Tag: Building Maintenance

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Four Main Functions of FM

The broad scope of facilities management makes it a hard position to define. Where a Sales Manager is directly responsible for managing the performance of salespeople, the functions of facilities management go far beyond “managing facilities.” As a result, it’s often difficult for companies to maximize the advantages of a good facility manager.

But what is the importance of facilities management? To truly understand what a facility manager does, what they’re responsible for, and what effect they have on a company, it’s best to break down their scope of work. That means taking a closer look at the four main pillars of facilities management: People, processes, the building, and technology.

Supporting people

The foremost objective of a facility manager is creating an accommodating work environment for employees. This serves many broader goals, including attracting and retaining top talent, improving efficiency and productivity, and creating a positive workplace culture. Facility managers provide employee support in many ways, including:

  • Coordinating desking arrangements
  • Managing employee directories
  • Facilitating moves and space utilization
  • Handling emergency planning

Facility managers serve as a bridge between the workplace and the employees working within it. Whenever issues of accommodation, safety, or comfort arise, it’s up to the facility manager to solve them.

This applies upward, as well. Facility managers are responsible for providing vital planning data to the C-suite and determining the long-term approach to workplace optimization. Their everyday interaction with the workplace sheds light on true costs and competitive advantages at the employee level.

In addition to the mentioned responsibilities, facility managers play a crucial role in managing and maintaining the physical infrastructure of a company. This includes overseeing the upkeep and maintenance of the building, ensuring that it meets safety and regulatory standards. They collaborate with various departments, such as maintenance, security, and janitorial services, to ensure that the facility is clean, secure, and well-functioning.

Another important aspect of a facility manager’s role is managing the budget and resources allocated to facility operations. They analyze and control costs related to building maintenance, repairs, renovations, and utilities to ensure optimal resource allocation. By effectively managing the budget, facility managers contribute to cost savings and financial efficiency for the organization.

Furthermore, facility managers are responsible for implementing sustainability initiatives within the workplace. They promote environmentally friendly practices, such as energy conservation, waste reduction, and the use of eco-friendly materials. By incorporating sustainable strategies, facility managers contribute to reducing the company’s environmental footprint and promoting corporate social responsibility.

Facility managers are often involved in long-term strategic planning for facility development and expansion. They collaborate with stakeholders to assess the organization’s future needs, evaluate potential facility options, and provide insights on the feasibility and impact of different decisions. This involves analyzing space requirements, conducting feasibility studies, and making recommendations for facility improvements or expansions.

Facility managers are the point of contact for addressing employee concerns and ensuring a safe work environment. They handle issues related to building security, fire safety, emergency preparedness, and accessibility compliance. By prioritizing employee safety and comfort, facility managers foster a positive workplace culture and contribute to employee satisfaction and well-being. They are responsible for creating an accommodating work environment, managing the physical infrastructure, overseeing budget and resources, implementing sustainability initiatives, participating in strategic planning, and ensuring employee safety and well-being. Their multifaceted role is essential in supporting the overall success of an organization and maintaining a productive and enjoyable workplace for employees.

Establishing processes

What are the functions of facilities management without a process to govern them? Establishing processes brings order to the workplace. Order creates a system of expectations, which breeds organization that positively impacts the way people utilize the workplace. The workplace runs on a multitude of processes, including:

  • Submitting a work order request
  • Reserving space within the facility
  • Checking in guests and visitors
  • Emergency action planning

Facility managers serve the dual role of identifying governance areas and adapting processes to cover them. Whenever a new situation arises, it’s up to the facility manager to create order from chaos and building a repeatable framework for handling that scenario again in the future.

Developing processes is also where the scope of facility management expands its reach. New processes may involve different departments, employees, assets, fixtures, and spaces—all of which connect the many aspects of the business.

Facilities upkeep and improvement

As the name implies, facility management is largely rooted in facilities upkeep and improvement of the physical building. It’s the most common answer when asked, “What does facility management include?”

But this is also the most robust scope of expectations for facility managers. It involves not only tending the building, but cultivating partnerships, future planning, and asset management. Some examples of this broad range of responsibilities include:

  • Finding and maintaining vendor contracts
  • Repair, maintenance, and building improvement
  • Workplace cleaning and décor
  • On- and off-site property management

If it has to do with the physical building, it falls within the facilities manager’s realm. Facilities are the second largest expense behind the workforce—it’s the job of a facility manager to turn the workplace into a competitive advantage, instead of a cost center. It’s about ensuring facilities meet the needs of the people using them.

Technology integration

More important than ever is the need for facilities managers to understand and use technology. Workplace management systems aggregate data, which drives crucial decisions about how to run the business and shape the workplace. Identifying and implementing the right technology is a chief responsibility of facility managers.

Integrating physical technology typically falls on the IT department. However, facilities managers are the first and last word on how they’re selected, used, and leveraged. Some examples of what this looks like in a modern setting include:

  • Researching IoT devices based on data collection needs
  • Integrating IoT devices into everyday facilities processes
  • Determining the cost, ROI, and advantage of smart technologies
  • Using aggregated data to better understand the workplace

Using an Integrated Workplace Management System (read more on what is IWMS software), facility managers can collect and analyze data from networked technologies to get insights about the workplace. This fuels better decision-making on how to optimize the work environment for the people using it.

