Jun 29

Capital Programs and Budgeting

Capital Programs

Capitalization is the smart and orderly way to meet facility needs.  It is the facility manager’s job to actively participate in developing the requirements, prioritizing the competing needs, and managing the execution of a capital development plan.  Capital costs are associated with long-term assets.  These costs can often be met by capital expenses, which are used to expand or modernize a facility.

Capital Budgeting

To measure the budget accurately, total space needs have to be assessed first.  Then, it is up to the company to decide whether they want to lease, build, or renovate the building. Capital funds are used if the renovate or build options are chosen.  Also, you need to determine what can and cannot be capitalized.  Two factors exist when dealing with this: existing tax code, which will determine depreciation schedules, and company rules, which usually have restrictions on what can and cannot be capitalized. Renovation brings questions of proper allocation of costs.

When allocating resources for Capital Programs, Maintenance Management Software can assist in planning, tracking, labor utilization, budget management, and ensuring that regular services are performed as desired.

Jun 24

10 Effective Facility Manager Traits

In the Facility Manager role, it is important to be a persuasive supporter of your company as well as your staff.  It is essential that the Facility Manager understands both the formal and informal chain of authority and can communicate clearly in all situations.

It also helps to have the Ten Effective Facility Manager Traits:

1. Business Oriented
2. Technically Competent
3. Good Communication Skills
4. Customer Service Oriented
5. Cost Conscious
6. Politically Savvy
7. Decisive
8. Slightly Legalistic
9. Action Oriented
10. People Person

Facility managers should also be knowledgeable regarding efficiency tools such as CMMS Software, and about net present value analyses, cost-benefit ratios, payback periods, return on investment, etc.

Jun 24

Understanding Project Management

The most basic definition of Project Management is ensuring that work is completed on a defined timeline within a budget.  In Facility Management, this means managing a project through the design-build schedule, meeting operational requirements, and staying within budget.  (Technical terms always make things sound better!)

To manage projects efficiently, it is best to break down the components and prioritize each component to closely match expected outcomes.

Some ways to view, prioritize, and manage Projects are by:

Dollar Value
Timeline
Available Resources
Level of Effort Required

Good candidates for Project Management techniques:

Capital Projects
Discretionary Annual Projects
Periodic Work
Repair Projects

Inappropriate candidates for Project Management:

Administration
Leasing
Preventive Maintenance
Routine Custodial Work
Utilities

When dealing with projects, don’t view each task that needs to be completed as a separate project.  This can decrease capital costs, but it will also increase operating and maintenance costs.  This type of thinking places barriers that leave little room for alterations.

Productivity tools such as Facility Maintenance Software help manage projects in a number of ways including prioritization, scheduling, labor management, resource allocation, and budget control.  These tools can also help with routine custodial work, preventive maintenance, and administrative tasks.

There will always be pressure to minimize initial costs due to the visibility of most projects.  Unfortunately, this usually guarantees increasing the life-cycle costs, which can be three times more costly than capital costs throughout the useful life of most equipment.  Keeping things simple through organized project management can help minimize project costs without incurring any downsides, resulting in an opportunity for a great return on investment.

Jun 23

Leadership in Facility Management

Leadership plays a vital role in facility management.  Good facility managers lead by example, earning respect.

However, the skills that made successful facility managers in the past (such as technical knowledge) no longer are enough.  New skills are needed to adapt to changing facility and client demands to remain a successful leader.

Keep in mind that your facility management department may have different views of successful facility management than people outside of the department.  Since your facility management department deals with extensive requirements, meeting all of the needs and desires of your company, clients, and tenants can severely strain available resources.

Strong leaders focus on remaining flexible in both thinking and resource allocation to balance business needs, client satisfaction, and tenant public relations.  Along with technical knowledge and effective supervision, leadership also needs to include planning, communication, performance verification, and client relations to optimize performance in your facility.

To meet all of the challenges of today’s facilities, it has become increasingly important to utilize time saving tools such as Facility Maintenance Software to keep your team on track and communicate performance.  Having the ability to plan work efficiently, communicate requirements instantly, and track work performance helps facility managers retain control of resources and provide stronger leadership.

Jun 22

Transition from Teamwork to Unity

Exceptional companies are made, not born.  They start with a strong desire to achieve meaningful goals, and work every day until their entire organization is behind them.  Along the way, they achieve a true sustainable competitive advantage.

Excellent teamwork within your organization is the right starting point for unity.  But unity is more than just teamwork, it’s the way your entire workforce interacts with each other to complete tasks accurately and quickly.

Motivation and efficiency are two more important elements of unity.  Your team must know their goals, how they fit within the organization, and what success means to everyone.  Efficiency is the means to carve time out of the day to plan, communicate, track, and reward performance.  One important efficiency tool is Facility Maintenance Software that shows your management team what is being done as it is happing, so they can fix any problems quickly, and know they stayed fixed.

Employees play a key role in unity.  Your team needs to be strong and reliable.  If someone is working below company standards, it is up to management to effect change.  This is the most important aspect of having strong unity in your organization, because if employees aren’t doing what they are supposed to be doing, work isn’t getting done efficiently, and the most you can achieve is teamwork.

Unity will make your company strong and ensure you to stand out from the competition.  Your customers will value your service if it is easy to work with your company.  Unity in your organization becomes a culture over time that will help you retain the right employees that continue to build on your success.