Facilities Management
The job of facilities management has always been one of complexity and unpredictability, involving a wide breadth of issues. Today, that job is more complex than ever, with dropping occupancy forcing cost cutting and staff reductions, all brought on by a sluggish economy. So, many companies are asking, "In this environment, could facilities management technology help?" Perhaps the better question would be, "How do I improve performance—and prove that technology can drive value to the bottom line?"
The sheer number of issues confronting facilities managers, from safety, building maintenance, security and project management, to building and fire code compliance, housekeeping, landscaping, emergency response, lease improvements, and tenant satisfaction, can seem overwhelming. Fortunately, DATArrive has a solution that meets that critical need for information: bringing greater insight and understanding to improve your performance.
DATArrive has many operational applications for facilities management including:
Repair and Facilities Maintenance
In a recent issue of Today's Facility Manager, author Steven Bentz described roof care in a campus environment. He said, "When managing facilities in a campus setting—where every building could potentially be a different age, type of construction, and different condition—facility managers will find that determining which structure will be repaired first is a critical decision."
Bentz called for facilities managers to implement a simple system that captures critical roof inventory information during inspections and walkthroughs. "A critical part of the process is identifying which roof or roof section should be repaired in a timely manner. Regular inspections are typically conducted as part of a campus facility maintenance plan," said Bentz.
DATArrive works with numerous campus and corporate facility managers to manage exactly those types of maintenance programs. Maintenance and inspection personnel use a mobile handheld device (a phone or more robust handheld) during the inspection process. As staff moves from location to location, maintenance data—a listing of the last-noted maintenance issues for that location—are fed to the handheld device. The staff receives step-by-step inspection requirements so that the exact status is recorded. If there are service level maintenance agreements (SLA) in place, those are also made available at the exact time and location for each SLA element. No digging around for paperwork; no overlooked work orders.
All of the field activities—including time stamps and GPS information—are automatically updated to the DATArrive engine where the facilities manager can manage in real-time and report trends and issues over time. Reports can be easily created using a simple drag-and-drop interface. Allowing you to view exceptions/problem reports by customer, by campus, by date, by type of repair needed—whatever data segmentation is required. This data can then be used for ranking repair priorities based on data directly from the field.
DATArrive provides a platform to track all your facilities management maintenance and repairs—roofs, grounds, HVAC, electrical, housekeeping, landscaping in the same manner.
Security
Perhaps the most undervalued service provided by facilities management is its ability to provide a safe and secure environment for the people who use the facilities day in and day out. The job of delivering security is never ending and the technology to support it must support all the security processes of the team.
According to Building Operations Magazine, the right security solution should combine hardware, software, processes and policies. "A regular, ongoing maintenance program is also key to an effective yet unobtrusive security system. Poorly maintained security systems are even more of a problem for organizations that prefer security to be as visible as possible," say the magazine editors.
DATArrive provides a flexible solution that allows facilities management to build security solutions that meet the industry's unique demands—and allow it to use hardware and software that follows its processes, and policies. From patrols that check doors, gates and parking lots, to staff responsible for fire extinguisher compliance and hazardous waste disposal, DATArrive provides mobile solutions that direct, collect and instruct staff at the point of engagement.
Need to check some 500 fire extinguishers to document that each extinguisher meets strict fire codes? No problem with DATArrive's mobile solution. Simply use DATArrive to generate bar codes for each extinguisher. The inspector uses a scanner on the mobile device and methodically works through the inspection process: Is there any sign that the fire extinguisher has been discharged? If the inspector enters "yes," a series of prompts leads the inspector through a process to rectify or report the situation. Your own processes or policies will determine what instructions are delivered to the handset. Your policies. Your processes. Not some pre-defined set of steps that may or may not have anything to do with your standard procedures or local requirements.
One engine to drive your facilities management operations
DATArrive offers a wide breadth of facilities management solutions in a single data managment engine. And when you think about performance improvement, it's true that what you know, when you know it, and how well you are able to communicate to all the levels of the organization is the key to sustained improvements. Data is the fuel that drives strategic thinking and forms the foundation for performance improvement.