It’s important to note that not all office tech relies on data collection. Access control systems support safety, while automation tech streamlines processes. And while there’s a data component to any networked device or software, the true benefit of most tech is in its function. It’s up to facility managers to understand and leverage this function for optimal ROI.

Putting it all together for facilities management

Facility managers support workers directly and indirectly. They establish processes for order and organization. They’re charged with upkeep and improvement of the facilities themselves. They create complex integrations to leverage data for success.

When you put these four functions together, they paint a picture of what facility managers really do. Broadly speaking, their focus is on optimizing the workplace to support every aspect of the business it touches. But on a deeper level, it’s about giving the company a steady foundation for success.

Keep reading: Selecting the best facility management software.

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Identifying Facilities Management Goals and Objectives

Identifying Facility Management Goals and Objectives

Facility management has always been critical to overall organizational success because of how it impacts key performance metrics like growth, productivity, and the bottom line. But as the landscape has changed, so has the process of identifying facility management goals and objectives. 

Continue reading “Identifying Facilities Management Goals and Objectives”
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Explore Archibus Back-to-Work Solutions 

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By Danielle Moore
Director, Channel Marketing
SpaceIQ

As organizations explore safe and measured returns to work, they need tools and resources to help ensure the ongoing health and safety of employees. Archibus provides tools for hoteling and reservations, preventive and corrective maintenance, occupancy, health compliance, and myriad others. Our goal is to deliver a complete suite of solutions that help organizations put their best foot forward as they take steps to get back to work.

Here’s a look at the many tools Archibus offers and how to capitalize on them. Keep checking back after each version release to discover new solutions to facilitate your return to work.

Hoteling 

Archibus’ robust hoteling features empower your workforce to find and book spaces with ease—from full-time employees, to flex workers, to visitors. Enforce bookings, schedule cleanings, monitor capacity, restrict and enable bookings, prevent duplicate reservations and more—all through a pool of pre-approved, socially distanced spaces. Learn more.

  • Improve space utilization and enable the disposition of excess inventory
  • Realize a more efficient facilities footprint resulting from improved space utilization
  • Accommodate a mobile workforce and increase employee satisfaction
  • Encourage responsible and efficient use of space

Reservations 

Room reservations create new governance opportunities for facility managers, without hampering employees as they return to the workplace. Use Archibus to structure workspace check-ins and mandate health checks before check-in. Allow pre-approved room reservations that incorporate time before and after a meeting for proper cleaning. Learn more.

  • Secure shared space and resources with self-service Web forms
  • Streamline invitations to participants via integration with most email clients
  • Reservations Plugin lets individuals make room reservations within the Outlook™ client
  • Extension for Microsoft Exchange handles all reservations and updates

Space Inventory 

With changing occupancy limits comes the need to redefine your space. Refocus allocation and distribute space in new, more efficient ways with Archibus’ space inventorying and planning tools. Assign employees to safe seats that meet social distancing guidelines and create workplaces that make better use of the space you have, based on demand. Learn more.

  • Deliver flexible, self-service reporting for effective space allocation and cost control
  • Improve evaluation of building performance and enable accurate benchmarking
  • Enhance design/planning capabilities to use space more efficiently
  • Increase productivity with Archibus All-in-One Home Page with quick access to tasks

Space Planning 

Forecast and plan for large space and occupancy changes at all levels, including portfolio, city, and site/campus, as well as building and room levels. Track when, how, and why employees use spaces, then leverage that data into more efficient floor plans—all designed within the parameters of a post-pandemic framework. Learn more.

  • View how space is allocated across divisions, departments, buildings, and campuses
  • Compare spaces to identify vacancies
  • Track available space over time
  • Generate space scenarios directly from existing inventory

Occupancy 

Track and manage which employees work remotely vs. those coming back-to-work in phases. Occupancy metrics help companies maintain distancing standards, manage desk availability, optimize for space utilization, and more. Archibus’ daily and real-time occupancy reporting puts facility managers on the front lines of planning for and enforcing safe space usage. Learn more.

  • Coordinate workspace availability between various workgroups
  • Authorize space allocation by group, department, shift, and more
  • Review daily occupancy data to glean insights about space trends
  • Integrate with reservation and hoteling software to automate occupancy management

Building Operations and Maintenance 

With a return to work comes a shift in operational best practices, especially around building maintenance. Archibus helps you adjust accordingly. Automatically schedule room and desk cleanings between reservations, to promote a safer work environment for employees. Or, schedule daily or periodic “deep clean” work orders for specific locations. Learn more.

  • Observe proactive and corrective maintenance workflows
  • Utilize a full CMMS to support your approach to facility maintenance
  • Create and define return-to-work tasks specific to workspaces
  • Automate maintenance and operations workflows to simplify oversight demands

Moves 

Maintain the mobility of your workplace and streamline the move/add/change processes, to support employee safety with minimal organizational disruption. Archibus’ centralized move management system lets you keep tabs on movement and action, so you can maintain workplace agility without compromising employee safety. Learn more.

