Best Facility Management Software for Your Business

What is Facility Management Software?

Facility management software (FM) consists of a set of tools used to organize and plan the management and maintenance tasks within a facility. These tools help improve the efficiency of your facility processes.

Moreover, they will also help you save time and money by properly managing your buildings, assets management, and occupants more efficiently. A robust facility management platform allows multi-site facility managers to perform a range of functions.

These include asset management, maintenance and repair, compliance, work order fulfillment, data analytics, and preventive maintenance scheduling.

The right tools will allow you to adequately track space usage, increase energy efficiency, analyze spending patterns over time, and cut costs. Furthermore, FM tools will help you improve communication with service providers and internal stakeholders.

Features of a Facility Management Platform

1. Asset Management

Running your enterprise becomes a lot easier if you can find key information about your assets in a couple of clicks. A facility management software allows you to tag your assets with unique identifiers. It allows you to easily input an asset’s make, model, manual, serial number, and other relevant files.

Moreover, you can even upload images of your equipment with a link to its location. Thus, helping your team easily find the tools they need and whenever they need them. An FM software will also help you with advanced functionality like warranty tracking, generating work orders, and barcoding.

2. Work Order Management

Tracking work orders on paper or maintaining a binder for the same is a thing of the past. Not only were these tools inconvenient, but they also led to lost work orders. 

Interestingly, a facility management tool will help you reduce the time you spend handling requests and even organize the whole process. The best in class facility management software comes with work order management tools that allow real-time tracking of work orders.

Moreover, you can easily create a work order, and it is then synced across all your devices. It also helps you customize workflows, set priorities, track costs, and stay updated with vendor assignments.

3. Preventive Maintenance 

When was the last time your business experienced downtime due to an equipment failure? Well, such incidents are the result of poor maintenance practices.

Preventive maintenance will help you prolong an asset's life cycle and lower the total cost of ownership.

A facility maintenance system comes with a preventive maintenance module. Thus, helping you keep your equipment up and running and scheduling service tasks.

It also gives you automatic reminders and status updates. This will help you avoid costly repair and halted production.

4. Inventory Management

Managing an inventory is no easy task. However, a facility management system software will help you manage your parts and supply inventories with ease. It will also provide you with details like your inventory's total cost and how often you use a specific piece of inventory.

When you have all the information in place, you can make smarter purchasing decisions and make sure that you are well stocked. Also, a cloud-based facility management system software provides you with instant email notifications about the low quantity of products.

5. Vendor Management

Managing vendors requires you to keep a close eye on your supply chain and make improvements daily. However, it can be a painstaking task, and you can miss out on several aspects of your business processes that are not streamlined.  

Interestingly, FM software allows you to assign work orders without ever sending an email or picking up the phone. All you need to do is provide a secure login to your vendor, and they can easily manage their activities.

Moreover, they can even track their time and charges. Thus, giving you the exact cost spent per work order. Furthermore, facility management software provides centralized access to information. You can get access to work histories, invoices, and other useful data right at your fingertips.

6. Reporting

Forecasting sales and creating budgets need an in-depth analysis of data and requires a lot of time. What if you could automate the whole process?

Interestingly, with a facility management system all, you need to do is enter key parameters into pre-built report fields. It even allows you to build reports with your key performance indicators (KPIs) for customized reporting.

Moreover, a facility management tool even helps you transfer and digitally store all important documents in one place.

Benefits of Facility Management Software

Facility maintenance software offers a host of benefits. Some of them include-

1. Ensure Regulatory Compliance

Compliance rules are laws applicable to all industries, and failure to follow them can result in fines or even a shutdown of operations. However, facility management software can be easily programmed to test against compliance issues. 

2. Capture Information Automatically

A facility management system captures information automatically through the course of the workday. For example, if you fill out a work order to repair a piece of equipment, the software will capture the information and add it to the record associated with that particular piece of equipment. Thus, helping you store data efficiently.

3. Fast and Accurate Reporting

A cloud-based facility management software allows you to generate real-time reports with little to no delay. Thus, helping you make more informed business decisions.

4. Employee Insights

Facility management software solutions allow you to gain key insights into employee performance. Moreover, the software helps each employee be aware of the exact part he/she plays in the maintenance operation of the facility. 

In the long run, it allows you to monitor employee performance, measure their productivity levels, and identify opportunities for improvement. 

5. Integration Capabilities

Facility management software can easily integrate with other systems used in your organization. Thus, helping you get the benefits of several useful tools on a single platform. 

For example, you can integrate accounting software with your facility management system to keep close track of your finances.

Difference Between Facility and Property Management

An online facility management software offers a host of benefits. However, you must consider the following things before you invest in FM software.

1. Understand Your Organization’s Needs 

Before you start shopping for FM applications, you need to make a comprehensive list of your facility management needs. The best way to get the most out of your software is to learn how to use it. Here are a few questions you need to ask yourself?

