CAFM stands for Computer Aided Facility Management (CAFM) and is a software designed for automating and optimizing daily operations associated with facility management in the form of maintenance, inspections, compliance tracking and work order management related to a building or facility. In broader terms, CAFM software plays a pivotal role in coordinating and connecting the physical building entity and all its associated facilities with the people and operations of the organization that has deployed the software
Presently, different companies that are providing facilities management services are increasingly adopting the CAFM software to streamline all the processes associated with this field. Amalgamation of concepts from varied fields like business administration, architecture, engineering and behavioral sciences to create an integrated platform to effectively execute all the processes related to facility management is the chief aim of a CAFM software. This write up details the process of successfully implementing a CAFM software in your business for availing the maximum benefits
Before zeroing in on any particular software or app for implementing CAFM, you first need to be clear about the exact requirements that you have in the first place. These requirements can be spread out in different domains like workforce administration, compliance tracking, getting better visibility of the on-site processes, improving coordination and collaboration between various teams, effective and streamlined execution of different processes associated with facility management
By clearing knowing what you need and what you want to achieve by using a CAFM software or app, you are in a good position to lay a solid foundation of your transition related to adopting a digital solution for everything related to facility management.At this stage, you don’t have to worry about software or app features
Once you have clearly identified what you need to achieve by implementing a CAFM in your organization, you now start to look for the appropriate software or app that can do the job for you. At this stage, it is necessary to consider a wide range of solutions and the CAFM app that you choose should perfectly fit all your requirements, and not the other way round. So, you should look for a software that can adapt to your specific requirements and business processes, instead of you modifying your business processes or requirements for a particular product or app
Once you have prepared a broad list, you can narrow down your choices by considering other important aspects other than your processes, like cost of implementing the selected solution, the flexibility, scalability and integration capabilities of the selected app and simplicity of operation. After considering all these parameters, you finally select an appropriate CAFM for your organization
You don’t have to implement the selected CAFM software solution at a single go for the entire processes associated with your facility management operations. Instead, you should opt for a stagewise or a phased implementation of the CAFM app. This helps in change management associated with considering the inputs and opinions of your staff who are going to use this app on-site, gaining the confidence of your staff at the grassroot level and then step by step start implementing the CAFM solution domain wise
For example, you can opt for automating the building inspection and maintenance operations first with CAFM, and afterwards expand its implementation in other domains like monitoring the status of service requests and their implementation, getting better visibility of the processes and the on-site staff, enforcing the quality benchmarks and compliances among others. Once the benefits of implementing the CAFM app in the selected domains are demonstrated and realized, you can proceed in implementing the entire CAFM solution, building on the success that you have already achieved
Once you have implemented the CAFM solution, conduct a comprehensive performance audit after a predetermined time period has elapsed. This ensures that you have the sufficient data to measure the performance of the CAFM solution and correctly judge the benefits and effectiveness of this initiative. The performance audit can be done on the lines of measuring the performance of critical processes in facility management being carried out through the CAFM app.
For example, you can measure whether the app is helping in cutting down the time required to carry out building inspections, whether the documentation involved in processes like incident reporting or updating your clients is improved and made faster or not. You can also consider if implementing the CAFM app solution has improved your visibility of the on-site personnel and processes and check the increase in productivity and efficiency levels of your field staff as a result of CAFM
This stage, post implementation, is critical for harnessing the benefits of implementing a CAFM software solution for your organization. By setting up and executing a system of continuous improvement through your CAFM solution, you are in a position to refine and streamline all your critical operations and processes related to facility management at a micro level. This will not only benefit your bottom line, but also catalyze significant improvement in the satisfaction levels of your staff, improve your company culture and push everyone in the organization for achieving more and more rather than resting on past laurels.
1. What is Axonator’s MicroApp Strategy?
Get a free consultation from the best!
