How to choose the right facility management software

The facility management (FM) software market is saturated with CMMS, EAM, CAFM, and IWMS options, and it is a tall order to decipher all the acronyms and options available. Besides that, how do you know what software will benefit your organization the most?

In this article, we will have a look at the most common FM software options and how they could optimize your facility’s operations.

What is facility management?

A task or profession that combines multiple different disciplines to ensure efficiency, safety, and functionality of a physical environment by integrating processes, technology, and people (IFMA, 2021).

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What is facility management software?

A tool that helps facility managers manage their processes, people, and technology as effectively as possible through an online platform adapted to specific personal/organizational needs.

What are the most common types of Facility Management software?

1. CMMS - Computerized Maintenance Management Software (CMMS) is an essential tool for managing scheduled and unscheduled maintenance on equipment and capital assets that are necessary for successfully running a business. It helps the maintenance team monitor an equipment’s status and future need for updates. This system can help organizations learn trends within their maintenance needs and adapt their maintenance schedules to anticipate these needs. Anticipating needs can lead to less downtime for equipment and improved efficiency.
2. EAM - Enterprise Asset Management Software (EAM) focuses on extending the lifecycle of an asset. This system monitors a company’s assets and helps you track your maintenance activities. Within the system, you can see where an asset is located, who uses it regularly, when to expect to service the asset, etc.
3. CAFM - Computer-Aided Facility Management software (CAFM) prioritizes maintenance, ownership, and aids facility management. Some of the key elements of CAFM software are evaluating systems for preventive maintenance, facilities data analysis, supplying different ways to visualize intricate facilities data, and other accessories for enhanced planning of maintenance decisions and work orders.
4. IWMS - An Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) has tools for everything from floor plan creation to real estate portfolio management. It assists organizations in using resources effectively. This software integrates CMMS maintenance management capabilities with CAFM space tracking capabilities to benchmark portfolios and track schedules.

What should you look for in Facility Management Software?

1. Work order management - FM software should be able to customize your work order request forms and automatically set priority levels on different types of requests. This will reduce the manual labor involved in completing your work orders. You can organize requests based on type and assign them to your team quickly and seamlessly.
2. Reporting - As data goes into your FM software, you should expect that it comes back out in helpful reporting dashboards. Reporting can help your team better understand how to schedule preventative maintenance and operate more efficiently. CMMS solutions, like Proteus MMX, identify problems with equipment or equipment that just needs to be replaced entirely instead of repaired for the fifth time this month. Learn what equipment is costing you the most money so you can make an informed decision about the next steps.
3. Asset Tracking - With asset tracking, you can create a common database of all information related to belongings within your facility. Details such as asset manufacturer, guarantee details, buy date, current upkeep requests and location can be tracked in a CMMS. Increasing your asset records accuracy will have a positive impact on many other operation areas. You can also automate asset lifecycle administration. This will help to keep track of all asset-related details from procurement to decommissioning. Having this information can assist you in making important decisions, like whether or not you should repair or exchange.
4. Allocation of resources - Understanding how to use money and time can assist organizations in making smarter decisions when it comes to their budgets. Comprehensive facility management software solutions should include functions to track employee time, as well as cost information as they finish work orders. Before making the important decision of FM software, remember to compare your facility’s needs to different software platforms’ capabilities. Proteus MMX is an affordable, next-generation CMMS system that has all the functions needed to manage facilities optimally.

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Media Contact:

Eagle Technology, Inc.

Barbara van der Walt

Head of Marketing

barbarav@eaglecmms.com

+1 -262-241-3845