• How many employees do you have?

• Does your organization use your existing premises solely?

• What is the method of decision making, like project management, asset management, and maintenance?

Once you have answered these questions, you also need to identify why you are not satisfied with your current software.  

Facility management software should make your activities more effective and streamlined. 

Does it provide you with full-fledged benefits like room allocation, transition management, and sales forecasting?

If yes, you should go ahead and shortlist the tool for your organization. A software solution that meets your organization's daily operational needs will help you grow in the long run. 

2. Research The Marketplace

You would need to consider various recent developments in technology when deciding on the right applications for facility management. 

New possibilities have opened up in the field of field management for hosting and deploying apps. So, it is important to be aware of the choices and then choose the best fit for your organization.

Here are some considerations you need to make, 

A. Mobile Device Access

The majority of FM software is internet-based. Can your business profit from mobile device access?

The process involves collecting order forms, uploading asset condition proof, and scanning QR codes to access asset and service history data. 

If you feel that these facilities will help reduce your workload, then facility management software could be useful. 

B. Integration

Facility management solutions focus on performance improvement and business decision making. This is possible as they can be integrated with organizational structures like Building Management System (BMS) and Building Information Modelling (BIM). If having integration capabilities is a priority, you need to select an FM software that offers them.

3. Finding The Best Vendor

The next step is to narrow down your list and compare software to find the best facility management software. While most of the equipment management applications can look the same, variations can make a huge difference. 

For example, you may need a more department-focused application for mobile access. However, the facility management software you have shortlisted may be focused on maintenance management. 

Thus, you must gain a solid understanding of your facility management tools. You will be in good condition to find the right solution once you have these desirables in place. 

It will be best if you follow these steps. 

• Have a definitive list of the features, requirements, and KPIs.

• Shortlist at least five vendors that match your list of requirements.

• Write down/print out the functions that each vendor can supply.

• Make a list of noteworthy points from each vendor, such as free trials, training support, and prices.

At the end of this comparison and evaluation stage, you will have the exact idea of how your perfect tool will look. 

4. Can the Facility Management Software Scale With Your Business?

When your company expands, will your chosen facility management support its development? Or, will it become a roadblock to your development? 

You must see facility management software as a long-term investment. Once you know how to use the software, you can easily explore these opportunities to map your company’s growth.

Can a step towards centralized management boost overall results? Well, it may work well in your favor. Is it the desk arrangement that is increasing your operating costs? 

All you need to do is put your existing five-year plan in line with your facility management solution. This will help you find ways to fulfill your objectives. 

5. Demo Trial

Now that you have finalized your product be sure to take a demo and explore. It will give you a good understanding and sense of the platform in real-time. 

Moreover, it will show you what to expect when you finally select that particular facility management solution. 

A guided demo is a great way of understanding your platform step by step. Likewise, unguided trails allow you to explore the platform uninterruptedly. 

6. Integrating With Existing Systems

A reputable facility management system provider understands that handing over a functional system is not the end of the process. The vendor will help you understand what is included in the device price.

This includes instance service and maintenance and how improvements can be implemented to the existing system. Moreover, the software provider will ensure that FM software reaches its maximum ability to get a great return on investment. 

Top 5 Facility Management Software Trends

1. BIM for Facility Managers

Building Information Modeling (BIM) offers a huge opportunity to improve collaboration and communication for facility managers. While BIM is not a new technology, it is becoming common in the facility management sector. 

It offers a complete visual model of facilities, assets, and infrastructure. Facility professionals are harnessing the power of BIM for data accessibility, task management, project management, and delivery. 

When integrated with the existing facility management system, facility teams noticed an improved ability to retrieve accurate asset information and insights.

2. Drones for Facility Condition Assessments

Drone technology is becoming more efficient and less expensive. Owners and operators of buildings and infrastructures will begin to integrate drones for aerial surveillance in the coming years.

This will allow FM managers to monitor large areas more effectively. Implementing drones with facility management systems can also increase safety and automation capabilities.

3. Data Gets Even More Mobile

The rise of mobile technology is letting facility managers gain greater diversity in their work environments. The ability to track multiple locations from a single place is a great advantage. 

Facility professionals can easily access the information they need on an asset through their browser-based facility management system. Also, transitioning to a digital workflow has helped facility managers eliminate downtime and streamline their processes.

4. Blockchain Buzz

The use of blockchain is gradually becoming a more important part of the technology used in facility management. Blockchain is a ledger technology used to track activities and actions within a system.

As per the Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association (PRSM),

“Blockchain has the power to revolutionize contract management, work order processing, payment processing, tracking of facilities management and maintenance needs, and increase overall facility transparency.”

It is easier to review data stored in a blockchain, even when there are separate departments involved.

Blockchain can easily streamline processes and lower costs through the reduction of manual labor. This could be adapted to preventive maintenance, work orders, safety planning, and space management.