FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
FI Real Estate Management (FIREM) and its group of companies, have appointed Expansive to help with their digital transformation.
FIREM is one of the UK’s leading real estate firms, which has managed over 15 million sq ft of commercial and industrial property throughout the last 40 years.
Offering a complete strategic service, FIREM also operates FI Facilities Management (FIFM) and FI Construction (FIC).
FIREM and its group of companies have ambitious business transformation plans to become more efficient, effective, and customer-focused through digital. They aim to optimise supply chains and maintenance processes, cutting waste, improving customer service and driving new investment.
Digital FM transformation support
Craig Yule, Head of Facilities Management at FIREM and FIFM commented: “Until now FIREM has not had a single FM help desk. Engineers managed workloads and reported in different ways across the country. We had a whole array of properties reporting directly to a facilities manager and then a regional facilities manager. But there was no central control or oversight. There was no data.”
Yule wanted to find an FM software that could rapidly organise workflow management and centralise reporting. Gathering the operational and financial data was a necessity for improving the way the business operates and reports. FIREM reviewed and tested a number of software systems but found a lot of the systems were too rigid and inflexible and in some cases outdated.
Yule stated that FIREM selected Expansive as its system was “easy to use and intuitive”. He added: “Best of all, they’re highly agile and able to work with us to tailor their system to our needs.”
CAFM platform
FIREM has now appointed Expansive to supply a CAFM platform in a three-year deal, embarking on a mobilisation journey which promises to streamline the company’s maintenance process, supply chain and strategic planning.
Yule continued: “In partnership with Expansive, we are creating a single help desk to improve the way required works are processed and assets are managed. All our asset and lifecycle repair data will be collected in one place for ease of reporting. With the integration of financial systems for invoicing and cost control – this system will allow us to be faster and more efficient, resulting in a smarter CapEx plan for the next five to 10 years.”
Josh Greibach, CEO and founder at Expansive added: “From using QR codes for triggering work requests, to prioritising work orders automatically in the CAFM, we’re improving services for tenants and visibility for FIREM. Everything we plan will contribute to the digital transformation of the organisation as a whole. We are very excited to be part of that process.”
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