When there is a discussion on changes in professions or field, Facilities management has proven to be dynamic and evolving progressively. As a field that is always changing, we have seen its progression from being a manual profession based on simpleton to technical machine and now digital devices. What was once thought to be mostly a manual profession is now becoming increasingly digitized, with a greater emphasis on analytics and data to aid decision-making. As a result, facility management has become more integrated, streamlined, and adapted to each project on an individual basis.
Facilities management is a career that demands expertise and attainment of this expertise requires ongoing progressive education and enlightenment, whether you’re a fresh graduate of facility manager or a seasoned veteran. It is recommended that you keep up with the pace of facility management practices and technologies in order to be relevant and may be as they say, competitive.
Result Oriented Actions to take in Facility Management
Facilities management, as a branch of management that is found in every other areas of management, is a dynamic discipline since facilities are constantly changing owing to technology advancements, economic clamor, public interest, and safety concerns, among other factors. Because these factors are prone to change and hence have varying effects on facilities, facility management and managers must keep up to speed on best practices and make timely decisions on the most important course of action, among other things.
As different elements of change, such as digitization and economic clamor, among others, have a role in the decision-making of any modern workplace. The facility manager is supposed to conduct a thorough search for data and analytics, both digitally and manually, in order to make better decisions in his unit of work, based on his expertise of facility management methods.
Both novice and seasoned facility managers (be it employed or freelancer) will benefit from gaining the necessary understanding of modern best practices and applying them to daily tasks (be it employed or freelancer). The following are seven top facilities management best practices that will assist you with the facility management process.
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Organize and Manage Your Team
Ensure that a standard procedure of how thing are to be done for the achievement of stated goals, is in place, teach all essential parties so that they can relate well with the procedure and act on it, and then go about your business as usual with the expectation that the procedure will be followed. This provides a sure understand to people in the organization on what is to be done and concentrate on what has to be done rather than delaying decision by having to engage in the mental burden of figuring out how it is to be done in lieu of implementation.
Without efficient collaboration and communication among all parties, no strategy can be carried out. Facilities managers are responsible for setting objectives and aligning goals among team members. Communication is the only way to build solid connections among your facilities team, whether it’s setting up monthly meetings with your providers to touch-base on outstanding work orders, using facilities software to exchange information in real-time, or using a mobile app.
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Make a List of All Your Assets.
FMs must first know what assets are in use at each site in order to make informed judgments about their assets (whether they are tagging assets or not). Once they know, they may start tracking repair and maintenance expenses, performing preventative maintenance, and deciding whether to fix or replace each asset (Project Manager Leum Fahey).
Knowing which assets are in use at each place is related to the concept of visibility. There’s no way to track key data like cost history or warranties without visibility into the records of all your assets. This can result in a costly repair or replacement choice being made.
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Consolidate facility management with software.
Data access has always been a problem for proactive facilities management, even when a group of facility managers is working together on a project. There has always been a difference in the storage of everything that a facility manager manages, and the separate entities are not interconnected. For example, in real estate, you have a review where it is completely disengaged from building maintenance, and even space usage has different data coverage. Today, the situation is diametrically opposed. Using comprehensive data and analytics, facility managers can acquire a better knowledge of how different portions of their facilities interact and what general trends are prevalent.
In a conventional facilities management organization breaking down data and making links amongst it in such a way that it is interlaced and interconnected in a straightforward and comprehensive manner requires technology that provides a top-down view:
- An Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS). That Manages Everything from real estate portfolios to floor layouts to space management
- Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) platform ties together The routine demands of workplace management, such as consumption and utilization oversight,
- A computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) integrates building-wide upkeep and enhancements and monitors maintenance requests.
- An Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) platform acts as the central database for all assets in a company, keeping track of everything from asset value to maintenance schedules.
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Keep up with technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) in the office.
Workplaces are becoming more intelligent. New technologies are constantly being developed, new iterations of current technologies are being released on a regular basis, and updates are being released to improve legacy equipment. It is the responsibility of a facility manager to keep up with technological advances.
Facility managers are looking for methods to improve their workplaces by incorporating Internet of Things (IoT) technology. How may technology assist you in doing your job more effectively? How can new choices complement or replace your existing systems? What difficulties will the Internet of Things address in facilities? The more you know about technology, the more likely you are to profit from the office IoT.
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Gather as much information as you can
Data and analytics are at the heart of many of today’s greatest facilities management approaches. Data from IoT devices empowers facility managers to make better decisions about the workplace and how to care for their buildings. This begins with identifying problems and locating data streams that have solutions. The first step in hypothesizing solutions is to quantify as much of the workplace as possible.
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Enforce Vendor Check-In/Out
As a facility manager you should have awareness about when your contractors arrive and leave a location in order to validate that they were present for a work order and for how long, so that you can improve the accuracy of labor invoicing. Many facilities teams have found success in using a mobile app that has GPS check-in and check-out features where contractors can simply input a PIN and work order number to check in on site.
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Recognize and Take Advantage of Trends.
Data collection is a crucial best practice, but learning to analyze and use that data is just as critical. Data interpretation will not only teach you on the core workings of your facilities, but it will also validate (or ify) your FM ideas.
Every choice should be data-driven in the age of office IoT and strong workplace management software. One of the most crucial best practices to master is recognizing and capitalizing on trends through data gathering and interpretation.
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Make Facility Processes More Automated.
A key component of efficient facilities management is streamlining operations. Automation takes it a step further, enhancing workplace structure in terms of both cost and quality.
Lights that are controlled by software save money on electricity. Data collection that is automated aids decision-making. Support ticketing that is automated speeds up facility maintenance. The list might go on forever. Automation produces workplaces that are helpful and adaptable to both employees and the company.
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Prioritize Budgeting.
As facilities management becomes more closely aligned with reducing corporate expenses, proper budgeting becomes increasingly important. Facilities managers can budget more effectively with the help of workplace data and analytics. Recognizing cost-cutting opportunities, avoiding unnecessary expenses, and properly budgeting for impending expenses all contribute to a company’s financial health.
Adopting this 9 Best Course of Action in Facility Management will keep you abreast of the trends in the profession. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to facilities management, as seen by the growth of customized best practices. There shouldn’t be in an era when workplaces are becoming more complex. Following best practices involves satisfying your workplace’s demands in a way that positively molds and adds to the company.
