The growing need for profitability, business flexibility and transparency means a bigger and bigger challenge for Facility Managers. What are the real costs and where are the potential savings? What is the best provision strategy? How can quality be measured and granted without compromising the budget? And new complexities such as legislation, normative compliance, business continuity, technology evolution and sustainability.
Due to the size of the budget that FM manages, savings translate quickly into profit for the organization. It is essential to have up-to-date, reliable and immediate information to make decisions. Those software tools specifically designed for FM will help manage that volume of information.
Software tools
Software tools for FM can be divided into these groups:
- ERP (Enterprise Resources planning)
- (Computerized Maintenance Management System)
- CAD (Computer Aided Design)
- CAFM (Computer Aided Facility Management )
- IWMS ( Integrated Workplace Management systems)
ERP is a system designed for planning, control and operation from a financial point of view. It is characterized by being made up from different modules integrated to support the main activities: finances, production, sales, purchasing, logistics, accounting, project management, GIS, inventory and storage control, payrolls, etc. ERP manages essential items related to FM from a financial point of view.
CMMS is a system that helps with equipment maintenance, corrective, preventive and predictive maintenance. It is focused on resources availability and includes tickets control, inspection planning, stock and spare parts control and creation and follow-up of work orders.
CAD is 2D and 3D drawing software. 2D drawing tools are based on vector geometric entities such as points, lines, arcs and polygons, with which can be operated via a graphical interface. 3D modellers add surfaces and solids. CAD can also be used in the context of product life cycle management.
CAFM is an information and management system that allows working in graphic and alphanumeric ways equally and is supported by a document manager that is integrated in the system. It helps manage graphically and simply all buildings information. Most of CAFM packages in the market are based on CAD systems with a more or less robust link to alphanumeric elements in data bases.
CAFM and IWMS terms are usually used equally. However, there are differences between these two systems. From a functional point of view, the biggest difference is that IWMS includes Real Estate, rent and project management and sustainability functionalities.
IWMS systems integrate five functionality key components, operated from just one technological platform and a data base. These functionality areas are:
- Property Management (property, rent and insurances control, investment plans, etc.)
- Space and Project Management (tickets control, follow up planning, stock control, etc.)
- Service Management (requests, reservations, fleet management, etc.)
- Sustainability Management (energy consumption, carbon footprint, waste management, etc.)
Conclusions
There are many software tools in the market to help us with our activity. Some of them are so complex that con manage everything we can imagine. But, as everything, it has a price. We should evaluate its return of investment to determine it viability.
First of all, we cannot forget that they are management tools; they are not a solution ‘per se’. Depending on the size of the portfolio we have to manage, they might be even unnecessary. In other cases it should be determined first what is exactly what we need, because if we do not know what we want, the process may turn against us.
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