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A recent industry survey conducted by Service Works Group and online FM news provider, i-FM.net, highlighted the growing impact of mobile technology on facilities management. Over 70% of businesses are now using tablet and mobile devices to manage their facilities operations, compared to just 45% last year. This significant increase in just one year points to a rapid change in the industry, with a greater focus on results and productivity. Businesses as a whole need to be ready for this evolution.
The changing role of facilities management
The recent shift of focus in productivity in the FM profession comes as reports show a widening gap between the UK’s productivity and the rest of the G7 countries. James Sutton, CEO of BIFM, states: “Facilities are there to do exactly that – ‘facilitate’ the businesses that they are there for.”
BIFM’s annual conference, ThinkFM, chose this subject as its 2016 theme. The tag line of ‘ThinkFM: Think Productivity’, led to insightful discussions about FM’s steady expansion out of the supply of building services to the supply of whatever boosts business performance. Many examples featured how effective FM service delivery positively affected engagement and productivity across the workplace.
The Stoddart Review
The conference then saw the launch of the Stoddart Review, aimed at bringing together business leaders and workplace experts to help unlock the value within a workforce, and view it as a strategic asset. According to the Leesman Index, only 54% of UK employees agree their workplace enables them to work effectively, so the Review will investigate how to address this gap. Introduced in honour of the late Chris Stoddart, former BIFM FM of the year and respected contributor to FM as a whole, ThinkFM 2016 was an apt platform on which to launch a groundbreaking project highlighting how FM helps provide successful solutions to business.
Meeting the challenge with mobile
One of the main factors of productivity is effective communication, allowing the FM team to run like clockwork. The rise in accessibility of mobile devices has greatly boosted communication, with many organisations advocating BYOD policies or providing company mobile phones. Several CAFM (Computer Aided Facilities Management) software applications now offer access to the system remotely, and Service Works’ QFM Mobile has been developed to enable easy access from any internet enabled device, across iOS, Android and Windows platforms. Users can access critical job or asset information instantly, from any location, therefore improving the productivity of field-based staff and ensuring customer satisfaction. QFM’s mobile app, for example, provides more than just access to information to maximise efficiency. Its powerful capabilities and user-centric design allows a multi-faced approach to efficient facilities management, including:
- Fully auditable online solution which eliminates the problems of lost job sheets
- Colour coding to enable effective task prioritisation
- Links to Google Maps and route planner which reduces travel times to jobs
- Electronic sign off, providing evidence of task completion
- Customer satisfaction scoring to drive performance
- Offline capabilities which ensure uninterrupted system access in areas without mobile or Wi-Fi connectivity
For more information about QFM Mobile and how its flexible, powerful performance can increase productivity across your entire organisation, call 020 8877 4080 or visit us at stand N1300 at the Facilities Show, 21 – 23 June.
If you would like to receive a copy of Service Works’ research into how technology is impacting the FM profession, pre-register by emailing info@swg.com.