The Importance of Accurate Data for Facilities Managers
In the world of facilities management, accurate data is the backbone of effective estate management. Without it, managing your estate becomes a guessing game, leading to mistakes, wasted time and money, confusion, and a lack of confidence in the data that is actually accurate. Let’s delve into why keeping data up to date is crucial and how it benefits various stakeholders.
Why Should Data Be Kept Up to Date?
When data is collected and structured correctly and well-maintained, it can serve multiple purposes. For example, Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) asset data can be used to create an asset register for systems like CAFM Explorer to undertake Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) requirements. Additionally, this data can help increase value, drive down costs, allow for long-term planning, reduce risk, and much more.
A case in point is Atlantis Dubai, a world class destination composed of two resorts, Atlantis: The Palm and Atlantis: The Royal. Housing over 2500 staff members onsite, inventory management is critical to maintaining operations in their housing facilities. CAFM Explorer® enables their FM team to have complete visibility of all inventories within their housing facilities – including spare parts for repairs and services. The team is also using CAFM to assign materials to individual work orders using the system – for example, how many nuts and bolts or shower heads are used against each work order. Using CAFM has ultimately resulted in improved efficiency and time-saving for their housing facilities.
Who Does It Benefit?
Accurate data benefits a wide range of stakeholders, including estates, facilities, capital finance, soft services, and end users. Ultimately, the goal is to manage an estate so that occupiers can deliver the services they are paid for efficiently.
Main Outputs from Accurate Data
For MEP information, clients typically want to know the parent-child relationship, location and type of assets, their condition and replacement costs. The level of detail required can vary, but these basics are essential. Engaging with an experienced surveyor plays a crucial role in the quality of the data collected, as they can provide more detailed and accurate outputs.
Data and Statutory Requirements
Knowing what assets you have allows you to set out statutory and mandatory requirements clearly. You can also identify business-critical assets and put plans in place for potential failures.
Extending the Life Cycle of an Asset
Data can both lengthen and shorten the life of an asset. Many people plan for the end of an asset’s life based on limited information from asset surveys or manufacturer assumptions. However, real-world conditions vary, and accurate data allows for better maintenance planning. For example, different buildings in a university may have varying usage patterns, affecting the workload on assets. Adjusting PPM requirements based on actual usage can prolong the life cycle of assets in low-use buildings and reduce it in high-use labs, ensuring maintenance meets the purpose and reduces downtime risk.
Optimising asset lifecycles for educational facilities
Consider a university with several buildings of the same age, all using the same asset:
- Teaching space: Planned use each year, generally low use as lectures/seminars are usually in the mornings.
- Accommodation: Used throughout the day but virtually empty during holidays, showing cyclical use.
- Laboratory and eesearch: In use 24 hours with critical equipment.
The workload on assets varies massively across these buildings. Knowing how and when they are used allows you to adjust the level of PPM required for each asset. This data effectively prolongs the life cycle of assets in low-use buildings and reduces it in high-use labs, adjusting maintenance requirements and KPIs accordingly to ensure they meet their purpose and reduce downtime risk.
Space Optimisation in Hospitals
Accurate data plays a crucial role in space optimisation, especially in high-cost environments like hospitals, where space can cost around £1,000 per square metre. By analysing data on space usage, hospitals can identify underutilised areas and repurpose them to meet current needs more effectively.
For example, a hospital might find that certain administrative offices are underused while patient care areas are overcrowded. By reallocating space based on accurate usage data, the hospital can optimise its layout to improve patient flow and care delivery. This not only enhances operational efficiency but also provides significant cost savings. If a hospital can repurpose 100 square metres of underutilised space, it could potentially save £100,000 in space costs.
Measured Surveys: Why and What’s the Benefit?
Drawings are the foundation of everything in facilities management. Up-to-date drawings support various roles, from occupancy and compliance to maintenance and capital works. They provide essential information needed for effective management.
Who Will Benefit from Accurate Data?
Rather than asking who will benefit, consider who will be affected by inaccurate data. Drawings, for example, are foundational to the data you hold on your estate. They set out the layout, size, cubic meters, space functions, and distances. Accurate drawings help determine space usage, compliance with travel distances, lease information accuracy, and more. They are vital pieces of information at your disposal.
Can Cost Savings Be Made by Having Accurate Data?
Absolutely. Accurate data offers opportunities for cost savings, even if limited. Sharing data with colleagues and looking at it from different perspectives can uncover potential savings. However, these savings can only be realised if the data is reliable.
In conclusion, accurate data is indispensable for facilities managers. It enables effective estate management, supports various stakeholders, and offers significant cost-saving opportunities. By keeping data up to date and leveraging it effectively, facilities managers can ensure their estates are managed efficiently and sustainably.
