FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
AUDITING AND ACCOUNTABILITY
In order to maintain high standards and monitor safety, it is best practice to carry out auditing after the completion of work. CAFM software with auditing functionality ensures the successful completion of inspections, including quality checks and H&S assessments. This acts as a failsafe as companies can instruct the system to randomly select and check the quality of work carried out, verifying that the correct processes were followed and reported. It also allows organisations to set benchmarks for operative performance, on-time completion of work, and work quality, so that subpar performance can be addressed.
Robust auditing functionality is especially vital in high-risk workplace environments. In a healthcare estate, for example, audits are advisable in each room following maintenance or patient discharge to ensure it meets specific cleanliness standards and is safe for patients and staff use.
INTEGRATING COMPLIANCE INTO MAINTENANCE
Creating schedules and planning for permits within a workflow is a complex task, particularly when compliance levels need to be met for work to be carried out safely. Integration with maintenance standards, such as SFG20, aids facilities managers in achieving this goal. With a library of over 1,200 template maintenance schedules covering 70 equipment types, SFG20 integration ensures best practice, saving time and effort for facilities managers while promoting organisational compliance.
This integration eliminates the need for additional documentation on how to comply, allowing the creation of customised instructions and maintenance routines while ensuring adherence to industry standards and best practices, including H&S protocols.
It pays to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to compliance regulations. Researching and investing in compliance and maintenance software now may well save headaches further down the line as you’ll already be well prepared for any regulatory changes.
CASE STUDY – SWG AND MITIE
Mitie manages 32 healthcare estates and schools under public-private partnership contracts, each with unique requirements. One key challenge was working around each facility’s opening hours, which means the software not only needed to manage and allocate the jobs but also intelligently calculate when they could be carried out to cause minimal disruption.
QFM addressed these intricacies by scheduling work at the right times for each contract’s operating hours. The software automatically schedules planned preventative maintenance (PPM) jobs, allocates them to the correct operatives, and allows for the creation of permits for these repeat jobs, saving time and resources while guaranteeing compliant workers and a fully audited chain of events.
The PPM jobs are pooled with all reactive tasks and tracked by the QFM help desk module. This makes the system intuitive and easy to use.
SUMMARY
A CAFM solution with permit to work and audit management functionality represents the future of compliance and risk assessment for FM teams.
This approach streamlines processes, enhances accountability, and ensures organisations meet and exceed regulatory standards on an ongoing basis.
