29 December 2022

Cost-Saving Ideas for Facilities Management and Maintenance

Facility maintenance and management do not count among the core functions of an organisation and are generally not directly involved in revenue generation. However, facility management still holds a crucial role in ensuring efficiency and productivity across organisations. From creating a conducive working environment for employees and establishing set processes on an organisational level to taking charge of the upkeep and enhancement of facilities, facility management is more like a foundation that facilitates the smooth running and daily operations of any organisation.

While the costs involved in facility maintenance and management are an unavoidable expense, there are several ways in which you can optimise your operations to make facility management more cost-effective.

1. Implement Facility Management Software Solutions

Computer-aided facility management software solutions are comprehensive platforms that bring a lot of features and capabilities for facility managers to track, organise, and streamline tasks and processes across organisations. Facility management software solutions can help improve productivity by automating vital processes like asset tracking and maintenance, work order generation, maintenance workflows, etc., which in turn helps reduce downtime. Facility management software solutions also offer easy access to all important information and data related to facility operations at any time, from anywhere.

2. Set Up Proper Maintenance Schedules

System or component failure, no matter how small, can lead to significant downtime and loss of profits. An effective way of avoiding such occurrences is with preventative maintenance schedules. Preventative maintenance generally involves a list of checkpoint activities that are performed to test the functioning of equipment on a regular basis. Tasks like regular mechanical adjustments, lubrication, replacing filters, etc. are some of the most common preventive maintenance activities.

3. Inculcate Predictive Maintenance Practices

Preventive maintenance schedules on their own are based on the frequency and operating cycles of assets, rather than on a need-based approach, which can lead to resource wastage, especially in asset-intensive organisations. Cost reduction activities can easily affect preventive maintenance schedules as the impact of such actions is not immediate but can be much more significant in the long run. Implementing suitable software solutions for facility management, like IBM Maximo®, can help integrate predictive testing and inspection capabilities into maintenance processes. Predictive testing allows you to closely monitor equipment conditions and predict trends for likely wear and tear, malfunctions, or breakdowns. This way, preventative maintenance can be performed where it is most necessary, helping avoid needless maintenance as well as downtime caused by equipment failure.

4. Automate Work Orders

Managing work orders, from responding to internal emails, work order generation, vendor and resource management to work order completion and record management, involves strenuous, time-consuming, repetitive tasks that can take up a significant portion of a facility manager’s day. However, the implementation of facility management software solutions can help streamline and automate these processes, leaving you free to focus on core tasks.

5. Generate Value from Data

Facility management requires you to have control and a transparent view over a lot of data and information regarding the employees, infrastructure, assets, etc. Earlier, the data would mostly be managed using spreadsheets or with manually created records, which can get quite confusing. However, with advanced facility management software solutions, one of the best benefits you get is centralised data collection and analytic capabilities to generate detailed reports. This provides valuable insights that can be used for informed decision-making.

It is important to ensure compatibility and feasibility of facility management software solutions before choosing one for your organisation to avoid getting caught up in never-ending configuration projects. However, the right software for facility management, like IBM Maximo®, which comes with features that allow easy scalability, can significantly improve operational efficiencies of facility maintenance and management for easy cost saving.