  • Streamline the entire move process, including requests, approvals, and updates
  • Improve communication between in-house and external resources
  • Generates trial layouts, move analytics, and intelligent dashboards
  • Enable the timely distribution of updated personnel and cost center information

Workplace 

Create the workplace your employees need with Archibus. Help employees find resources, book meetings and workspaces, access services, and request moves through a convenient desktop or mobile experience. Archibus does it all, so you can shape the workplace around the needs of the people using it—all while staying safe, compliant, and productive. Learn more.

  • Use GIS and BIM data to create a complete digital twin of every workplace
  • Leverage broad integrations to create a workplace that’s smart and connected
  • Combine digital workplace assets with physical facilities, to better-support your team
  • Create an agile, flexible workplace that operates within a post-pandemic framework

Compliance 

Businesses of all sizes need to take steps to protect themselves from liability in a post-pandemic workplace. Lean on Archibus to reduce the chance of virus spread and potential shutdowns that result from inadequate compliance practices. From social distancing tracking to hazard abatement, you’ll have tools to prevent compliance issues before they arise. Learn more.

  • Personalized back-to-work e-mail notifications
  • Monitor and adjust the dynamic workplace
  • Achieve and maintain regulatory and code compliance
  • Track key processes involved in social distancing

Asset Management 

Take advantage of an integrated view of where to find key assets within your facilities, such as personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning supplies, and other equipment. Archibus makes it easy for employees to find the equipment and resources they need, and for facility and asset managers to track, monitor, and maintain them. Learn more.

  • Centralize asset inventory
  • Track assets, enhance accountability
  • Budget assets with full view costs
  • Enable a full life cycle strategy

Condition Assessment 

Evaluate the condition of critical assets and buildings, initiating remediation work where needed. Archibus keeps your facilities and assets up and running safely, with insights on how to prevent problems before they arise. Provide employees with a seamless return to work experience—one that isn’t hindered by downed assets or facility restrictions. Learn more.

  • Track asset condition, plan for maintenance, and prepare budget scenarios
  • Utilize an objective and systematic framework for prioritizing work
  • Improve information accuracy and consistency
  • Reduce downtime and associated costs

Emergency Preparedness 

From shared work environments to corporate campuses, emergency preparedness is key. As employees return to work, their situation and surroundings may have changed. They need to stay informed about new protocols and standards, so they can act accordingly in an emergency. Archibus helps you implement safety procedures and plan for hazards protectively. Learn more.

  • Proactive emergency operations management
  • Access accurate information about risks
  • Implement contact tracing to quickly resume normal operations
  • Expedite insurance claims and negotiate more favorable coverage terms

Hazard Abatement 

Protect employee health and minimize organizational liability by quickly and accurately locating, tracking, and abating hazards. From contact tracing to narrow exposure pools to workspace disinfection standards and scheduling, Archibus makes proactive management of hazards a top priority, to reduce liabilities across facilities. Learn more.

  • Facilitate a safe working environment for building occupants
  • Minimize regulatory actions and/or occupational illnesses
  • Avert costly operating shutdowns, loss of facility use, penalties, or fines
  • Identify, locate, sample, document, and abate potential exposures

Health & Safety 

Reduce workplace safety incidents and better manage personal protective equipment (PPE), training, medical monitoring, and work restrictions through Archibus. Use a mix of building information data and connected workplace sensors to get a top-down view of facilities and a clearer understanding of where and how to avoid potential health and safety risks. Learn more.

  • Identify, evaluate, and correct health and safety risks in the workplace
  • Reduce medical claims, disability compensation, and loss of productivity
  • Track and follow-up on health and safety incidents to minimize risk and liability
  • Reduce the cost of administering a health and safety program

Waste 

From masks and gloves to materials used to sanitize workspaces, pandemic waste materials need careful treatment and oversight. Use Archibus to track and manage COVID-19 hazardous waste from point of generation to final disposition, to mitigate errors, omissions, and accidents. Learn more.

  • Simplify tracking and management of hazardous waste streams
  • Decrease the risk of fines or litigation surrounding hazardous waste storage and disposal
  • Increase the visibility and improve accountability for waste management
  • Reduce the cost and effort of satisfying waste audit and reporting requirements

Projects 

Provide a central location for employees to manage COVID-related project details, including schedule tracking and budgeting. Archibus’ dashboard keeps employees in the loop about what’s expected of them and how to navigate projects and duties within the framework of new policies, protocols, and procedures. It sets standards and expectations for everyone. Learn more.

  • Create a top-down perspective of program and project priorities, actions, and costs
  • Allow project members to synchronize information at different organizational units
  • Streamline project oversight via milestones, tasks, and status changes
  • Reduce administrative burden by leveraging existing data

Get ready for a seamless return to work 

Archibus helps companies of all sizes get back to work. Utilize the tools above to plan and execute a seamless return to work, and keep checking back as we continue to add tools based on the needs of our customers.

Want to explore Archibus’ back-to-work solutions for yourself? Schedule a demo today.

