FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
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 different 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’ 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 This free to use service management system for our customers is anticipated to overtake outdated CAFM systems in the future.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 offer customers more efficiency, 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 efficiency 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.
Automation is helping to ensure business remains as efficient as possible in the ‘new normal’. Minimising the number of people involved in the simplest of business processes is critical, even after a pandemic. That said, under the right circumstances, that human touch will always be important for service businesses, of course, but automated technologies will enable service providers to deliver great customer service at increasingly lower costs and who wouldn’t want that?
