Bringing CAFM into the Board Room
This article looks at how simple reporting can bring CAFM into the Board Room. While the benefits of Computer-Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) for operational and tactical FM are well established, its capacity to enable Upper Management remains a largely overlooked opportunity.
Bringing CAFM into the Board Room
If you’re a manager of large operation, what keeps you awake at night? High on the list is the creeping worry that things for which you’re responsible –upon which your finances and credibility depend– are somewhere going awry and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Managing a large organisation in the c21st bears similarities to governing an overseas Empire in the c18th. Not only is it bewilderingly complex and slippery, but news on critical issues, issues requiring an immediate response, invariably arrives long after the event.
Urgent c18th communications
With CAFM this doesn’t always have to be the case.
Different Contexts, Same Reporting Needs
Two recent KEY projects provide good illustration, both involving CAFM mobilisation.
The first is a UK outsourcing business with 40+ sites, and involving over half-a-million assets. The second is a multinational with 19 locations across 16 developing countries, each with local teams, suppliers and situation-specific requirements.
Despite differing contexts, a primary driver behind both is the promise of real-time operational control for Upper Management. However, how do you distil an ocean of data into simple information which can support timely strategic decision-making?
KEY’s reporting solution for both projects entailed notable similarities, including simple headline reporting in the following areas:
Continuous Operational Improvement
Performance Management:
A supplier which is not fit-for-purpose requires immediate action, e.g. imposing clear penalties or finding a replacement where appropriate.
This can be facilitated with a simple report which summarises numbers of Service Level Agreement fails and passes per supplier, where drilldown details are available should needs be for further investigation or to send to suppliers.
Resource Planning:
Unexpected bottlenecks and associated firefighting can put unnecessary pressure on the effective functioning and management of your business.
Automated analyses can predict potential bottlenecks and the additional resources or overtime needed to cover increased demand.
Environment, Health and Safety (EHS):
Failure to fulfil moral and statutory EHS duties can cause harm to your employees, contractors, bottom-line and reputation.
Regular summary reports on EHS activities helps to keep it front-of-mind and to flag problems before they occur.
Operational Budgeting
Financial Planning:
In an uncertain business environment, having a solid grasp on your Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss is essential.
A comprehensive asset inventory can drive instant and predictive reports for depreciation and capital expenditure.
Facilities Management:
It isn’t always easy to discern where operational investment will deliver the best return.
CAFM data collection and interrogation can enable clarification and comparison of potential efficiency gains.
Conclusion:
This article outlined five areas where vast CAFM datasets can be converted into simple reports that turn strategic management by the rear-view mirror into an agile predictive mindset. These involved both operational management (suppliers, resources, EHS) and budgeting (finances and FM).
It is argued in a world of increasing competitive and economic pressures, the level of operational and financial control an Executive Reporting Dashboard can enable are becoming business critical for any organisation.
Interested in finding more about KEY’s CAFM Executive Reporting solutions? Then talk to one of our True FM Experts now.
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