Facilities Management Best Practices: The Key to Elevated Business Performance

As modern workplaces become increasingly digitally connected, facilities management practices emphasize the use of data and analytics to enhance decision-making.

As a result, there is a more comprehensive, all-encompassing, and personalized approach to managing buildings and the systems that govern them.

In that order, learning and implementing facilities management best practices into daily tasks can help both beginner and seasoned facilities managers. 

Digital solutions like Xenia, which are created with facilities management best practices in mind, are transforming the sector.

We'll talk more about that later. First, let's see the basics of facility management and some of their general go-to practices as part of today's industry standards.

What is Facilities Management?

The ISO defines facility management as “an organizational function which integrates people, place, and process within the built environment to improve the quality of life of people and the productivity of the core business.”

In a nutshell, facilities management is the day-to-day activities required to guarantee that an organization's physical environment supports its demands and key functions.

The domain of facility management (FM) is concerned with assisting people. It ensures the efficiency, sustainability, comfort, and operation of the built environment, which includes the buildings in which we live and work as well as the infrastructure that surrounds them. 

A facilities management business is a professional service provider in charge of a building's general operation, upkeep, and security. They usually oversee a major facility or complex. The organization is in charge of a school, housing, office or retail center, hospital, or warehouse. 

Types of Facility Management: What's the Difference?

The role of facilities manager can signify many things based on the size of a company and the sector they service. People with varied work titles (director of facilities, director of operations, maintenance manager, property manager, and so on) can additionally perform their job responsibilities.

The best approach to comprehend the function of a facilities manager is to divide facility management services into two categories: hard services and soft services.

Hard FM Services

Includes facility management services to improve the facility's convenience and satisfaction.

These services need building structural adjustments. A lack of regular maintenance might directly impact the safety of the passengers. Hard FM services are non-negotiable and must adhere to local regulations:

• Gas, heating, and plumbing are all available
• HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system maintenance
• Systems for fire safety and emergency evacuation
• Mechanical and electrical tasks
• Periodic building upkeep is required

Soft FM Services

Includes facility management services that improve the facility's ease and pleasantness.

• Cleaning, decorating, and garbage management are all part of the job
• Park maintenance, gardening, and decoration
• Pest control and furniture upkeep
• Maintenance of open space and parking

Attributes of Best-in-Practice Facilities Management?

All organizations exist to fulfill a basic purpose, which might range from earning revenues to meeting the needs of a community. Facilities management is the backbone of every successful business. They help in a number of ways:

Productivity

The first and most important responsibility is to guarantee that the personnel, workers, and users can carry out their jobs properly.

In doing so, it ensures that the facility is clean, organized, and ready to use. It also implies that vehicles, equipment, and technology are operational when required.

Safety and Comfort

Making sure that all building occupants are secure and comfortable is intimately related to productivity.

It is vital to ensure that buildings and equipment are inspected to ensure that they satisfy safety requirements in order to reduce liability and risk.

Facilities managers also keep an eye out for measures to improve tenant comfort.

Profitability

Productivity, safety, and comfort must be effectively generated.

Because facilities management is often the most expensive expenditure owing to its broad influence throughout the business, all attempts to reduce superfluous operational expenses are critical to the business's bottom line.

Scalability

Facilities management is at the core of ensuring the success of these changes when businesses develop, extend capital assets, shift sites, or adjust to new work environments (for example, the introduction of a virtual work environment).

The team must know the facilities inside and out, as well as the people and the assets housed inside them from due diligence point of view.

Sustainability

Aside from EHS (environment, health, and safety) compliance, facility managers have a social obligation to promote greener practices inside the business.

This might include reducing waste, improving energy efficiency, or implementing new best practices. Sustainable facility management best practices improve the organization's brand image while lowering total energy consumption expenditures.

Roles and Responsibilities: The Pillars of Facilities Management Best Practices

Communicate With Internal Teams

Communication between maintenance and facilities teams, as well as with vendors and suppliers outside the organization, is critical to the effectiveness of the facility management process.

Keeping everyone informed about forthcoming changes, maintenance plans, and procedures can ensure that processes run smoothly.

You can improve the efficiency of your facilities team by including communications in your list of facilities management best practices. 

You can allocate more time and effort to core activities while removing redundant or insignificant processes in your workflow. 

Maintaining solid relationships with your vendors and suppliers can also frequently assist you when negotiating terms and delivery. Contractor and vendor relationships have a direct influence on your facility's capacity to be managed efficiently.

Set and Manage Team Structure

Every facility's organizational structure and efficient facilities management are built on a well-structured staff.

That is, each employee is aware of whatever role they want to play within a team and what their requests are. 

It is your responsibility as a facility manager to ensure that your team members are properly educated and up to date on all ongoing facility procedures. Providing a disciplined workflow to your teams helps them to concentrate on the critical tasks at hand without being distracted or losing time wondering what the next step could be. 

It is also your responsibility to guarantee that teams and team members communicate and collaborate effectively.