Keep reading: Back-to-Work Planning & Employee Sentiment

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Government IWMS Software: 10 Must-Have Features

By Dave Clifton
Content Strategist
SpaceIQ

There’s been a prolific rise of government IWMS software over the last decade. It’s because, like other types of workplaces, government facilities have undergone major change. These facilities have become more complex and agile, and the expectations for them are more diverse than ever. Government IWMS solutions help marry form and function to meet these expectations.

From facility maintenance and space planning, to access control and wayfinding, the capabilities of IWMS for government agencies dictates their usefulness. While not every facility needs the same level of oversight, it’s nonetheless important for municipal building managers to have robust tools available to them. Here’s a look at 10 of the must-have features of an IWMS for municipal building management.

  1. Space management. Every square foot of space in government facilities is important. Facility managers need a top-down view that allows them to see which spaces are static, which are dynamic, and which offer flex potential, so they can manage the sum of facilities appropriately.
  2. Emergency preparedness. Government facilities are beholden to strict emergency preparedness. IWMS software enables emergency planning for everything from inclement weather, to threats of violence, to facility failures, and beyond. Moreover, it makes these plans accessible to everyone who needs them. It’s easy to update, disseminate, and train against these materials when they live alongside floor plans and other facility data.
  3. Lease management. Government facilities are taxpayer funded, which means maximizing ROI and value. Lease management tools help ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, and that the facilities they’re funding deliver value to the communities they serve. At a higher level, IWMS brings broad perspective to portfolio management across all government buildings within a certain jurisdiction.
  4. Fleet and asset management. Here again, government assets are the result of taxpayer dollars. It’s in the best interest of municipal building managers to keep track of assets and fleets in a way that shows upkeep, cost, ROI, utilization, and other important metrics that justify continued investment or new investments. This is important for everything from budgeting to cost-benefit analyses that may eventually become public information.
  5. Sustainability tools. Sustainability is paramount in government facility management. From energy conservation to recycling programs and waste management, IWMS platforms provide tools to ensure efficiency. They’re also instrumental in providing evidence-based insights into the efficacy of such programs. Combined with BIM and other modeling tools, sustainability metrics are part of next-gen building governance.
  6. Wayfinding tools. There’s an indisputable need for wayfinding in government buildings. An IWMS is central to a myriad of wayfinding integrations—everything from interactive facility maps, to employee directories, to point-by-point directional apps. IWMS lends facility context to wayfinding, to make it more robust and versatile. This is vital for municipal facilities large and small alike.
  7. Move management. Government facilities aren’t as static as they’ve historically been. In fact, the shift to more dynamic spaces has resulted in no small amount of relocation within buildings. Then move management tools within an IWMS help bring fluidity to agility, and unlock the utility of spaces that might otherwise remain closed-off or static. It’s also an important consideration during periods of remodeling or improvement to facilities.
  8. Hoteling and room booking. Private space is essential in a municipal setting. Employees need an opportunity to book space and reserve rooms they can use uninterrupted. Hoteling and room booking are a fundamental part of IWMS usage in government buildings, and the gateway to maintaining privacy and confidentiality when people are on the move.
  9. Access control systems. Most municipal facilities already have some form of access control. IWMS brings that control into a single system that makes managing it simpler. Whether it’s badging and ID passes or more advanced biometrics, IWMS is instrumental in creating accessibility for those who need to and restrictions against unwanted access.
  10. Maintenance management. Government buildings face significant need for maintenance, upkeep, and restoration given their age and rate of use. Orchestrating maintenance tickets and service logs is a fundamental must-have from an IWMS, and an important part of keeping facilities safe, accessible, useful, and clean.

The best government IWMS software will include a majority of these features—if not all of them. And even if you don’t need or use them all, it’s still vital to have them. Municipal buildings are still evolving, and will continue to evolve alongside other traditional workplaces. As they do, more and more of these features will become relevant to facility managers. It’s best to get familiar with them now.

Keep reading: Five Uses for Government Move Management Software

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Eight Major Benefits of Smart Buildings (and How to Capitalize on Them)

By Dave Clifton
Content Strategist
SpaceIQ

Building intelligence has grown at a rapid pace over the past few years. Beyond the aftermarket sensors and beacons of an ever-expanding IoT, more and more buildings are built smart, bridging the gap between physical and digital. It’s easy to see why. The benefits of smart buildings are numerous, and companies are quickly learning how to harness smart tech into better insights and decision-making for facility operations.

For companies new to the idea of smart buildings or building out a small IoT network of devices, it’s worth understanding the scope of opportunity affiliated with smart buildings. Intelligent technologies enable insights that are becoming increasingly important for companies governing agile workspaces, a flexible workforce, and increasing demands for space versatility.

What is a smart building?

A smart building is one that generates data about itself and how it’s used. Typically, this occurs via the Internet of Things (IoT). Networked IoT sensors turn physical workplace action into digital data, which facility managers can use to make accurate insights about the physical workplace. As a simple example, a pressure sensor in the floor of a conference room can show when that room is occupied. This generates data for real-time insights as well as information about how often it’s used, for how long, and whether the ROI of the space makes sense.

Smart buildings operate on a scale. Sometimes, it’s just a few sensors that provide targeted facility data. Other times, it’s a wide web of IoT devices that paint a complete digital picture of facilities. Regardless of size, the purpose of a smart building is to provide digital data about the physical application of a building and everything that happens within it.

