Facility Management Software
The facilities management software
market can be difficult to navigate. There are over 200 software companies that
would say they offer some type of facility management application. Making it
more challenging, many of these companies use different words to describe the
same thing. For example, computer-aided facility management (CAFM) could be
considered a synonym for facility management software. Computerized
maintenance management software (CMMS), enterprise asset management,
and integrated workplace management system (IWMS) are also closely related.
During their research, buyers will
face the more difficult task of finding a system for their size and type of
organization. We wrote this guide to help buyer’s through this process. Here’s
what we’ll cover in this software advice:
- What is Facility Management Software?
- Application Categories
- What Type of Buyer are You?
- Market Trends To Understand
The International Facility
Management Association (IFMA) defines facility management as the “practice of
coordinating the physical workplace with the people and work of the
organization.” This can include a wide range of activities from portfolio
forecasting to equipment maintenance to space planning. Facility maintenance
software supports these activities with applications for managing assets,
maintenance records, real estate portfolios, space and more. A well-implemented
facilities management system will help companies reduce costs of maintaining
their facilities, improve the flow of information across departments and boost
efficiency of operations.
Maintenance
Management
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All facilities management
solutions and building maintenance software will offer some type of
maintenance application. At a minimum, most offer work order software (or
work order tracking software), which allows organizations to create and track
work orders for maintenance activities. Others will offer more specific
applications such as facility condition assessment, which allows
organizations to evaluate the physical condition of their buildings, or preventive maintenance, which automates routine
maintenance tasks. Applications that fall under this category may also fall
under CMMS. These markets are very similar, but CMMS providers offer more
sophisticated maintenance applications than what is commonly found in
facilities maintenance software.
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Asset Management
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Asset management software is used
to track and manage company assets. Specifically, it helps organizations keep
track of where assets are located, what facilities department uses them, how
often they are used, and when they need repaired (or replaced). This can
include everything from artwork, computers, furniture, IT infrastructure, lab
equipment, and more. By storing this information in a single place,
organizations are able to keep more reliable and up-to-date information about
their assets and expenses. Additionally, this information helps organizations
understand how to optimize the use and placement of assets. In turn, this
helps reduce capital expenditures.
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Space Management
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Space management software helps
organizations track, analyze and optimize the physical space in one or more
buildings. It provides real-time information about how a room is being used,
what assets and personnel are in the room and how they are arranged. This
gives companies a better understanding of how they are using their space,
which can help them avoid leasing or purchasing additional, unnecessary
space. Many space tracking applications integrate with CAD or BIM files so
that users can view all this information in a floor plan rather than a data
sheet.
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Move Management
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As the name implies, move
management software helps organizations move from one building to another.
Functionally speaking, the software plays a simple role. But, it’s a very
important role, especially for organizations with hundreds or thousands of
employees and assets. This software helps organizations keep their moving
costs down by helping them identify the most efficient and least disruptive
moving process. Specifically, it provides a central location to track the
move schedule, costs, and any related documents like move requests and
approvals. It will integrate with space tracking, HR, and asset tracking
applications so that move liaisons can check availability of space, move the
right employees, and make sure their desks, chairs, and computers all arrive
on time.
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Capital Project & Program
Management
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Capital program software helps
organizations manage capital construction projects. It allows them to track
key business processes and project information throughout all stages of a
building’s life cycle; from pre-construction to operations and maintenance.
For this reason, most systems offer a large set of applications which can
include managing funds, bid and procurement, scheduling, document storage,
resource managing and more.
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Lease Administration
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Lease administration software
provides a central repository for tracking important lease documents and
information. It helps organizations reduce data errors, avoid costly
penalties, and speed up data entry by automating many common lease tracking
processes. It is especially helpful for organizations that manage a large
lease portfolio and that track varying lease expiration dates and tenancy
terms.
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Real Estate Portfolio Management
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This performs several functions.
First, it provides a central repository for organizations to store and access
important property information. This can include everything from square footage
to building cost performance to leased vs owned space. Having a single space
to track this information reduces administrative costs and helps companies
keep reliable and up-to-date information about their properties. The second
main function is forecasting. This helps organizations predict their future
space needs and occupancy costs, which is quite challenging when you consider
employee turnover, company growth, and potential mergers or acquisitions.
Portfolio forecasting tools will assess historical data, and allow users to
test different “what-if” scenarios to make accurate predictions. Finally,
there is a reporting and analysis component. Companies can use this tool to
analyze portfolio financial data and performance, then compare it with key performance
indicators or industry benchmarks in order to find ways to reduce costs.
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Environmental Sustainability
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Environmental sustainability is
the latest addition to the facility management system market. It’s designed
to help organizations monitor and reduce both their energy consumption and
their environmental footprint. Most solutions will have monitoring,
reporting, and forecasting capabilities. Monitoring tools are used to track
how much energy and water are used in each room or area of a building. This
can also be used to track the amount of greenhouse gas emissions or other
types of waste the building produces. A reporting and analytics tool will
aggregate this information so that facility managers can identify consumption
trends and make informed business decisions. Forecasting tools help
organizations understand the financial impact of sustainability projects
(e.g. “green” renovations).
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What Type of Buyer Are You?
Before you begin evaluating
software, you need to decide what type of buyer you are. We find that 90% of
buyers fall into one of these three groups:
- Full-suite buyers. These buyers are more concerned with having seamless integration than specific features. They want to replace disparate software programs with a complete, integrated suite.
- Best-of-breed buyers. These buyers are focused on specific functions. For example, organizations with a maintenance department may purchase a single, maintenance tracking application because of its depth of functionality. Typically, specific functional requirements will trump the need for seamless integration.
- Small business software buyers. These small businesses want to upgrade basic property maintenance software to support more sophisticated functions like planned maintenance, equipment oversight, and portfolio planning. They typically seek an easy-to-use system that supports all of their needs.
As you evaluate facilities
management systems, keep these trends in mind. How your vendor fits with these
trends could have a big impact on their viability.
- Software as a Service (SaaS). SaaS offerings are becoming commonplace. An increasing number of facility managers are considering SaaS or cloud-based applications to manage operations because of their low initial costs, increased accessibility, and easy maintenance (i.e. no expensive servers to maintain). Several web-based vendors have emerged on the scene, while other traditional on-premise players are adding cloud offerings to their line-up.
- Environmental Sustainability. More and more organizations want to use technology to help them reduce their ecological footprint. As a result, facility management software vendors have added sustainability and energy usage applications to their product lines. These applications help organizations track costs of environmental deficiencies, identify assets that need to be replaced or renovated, and lower their annual energy expenditures.
Trends
Among Facility Managers
- Professional accreditations and association
memberships. More and more facility
managers are adding memberships to professional organizations to their
vitae, which increases a manager's marketability and expertise in managing
a facility. There are several trade associations with membership
opportunities like: Building Owners and Managers Association’s (BOMA) and
The International Facility Managers Association’s (IFMA).
- Sustainable professional titles. Stemming from the growth in the sustainability movement among facilities, professional accreditations are now being offered to extend upon a facility's performance-related labels like: ENERGY STAR Pledge, BOMA 7 Point Challenge, and IFMA Energy Challenge. The theory is that without a facility manager who understands high-performing facilities, eventually a building's environmental performance will wander over time. Thus, professional organizations have created accreditations for facility managers demonstrating expertise in this field like: IFMA's Sustainable Facility Professional TM (SFP) credential, and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design's Accredited Professional (LEED AP
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