FOCUS CAFM
code associated with a property allows users
to experience a virtual tour of the inside of a
building. They can ‘walk’ around the room,
through doors and look in any direction as if
they are physically there.
Virtual reality BIM provides significant
benefits for property owners who can use it
to show their facility to potential tenants. It
can be used by FM teams to view a remote site
in detail so they can work more e iciently on
arrival, knowing where to go, what to expect
and have a clear understanding of any access
requirements to reach the asset or job in
question. Work is completed quickly, leading
to a better, more productive environment for
all building users.
In summary, the ongoing evolution of CAFM
systems made possible by new technologies
such as BIM and VR capability continues to
facilitate e ective agile working in coworking
and serviced o ice spaces.
OLIVER SPIRES
PRODUCT SPECIALIST FOR IDOX CAFM
EXPLORER
The workplace is evolving and the impact of
technology continues to be remarkable. Agile
work environments have sparked the need
for new approaches to managing a facilities
portfolio in order to e ectively track space and
ensure it is optimised for the business.
While technology to support portfolio
management is nothing new, the trend towards
agile working, hot desking and collaborative
space necessitates the need for adopting
smart technology to stay e ective. A CAFM or
integrated workplace management system
(IWMS) provides the tools required to keep
costs down and maximise the full potential of a
portfolio.
Space management is one consideration. Here
are five ways CAFM so ware can help support
your organisation.
Support flexibility. Whatever the industry
or size of your organisation, aligning the use
of your space with your business objectives
is undoubtedly made easier with the right
technology. Real estate can be expensive and
redundant space is ine icient. Your ability
to track occupancy allows you to maintain
a sustainable real estate strategy and drive
e icient space utilisation.
Inform your decision-making. Facilities
managers benefit from having real-time
and accurate information available
via configurable dashboards and a
comprehensive choice of reports. The ability
to view CAD plans linked to space data
attributes for enabling scenario planning
also helps space planners deliver an e ective
workplace.
Control your costs. The e icient
management of space within a building
can have a huge impact on income to
the building owner, or be a massive cost
30 OCTOBER 2019
SUPPORT FOR AGILE WORKING
In Condeco’s recent publication ‘The
modern workplace 2019 report: people,
places & technology’, it was clear that
most business leaders see the value of
agile working practices. Flexible working is
now o ered by 41 per cent of employers,
according to the report, and 60 per cent now
allow employees to choose their own hours.
This illustrates how technology is
changing the way we work, and the process
of digitising the workplace is well underway.
Progress depends on those in leadership
positions establishing a vision and
communicating that to the business, while
ensuring that the resources are available for
success.
IT and HR teams will need to work
together, alongside FM and property
managers, to divide and conquer the task
of keeping up to date with the technology
and so ware that they could benefit from.
Providing the right digital tools to help
people get their jobs done is crucial to the
success of the new way of working. So ware
that can help book a workspace or a
meeting room, through an app, anywhere in
the world is crucial to productivity in many
businesses.
It can be useful to allocate space based
on activity, so teams that work closely
together or in the same department can get
priority booking. Making sure that the whole
team has high-quality tech that works every
time also helps to attract and retain talent.
This is particularly the case with millennials
and generation Z, who haven’t known a
world without phones, apps, social media,
or the internet.
There are many ways of making the
transition to shared desks easier for
employees, such as giving them the
technology to book individual workspaces,
banks or rows of desks, or book access for
di erent days. Even being able to search
for and find a place to work ahead of a day
in the o ice gives people added peace of
mind. Technology that is based in the cloud
can also be easily updated. At the end of
the day, a dedicated so ware resource
encourages better behaviour, so employees
burden to the occupier. A CAFM solution
provides essential tools to support the
management of space and occupancy
data, assist space planning and enable
accurate cost allocations to your
occupants.
Stay compliant and manage risks.
CAFM can help manage maintenance and
health and safety, ensuring compliant
processes and reporting, mitigating the
risk of incidents and minimising impact
on your facilities. A CAFM solution should
include enforcement of appropriate risk
assessments and standard operating
stop hogging rooms and bending rules.
Agile working makes startup businesses
powerful, which means larger, established
companies have to adapt. Communications
such as internet calling across time zones
is as important to their work as face-to-face
meetings, and so ware that makes this
happen e iciently is something they expect
from serviced o ices. Automating tasks
like regular room bookings frees up sta
for more important ‘thinking’ tasks, and
technology will also play an increasing role
in monitoring how and when buildings are
used.
By using sensors to monitor usage
accurately, it will be possible to right-size
o ices. Companies need only pay for the
space they need – and have the flexibility
to make changes as their business grows.
Sodexo used Condeco technology to
analyse its workspace usage, achieving £2.5
million in savings by reducing the amount
of o ice space and workspace required for
the same number of people, but in a more
flexible environment.
For large corporates this can signify a
major shi in culture. A third (34 per cent)
of those surveyed in the Condeco report
said that digital transformation was their
biggest worry. Technology can help to take
that headache away and make sure that
more time is spent getting on with the job
and building a business, rather than fretting
about o ice accommodation.
procedures, including signature capture.
Scalability. A facilities manager’s
requirements will vary depending on
the business size, industry and types of
property. A CAFM solution can be available
as either a hosted solution or on-premise,
providing a comprehensive range of
modules to support key FM tasks such as a
reactive helpdesk, property maintenance,
asset management, planned preventative
maintenance (PPM), lease management
and space management. A robust and
highly configurable CAFM solution will be
scalable to grow with your organisation.