Eight major benefits of smart buildings

The benefits of smart buildings come from the data-generating systems that power them. It’s much easier to understand facilities when there’s data to inform how people use them. Moreover, this works in reverse—it’s easier to manage facilities when you understand them. Here’s a look at some of the benefits of smart buildings and why they’re so important:

  1. Automation opportunities. The more links there are between the physical workplace and digital management systems, the broader the opportunities for automation. Motion sensitive lights. Floor sensors for occupancy. Beacons to gauge workspace utilization. The IoT triggers powerful automations for a wide assortment of applications.
  2. Quantifiable building insights. Each data point generated by the IoT is a quantifiable part of the tangible workplace. That means understanding more about how the workplace functions—who’s using it, how they’re using it, and when they’re using it. Data points add up to trends, which add up to actionable insights.
  3. Predictive maintenance. Through digital twins and similar technologies, buildings and workplaces become managed assets. It’s possible to engage in proactive maintenance and asset upkeep to ensure maximum ROI from these investments. Preventive maintenance becomes a core function of facility upkeep, powered by insights from the IoT.
  4. Better resource utilization. Consider the resources of the workplace. Space. Manpower. Technology. Smart buildings take these resources and quantify them within the context of broader facilities. The result is a better understanding of how people use those resources and information about how to make them more accessible or available.
  5. Reduced energy consumption. A product of automation and quantifiable building insights, green initiatives become simpler through smart buildings. Whether it’s motion-sensitive lighting or better HVAC management through a sensor-controlled system, lower energy costs benefit businesses and the environment.
  6. Real-time building insights. In workspaces with agile desking concepts, real-time insights are paramount. Good governance of these spaces relies on data to see what’s occupied vs. open and what the current status of a workspace is. Smart buildings offer the power to see the workplace as it is in a given moment. It goes beyond workspace occupancy, too. Real time insights extend to every digital representation of the physical building.
  7. Reduced operational costs. Why make the investment in the IoT? For most companies, it’s about ROI. The insights generated by a smart building need to add up to cost savings through better decision-making. If you can use data from X to make Y conclusion that save $Z, there’s power in leveraging smart building technologies.
  8. New workplace opportunities. In the new age of evolving work styles, change in the workplace is unavoidable. As flex work and agile workspaces become the new norm, there’s demand for systems to help manage them. This oversight is much easier by smart networks and systems that generate data to support the new workplace and its utilization.

The key takeaway here is data. Data about previously unquantified systems that sheds light on how the physical workplace operates. These insights lead to more meaningful management, both in terms of space and operations. Smart buildings and the IoT have opened the door to better use of buildings, no matter the purpose.

The office: the final corporate data frontier

The benefits of implementing a smart building plan are virtually boundless. There are as many opportunities to benefit as there are avenues to integrate software, processes, workflows, and reporting systems, and to use the information a smart building provides. This information is imperative in adapting the workplace to real-time demands.

As buildings get smarter, they open the door to better workplace agility. Whether your facilities are inherently smart or you’ve augmented them with a growing IoT network, harnessing the power of facilities information leads to better decision-making and more streamlined operations. Every data point counts, and every data point is useful.

Keep reading: The Top Challenges for Creating Smart Buildings

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How to Measure IWMS ROI

By Dave Clifton
Content Strategist
SpaceIQ

The shift to flexible work and the new desking concepts that support it has led to an even larger reliance on workplace software. Nothing provides support for workplace governance quite like an Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS). This comprehensive solution for digital workplace management gives facility managers the tools they need to manage a workplace in real-time. Not only that, it’s a window into workplace optimization on a broad array of levels. These benefits and more are evident in IWMS ROI.

IWMS ROI occurs at both top and bottom lines of a company’s balance sheet. The cost savings of an efficient desking concept vs. new opportunities for revenue by enabling employee productivity. Here’s a look at how to measure IWMS ROI through various lenses, depending on how your company utilizes this software.

What is IWMS?

First, a quick recap of the many ways IWMS software touches the different facets of a business’ operations. While IWMS applications vary greatly from organization to organization, the capabilities of these systems are broad. Some of the broad pillars its features encompass include:

  • Space planning and management
  • Workplace and employee experience
  • Real estate optimization and utilization
  • Facilities, maintenance and asset management

IWMS is the digital system through which facility managers can document, observe, oversee, and improve workplaces and facilities at large. It provides powerful reporting capabilities for whatever application it’s deployed to serve—which gives facility managers plenty of opportunity to track its ROI.

Space planning and management

The simplest way to measure the ROI of IWMS software in regard to space planning is to observe classic space-related metrics. Use available data to set the benchmark for these metrics, then peg improvements after IWMS implementation. Some of the core metrics to track include:

  • Capacity, occupancy and density
  • Overall and space-specific utilization rates
  • Cost per head and cost per seat
  • Mobility ratios

Historical data will tell the story of how IWMS insights help facility managers improve these metrics and do more with space. Especially as we enter the era of flex work and a mobile workforce, it becomes more and more important to make sure space meets the needs of companies and users in a cost-efficient way.

