improve FM business performance

• Manage your supply chain with confidence

• Optimise your FM resources and suppliers

• Enhance Customer satisfaction

• Create cost savings and working efficiencies

• Effective measurement of your FM Performance

• Reduce business risk

• Meet your CSR & environmental targets

Encourage innovation and continuous improvement

The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for change within the professional landscape. This will impact business transformation strategies necessary to upgrade the conventional ways in which employer-employee and supplier-customer relationships are considered.

Along with the onset of the pandemic, indicators, and traditional ways of employee engagement in the workplace, monitoring service providers, relationships with suppliers and performance management of the businesses have all been impacted and affected the organisational and corporate environment. Organisations have needed to anticipate these factors quickly and implemented revised processes and approaches without hampering the overall productivity.

Among all these changes, the role of Facility Management has become increasingly prominent, emerging from the shadows top being a highly visible instigator of change to organizational culture, introducing quality, safe practises, talent development, sustainability, innovation, technology, and analytics.

The biggest consequence of the pandemic was shifting to work from home. The corporate culture’s design must anticipate this change in an agile manner, along with ensuring continued productivity. The challenge is to motivate the employees to achieve the same results and ensuring the employers to acclaim the effort.

The integration of the work from home culture into the organisation was perceived as an opportunity to further develop the concept of homeworking including the associated challenges. Quality factors are now being appreciated as much as quantitative factors. Previously, working hours were important, quality and results become fundamental pioneers to categorise a task as ‘productive’.

Employees have essentially been doing the same work but under different environments and different circumstances. This leads to a potential question — ‘How the performance of employees and suppliers can be measured and quantified by an organisation?’ Thus, strategic facility management comes to the fore!

Alternatively, intelligent, and data-driven methods should be exploited to establish a connection will have to be adopted to understand the changing organizational needs of companies and their suppliers — which should ensure productive business continuity and proliferate good supplier-customer relationships.

Health and Wellness sector is gaining increasing importance.

Wellness initiatives are directly proportional to the bottom line of the company as productivity can be improved by around 10%.

Hence, organisations are now understanding the importance or engaging trained and professional facility managers to drive hygiene initiatives where safety is gaining more importance for everyone. FM providers along with their clients are working on devising tailored soft services enhancing the experience of employees and reassuring their safety simultaneously.

Roadmaps for aligning and organising the phased return of employees to the workplace.

‘Work from home’ culture’s functionalities are unique to an organisation. Having flexibility and prolonged working hours are obvious advantages. Minimum social interaction and dissemination of information from executives to managers to employees, including proposed differences in expectations, and the lack of alignment of ideas was considerably holding back the execution and expedition of services.

Now, facility managers are required to carefully devise hybrid and balanced roadmaps to enforce the re-entry of employees in the workplace. Keeping in mind maximum capacity per space (as decided by the government guidelines), accordingly the building plans should be devised where efficient use of resources at the office is practised. The plan should be in such a way that employees’ presence is aligned with their direct colleagues to optimise operational execution.

The evolved associations of suppliers will feature prominently in the way in which facility management services will be shaped in an organisation or for identifying standards for an association to revisit the ways of selecting new facility partners in the future.

Personnel policies, financial impacts and operational follow-ups will determine the decisions and promotesthe role of facility management from an operation to tactical and even strategic levels.

Where price has traditionally dominated focus during outsourcing and tendering, perspectives such as flexibility, responsiveness, quality, and long-term sustainability will be important aspects for the future. A clear area where FM can add value to an organisations bottom line will be in optimising staff productivity. We are not referring to FM staff productivity here but getting an extra 10–15% productivity out of the organisations core staff through a clear interaction between facilities management — people — buildings — processes and technology. These are the fundamental principles of Facilities Management.

Facility Management

Business processes have made the performance and quality of the ‘Service Level Agreements (SLA)’ along with associated ‘Key Performance indicators (KPI)’ as the defining measures for representing their services. High performance FM systems and strategies can make a difference for more quality-based services they provide. For this to be implemented, cooperation between organisational departments and stakeholders along with using SMART KPI will ensure operational excellence and sustainable to substantiate and inform the outsourcing process to ensure that a ‘best-fit’ FM Supplier can be selected.

Automation and Shift to digital

Work from home has necessitated the digitisation of all sorts of communications in an organisation — be it internal or external.

By embracing the latest technologies, automation is also brought into FM business processes. From service requests and maintenance to sustainable energy management and workspace optimisation, day-to-day work of FM managers can become more intelligent led and efficient. By automation and leveraging required data, senior personnel can engage in better decision making, capital planning and create better strategies for facility occupants.

