In the last blog we looked at managing assets through an asset register, and how a facilities manager can use this information to reduce costs, extend lifespan and enable assets to become more productive. However, even the strongest asset management strategy must be complimented by a people management strategy, which can benefit from being aided with a facilities management software application.
A company’s most important asset is its people, and the FM team’s traditional remit has been extended to ensure the productivity and wellbeing of the organisation’s workforce. In order to do this, the facilities management team itself also needs to be managed effectively which, owing to the nature of the industry, can be more complicated than managing a static team. Many variables must be taken into consideration: the geographical spread of the site premises, each team member’s technical skill set, their different shift patterns, and even out-of-hours emergencies and how this is managed by the help desk, which can be achieved using a resource scheduler tool.
Poor staff management can have serious repercussions: affecting quality of work achieved, deadlines met and profitability.
Managing deadlines
QFM Resource Scheduler, part of Service Works’ comprehensive CAFM system, is a powerful work scheduling tool which provides complete task and operative management. It enables both planned and reactive maintenance jobs to be intelligently assigned to the most appropriate engineer based on skill, capacity and location, taking into account holidays and sick leave. As QFM is optimised for use on mobile devices, operatives can receive work orders out in the field, with access to all the information required. The system incorporates travel time and allows estimations to be made for the time taken to complete the job, giving a realistic picture of resource availability and allowing deadlines to be met more easily.
Managing work quality
By deploying an engineer without the requisite skill set not only wastes their time, but is also affects morale. Some engineers may attempt to complete the task even without the necessary competency, leaving themselves subject to disciplinary action and the company liable for health and safety breaches. Facilities management software provides the capability to automatically apply filters to job management, so that only those with both availability and the necessary skills are deployed. This improves first-time visit rectification rates and optimises service delivery.
Profitability
By using CAFM software to manage work quality and deadlines, a service provider can easily demonstrate how it has met KPIs and SLAs for each contract. This reporting can then be used to bid for future work, providing the future client with evidence of reliability and merit.
Further to this, managing engineers appropriately – sending them only to relevant jobs, giving them easy access to information via mobile devices with offline capabilities – can improve productivity and job satisfaction. This in turn ultimately reduces staff turnover and time and resource lost to recruiting and training new staff members, making a business more competitive in the market.
To learn more about QFM Resource Scheduler and mobile workforce management, contact your local Service Works office or email info@swg.com.
