FM software systems come with a wide range of options and features. Choose a system that is intuitive and easy to use, and that can be configured to fit your specific requirements. Look for a system with mobile access and a simple calendar view that tenants and employees can use to submit, track, and manage work orders. Work order management capabilities are a must, so that requests can be assigned and completed while tracking maintenance costs and labor hours. A system that enables you to schedule preventative maintenance tasks will ensure that your equipment and buildings are operating efficiently. FM software that generates unique QR codes for every asset, which can be scanned from any smart phone or tablet, allows you to adjust inventory quantities and obtain asset maintenance history on the go.

All of these features are important when choosing your FM software system—and there may be many more you need in order to meet your unique needs—but a robust reporting and analytics capability is imperative. Why is it so essential?

The more data you have, the easier it will be to make informed decisions to improve your facilities management. It's as simple as that. You can discover:

• Whether your team is responding to tenant requests and resolving work orders in a timely manner.
• If the current workload for your facility and maintenance team is manageable and how their workload is trending over time.
• How your maintenance costs break down by trade and how they trend over time.

A comprehensive FM software system will help you set benchmarks for the time it takes to resolve requests, then allow you to monitor performance versus the benchmarks. This will give you better insight as to which processes are slowing performance down, and which are working most efficiently. Tracking work orders by assigned department or individual employee helps you determine whether some employees are overloaded or if personnel is not allocated properly. At the same time, identifying workload trends over time can also help you leverage slow periods to tackle special projects, catch up on deferred maintenance, or be proactive with completing preventative maintenance tasks.

Additionally, you can use FM software data to:

• Determine how your work orders and preventative maintenance break down by type or trade, facility, and current status.
• Track maintenance, labor, and inventory costs while observing cost trends over time.
• Slice and dice your cost data to determine cost attribution by facility and type of work order.

FM software that provides interactive dashboards allows you to drill down for more granular facility data. Find a system that will let you export dashboards and reports to share data with others for collaboration and decision making.

Your organization and tenants depend on the services provided by your facility and maintenance teams, so it's critical that sufficient manpower and resources are available to provide those services. A good FM system will help you more efficiently and effectively track work orders, allocate resources and plan maintenance, and will help your facilities owners and managers gain visibility into activities and costs. In addition, robust reporting and analytics will help you identify and take advantage of cost-cutting opportunities that directly affect your bottom line. By analyzing your past and present data, you will be able to make informed decisions that will help you save time, save money, and gain efficiency.

“A proactive and data driven management approach maximizes the value of your assets.” That is according to Jamie Gregory at Facilities Management eXpress. “This is especially important in commercial real estate, where keeping your buildings maintained and operating safely and efficiently is essential to your overall image and success.”

According to Gregory, a good facility management software solution becomes the cornerstone of your operations. In the exclusive commentary below, Gregory discusses how software can help empower a facility team to do their job more easily and with greater control over their time. “It also gives you valuable insight into your operating and capital expenses as well as peace of mind that your internal processes are running smoothly.”

The views expressed in the commentary below are the author's own.

In theory, maintenance and operations are seamless and occur without the tenants' knowledge or input. However, every property manager knows that tenants have high expectations and pay attention to any changes in their environments, whether good or bad. Rest assured they will notice if you start resolving their maintenance requests more efficiently (or if you fall short on general property upkeep). The right FM software can help you streamline your operations and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.

FM software systems come with a wide range of options and features. Choose a system that is intuitive and easy to use, and that can be configured to fit your specific requirements. Look for a system with mobile access and a simple calendar view that tenants and employees can use to submit, track, and manage work orders. Work order management capabilities are a must, so that requests can be assigned and completed while tracking maintenance costs and labor hours. A system that enables you to schedule preventative maintenance tasks will ensure that your equipment and buildings are operating efficiently. FM software that generates unique QR codes for every asset, which can be scanned from any smart phone or tablet, allows you to adjust inventory quantities and obtain asset maintenance history on the go.

All of these features are important when choosing your FM software system—and there may be many more you need in order to meet your unique needs—but a robust reporting and analytics capability is imperative. Why is it so essential?

The more data you have, the easier it will be to make informed decisions to improve your facilities management. It's as simple as that. You can discover:

• Whether your team is responding to tenant requests and resolving work orders in a timely manner.
• If the current workload for your facility and maintenance team is manageable and how their workload is trending over time.
• How your maintenance costs break down by trade and how they trend over time.

A comprehensive FM software system will help you set benchmarks for the time it takes to resolve requests, then allow you to monitor performance versus the benchmarks. This will give you better insight as to which processes are slowing performance down, and which are working most efficiently. Tracking work orders by assigned department or individual employee helps you determine whether some employees are overloaded or if personnel is not allocated properly. At the same time, identifying workload trends over time can also help you leverage slow periods to tackle special projects, catch up on deferred maintenance, or be proactive with completing preventative maintenance tasks.

Additionally, you can use FM software data to:

• Determine how your work orders and preventative maintenance break down by type or trade, facility, and current status.
• Track maintenance, labor, and inventory costs while observing cost trends over time.
• Slice and dice your cost data to determine cost attribution by facility and type of work order.

FM software that provides interactive dashboards allows you to drill down for more granular facility data. Find a system that will let you export dashboards and reports to share data with others for collaboration and decision making.

Your organization and tenants depend on the services provided by your facility and maintenance teams, so it's critical that sufficient manpower and resources are available to provide those services. A good FM system will help you more efficiently and effectively track work orders, allocate resources and plan maintenance, and will help your facilities owners and managers gain visibility into activities and costs. In addition, robust reporting and analytics will help you identify and take advantage of cost-cutting opportunities that directly affect your bottom line. By analyzing your past and present data, you will be able to make informed decisions that will help you save time, save money, and gain efficiency.