With the aid of computer-aided facility management (CAFM) software, facility managers can organize, carry out, and keep an eye on all operations related to reactive and planned preventative maintenance, space and move management, asset management, and operational facility services, room reservations, and other customer services. In the end, managers may use data from CAFM software to enhance long-term planning of space, facilities, maintenance, services, and budgets to guarantee complete alignment with core business demands.
Basic Characteristics of Facility Management Software:
- Permits businesses to make and follow up on work orders for maintenance operations. Every piece of software for building maintenance, often known as work order software, provides some maintenance application. Some systems include facility condition assessment, which aids firms in assessing the physical state of their buildings, and preventative maintenance, which automates repetitive chores. CMMS suppliers provide more advanced maintenance applications than those found in facility maintenance software, even though this is identical to what CMMS providers offer.
- Maintains and keeps track of an organization's assets, including their location, the departments that utilize them, how frequently they are used, and when they require maintenance or replacement. This lowers capital expenditures by assisting businesses in maximizing the usage and location of their assets.
- Aids in maximizing the use of available space in buildings for organizations. It offers comprehensive and up-to-date information on how a place is used, what resources and people are present, and how they are structured. This reduces the need to rent or buy more space that is superfluous. In addition, thanks to the connection of various space monitoring tools with CAD or BIM files, users can present the data on a floor plan rather than a datasheet.
- Keeps track of everything, including building performance metrics, rented vs owned space, and square footage. By keeping track of this data in one location, businesses may save on administrative expenses and keep their property data current. Using portfolio forecasting tools, organizations may also foresee future space requirements and occupancy expenses. To produce precise forecasts, users can evaluate "what-if" scenarios using these tools, which analyze historical data. Finally, to uncover methods to save costs, businesses can use reporting and analytical tools to assess their portfolios' financial data and performance and compare them to industry standards or key performance indicators.
The Advantages of CAFM software:
- Moving is costly, especially if an organization doesn't have proper planning for its migrations. However, the downtime and cost associated with churns—the process of shifting personnel and assets—can be greatly decreased using CAFM systems.
- A thorough maintenance programme increases asset longevity while lowering the total cost of ownership. However, reactive maintenance can lead to dangerous working conditions, unanticipated downtime, and high costs. Creating a strict maintenance schedule for assets guarantees that they operate at their highest potential while maintaining a seamless operating schedule and staff safety—all without incurring unforeseen expenditures due to equipment breakdown.
- For the first time, several organizations are evaluating their energy performance. Reporting dashboards compute overall energy use while assisting in detecting operational inefficiencies. This study encourages sustainable behavior among building occupants by outlining how an organization is doing and where there is space for improvement. In addition, implementing environmental performance dashboards frequently results in organizations experiencing an immediate reduction in energy-related expenditures.
