Streamlining Facility Management: 7 Critical Automations
Facility and maintenance teams are under increasing pressure to operate efficiently while maintaining high standards of service. To meet these demands, automation has become essential. Here, we’ll explore the top seven automations the best facilities management software can provide facility/ maintenance teams needs right now, from triaging requests to cost management.
1. Triaging Requests
Triage is the process of troubleshooting and prioritising maintenance requests based on type of jobs/ issue. The best facilities management software can automate this process by asking a predetermined set of questions dependent upon the issue selected to extract the information from the individual raising a request. For example, if a fridge isn’t working, asking them if they have tried a different socket or if anything has tripped on the fuse board for example whilst they are trying to raise the request.
Just think how much time you or you team spend asking or trying to get this information. The best software solutions will take this headache away, so when a request comes in you have all of the information you need first time round to make a more informed decision on resource allocation.
2. Instructing Contractors
Communicating effectively with contractors is essential for ensuring engineers/ contractors have all the information they need prior to attending site to complete a job. If you are raising jobs manually a lot of time can be spend building emails to send to contractors including the relevant information.
Facilities management software systems can automate this, including all the job details in the body of the email or attaching job sheets with information already pulled through automatically such as jobs details, photos, asset information, site information, job numbers, risk assessments and much more.
The best ones can go even further and automatically instruct the relevant contractor or engineer based upon variables selected within the request such as the site, job type, priority and more.
3. Chasing Contractors
Following up on work orders and ensuring timely completion of tasks can be time-consuming. Facilities management software can send automated reminders to contractors, reminding them of upcoming deadlines or chasing them regarding overdue tasks and worksheets. By automating the chasing process, teams can improve efficiency and free up their time.
4. Compliance Management
Compliance with regulations and standards is critical for maintaining safety and avoiding penalties. Facilities management software can automate scheduling, track regulatory requirements, and generate compliance reports.
By automating compliance management, teams can ensure adherence to regulations, mitigate risks, demonstrate compliance to stakeholders and view this all through real time dashboards for a snapshot of their current compliance status.
5. Reporting & Analytics
Data-driven decision-making is essential for optimising facility management processes and resource allocation. A lot of time can be spent creating reports to analyse the data or provide to senior teams. The best facilities management software allows you to build you own reports and schedule these to individuals at a frequency you select.
Just think of a report being automated on a Monday morning at 9am with all your overdue compliance items or upcoming jobs for this week. Spent to date report vs budget automatically being set to the senior team with a top line view of the current compliance status every month. By automating reporting and analytics, teams can gain insights into trends, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions to drive operational efficiency.
6. Asset Tracking
Effective asset management is essential for maximising asset utilisation, lifespan, and minimising costly repairs. Facilities management software can use technologies such as QR code scanning with mobile apps to monitor asset locations, status and maintenance history in real-time.
By automating asset tracking and linking assets to jobs, teams can make more informed decisions regarding repair or replace, reduce asset downtime, and optimise resource allocation.
7. Cost Management
Controlling costs is crucial for maintaining budgetary constraints. The best facilities management software will allow you to set, track and managed budgets in real time. They will also allow you to track expenses, analyse spending patterns, and generate budget forecasts at the click of a button. By automating cost management, teams can identify cost-saving opportunities, set more realistic budgets, optimise spending, and ensure financial accountability.
Author
Charlie Bown
Ex Facility Manager, I feel your pain!