As the workspace will be occupied in a gradual manner following the impacts of Covid-19, improved digital control and integration of intelligent technologies will aid in facilitating the dynamically changing workspace occupancy.

As the workspace will be occupied in a gradual manner following the impacts of Covid-19, improved digital control and integration of intelligent technologies will aid in facilitating the dynamically changing workspace occupancy.

From a facility management perspective, this crisis has created significant opportunities to introduce innovations and to promote a strategic mindset within an organisation. This manifests in the integration of the new office environment, understanding the needs of both the organisation and its employees in terms of working from home and improving suppliercustomer relationships has been a dominant activity along with an innovative taste of flexible, sustainable, and quality performance management.

The Facility Management sector can substantiate its importance and credibility as the need for clever and innovative working practices, challenging traditional approaches will gain momentum. Facility Management professionals including its internal and external supply chain is now a major player within defining future organisational strategy and approaches within a centralised and multi-disciplinary task force to help plan and deliver a new tomorrow, enforced by changes necessary during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prepared by Evbex on 09/03/2021

References —

facilitiesnet.com

ifma.org

hr.com

www2.deloitte.com

twinfm.com

researchandmarkets.com

cbre.com

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We are in the middle of the fourth industrial revolution which is changing the way we work and live. This potential productivity revolution brings up the convergence of the right tools and technology that empower transformative areas and comes hot on its heels with spawned automation, cyber-physical systems and big data.

The recent technological leaps and intrusion of smart technologies have aspired a growing age of millennials. With the evolving workforce, thriving in a ‘real-time, anytime and anywhere’ economy, business culture is transforming under their influence.

The digital maturity honing the existing business processes, penetration of technology in the traditional businesses and increased number of millennials in the workforce, altogether is creating a competitive environment among the businesses along with the necessity to incorporate technological facets in the processes to enhance productivity and improve user-experiences.

Keeping up with the demands of advancements in multiple sites in a portfolio requires the expertise of additional tools, control, intelligence and strategic implementation of the resources at hand.

Thus, to thrive in the fiercely growing and competitive global market, organisations will continue to outsource facility management services on a large scale to transform the way organisations utilise their resources and professionals, creating a win-win for employees as well as businesses in the space. Both in-house and outsourced facility management is growing exponentially with a total market for facilities management to grow from 1.24 trillion USD (in 2019) to a predicted number of 1.62 trillion USD by 2027

The facilities management industry has seen itself rising from an under-optimised resource to a fundamental support that enriches the interaction with the facility, delights the stakeholders and intelligently empowers the businesses.

What is digital transformation and why it is necessary for facility management?

Digital Transformation is the application of digital capabilities to processes, products, and assets to improve efficiency, enhance customer value, manage risk, and uncover new monetization opportunities. — Bill Schmarzo, CTO of Dell EMC Services

In the business context, data-driven digital transformation refers to the exploitation of real-time data collection, analysis and prediction of issues to constantly add value to the companies’ offering and to stay competitive. This will ultimately optimise performance within the organisation, maximise resources, flexibility and help companies make timely and informed decisions.

With the technological disruption in almost every business field, digital transformation in the FM industry has become equally essential. First because of the conscious change in perspective involving every stakeholder in the effort to add value and innovation to the ecosystem and second to potentially handle the broader needs of the business.

The current legacy models of FM operations have considerable budget constraints which limits innovation and efficiency. However, by utilising the business automation techniques we can explore the untapped data to obtain more predictable and contextual insights, making more of the already available assets. The utilisation of smarter technology like IoT, ML and AI makes the existing systems smarter, rather than replacing them with a new generation of inputs eventually contributing to effective cost-cutting.

“People actually remember your service a lot longer than the price.” Technology-driven efficiency results in holistic and strategic FM operation along with elevating asset performance, commercial gains, improving customer service and satisfaction.

After a considerable background of how the FM industry is currently witnessing the paradigm shifts in its operation and transformational value, we should consider the positives that are lining up altogether and seamlessly contributing to upgrading FM from a passive cost centre to a value-driven essential investment.

Procure operational leads

Traditional reliability of hardware and manual work is now proving to be inflexible and rigid because of decreased optimisation and difficult management. The idea is to set up smart workflows that track asset performance, predict and prevent peculiarities and proactively manage the facilities.

