Article – Facilities Manager: IWMS is your best friend

Do you know the link between Real Estate Management, Energy Management, Space Management, and Capital Project Planning? They are all missions of a one same person at a company… the Facility Manager.

Facilities Management – also known as Facility Management – is often used in the business world. Do you know what it actually means? If you check on the dictionary, you will read that it is “the maintenance of an organization’s buildings, equipment, and land”.

We want to dedicate our article to Facilities Management and some tips to ease Facilities Managers’ daily lives job through IWMS Solutions (Integrated Workplace Management System).

 

  • Facilities Management: what is this exactly? 🤔

It gathers the tools and services which support the functionality, safety, and sustainability of buildings, grounds, infrastructure, and real estate.

Did you know there are two different types of Facilities Management?

  • Hard Facilities Management (HFM): this category gathers physical assets – that are mainly required by law and integral to the building itself – namely Lift Maintenance, HVAC System, plumbing, Smoke/Fire Alarm Systems, Emergency Exits, Building Maintenance, wiring, and so on.
  • Soft Facilities Management (SFM): this second type is more about services that make the workplace more pleasant and secure, but are not compulsory – such as Security, Catering, Lease Accounting, Car Parking, Landscaping, Custodial Services, Cleaning, and so on.

 

  • What does a Facility Manager manage? 🎯

A Facility Manager has a lot to think about, and the areas in which he/she must intervene are diverse and varied.

  • Cleaning: the workplace, Windows Cleaning, Waste Processing, Façade Cleaning, etc. It is a crucial point to give a good impression to clients and increase employees’ well-being.
  • Security: the Security Staff patrols, interventions, Emergency Services, and replacements of Security Equipment – First Aid Kit, Fire Extinguisher, etc.).
  • Catering: the provision and maintenance of vending machines, Food Services Support, if there is any.
  • Green Care: green areas – such as gardens, trees, plants, etc. – parking spaces construction and maintenance, fences and outside seating areas, balconies, fountains or even ponds.
  • Document Management: the Mail Processing – Incoming and Sending Mail, postage, Mail Registration, etc. – Archive Management, office supplies, printed matter maintenance, and company’s internal mail.
  • Overall Maintenance: it gathers the infrastructure, renovation, maintenance and design of the office buildings – painting, floor covering, electricity supply, anti-corrosion maintenance, sports equipment, and so on.

 

  • Cost optimization resulting in value creation 🤩

A clear structure of expenditure and a more efficient execution of non-core activities will result in a better cost management. Expertise, experience, and the best IWMS techniques are the perfect combination to achieve this efficiency in the execution and maintenance processes.

By reducing significantly your costs, you will obviously create value and budget to be used for other needs or growth initiatives, for instance. Friendly and safe atmosphere, agile working, perfect work-life balance are increasingly dominating the business world and are now considered as pillars. The economy is no longer only product-based, but also experience-based.

We have changed and increased our way of living by promoting well-being and efficiency – remote working, fast services and deliveries, pleasant and flexible workplaces comfortable meeting rooms, adapted and efficient technology, etc. This is precisely the Facility Management’s objective.

 

As we have seen in this article, Facility Management is much more than storage and distribution of goods, providing meals, cleaning and maintenance. Opting for an Integrated Workplace Management System could help you enjoy many quantifiable benefits in distinct areas – such as Portfolio Management, Space Management, Project Management, and Asset Management, to give you some examples.

A Facility Manager is a key player in a company’s everyday life: he/she is the person who deals with the smallest adjustment to large-scale renovations. You have much to benefit from a software solution able to ease the processes necessary to the company’s smooth running. If you need more information, you can check our website by clicking here.