Save Time with Project Management Software

How facility manager NORD/FM is saving up to 70% of time spent on follow-up work and tracking

Norddeutsche Facility Management GmbH (NORD/FM) offers services for building management, construction management, property brokerage and consultancy in the facility management sector. The company is headquartered in Hanover and has 145 employees. Their teams always take an integrated and sustainable approach to the planning, implementing and running of each real estate project, and for the associated management and consultancy services.

NORD/FM efficiently manages the property services offered and enables quality assurance to be completed on schedule using PlanRadar’s project management software.

The problem: recording the current condition of buildings and the associated follow-up work is very time-consuming

Benjamin de Beisac is responsible for property management at NORD/FM and oversees construction work and tasks related to facility management. Because all buildings are unique, documenting all the work that needs to be done and the facts usually involves a great deal of effort. In the past, this was particularly true for follow-up work and tracking of work.

Employees often spent several hours in the office after a property inspection putting together photos and data in defect lists before sharing these documents with those responsible. In addition, the flow of information between those involved sometimes came to a standstill due to gaps or missing media. “Then one person knew about a defect, but not others,” said Benjamin de Beisac. The unintended result was delays to project progress, misunderstandings or even duplicated work.

The solution: PlanRadar’s project management software makes processes on-site and in the office more efficient

NORD/FM uses PlanRadar project management software for project management and maintenance management to increase the efficiency of these processes. When a building’s condition is surveyed as part of the technical due diligence for purchasing processes, the current status of properties is recorded digitally. For this purpose, the floor plans can be quickly and easily uploaded to the system. At the touch of a button, particular features can be recorded at the relevant points in the digital plans and in BIM models via smartphone and tablet or the PC.

For annual building inspections, the company records building conditions, maintenance requirements and damage with the project management software. The points noted are categorised according to how necessary any action is and shared with employees and contractors immediately. The Excel export function makes compact data analysis possible and forms the basis for clear management reporting. In addition to defect tracking, the project management software is also used for taking minutes in construction meetings and recording to-do lists. “The fact that the tickets can be freely programmed means that records can be adapted to individual requirements,” said Benjamin de Beisac.

In the letting process for existing developments, NORD/FM uses PlanRadar for targeted recording of the tenant requests that are mentioned during inspections and negotiations. The recorded data can be used to take these requests into account if the rented portfolio needs to be renovated.

The result: project management software reduces the amount of work

With PlanRadar’s project management software, project managers can track the status of the work in buildings in real time. By connecting tradespeople and other subcontractors at no extra cost, NORD/FM has all the information about completion details and deadlines available at all times.. Real-time mapping of tasks prevents duplicated work, because all project participants can call up the current status at any time.

Benjamin de Beisac explained the benefits: “For NORD/FM, using PlanRadar for follow-up work and tracking has resulted in time savings of up to 70%, because all data and tasks are recorded and consistently documented on site. By working with the software, the number of misunderstandings related to task management has also been reduced, because actions can be located directly o the digital plan and enriched with additional information such as photos and voice memos“.