With Big Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, a new layer of empowered functionality will be added enabling predictive intervention and intelligent insights in the business operations. These will help to make informed purchase decisions along with continuous speculation on investments.

Continuous optimisation

FM operations can achieve solid productivity and acceleration in the ongoing tasks by eliminating inefficient paperwork and manual work. Machine Learning-driven performance analytics and custom KPIs enable data-led decision making, drive predictive models of operations and pinpoint abnormal asset anomalies. This facilitates a quicker and responsive approach to problem-solving.

Data-driven decision making and predictive analysis

Being confronted with data and operating through technology is pushing facility management to new waters. Actionable insights derived from the IoT devices and other software when combined and processed can aid in optimising assets, workforce and sustainability. Several time-series ML models can derive a new stream of information about potential cost optimisation, inventory management and consumption patterns. Outcomes include reduced overall operational cost and minimised asset downtime.

Stay on top of your portfolio

IoT enabled smart buildings and offices, optimised workplaces and Computer Vision Technologies allows making operations coherent across distributed sites and eases down tracking of assets, equipment, workflow systems and buildings — which were conventionally quite complicated and fault-prone. A fully centralised system that can solely but effectively respond to energy, security and operational data on a single platform will require a less dispersed workforce. Such a unified central source provides a bird-eye view of the entire organisation and makes monitoring easy.

With proper exploratory data analysis on asset and budget, repair or updation decisions related to the equipment can be quickly taken, that too possible in accordance with the budget and maintenance data. This helps monitor the machinery uptime and downtime and increase the life cycle of the equipment.

Blockchain Improvements

“The economy will undergo a radical shift as new, blockchain-based, sources of influence and control emerge. Blockchain has the potential to change the way facilities are managed, ranging from work order tracking to preventive maintenance to life cycle assessments”. ~ IFMA Facility Management Journal

It offers a streamlined way to store and access secure data. It functions as a cloud-based, permanent, digitally secure ledger among the parties, and can reduce complexities of contract management, work processing order and processing of payments. All the contractual processes are recorded in real-time and it induces automation with the capability of self-executing workflows.

Co-exist with your problems and ensure predictive maintenance

Where everything is dynamic and real-time operations are now a necessity, how the solutions employed can be static?

Early fault detection is critical for smooth customer experience and business functioning. The earlier fault was reported after the harm was done. The engineer would react immediately leading to haphazard and sometimes inconvenient situations. But now, the technology applied in buildings is coming pre-installed with sensors and IoT based services come to the rescue. The digital information collected can determine whether the device is working as expected. And in case of anomaly, early detection of a fault or replacement reminders eases out the whole process.

Owing to the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring safety standards and employing mitigation techniques in the workplace becomes quite necessary. Using IoT and AI, social distancing among the employees, regulating the planned access to different assets within a building, organisations of meetings by keeping the health standards in mind, attendance trackers using computer vision technology, automatically generated digital passes etc. are some of how organisations have seamlessly adopted the measures to minimise human contact and intervention.

Also, thermal cameras for temperature screening, built-in room sensors to track human activity, face-mask detection and optimised parking spaces are widely used to enhance employee safety and experience in the office.

The fourth industrial revolution is advancing faster and is more revolutionary than any to date. Access to previously unimaginable amounts of data, utilisation of technology in every chore and value-driven approaches adopted by the FM industry is increasing the control over any other operational task, providing sustainable solutions and saving money.

The technologically disruptive paradigm of facility management has transformed the conventional way of the utilisation of professionals, assets and money. It has now taken a centre stage and produced unprecedented outcomes. This has always been the industry that identified bottlenecks in the business processes and created solutions in response.

The consensus emerging for technology predicts bigger shifts and includes increased support for research and development, regulations for emerging technologies and devices, value-driven approaches of FM and their accessibility to businesses of all sizes.

The IoT-AI driven FM industry can’t blaze forward without the incorporation of a skilled workforce that has a strong background in STEM areas like programming, data analysis, cybersecurity, AI and ML. Big changes are required to keep the innovations alive and like many other fields, the FM industry is also calling for the adoption of new technologies and an IT skilled workforce.

Integrated Facility Management is expected to increase its share of the total addressable FM market from 10.3% in 2018 to 13.9% by 2025, while the total market is forecast to grow from $819.53 billion to $945.11 billion during the same period at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.1%. — Frost and Sullivan

FM is the main driver of the commercial value of properties by providing a faster response, smarter solutions and better management strategies. Now, every stakeholder in the associated industry stands to benefit, customers will get amazing services and experiences, owners will achieve greater profits and above all, Facility Managers are the key enablers.

