Managing a business concern effectively can be a daunting task when the various elements that make up the system are considered. No matter the size, kind of business and location, maximizing profit and providing value to customers are key to the survival and thriving of the organization.
One area that can seriously impact your business brand and image is the built environment from which you carry out your business: your facility.
Some businesses wrongly perceive the facility management function as an added cost and try to avoid this cost by using in-house ad-hoc staff to run the premises. Time and again this approach has always proven to be a big mistake.
If your organization is presently facing any of the challenges below, it’s a sign you need to engage the services of a full-time Facility Manager or Facility Consultant:
- Frequent interruptions to major services.
These interruptions include but are not limited to faulty air conditioning systems, breakdown of power generation plants, inadequate supply of water or contaminated and discolored water, continuous lift breakdown and entrapment.
- Continuous exposure to avoidable emergencies.
Fire outbreaks, data loss, server failure, critical systems failure, etc. The Organization spends valuable time reacting to one emergency situation or the other. There is no proper plan in place for business continuity and critical services are frequently affected as a result of this. Resolving crises has become almost a daily reality.
- The maintenance team, if existent at all, is reactive.
There is no specific plan in place for the maintenance of equipment and systems. The maintenance team focuses more on repair rather than periodic checks and maintenance. As a result, more money is being spent “rescuing” this equipment and bringing them back to operation each time.
- Inadequate or non-existent record of assets belonging to the company.
The organization cannot confidently declare its asset position. There is no tangible record of the assets owned, the condition of each of these assets and their location. If any person decided to steal any of these items, no one in the organization would notice.
- Wasteful use of existing equipment.
Having to buy replacements for equipment that are still functioning because there is no asset register. You are not aware this equipment still exists in the organization and even when it is known they exist, no one can track them. Or you are frequently buying new equipment to replace ones that did not live out their full life cycle due to poor maintenance practices.
If any of these situations describe what is presently existing in your business, it is clear that time and valuable resources are being wasted. Amongst other functions, a Facility Manager would be able to prepare and implement a more proactive approach to keeping your processes, place, and technology in a state that offers the most value for the people who use your buildings. This would ultimately impact positively on your business performance in the long term and remove the headache of constantly battling one crisis or the other.
