ADVICE & OPINION
COMMENT
CAFM TO THE RESCUE
The challenges created by COVID-19 shone
a spotlight on the essential role that FM
professionals and the CAFM technology that they
harness, play in how companies function day-today.
Even at the height of lockdown, these were
vital in facilitating remote working and mobile
processes that maintained business continuity.
However, we are now entering a period of
optimism, as more and more businesses prepare
to reopen a er months of isolation. While this is
great news it presents another challenge that FMs
will need to address in moving forward: building
peoples’ confidence. But it’s a challenge for which
the CAFM solution at site can step in, to help with
managing new patterns of working which may be
di erent to before, but can still be achieved.
MEETING RESERVATIONS ABOUT REOPENING
There are many people out there incredibly excited
at the prospect of returning to their workplace;
to catch up with colleagues face-to-face rather
than through a screen and escape the confines of
their home o ices and enjoy a welcome change of
scenery.
Yet, the excitement of some is tempered by anxiety
about reopening. This could be for a variety of
reasons:
» Fears of catching COVID-19 – a 2020 survey by Aviva
revealed that 44 per cent of workers were fearful of
virus transmission from colleagues
» Hesitance of meeting colleagues a er a long
absence – especially challenging for those hired during
lockdown who have never entered their workplace or
met coworkers in person
» Di€ iculties adjusting to new routines a er becoming
accustomed to remote/flexible working
10 JUNE 2021
These are the groups who will need the most
reassurance that their environment will be safe,
secure and comfortable upon returning to the
workplace. FMs and their CAFM solutions can
therefore play a crucial role in building that
confidence and trust.
CLEAR, COMPREHENSIVE CLEANING REGIMES
First, with people more aware of the cleanliness of
their surroundings in the post-COVID landscape,
making your cleaning regimes as e ective
as possible will build confidence across your
organisation.
As standards rise and checks tighten, no stone
need be le unturned. Cleaning can be thorough
and visible to the wider populace, so people are
reassured that their workplace is o ering as safe a
space as possible.
CAFM so ware can make this comprehensiveness
possible. For instance, a dedicated Cleaning App
maintains an accurate, complete audit trail of every
area that was cleaned throughout the day and at
what times, which can be saved directly into the
CAFM solution. Managers can check these at any
time to ensure tasks are being fulfilled as expected.
Plus, it is important that both cleaners and sta
are kept safe from areas becoming too densely
populated, because despite buildings now
reopening, COVID is still with us. CAFM technology
can generate clear routes for cleaners to use
throughout the day that will minimise the risk of
encountering over-crowding during their patrols.
SUCCESSFUL SPACE MANAGEMENT
On the subject of crowding, FM teams will need to
think carefully about the available space within their
building, and how it can accommodate employees,
residents, visitors and more in a safe, sociallydistanced
way.
Again, CAFM can make a massive di erence to
space management . From greatly reducing the
chances of overcrowding at li s, stairwells and other
communal areas, to strategically spreading out
the availability of rooms so they can comfortably
contain set numbers of people for meetings and
other activities, this so ware can capably organise
workplaces with enhanced e iciency.
Whether there’s a greater degree of remote
working, or staggered business hours to manage
numbers in a building at any given time, space
management will need to be more fluid than in
prior years. Again, by consistently capturing spatial
data throughout facilities, CAFM makes this more
manageable and likely to help in building peoples’
confidence.
CONNECTING EMPLOYEES TO THEIR FM TEAMS
Another key to breeding confidence in employees
returning to the workplace will be in creating a
direct connection between themselves and FM
professionals.
If something is causing personnel discomfort, be it
an area that needs to be cleaned, or poor air quality
in a room, the FM team can provide an app to all
employees that empowers them to create tasks to
be picked up by the FM team, with the task’s urgency
rising as more people notice and report the problem.
This direct route for the workforce to those who
can actively resolve their problems will reassure
them that their needs are being looked a er at work.
They are given an active role in ensuring the entire
building and its occupants are looked a er, which
will help everyone via the process of becoming
accustomed once more to their workplace.
BENEFITTING FROM IOT
Finally, sensor technology once considered as a nonessential
expense pre-pandemic will undoubtedly
become more sought-a er in future.
By connecting these to CAFM technology, FMs can
start to manage workspaces based on occupancy
levels – lighting, heating, ventilation and more can
be controlled automatically or remotely to again
reduce the number of persons that need to be onsite
at any given time.
Harnessing IoT and the boundless data generated
by business systems, this information can help FMs
drive decisions to optimise their workspace, not only
making it safer and more reassuring, but also more
e icient and productive.
Adoption of CAFM solutions accelerated notably
during these di icult months, to meet the challenges
presented by remote and flexible working. As
businesses now face the reality of returning to
“normality”, we can only envisage this trend
continuing to make sure employees are reassured at
all times when back in the workplace.
More information on keeping your customers and
workforce safe can be found here www.fsifm.com
Karl Broom, Territory Manager, FSI on ways CAFM can help
FM people manage new patterns of working within buildings
and spaces used in Yery diƚ erent ways from pre &29,D
/www.fsifm.com