In this series of articles, we will be reviewing the significance and changes that technology disruption offers the Facilities Management (FM) industry. We will begin with software solutions for effective tracking of portfolios and assets, further advancing to “BIM”– an interactive 3-D model-based process that gives insight and tools to efficiently plan, design, construct and manage buildings and in part 3, we will review a new type of software developed for managing FM requirements within an organisation, epitomized by ”FM Navigate”, a new breed of Enterprise Resource Planning software that serves as a client-based system that considers facility management holistically as a value-based support service to the organisation.

The facility management sector has emerged from a resource-based task orientated service to a fundamental support service that empowers the businesses. This involves keeping up with the demands of increasingly diverse portfolios, advancements in multiple sites, optimising the occupancy of space by larger — scattered teams in the workplace along with other diverse administrative functions. The roles, responsibilities and engagement of the facility management industry has become more complex and vital.

Businesses expect a greater return on the investment from their assets where efficiencies and optimisationsneed to be demonstrated. The traditional aspects of the buildings and infrastructure also need to be effectively managed through concurrent inspections, maintenance and repairs. Now, along with taking care of the ‘core’ activities that are driven by strategic tasks adding value to the customer-supplier relationships, ‘softer elements’ or ‘non-core activities’ like space allocation, asset monitoring, booking schedules etc. should also be covered.

So, as the prerequisites and sub-processes arebecoming intertwined for the successful continuation of business and commerce, the roles of facility managers become more complex and eminent. Now, the focus has to be repurposedfrom taking care of day-to-day inspection, maintenance and repair tasks so that the focus is on the bigger picture, providing the clients with leading-edge solutions that helps them to proliferate in the growing market.

Facility Management Software (FMS) and its Importance

ISO 41011:2017 defines Facility Management as — ‘an organisational function which integrates people, places and processes within the built environment with the purpose of improving the quality of life of people and the productivity of the core business’.

The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) defines it as — ‘The practice of coordinating physical workplace and facilities with the people and the operations of that organisation’.It is a tool used to organise and plan the management and maintenance tasks within a facility.

Whichever way you consider facility management, it is a complex and inter-connected activity which inevitably benefits from relevant and appropriate intervention of technology.

A recent study by Software Advice suggests that 35% of buyers interviewed (the highest percentage) say that keeping accurate records is the biggest challenge they face with their current method. That is the primary reason they are looking for facilities management software. Astaggering 76% of buyers reported they were evaluating software to improve record-keeping, improve maintenance scheduling, and automate more tasks.

This clearly demonstrated how much benefit is gained from a tool that collects and analyses data.

Implementing a technology tool is one of the fastest ways to reduce facility management spending. Simply moving from an error-prone, inefficient pen-and-paper system to a digitized and automated platform decreases the time and resources that must be dedicated to working order management, allowing teams to instead focus on forward-thinking and preventive measures. Plus, access to advanced analytics makes it easy to pinpoint patterns of overspend and core areas of improvement so that these can be quickly addressed and reversed.

Preventive maintenance can create cost savings and efficiencies by reducing the number of breakdowns and emergency repairs that business experiences each year, while also preventing warranty leakage and unnecessary equipment replacements. With an automated preventive maintenance schedule in place, assets will last longer, and overall maintenance spending can be accurately controlled.

Having discussed FMS and its sophisticated yet robust features, let’sconsider what the industry offers from a traditional manual approach to a technology driven opportunity to capture, administer and report on relevant data in a digital format.

Computer-Aided Facilities Management (CAFM)

CAFM systems offer features that simplify tasks, optimise workflows, eases building management tasks and ensure that the building and user-information are available as a single-source-of-truth.

Referencing to the definition of facility management, contributing to the efficient interaction of people, processes and placesfrom an optimisation perspective. This type of technology solution combines business administration, behavioural science, architecture and engineering concepts to optimise the functioning of the organisation. It is a comprehensive commercial facility with many different facets and functions that focuses on the simplification of maintenance and repair processes.

The utilization of Real-time data to promote comprehensive maintenance.

The real-time data is utilised to promote comprehensive maintenance. Real-time data collection can help facility managers to engage in preventive maintenance and proactively address any sudden fault detection in the system. Work orders can be effectively monitored and required regulatory strategies can be employed. The routine operational maintenance will be monitored, reported and communicated via digital means. Continuous data collection will facilitate prompt fault resolution without much workforce concentration at a particular task.