Workplace and employee experience

It can be difficult to put a price on employee experience and workplace culture. The best way to peg these benefits is through quantifiable metrics that have costs attributed to them. Say, for example, a company does a Net Promoter Survey and finds that happy employees are 26% more productive than the mean, and unhappy employees are 45% less productive than the mean. Apply these percentages to the revenue generation benchmark per employee to recognize the impact of workplace experience.

Quantifying emotion, opinion, sentiment, and other intangibles can provide insight for IWMS ROI. For example, if workplace sentiment averages 64 out of 100, the mean hourly revenue generated by a sales team might be $50.40. With IWMS improvements to create a more comfortable, supportive work environment, that average rises to 81 out of 100 and revenue of $64.50 per hour. Here, you can say that IWMS ROI in terms of workplace experience equates to $14.10 per hour in new revenue. Real change and real numbers make for meaningful ROI.

Real estate optimization and utilization

Calculating IWMS ROI at the real estate level is easy—chiefly because real estate management is inherently numbers-driven. Attributing ROI is a matter of understanding what changes an IWMS enables and how those changes trickle up to the macro level.

For example, if a new floor plan created through IWMS results in better cost per head, that’s reflected in the high-level ROI of the building within a portfolio. When the time comes to extrapolate positive changes across different locations, that location’s cost per head will come up as a model for broader company efficiency.

IWMS has a direct connection to lease costs and operations. Facility managers can gauge positive trends, cost savings, and new revenue tied to operations after implementing IWMS to see the value of software as a driver of improvements.

Facilities, maintenance and asset management

Asset management is one of the simplest avenues for IWMS ROI calculation. In many cases, it’s as simple as taking maintenance budgets or costs from prior years and comparing them to new strategies enabled by digital asset management tools. If the cost of facilities maintenance drops by 18% year-over-year thanks to proactive action through IWMS, the ROI is the dollar value associated with those saved costs.

There’s also ROI in each instance of smarter decision making. If IWMS data projects $1,000 in annual maintenance costs for a piece of equipment, the decision to use it for three more years makes more sense than to spend $6,000 on a new model. Or, at the very least, there’s an ROI in being able to budget for it.

IWMS ROI transcends dollar values

Calculating IWMS ROI requires companies to look at all the different ways IWMS enables better operations. In some cases, that means operational costs saved. In other situations, it’s the top-line growth made possible by IWMS innovations. Beyond even these facets of ROI, there’s one more to consider: the intangible benefits.

It’s difficult to put a dollar value on happy employees or comfortable workplaces—yet, these are major drivers of ROI. It’s essential to factor in not only the dollar figures that show up on the balance sheet, but also the intangibles that IWMS brings to a smooth-running, well-managed workplace environment.

Keep reading: 8 Benefits of IWMS for Smart Building Management

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The Many Benefits of Facility Preventive Maintenance

If you could prevent a headache from happening, wouldn’t you? Practically speaking, you can if you engage in preventive maintenance. Rather than waiting for something to break, companies are better off adopting a proactive mindset when it comes to facilities upkeep, improvements, and repairs. The benefits of facility preventive maintenance speak for themselves in not only headaches avoided but costs saved, liability prevented, and the continued status quo of the workplace.

It’s easy to see preventive maintenance as “jumping the gun” or fixing something before it needs repairs. The fact is, a well-calculated approach to preventive maintenance can undercut problems before they begin. Done right, it’s the perfect approach to asset management: planned intervention just before failure to create sustainable continuity.

What is facility preventive maintenance?

There are two schools of thought when it comes to maintenance of any kind: preventive vs. reactive. Preventive is a focus on solving problems before they require a solution; reactive waits for the problem to manifest before solving it.

In the context of facility maintenance, preventive simply means getting ahead of facility upkeep before it deteriorates to the point of affecting employees and productivity. As a very basic example, it might mean emptying all garbage cans every day to prevent accumulation, as opposed to waiting for the bin to get full, then emptying it. This simple concept applies to every part of facilities, from garbage cans to capital systems like plumbing and HVAC.

Buildings and their many subsystems need maintenance. Choosing a protective approach means getting ahead of maintenance before it erupts into problems.

The benefits of facility preventive maintenance

A preventive maintenance plan is complex to orchestrate but hugely beneficial when up and running. It can be the difference between waiting for a problem to erupt and preventing that problem from ever arising. That means reaping all the benefits that come from not needing to remediate an issue. Time spent not fixing something is time better spent being productive. Here’s a look at what this means in the context of facility preventive maintenance:

