FMJ.CO.UK BUSINESS ANALYTICS FOCUS
MARCH 2021 41
and at the click of a button, where clients are
seeking rapid, detailed reporting from their
FM providers. As a result, when managing
multiple sites, employees, locations and
divisions, organisations quickly see their
spreadsheets spiraling out of control.
Collating data in a timely manner is
impossible. This was the position in which
Paula Byrne, Transformation Director at
TCFM, found herself. Winning a prestigious
contract with an international eCommerce
organisation further compounded her
problem.
“The inadequacy of our incumbent
reporting processes became rapidly
evident,” says Byrne. “The workload, the
number of sites, services, and colleagues
meant reporting was a data nightmare.
Our client stipulated up to the minute
reports covering a vast array of KPIs, and
our managers needed on-demand insight
into their site logistics. It was Excel-hell. We
were asking questions of a massive data-set
and were always on the back foot, always
trying to catch up. By the time we pulled the
answers we had needed, we were two weeks
down the line, and the moment had passed.”
Data lag is a common problem in the
FM industry, explains Datore’s Business
Intelligence expert, Graham Perry. “Most FM
companies are using multiple technologies,
collecting data in various formats. They fail
to join them up and get them talking to one
another or develop insight into their data.
It becomes very time consuming to pull
reports from such disparate sources.”
The majority of organisations present
reports to their clients monthly, managing a
plethora of spreadsheets. Reporting delays
can put results months behind the original
request. As a result, easily accessible formats
of live data are becoming increasingly
important to managers and clients.
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
Business Intelligence and advanced
analytics work hand in hand, enabling
informed decisions to be made faster by
integrating data from multiple sources and
subsequently analysing it to answer the right
questions at the right time. “Essentially, it
answers the questions about your business
that keep you up at night,” says Perry.
“I knew we needed more rapid insights
into our data, and Business Intelligence
so ware was the way to go,” says Byrne.
Having considered various platforms,
Byrne and her team encountered Sisense,
a complete end-to-end advanced analytics
and Business Intelligence platform that
could deliver a highly interactive, accessible
user experience. “It’s a brilliant, powerful
bit of kit,” says Byrne, “we fell in love with
it.” However, despite an incredibly talented
in-house team, it quickly became apparent
that TCFM didn’t have the skill set required
to produce the dashboards they needed.
They required an expert, and Sisense
recommended Graham Perry at Datore.
Byrne explains: “The team very quickly
understood our di iculties and helped us
develop a plan. They knew instinctively
what our challenges were and what we
needed to achieve.”
TCFM relayed their dashboard
aspirations, and their vision rapidly took
shape. Datore analysed their needs and
extracted relevant data from their disparate
systems which enabled consolidation into
a single analytical data cube, from which
data could be evaluated and integrated
into informative and intuitive dashboards.
IMPACTFUL INSIGHTS
Byrne says: “We had data coming through
within a matter of days, and a clear plan
for future dashboards. We now have
clearer insights into the logistics and
day-to-day running of our business.
It’s enabled our colleagues
to be proactive instead of
reactive and deliver unique
visibility of systems to
our clients.”
TCFM can now access
up to the minute
reports and advanced
analytics from their
dashboards. “Excelhell”
is a thing of the
Most FM companies are
using multiple technologies,
collecting data in various formats.
They fail to join them up and get them
talking to one another or develop
insight into their data. It becomes
past - no longer lagging
weeks behind the
real-world. The reporting
capabilities and ease of
use of their dashboards have
reduced the pressure on their
management team. Byrne explains:
“They now have instant, accurate data for
each of their sites. They are better prepared
for future challenges as they can accurately
track their workforce, wages, training and
KPIs.”
Thanks to advanced analytics, TCFM are
better able to understand their business
needs. With an instant overview of actual
on-site colleagues, they can predict
their workforce needs more accurately,
understand gaps in their rotas and better
utilise their own team - reducing their need
for short-term agency sta .
Their insight has given them a huge
advantage over their competitors, and new
clients have been impressed with their
technological o ering. “The transparency
and insight we can give them has helped us
to become their trusted partner of choice
and has changed their view of facilities
management,” says Byrne.
COVID-19
No one predicted a global pandemic to
throw a spanner in the works, and the
industry has been hit hard by multiple
lockdowns. Managing a business with
hundreds of employees has been
challenging: tracking furlough, isolations,
testing and case numbers.
With colleagues furloughed and isolated
across the country, TCFM required rapid
analysis capabilities for their own business
and their clients. With Datore’s continued
support, they were able to implement
dashboards that enabled their colleagues to
manage their workforce, such that COVID-19
didn’t impact their day-to-day running. TCFM
have emerged unscathed - with a deeper
understanding of their business.
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND THE
FUTURE OF FM
TCFM implemented 40 dashboards over
five months - from client reporting tools
to HR, training and education. To
date, Datore has analysed over
700 million rows of data on
their behalf. They use
advanced analytics to
make predictions and
draw correlations
to enable good
business decision
making. For
example, is there
a correlation
between workforce
health and safety
training and the
number of incidents
reported?
“Our opportunities are
boundless,” says Byrne. “We
now have better dashboards than
we could ever have imagined. Who knows
where we will be in a year, but thanks to
Sisense and Datore, we will be ahead of
an ever-changing market with intelligent
technology predicting the future.”
Despite the skepticism of business
leaders, there is no doubt that organisations
will need to adapt and implement new
technologies as data complexity and
demand increases. Facilities management
is no exception, and businesses will need to
improve their systems if they hope to keep
up with the evolving marketplace.
For more information on data and its impact
on the FM industry, Datore is holding a
round table event on March 30th, for more
information visit: www.fmj.co.uk/customerfirst
facilities-management-using-data-andanalytics
a-roundtable-discussion/
very time consuming to pull
reports from such disparate
sources.”
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