Selecting the best CAFM for your Estates and Facilities Management

Investing in a new CAFM solution or module is a big decision. Fortunately, good CAFM software has come into its own recently, enabling estates and facilities departments to run smoothly, despite the increase in demand and pressure.

Whether you need to make your first steps into Estates and Facilities Management software, or your existing CAFM no longer supports you the way you need it to, CAFM experts 3i Studio have highlighted the key points you should be aware of to help ensure you choose the best solution for you, your team and potentially your contractors.

Read on or download the guide here.

DOES IT HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS?

Ensure your new CAFM solution contains all the features you need to improve workflow and communication, as well as giving you the right reporting and tracking tools. It should work for you, enabling you to make informed decisions, work efficiently and reduce costs.

WILL IT PROVIDE SIMPLIFIED REPORTING?

With saved templates and the ability to add further reports as you need them, modern CAFM takes the pain out of reporting. Check that the new solution will enable you to easily find the information you need for your reports and run them at the touch of a button.

IS IT DESIGNED TO MANAGE YOUR SIZED ESTATE?

Match the CAFM solution with the size of your estate. Many will be capable of running both large national multi-locations just as easily as single site estates, but be sure to double check that its capabilities are ideal for the estate you are managing.

WILL IT MAKE YOUR PPM STRAIGHTFORWARD?

Whether you are managing a brand-new facility, or buildings of different ages and construction, you are certain to require regular surveys and inspections, as well as Planned and Preventative Maintenance (PPM) work throughout the year. Ensure the CAFM can manage your PPM tasks and scheduled testing in a logical and easy to use way, so that nothing will be missed. Also, double check you can see clearly what is coming up and be able to plan and budget simply.  And finally, make sure you will be able to share the tasks with your team or contractors easily, as well as monitor the works progress and cost.

WILL IT MANAGE YOUR COMPLIANCE EASILY?

You need to be able to ensure that everything across your estate complies with relevant legislative requirements, so make sure the CAFM includes a comprehensive Compliance Certificate Register. This will allow you to view all your key compliance dates and documents for your estate’s assets in one place and remind you when renewals are due; warning you ahead of time so you can budget and plan accordingly.

WILL IT ENABLE INFORMED SPACE DECISIONS TO BE MADE?

Modern CAFM should help keep track of which department is occupying any specific space, its’ area, the heated volume of each room, along with the overall usage figures, centrally and in real time. If you or your colleagues need to accurately manage and report on space, ensure you invest in a CAFM solution that provides up-to-date space information, enabling space to be released for its best use, and good space utilisation decisions to be made. And finally, check that its space reporting capabilities are also easy to use.

WILL IT WORK REMOTELY?

Ensure you can access your solution remotely and securely. Gone are the days where you need to buy new hardware for you, your team, or your contractors to log-in from where they are.

DOES IT PROVIDE ALL THE MODULES YOU WILL NEED?

Triple check that the CAFM solution meets both your current and future requirements. Firstly, ensure that it is scalable, so you can add further modules later. Secondly, check that their modules cover all the key areas you are likely to need in the future such as:

• Asset Management
• Risk Assessments
• GIS Interface
• Property Terrier
• Mobile Working
• Reactive Helpdesk
• Planned Maintenance / PPM
• Stock Condition Appraisal
• Secure Online Access
• Contractor Management

DO THEY CONTINUALLY DEVELOP AND SUPPORT THEIR SOLUTIONS?

Estates and facilities requirements are continually evolving, so choose a provider you are confident will continue developing their software. Also ensure they will be happy to provide ongoing support; from answering queries to training up new members of your team.

ARE UPGRADES FREE?

Your upgrade should be included in your support fees and not require you to pay for new licences to benefit from upgrades and new developments from your CAFM provider.

WILL THEY HELP YOU GET UP AND RUNNING?

Moving your data in from your old property management solution, or from spreadsheets and even hard copy, can take time and skill, so ensure that your CAFM provider will help you with this and swiftly get you and your team up and running with access to both your current and historic data.

CAN YOU USE YOUR EXISTING TECHNOLOGY?

Modern CAFM runs in real time on secure servers. This means you shouldn’t need to invest in new technology to use it but be able to work with your existing laptops, tablets, or smartphones.

CAN YOU EASILY EXPORT YOUR DATA WHEN YOU NEED TOO?

All solutions should provide the ability to output almost all your data to excel or other mainstream software. Ensure you can extract any information you will need too, when you need too.

CAN IT INTEGRATE WITH YOUR OTHER SOFTWARE?

Now-a-days software isn’t stand-alone, and will need to work with other software such as finance packages. Ensure your new solution can integrate your data with any third-party software you need it too.

CAN THEY GUARANTEE YOUR START DATE?

Establish the set-up time; three to six weeks from sign-off is typical and should enable your provider time to not just set up your CAFM and train your team, but for you to also test and tweak your solution before it’s live.

CAN YOU TEST-DRIVE THE NEW CAFM?

Having access to a demo system before deciding if a CAFM solution can do what you need it to do is vital. You need your new provider to be transparent and prepared to make this investment so you can be confident not only in their solution, but that they will also provide the ongoing support you need.

WHO SHOULD BE PART OF THE DECISION?

Involving the people who will be using your CAFM solution in the specification and selection process will ensure they get the functionality they genuinely need, as well as giving them a solution that they can work with and enjoy using. Being involved from the start also helps gain buy-in and interest, rather than a new system being imposed on them.

WHAT IS THE PROVIDERS PEDIGREE?

You need to be confident that your new CAFM provider is experienced within your sector, as well as being stable enough to continue supporting you in the future too, so check their pedigree.

DOES THE SOFTWARE MEET GOVERNMENT SECURITY REQUIREMENTS?

A secure system that enables you to control who has access to what information is vital. Check that your CAFM solution meets all the Government security requirements, such as Cyber Essentials, and that your data will be securely hosted for you within the UK.

DOUBLE CHECK THEIR OFFBOARDING POLICY AND COSTS

Whilst considerable care and attention is often put into onboarding, also ensure you are happy with the new providers offboarding policy. You shouldn’t be tied into a contract where you are charged to extract your data if you chose to move to a different solution provider in the future.

WOULD YOU LIKE FURTHER ADVICE?

If you are considering a new CAFM solution and would like further advice, do get in touch with 3i Studio Ltd.

As CAFM experts, with over 30 years’ experience, we will be delighted to help and provide you with an online demonstration of our CAFM modules.

For expert CAFM advice, to arrange a demonstration, or request a no obligation quote, contact 3i Studio Ltd: 0345 675 5051 or cafm@3istudio.com or visit our website www.3istudio.com to find out more.

T: 0345 675 5051
E: cafm@3istudio.com
W: www.3istudio.com