SmartFM

Make sure your CAFM/IWMS system does not turn into a toy

2011-08-09T15:35:00.002-04:00

Before you procure an IWMS/CAFM solution for your organization, make sure to think it all the way through to ‘what should the final product look like?’

You must evaluate the steps necessary to get to the final goal even before you start the procurement process. A failure to do so will just result in huge monetary and reputation loss.

Once you have the final product in mind; you need to ask yourself ‘what would it take to get there?’ and ‘who all do I have to depend on?’

To implement a CAFM/IWMS system you will need cooperation from various departments such as HR, Finance, Capacity Planning, CRE, FM, etc.

Once you have approvals and blessing from all the key players in relevant departments; you will get to the final product sooner than later. Now, make sure to discuss implementation with the software vendor because often times they will agree to unrealistic expectations to sell.

Once the implementation process starts make sure to:

· Set realistic timelines

· Break the process into phases: see the ROI before the entire implementation.

· To quality check in between phases: ‘do it once, do it right’!

· Drive the project your way

· Keep the communication channel open among all the project sponsors and key participants

· Keep the focus on the goal and the commitment level high

The last thing you want is to have spent a few years just to realize that people are still relying on their pre-CAFM ways of doing business (Excel files more often than not)

-Sanyam Bhardwaj

CAFM - Challenges and Future in an Emerging Economy

2011-08-09T09:19:00.000-04:00

CAFM is gaining momentum in the fast growing economies, like India, of the world, and it can be the force in improvement of the overall quality of Space, Assets and Operations Management. I believe this for these three factors: One, rising price of real estate and other organizational reasons have brought the facilities team to the top levels of corporate decision making. Two, new and innovative methods (software or not) have been developed and have already began to improve the performance of facilities and thus making a difference to the bottom line. And, three, the systems capability to integrate with each other makes the data transfer and data re-usability much easier.

The challenges facing development and implementation of such systems are equally formidable. I have not included any cultural and social challenges in this article, please check for an article on those as well in the near future

The data that the CAFM system needs to handle to operate at maximum value is huge; all the data related to Drawings, HR, Departments, and Assets and in some case Operations. A complete inventory of building equipment and furnishings alone would suffice to exasperate any given database system. The system must be configured to be capable of handling the quantity of the data and must be able to manipulate the output to meet business requirements.

Added to this is the difficulty of managing different forms of data, such as graphics, drawings, alphanumeric, dateAndTime, etc. To make it bit more complicated is the management of data based on user perspectives. A director may just want to look at the overall efficiency; while the department head may be interested in learning about more details involving personnel and the space usage in each building that he manages. Some information such as salary, location of executives should be accessible to a small, chosen group. These issues do not sound big, theoretically; but can be a nightmare to implement efficiently in a large organization.

The potential benefits of meeting all of these challenges, obviously appears to be worthwhile to both holders of facilities and developers of computer systems, since they are both engaged in the development and deployment of CAFM systems. The motivation lies in potential: 1) cost savings, 2) improvement in the facility design and management process, and, ultimately, 3) improvement in the quality of physical environments.

So, what can you expect five years from now; well, it’s not easy to make predictions in emerging fields of practice. But, based on how CAFM has fared in other places like US; I am tempted to say that the field of CAFM will emerge as a significant area of computer aided applications with new methods and tools becoming a rule rather than an exception. Nevertheless, new and unknown challenges will confront the growth in every phase.

Thanks for reading; I hope this article has helped you in some manner. Good luck!

-Sanyam Bhardwaj

CAFM ROI

2011-08-09T09:10:00.001-04:00

I saw a calculator, which can tell you the amount of money you save when you enter the square feet, number of employees, and number of buildings managed in a CAFM system.

So, according to that calculation and logic EVERY organization that plans to manage ‘x’ SF and has ‘y’ employees will save ‘z’ dollars, if it implements a CAFM solution. Don’t fall for that.

IMHO, ROI should not be measured in dollars to start with. If the CAFM system, when implemented, makes your job easier and more effective - you will get your ROI. And, this will translate into money saved, sooner than later.

Unfortunately, most of the systems in the market can take years to implement. So, by the time you realize if it’s working for you or not; you have invested year’s worth of time and effort into it.

My recommendation is always insist on doing implementation in small phases, like one module at a time or 10 buildings at a time. You are likely to see the return much faster this way and if you realize that the solution is not right for you; it will be much easier to break away from it.

Thanks for reading; I hope this article has helped you in some manner. Good luck!

-Sanyam Bhardwaj

CAFM 101

2011-08-09T09:07:00.000-04:00

This article might as well be titled ‘What can CAFM (Computer-Aided Facility Management) do for you?’ The reason I call it ‘CAFM 101’ is because I keep hearing all the cool things that people do with CAFM or can do with CAFM. But, I notice that most organizations get value of using it in its very basic implementation. So, what is the very basic of CAFM? Why should anyone even consider implementing it? After all, we have Microsoft Excel which costs just a few hundred dollars and is widely used.

I know this is an assumption, by-and-large every organization has some mechanism to track data. By data I mean any and every kind i.e. HR, Departments, CAD, Assets, Leases, etc. There are a lots of software products to choose from to track any nature of data; each in this domain is primarily based on simple theory of data-in-data-out (what each one does with the data sets them apart from each other).

There is certainly a necessity and value in tracking HRMS (Human Resource Management System) data such as the name of employee, employee number, contact information, department, payroll, deductions, benefits, manager, organization chart, yearly performance reviews, etc. All this information stored in a customized, organized manner brings empowerment to the organization leading to informed, educated decision-making.

Tracking data related to Assets such as code, life-term, quantity, usage, maintenance cycle, cost, durability, etc. can lead to informed decisions regarding inventory, procurement. You get the most use from what you have as an Asset.

Storing data associated to buildings/spaces is the building block to space management/capacity planning. You can drastically reduce your real estate cost by knowing and understanding your space portfolio. Based on where you are located, space can sometimes cost a lot!

Similarly, having information on all the leases you have as landlord or tenant brings value.

Each type of data alone brings a lot of value. But, if you consolidate all this it can really make life easy for a facility manager.

Now, you not only know how many employees you have and what’s their contact information? You also know where do they sit? What department do they belong to? What Asset is assigned to them? Etc.

Not only you know how many workstations do you have? But also that who sits there? What department(s) occupied it? How much do you pay for it as rent/operating cost? What all Assets are assigned to it? Etc.

Facility Manager effortlessly finds vacancy, department-wise occupancy, asset occupancy, asset location, common SF, cost of a workstation, etc. This information can help him/her design scenarios, moves, charge backs, cost analysis.

After being sold on the CAFM concept; the biggest challenge is find the ROI and to convince the management for procurement of the solution.

Thanks for reading; I hope this article has helped you in some manner. Good luck!

-Sanyam Bhardwaj