  • Better asset management. When assets like the copy machine, your server stack, or an elevator break down, they’re not usable. Preventive maintenance keeps vital assets up and running, so they can continue to serve productive uses—including facilities themselves.
  • Reduced liability. If something breaks down and becomes a hazard, it puts employee safety at risk. Fixing the leaky sink before it develops a pool of water and someone slips is a simple example of how preventive maintenance leads to reduced liability.
  • Improved cost control. It doesn’t take an expert to realize that the cost of preventive repairs is often much less than the cost of reactive service. Repairing before a cascade of problems is a smart way to save money on future preventable issues.
  • More accurate cost planning. Preventive repairs are accounted for. That means knowing ahead of time what the rough cost of service will be. Instead of waiting for a cost-inducing event, preventing maintenance enables better budgeting to preempt costs.
  • Better maintenance allocation. Planning for maintenance is also a great way to keep in-house craftspeople staffed accordingly. It prevents a deluge of work orders and instead, strings out routine maintenance and repairs over a more manageable timeline.
  • Streamlined facility services. As items come up for preventive maintenance, it becomes easier to assess peripheral systems and check upcoming logs. This promotes holistic facilities services that prevent even more troubles from arising unabated.
  • Improved company morale. It a small, yet meaningful benefit. When the workplace functions without problem, employees feel more welcome and at home in it. Reactive maintenance leaves employees waiting to use amenities they expect to be available.
  • Accurate facility oversight. Preventive maintenance means always knowing the status of facilities. What’s due for service? What’s recently been serviced? Are there pending issues to resolve? A preventive maintenance stance is part of proactive facilities management.

Preventing a problem always trumps remediating it after its already occurred. Facility managers who take a proactive stance against maintenance issues will reap the many benefits of facilities that work as expected and in a way that supports the activities within them. Whether it’s changing a lightbulb or scheduling HVAC cleaning, every small proactive step adds up to cumulative benefits.

Get ahead of problems, before they become problems

The benefits of implementing facility preventive maintenance show up in so many different ways. Fewer unexpected costs and better budgeting of facility upkeep. Better utilization and ROI from facilities. Enhanced employee safety and reduced liability. All this and more from the decision to prevent problems, instead of being content to fix them.

Companies that choose preventive maintenance will find that their facilities and everything in them run smoother on a day-to-day basis. Fewer headaches mean fewer problems, which promotes productivity and efficiency. It’s an investment in maintaining the status quo and choosing to contend with fewer disruptions to the workplace.

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Eight Benefits of IWMS for Smart Building Management

By Dave Clifton
Content Strategist
SpaceIQ

Today’s workplaces operate under the governance of dozens of different devices, programs, and pieces of software. The growing web of IoT devices and their signals helps businesses run efficiently—from the ability to book hot desks to building energy efficiency controls. More and more, companies are tying these many programs into an Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS). The benefits of IWMS are too great to ignore and too beneficial to overlook.

As a business’ web of essential technologies grows—and its operations become more sophisticated—the IWMS acts as an anchor. It centralizes all the digital operations of the workplace and makes it easy for systems to communicate with each other. The result is what we get when we think of smart buildings: facilities that intuitively support the work that happens in them.

What is IWMS?

An IWMS is, in a sense, an aggregator. It’s a dashboard-based system that pulls information and data from various sources, to provide a clean look at a company’s facilities. This encompasses five core areas of focus (typically):

  • Real estate management
  • Capital project management
  • Facilities management
  • Maintenance management
  • Sustainability initiatives

In smart buildings with robust IoT networks, the IWMS becomes even more powerful. Rather than relying on user input or manual entry data, the IWMS pulls from as many inputs as there are data-generating sources. The result is a clear, real-time, comprehensive look at the many aspects of business operation.

The benefits of implementing an IWMS system

What are the benefits of an integrated workplace management system (IWMS)? Here’s a look at eight of the most important and their role in smart building management:

  1. Simplifies the IoT. The IWMS aggregates IoT data into a dashboard for meaningful insights. This not only de-silos critical workplace data, it also contextualizes that data in regard to the five core areas of operational focus. IoT data has meaning in an IWMS, which lends itself to powerful insights and better decision-making.
  2. Integrates digital processes. As the web of connected business technologies grows, IWMS centralizes the information it yields. IWMS can connect everything from a fleet of data-generating IoT devices, to a hoteling management platform, to processes for support ticketing.
  3. Highlight efficiency opportunities. Because everything flows through the IWMS, there’s data and metrics to support better facility oversight. Facility managers can identify trends, problems, or projections to understand opportunities for improvement. This, without needing to comb multiple different programs or datasets.
  4. Helps manage costs. One of the most important functions of an IWMS in a smart building is attaching fixed costs to dynamic action. For example, if you know how much a kilowatt hour costs, lighting sensors can show you how much you’re paying (and saving) through smarter operation.
  5. Streamlines new initiatives. Smart buildings are dynamic. Their needs and uses change frequently, which makes it important to chart these new initiatives in a system that tracks and manages the many measurable aspects of facilities. IWMS takes the information from a smart building and makes it easier to apply to action and new initiatives.
  6. Provides insightful reporting. As mentioned, IWMS is a dashboard. It provides vital operational insights at a glance—insights made more accurate and informative by smart building technologies. While the IoT quantifies the physical workplace, IWMS aggregates that data to qualify aspects of its operation.
  7. Improves business transparency. The more accessible information stakeholders can access about facilities and operations, the more transparency there is in managing them. Clear and present data in an IWMS provides a clear and present call to action for how to manage facilities and the people within them.
  8. Keeps companies compliant. From occupancy standards to emergency preparedness, companies need to stay compliant with worker safety mandates. Access to digital floor plans, scenarios, and workplace data in an IWMS delivers the insights necessary to maintain compliance.

