As building designs evolve and include new technology, the scope of a facilities manager’s role also expands. Advanced features in modern buildings, such as demand-controlled ventilation systems, access control and surveillance systems, and computer servers, require high maintenance, which costs a lot of time and money. Facility managers must establish comprehensive preventative maintenance and management plans that prevent breakdowns and optimise these assets with the least running costs and the highest return on investment.
Thankfully, facilities management technology is also evolving. Facility managers now use various tools that make their job easier no matter how complex and varied their portfolios are. One of the latest additions to a facility manager’s growing arsenal of digital solutions is CAFM (Computer-Aided Facility Management). While generic sounding, this tool is transforming facilities management on an unprecedented scale. In this blog post, we’ll explore how CAFM works and why facility managers should invest in it.
How does CAFM work?
Computer aided facilities management system or CAMF is a system facility managers use to manage and optimise facilities, assets, and resources. It’s a type of software that combines various technologies such as Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Building Information Modelling (BIM), and Geographic Information System (GIS) to provide a complete view of a facility’s operations. Designed for large-scale, multi-portfolio monitoring, CAFM can be used to manage various aspects of facility management, including asset tracking, space planning, maintenance management, inventory management, and energy management.
Managing the lifecycle of facilities and assets, from planning and construction to maintenance and disposal, can be complicated due to the immense amount of data involved. With computer aided facility management software, facility managers and facility management companies can obtain and analyse real-time data seamlessly and generate insights that can be used to make informed decisions about resource allocation, maintenance, and facility operations. The system also helps to automate routine tasks, such as work order management and preventive maintenance scheduling, which saves time and improves efficiency.
How can CAFM systems help optimise facilities management?
Facility management is critical to any organization’s operations, ensuring that the physical assets and resources are adequately maintained, optimized, and utilised. However, managing facilities effectively can be complex and challenging, requiring many skills, expertise, and tools. CAFM provides a comprehensive platform that helps bridge gaps. Here’s how CAFM can optimise facilities management:
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Asset Management
The demand for better monitoring and maintenance systems has significantly increased at the dawn of the digital age. Traditional facility management techniques and tools are no longer sufficient to ensure that the organisation’s assets, such as equipment, furniture, and vehicles, are properly tracked, maintained, and utilised. CAFM provides a robust platform that simplifies and streamlines these tasks, enabling facility managers to easily track multiple assets and create a more precise maintenance schedule.
With CAFM, facility managers can quickly and easily locate assets, view their details, and track their individual maintenance history. This allows them to accurately schedule preventive maintenance activities, reducing downtime and extending the lifespan of assets. CAFM also enables facility managers to optimise asset utilisation, ensure that assets are used effectively and efficiently, and reduce unnecessary procurements.
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Space Management
Space utilisation and management is another critical aspect of facilities management. Facility management companies use this to ensure the organization’s space is utilised effectively and efficiently. CAFM provides a platform for tracking space utilisation, allocating space to employees and departments, and planning space changes.
With CAFM, facility managers can quickly and easily view floor plans, track occupancy levels, and identify underutilised space. This allows them to formulate time-saving solutions and make informed decisions about space allocation, reducing wasted space and optimising available space. CAFM also simplifies the planning and management of space changes, such as office reconfigurations or department moves, minimising disruption to employees and reducing costs.
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Maintenance Management
Facility managers are also responsible for ensuring that facilities and assets are adequately maintained and that maintenance activities are scheduled and completed on time. They now use CAFM for maintenance management, particularly scheduling maintenance activities, tracking maintenance history, and optimising maintenance processes. In addition, CAFM-enabled project management software products like PlanRadar have data analytics capabilities that generate valuable insights into the facility and asset maintenance.
With CAFM, facility managers can easily create and manage work orders, track their individual status, and view the maintenance history for each asset. This is the most effective way to schedule preventive maintenance activities and avoid downtime-causing malfunctions accurately. Some systems take time to repair and run, which could mean lost income for the entire building should the maintenance schedule fail. CAFM also enables facility managers to identify improvement and cost saving opportunities.
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Energy Management
Most modern buildings have features and amenities that consume too much energy. This prompts better energy management approaches, especially since building owners demand further ways to reduce energy usage and costs. Integrating CAFM into the facilities management system allows for more efficient energy consumption monitoring. For example, the software can be programmed to identify high-energy consumption areas and implement energy-saving measures.
Internet of Things (IoT) can be integrated into the CAFM system to gather and analyse a building’s energy consumption data. This allows facility managers to monitor energy usage in every unit, floor, or block in real-time. They can use the data to develop solutions to optimise lighting, HVAC, and other power guzzlers in the building. This leads to more cost savings and improved sustainability while ensuring that facilities are comfortable and safe for employees and visitors.
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Reporting and Analytics
Big data refers to large and complex data sets that cannot be easily managed or processed using traditional data processing tools and techniques. This is the by-product of the digital age, and it affects all industries, including facilities management. Facility managers need a system that enables them to efficiently gather and analyse high-quality data from daily reports and documentation. The analysis can give them insights into key performance indicators and allow them to make informed decisions about resource allocation, maintenance, and facility planning.
CAFM, used in today’s facility management services, is equipped with reporting and analytics capabilities, which facility managers can use to organise and analyse reports on various metrics. It has surpassed traditional methods and tools that can only handle limited data and produce vaguer projections. In addition, facility optimisation with CAFM creates opportunities for scaling up.
Conclusion
CAFM is a valuable tool facility managers should use to manage facilities effectively and efficiently, optimise resource utilization, and reduce operating costs. With the demand for sustainability and faster business growth growing faster than ever, facility management should be data-driven and scalable by integrating various digital solutions.
Integrated facility management featuring CAFM is the new norm in the industry. For this reason, it’s also becoming increasingly more challenging to choose the right software product. Choose software that can provide you with more capabilities and allows you to seamlessly scale your business, especially when you need to integrate more advanced technology in the future.
Find out how PlanRadar can upgrade your facilities management system and enable you to run CAFM more efficiently. Start your 30-day free PlanRadar trial or contact us.
