CAFM software: How it can help you

Many facility teams still track issues and organize work using email, spreadsheets and standalone tools that are not designed for building and facility management. This makes it hard to follow-up on tickets and work execution and impossible to measure performance.

Integrated CAFM addresses these pain points. Below the typical components of computer-aided facility management (CAFM) software and the problems it solves:

ASSET TRACKING

·         Keeping track of asset installed base is a struggle because of constant changes in the field

·         Having mobile apps to not only keep the inventory of installations up to date but also assess their current condition can be a valuable input for maintenance planning and budgeting

HELP DESK

·         Capturing tickets and requests takes longer than it should; poor ticket entry leads to waste in time before the work can actually start

·         Using a template-based web/mobile request system improves accuracy and saves time so that tickets get resolved faster

WORK ORDERS

·         Work orders are dispatched without sufficient information or access to relevant data; reliance on top of mind knowledge of FM personnel induces human errors; and field workers without mobile tools plan their work based on outdated information

·         Sending tasks with checklists to internal and external technicians through a mobile app allows them to work faster and better. Also, track time at work locations and manage service related costs, based on a central catalogue

RESOURCE ALLOCATION

·         Work planning and scheduling in multiple locations can be complex like how to stay up to date at all times of evolving resources and skills, opening hours of buildings, and geographic proximity to work locations.

·         Advanced resource scheduling tools can process all this information automatically and help planners find the optimal resources for each task

STOCK MANAGEMENT

·         Without good visibility into the stocks, it is hard to keep supplies at a sufficient level and technicians lose time because spare parts are not available when they need them

·         Stock management in the software enables facility teams to centrally track and manage stocks with a minimum of administration to give technicians easy access to the materials they need. By deploying a mobile app, this can even be extended to virtual warehouses like technicians’ vans

COMPLIANCE

·         In order to meet compliance needs, technicians must follow standardized procedures; too often organizations rely on the knowledge of the technician

·         Providing pre-formatted standard checklists that are easy to use by field technicians helps you to comply with regulations, standards and best practices.

QUALITY MONITORING

·         A major problem is not being able to track service execution against contractual SLA agreements

·         CAFM software allows to configure and monitor KPIs and service level agreements and run reports to keep track of performance and SLA compliance

USER FEEDBACK

·         Facility managers lack consistent user feedback; annual hi-level satisfaction surveys are insufficient to monitor the user experience and address issues when they arise

·         Facility managers can capture feedback more frequently at the user level through “satisfied or not” mobile apps and touch-screens distributed throughout the building