IWMS software provides context for smart building management. The office IoT, digital twin, and integrated software all connect with the IWMS to create real value. Facility managers can collect data, sync processes, understand the workplace better, and take meaningful steps to improve it. The IWMS harnesses building management into one central system.

Smart buildings need smart management

The smarter a building is, the more support it’s able to provide to employees and operations. But that intelligence demands more oversight. An IWMS is a facility manager’s best opportunity to harness the complex processes associated with intelligent buildings and make sure they result in meaningful contributions to the workplace. From desk booking to climate control, support ticketing to vendor management, an IWMS makes managing smart buildings simple.

Keep reading: What is a Smart IWMS and What are its Features?

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Blog

COVID-19 Offers Opportunities for Workplace Improvements 

Young people with face masks back at work in office after coronavirus quarantine and lockdown.

By Danielle Moore
Channel Marketing Manager, Archibus
SpaceIQ

The United States recently passed a year since the original shelter-in-place and work-from-home orders came with the onset of COVID-19. Today, once-teeming offices look quite different. Some companies still haven’t reopened. Those that have gone back have done so with emphasis on new policies and procedures to keep employees as safe as possible.

For many companies, the hiatus from office work or a soft return to the workplace opened the door for introspection. Namely, COVID-19 created opportunities to tackle capital projects without disrupting operations.

Not only has COVID-19 allowed businesses to make workplace improvements unabated it has also had a major influence on the types of projects companies are investing in. With the promise of mass vaccinations inching closer, employees may find themselves coming back to a workplace that looks and feels fundamentally different from the one they left.

The need for capital improvements

For many businesses, COVID-19 shutdowns presented an opportunity to start on projects already on the docket. Many of these projects were likely put off because of potential disruptions to normal workflow. For example, it is difficult to repave the employee parking lot or remodel the lobby when these spaces see daily use. Remote work instantly removed the primary obstacle: traffic.

Other capital improvements might be proactive, yet timely. For example, retrofitting the HVAC system in an old building becomes much more important when you consider the spread of COVID-19 through respiratory droplets and its ability to live in the air for three hours or more. Instead of putting this upgrade off for another few years, it becomes a clear and present priority.

And, of course, there’s the workplace itself to consider. It has becoming increasingly clear that work won’t be the same in a post-COVID-19 world. Companies have pivoted to adapt their workplace to bring back employees safely. But this is only a stopgap measure. Real change needs to support new work habits, which is urging many companies to think long-term and make capital improvements that redefine the workplace.

COVID-19 influences permanent workplace changes

There’s been ample opportunity for companies to reimagine their workplaces. In doing so, many have undertaken renovation projects in the wake of empty or partially staffed offices. Their focus? Creating floor plans and workstations that support new modes of work.

Close quarters are a thing of the past—as are tight conference rooms and space-deficient corner offices. For many companies, remodeling focuses on opening space and redefining how employees interact with and use space. Social distancing is now a mainstay, which means opening up the workplace to avoid cramped quarters and individual room occupancy limits. Some common remodeling changes trending in the workplace include:

  • More open spaces, for free flowing yet socially distant navigation
  • Hotel desking and rooms governed by reservation and bookings
  • Changes to floor plans to allow for navigability and better workplace flow
  • Different desking types, including standing, mobile, and minimalist
  • Partitions and moveable dividers to create makeshift enclosures

These changes all require some degree of renovation to make them a reality. Without employees relying on the space, it’s been much easier for companies to make these changes quickly and effectively. More important, it allows companies to make changes the right way—changes that’ll root the future of workplace operations.

Workplace improvements show a commitment

Companies taking advantage of COVID-19 closures to firm up the workplace of the future have put themselves in a hugely beneficial position. Not only have they shown a commitment to employee safety, but they’ve also proven themselves forward-looking and accepting of new workplace norms. Instead of sitting idly during the pandemic, proactive companies have realized the many opportunities of undertaking workplace improvements:

  • Improved health and safety standards for employees
  • Reduced liability from controlled remodeling
  • More efficient space utilization and floor planning
  • Accessible desking concepts for flex workers
  • Cost savings through better lease administration
  • Increased ROI from facilities as a managed asset

There are substantial benefits in upgrading the workplace, made even more pronounced by the idea that we’re going through a paradigm shift in work. Committing to evolving with the situation instead of after it instills confidence in employees. When the day finally does come to return to the workplace, they’ll find an environment already adapted to suit them.

Promote a seamless return to work

The past year has been jarring for employees. They’ve left behind a familiar workplace and adapted to remote work. Now, just as they’re getting settled, they might be coming back—but not to the same workplace. It’s another change of scenery and another period of transition. Employers need to be mindful of the disruption this can cause and take steps to support employees.

Welcome workers back slowly and help them get accommodated. Encourage social-emotional leadership from management and make it easy for employees to get settled. In the case of new desking concepts like hoteling, training is paramount.

Above all, the simplest thing an employer can do is to be communicative. Keep employees apprised of workplace changes and give them an opportunity to ground themselves. The workplace may look different post-COVID-19, but it should also feel more welcoming, supportive, and accessible.

Keep reading: COVID-19 Workplace Resources