Top Facilities Challenges and How BAS\EMS Relates

2010-05-28T13:27:00Z

Every year a company called Corrigo surveys Facility Managers to better understand the biggest challenges they are facing.

When I read through them, I was amazed at how EMS systems plug right into the solutions to these challenges!

Here’s my take:

Challenge #5 - Allocating work to the right vendors

Improved vendor management increases control over operations and thru price controls can reduce costs.

EMS helps make vendor decisions by comparing site compliance to standards, energy consumption, equipment alarms to work order and expense data. You can rank your vendors against one another and hold their feet to the fire!

Challenge #4 – Making changes without having enough reliable data

Operational visibility is the formula for success.

EMS helps because a good system will monitor and trend multiple points from all your sites. It provides visibility into previous invisible assets and actions (like how often store employees are hitting the override button). It will provide historical equipment runtime and alarm data that can be used to make new equipment and warranty decisions.

Challenge #3 – Getting more work done with fewer resources

Best in class organizations seek to eliminate low-value added work, not jobs. So they look to source tools that extend reach and productivity.

EMS provides remote access to store assets. Complaints can be diagnoses and about 40% of the time resolved from across the country, at any time of day or day of the week, minimizing “windshield time” and service dispatch expense. Some of our clients have even been able to increase the ratio of stores per facility manager because the system works so well for them. We all know that budgets and work force will be slow to return to pre-recession levels, so an EMS is a great tool to consider when you’re staffed very lean.

Challenge #2 – Finding ways to extend the life of existing assets

Asset management programs and intelligence are the key.

EMS systems record equipment runtime and alarm data. It also transmits the alarms, catching them early while the issue is a cheap fix and not a major expense. This same data can be used to apply proactive maintenance techniques.

Challenge #1 – Cost Savings

Facilities is a cost center, but there’s no dispute that a dollar saved by facilities drops directly to the bottom line.

As I’ve already shown, EMS systems help avoid unnecessary repair costs, and minimize necessary repair expense by catching issues sooner. Also, imagine being able to run a report on all equipment whose warranty will expire in the next quarter. You can then address those issues while under warranty, pushing those expenses back onto the manufacturer where they belong. How much would that save you every year?

So my hat’s off to Corrigo for inspiring me. Without a doubt, what we ties directly to the key concerns of Facility Managers.

What is your take on how controls can help with these five challenges?

Tim_Johnson

Top Facilities Challenges and How BAS\EMS Relates