All of this effectively contributes to effective asset management, as the allocation of the resources at the required site will have a smarter and intelligent approach.

Physical building administration

One of the most impressive features of CAFM systems is the feature for handling the actual infrastructure inside a facility.

The utilization of CAD (Computer-aided design) elements and visuals allows us to create interactive building designs that help to previsualize the setup. It helps in effective space management inside the building and optimized resource allocation beforehand. This is eminently useful for real-estate organisations as they can present the interactive plans to customers and allow potential buyers to walk through the home that is not even built yet.

Administrative Support

CAFM isn’t entirely focused on physical facilities and assets. Such technology platforms offer a range of administrative support capabilities that can also help streamline resources.

CAFM even be used to manage human resources services and can act as a resource-allocation check system to ensure that people required in the facility are present. In addition to functioning as a human resource allocation check system, when deployed at the essential locations, this can be a bonus of increased security for the organisation without additional costs.

Since CAFM platforms cover not only the building but everything in it, administrators can use it as a roadmap for all kinds of asset management, predictive planning and meeting long-term needs, for example, planning for capital improvements. This helps to effectively cut down costs without compromising the quality and makes the facility operations happen more efficiently.

Concept Evolution — A CAFM based Facility Management Software solution

Concept Evolution from FSI (FM Solutions) is a cloud-based facilities management solution. The core functionality includes maintenance management, asset management,capital program management, lease administration and portfolio management. The solution is designed to cater to the needs of a single user as well as large multinational companies.

How facility management was transformed by CAFM?

Before CAFM, Facility Management as a profession and industry was underdeveloped in terms of its use in generating cost savings and cost reduction initiatives CAFM was the first platform to empower decision-makers to tap into the savings potential of their facilities using data. The integration with AutoCAD was key to enabling this, using imagery to make data management a user-friendly experience.

No doubt, CAFM was the first software focusing exclusively on handling facility management requests but significant and innovative improvements are lacking. Despite improvements, ‘legacy CAFMs which have developed significantly over the last 20 years can now appear to be inflexible and limited for use in the post-COVID era. New generations of FM data driven technology solutions have been introduced, backed by 3-D modelling, cloudstorage and agile features to help you steal the march on your competitors in the FM space.

Advancements in Software deployment

Software deployment has a significant impact on the organisation implementing it, if not necessarily on the eventual end-user.

On-premise software is hosted by hardware on your premises. This hardware usually requires an extensive IT team to maintain and troubleshoot, as well as the physical space to store it. On-premise also offers more options for customization, as you have almost complete control over the program. Essential staff should be extensively handling and monitoring the system regularly. Proactive fault detections and preventive strategies are absent in this case.

Cloud-based deployment is typically agile and can be a lowercost solution than on-premise, as the associated costs will invariably be cheaper than legacy on-premise systems. Customisation of a web-based system can however become costly as the value is derived from the standard product. Web-based solutions are also agile and accessible from any user portal with an internet connection, making it a lightweight and practical solution for many companies. Because the onus of data security falls on the vendor for this deployment method, most offer some of the most comprehensive security options on the market for their customers’ data. This is more accepted and user-friendly due to the absence of all hefty specially-dedicated physical systems — You just need a good internet connection and a machine to work on — anytime, anywhere.

Hybrid is, as the name suggests, a combination of the two formats. This can take many different forms and is unique to different industries. It usually includes the ability to switch from on-premise to cloud-based as the users’ needs change.

Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) — The advanced CAFM

CAFM and IWMS solutions are essentially the same but positioned at different stages in the evolution of facilities management, with IWMS being the more advanced technology that is more current than CAFM in the workplace today. IWMS can be thought of as enhanced CAFM.

IWMS is a software that is institution-specific e.g. hospitals, universities, businesses and governments all need different things from their facilities and an IWMS platform enables each to create strategies unique to their own needs. If you are managing an agile environment and need data spanning multiple locations or an entire real estate portfolio, IWMS is the way to go. This is a platform that optimizes facilities in accordance with their greater purpose whether it is related to security, compliance, productivity, wellness, sustainability or all of them.

Along with the incorporation of CAD drawings in a facilities management database, as in CAFM software, IWMS take matters a step further by integrating with increased levels of data, systems, technologies, and a deeper workflow framework that makes IWMS a more useful communication platform for all stakeholders.

Difference between CAFM and IWMS

Whereas CAFM focused more on an actionable approach — optimizing maintenance, operations, and space planning, IWMS software offers expanded deployable resources — simply reducing costs to also enhancing productivity by optimizing facilities around the missions that they support. IWMS solutions accomplish this in three primary ways.

