FMJ.CO.UK CAFM FOCUS
MARCH 2021 29
delivery.
Mirroring most service-based industries,
FM has not escaped the increasing pressure
to deliver more for less. And this is where
technology will achieve the biggest
transformation. As a CAFM user for 20+
years, and fed up with the compromises
of using proprietary CAFM systems, we
set about building our own. Appointing a
CTO, investing £1 million and three years
later, DMA has created its own proprietary
system, BiO. This free to use service
management system for our
customers is anticipated to
overtake outdated CAFM
systems in the future.
One of the benefits
of smart tech, and
the transparency
that comes with
it, is customers
are getting exactly
what they pay
for. Automating
processes that o er
customers more
e iciency, flexibility and
choice when it comes to
how they engage and manage
their service provider(s) or inhouse
FM teams is also a bonus. Digitalising the
supply chain will enable customers to get
closer to their service providers and the
person who actually delivers the service.
It will also promote best practice and
consistency across independent service
providers.
For FMs relying upon legacy CAFM
solutions, systems integration is crucial for
the future workplace. Talk to your service
provider about the steps they are taking
to better integrate and ‘talk to’ other FM
systems to ensure that data is accurate and
readily available. Leading on compliance
across multiple sites relies on this as the
future workplace transforms.
Intelligent data
Across all organisations, large or small, there
is one commonality that links us all; the need
for greater e iciency and transparency when
managing data. In the building maintenance
space, handheld technology with apps that
integrate with and connect the entire supply
chain puts the customer and engineer in
direct contact. Data is then instantly shared
between parties, and information can be
accessed anytime, anywhere and on any
device.
FMs need this vital information
at their fingertips whenever
and wherever they are. And as
tech-savvy millennials join the
workforce, intuitively competent
with technology, they are going
to want and expect this level of
transparent access.
Historically, even the simplest of
tasks required FMs to make contact
several times with service personnel.
Booking an engineer for example, would
involve multiple phone calls between the
two parties, not to mention all the phone
tennis tracking each other down.
Technology in the FM sector is heading
towards that of the logistics industry. Driven
by the popularity of internet shopping,
logistics companies have re-engineered their
entire business to deliver goods even on the
same day. Gone are the times of waiting in
all day for your parcels. In the engineering
world, we will soon release ‘smart
scheduling’ that will automate job planning
for our engineers and even ‘buy-as-you-go’
options too. In other words, cut out the
middleman and give customers the freedom
to use and view services independently
online.
close to the four-hour fix time limit, perhaps
an escalation is sent to the contract manager
with one hour to go so that they can jump on
the situation.
In reality, we can be much smarter about
this. The historical data can tell us that, of
the last 10 times that this type of asset had
this fault, the engineers have been unable
to fix the problem in less than three hours.
Being aware of this information significantly
changes how we view the SLA as unless we
start work on the problem within the first
hour of the fault being reported we will most
certainly fail to meet the target.
Similarly, a call is logged for a particular
building on a Tuesday, and it’s raining which
through a coincidental sequence of events
has previously resulted in the attending
engineer being unable to gain access to the
premises. With this data to hand, the visit can
be pre-empted, and the situation avoided. If
a specific part or tool is o en required when
a particular task is reported the system can
learn from this recurrent data and ensure
that the attending engineer is provided with
it before their visit, dramatically increasing
our first fix performance.
For the future, my recommendation for
facilities management is to proceed with
caution. Across all industries, we have seen
enormous artificial intelligence projects
falter due to being unrealistic in their size
and implementation as they were too broad
in scope and definition. By being smart and
focused with our data we can create great
improvements In FM delivery and provide an
enhanced level of service to our customers.
Taking small measured steps, filtering out the
unimportant data, and identifying value is
fundamental in the delivery, and subsequent
use, of successful data analytics.
STEVE MCGREGOR
GROUP MD AT DMA GROUP
As organisations prepare to open their
workplace doors post-lockdown, the new
work-from-home status quo is driving
business leaders to evaluate their corporate
real estate footprint. Can we deliver the
same, if not better service from satellite or
co-working locations? What investments
must be made to ensure operations aren’t
impacted by hybrid or blended work models?
While a proportion of companies may opt
to downsize, the redistribution of space to
regionalised ‘hubs’ seems to be paraded
as the most suitable option for many. The
stark reality being that each building will
likely require di erent levels and types of
occupancy, service delivery and control.
Easing this new pinch-point for FMs
managing multiple suburban locations, a
few disruptive suppliers have developed
new cloud technology to begin ‘Uber-ising’
By being smart and focused with our
data we can create great improvements
In FM delivery and provide an enhanced
level of service to our customers. Taking small
measured steps, fi ltering out the unimportant
data, and identifying value is fundamental
in the delivery, and subsequent use, of
successful data analytics.”
– Paul Bullard