Make Data-informed Decisions

This isn't the first time you've been urged to use data while making facility choices, and it won't be the last.

The days of broad generalizations are over; now is the moment to embrace data.

Whether it's asset data that helps you predict and avoid failures or financial data that helps you budget more effectively, your choices will be improved as a result.

Manage Risks and Returns

Running a successful company may require you to take risks in order to maximize productivity and revenue.

Through data analytics, educated judgments, and adequate planning, innovative facility management solutions can help avoid many of these dangers. 

An effective preventive maintenance plan based on analytic data, greater use of current assets, and a well-trained workforce may reduce a company's risks while increasing its profits.

Believe in an Analytics-driven Approach

The basis of effective facilities is data analytics. Without question, data analytics has a wide range of applications in facilities management. Managers who recognize the value of data make a concerted effort to use data fully.

Good facility executives are constantly eager to use data's boundless possibilities and, hence, seek analytics objectives. They track and analyze efficiency by gaining insights into even the most insignificant processes. 

Here are some examples of how facility managers are effectively delivering turnarounds utilizing analytics:

• Enhancing process efficiency
• Improving work quality
• Improving resource allocation
• Impeccable asset management
• Multi-site management
• Monitoring energy consumption
• Sourcing contractors
• Predictive maintenance

Xenia To Digitize and Automate All Your Facility Management Operations

Amid the evolving demands of the facilities management landscape, Xenia emerges as the epitome of excellence.

This platform, both sophisticated and intuitively designed, is more than just a digital interface. It represents a seamless fusion of advanced technology and industry best practices, crafted with precision to transform the intricate dynamics of facility and frontline operations management.

Xenia transcends the role of a mere tool. It functions as a comprehensive solution, tailoring its capabilities to the nuanced challenges of modern facility management.

Through its integrated approach, Xenia aims to streamline processes, enhance efficiency, and elevate standards, embodying the very ethos of facilities management best practices.

Holistic Management Approach

Xenia isn't just another software; it's a unified platform that amalgamates several functionalities. This integration ensures that facility managers have a streamlined, cohesive approach to operations, eliminating the need to juggle multiple tools or systems.

Operations Templates

One of Xenia's standout features is its versatile operations templates. These can be tailored to fit the unique needs of any facility, ensuring that there's a standardized, best-practice approach to every task, irrespective of its nature or complexity.

Task Management Precision

With Xenia, the oversight of tasks becomes a breeze. Every assignment, big or small, is meticulously tracked, ensuring that it's completed on time and meets the set benchmarks. This precision ensures consistency and excellence in every operational facet.

Advanced Scheduling Capabilities

Take your operational planning to the next level with Xenia's comprehensive scheduling features. Whether it's setting up recurring tasks, preventive maintenance schedules, or ad-hoc assignments, Xenia ensures that every activity is planned, tracked, and executed with finesse.

Seamless Communication Channels

Xenia's built-in messaging system ensures that there's seamless communication between team members. Whether it's company-wide announcements, task-specific instructions, or collaborative discussions, every message finds its mark.

In-depth Reporting and Analytics

Knowledge is power, and Xenia empowers facility managers with a wealth of data-driven insights. Its comprehensive analytics suite ensures that managers always have a 360-degree view of operations, from task summaries to intricate performance metrics, ensuring informed, strategic decision-making at every juncture.

Bottomline!

Successful facility executives manage cost, performance, and risk and use every chance to improve decision-making. They understand that managing facilities entails more than simply managing space and equipment. Thus, they are always striving to increase efficiency and extract the most value from the current pool of resources.

Informed executives are investing in technology adoption and better facility management to establish profit-centric strategies and achieve comprehensive process improvement. They understand that the only way to stay ahead of the competition is to innovate by digitizing procedures. The adoption of AI, IoT, and automation is important for generating long-term value for facilities.

As we stand at the juncture of tradition and innovation, the path forward is clear. To truly excel in today's competitive environment, embracing these facilities management best practices is not just a recommendation; it's mandatory. 

And with Xenia, you're not just adopting a tool; you're embracing a partner for excellence. So, why wait? Begin your journey to mastery. Start your free trial with Xenia today and redefine the gold standard in facilities management.

FAQs

What are the 3 key concepts of facility management?

Regardless of other factors, a facility manager should constantly prioritize and complete these three tasks because success in all domains is built on the basis of planning, listening, and promoting.

How can facility management improve productivity?

Facilities management is crucial because it guarantees that people work in a safe and easy setting.

A healthy work environment helps workers feel happy, energized, productive, and excited about their jobs. It will motivate them to come to work and perform well once there.

Companies should have a facilities management expert overseeing these operational duties to boost productivity by identifying and fixing issues that could have a negative impact on output based on data collected from maintenance and daily operations reports.

What is the scope of facilities management?

Facilities management is separated into two categories: space and infrastructure, which include activities such as planning, design, workplace, construction, leasing, occupancy, maintenance, and furnishings. Catering, housekeeping, ICT, HR, accounting, marketing, and hospitality are examples of individuals and organizations.