1. Deeper integration

Integration with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, IoT sensors and other systems means deeper and more detailed data on everything. Integration with more advanced technologies like 3D BIM and GIS means a more sophisticated visual interface. Organisations can link automated systems to real-time data, providing previously impossible benefits.

2. Top-Down Planning

IWMS tools funnel all data into performance metrics in the form of performance dashboards, so that managers can easily generate reports, track trends, investigate workflow, measure results of initiatives, and simulate different scenarios.

3. Agile Workflow

An agile workflow framework allows organisations to define user roles for every level of their organisation, controlling security access while connecting even contractors in the field with mobile apps and cloud systems.

Research from Research & Markets states that the deployment of an IWMS solution leads to a reduction in facility maintenance costs of 14%, an improvement in workspace management by up to 40% and an increase in facility usage efficiency of 42% (Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) Marketplace: IWMS Platforms, Software, and Solutions Market Outlook and Forecasts 2018–2023, 2018).

Planon — A IWMS based Facility Management Software solution

Planon is a global software provider that helps to building owners and occupiers, commercial service providers, and financial controllers to streamline business processes for buildings, people and workplaces. Planon is an integrated (IWMS) software that helps national and multinational real estate owners and occupiers to optimise workplace performance by simplifying business processes and reducing costs during every phase of the real estate lifecycle. IWMS system specifically helps service providers to create operating efficiency, increase customer value, and enables business innovation through radical process automation, seamless system integration and analytics.

The Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) System

The difference between CMMS and other software solutions can be easily understood based on needs. “It is software that centralises maintenance information and facilitates the processes of maintenance operations and are unique to industries where physical infrastructure is critical. It helps optimize the utilization and availability of physical equipment like vehicles, machinery, communications, plant infrastructures and other assets.”-IBM

It is a component of CAFM that is entirely focused on handling the facility needs of a facility and who manages them. This solution is quite specific to the needs — when only maintenance outputs are important, CMMS is the way to go. The core of CMMS is the database. It has a data model that keeps the availability of assets and maintenance organisation in sync. It holds and organises the information about the assets and the maintenance organisation is responsible for maintaining the equipment, materials and other resources to do so.

Making the correct choice — IWMS vs CMMS

The singular focus of CMMS is on managing maintenance. When, other aspects of facilities management are less relevant, choosing CMMS makes it a good investment for an organisation. IWMS will however roll in the maintenance requests alongside other aspects of facilities management. It allows facilities managers to more efficiently oversee maintenance and can also shed light on common problems and the associated costs to fix them.

For example, if your role as facility manager involves fielding employee support tickets and passing them on to maintenance and other departments, IWMS is a good option. But, if support tickets are submitted directly to maintenance or an office manager, a CMMS would suffice.

IBM Maximo — A CMMS based Facility Management Software solution

IBM’s Maximo is an enterprise asset management software that has comprehensive CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) capabilities. The maintenance app is best suited to manage complex maintenance management requirements within asset-intensive industries. Its top users are from the utilities, Oil and gas, nuclear Power, Transportation, Aviation and Life Sciences industries. It handles everything from line maintenance to complex assembly maintenance.

Use case demands dictate software support

CAFM offers numerous benefits for forward-thinking organisations utilising them. The efficiencies enabled by these programs is invaluable and is vital to progress in the competitive market. Identifying needs and pairing them with the right software will position you accordingly to make a smart investment. Few companies deploy multiple software strategies for optimization whereas some intelligently exploit one and get ahead of the curve.

You can also consider the type of system that may be nest for your organisation within a Plan-Do-Check-Act decision process to ensure alignment with the support required for the core business.

The planning stages are critical as many organisations end up paying for a higher percentage of system functionality than is sometimes necessary and what is actually used.

Either way, in 2021 and more so in the post-COVID era, the technology solutions referenced in this paper will be invaluable in shaping your current and future facility management requirements in the most cost effective and optimised way possible.

Evolve Business Excellence specializes in facilities management services and procurement consultancy, focusing on property, people, technology, and business infrastructure consultancy and operational support services. We align our Facility management consultant services both in the UK and Globally with your business and property needs, goals, and objectives.

Our Facility Management Consultants Provide services in the Globally deliver successful solutions to organizations in both the private and public sectors.

Our team of highly professional and experienced Facility Management Consultants has specific expertise in all of the below areas to ensure that you benefit from the right solution every time.