3 Pieces of Data Facilities Managers Want
Learn more about 3 key business intelligence metrics for facilities management
Keeping a finger on the pulse of what is happening in and around locations, equipment, contractors and employees can seem a daunting task. In addition to managing property, people and projects, emphasis has grown for reporting and insight into what is occurring. To ensure the correct information is being conveyed, the appropriate tracking and the proper understanding of data has become a necessary and essential component of facilities management.
As data has become so integral in management in recent years, the concept of business intelligence or business analytics is growing exponentially to understand patterns or determine choices.
When considering facilities management software, what are core metrics to keep track of?
Certainly, you will have metrics that are important to your organization’s vision and your team’s mission, yet you will also have metrics that are fundamentally important to any maintenance and operational manager’s decisions. The right faciliteis management software can be your ally in easily attainng and tracking these metrics.
In a recent survey conducted by FacilitiesNet and Dude Solutions, in effort to understand impressions regarding business intelligence, facility management professionals reported that they are looking for better data on key areas such as:
1. Equipment Performance and Analysis
- “Equipment utilization data. Would be used to show real wear and tear on equipment.”
- “Easier access to history on performance and repairs on machinery.”
- “Downtime of equipment, efficiency of equipment.”
- “Utilities consumption by building. This would be used to diagnose malfunctioning equipment.”
2. Energy and Utility Consumption
- “Equipment energy usage. Data could be used to model better efficiency and occupancy use. Used to compel additional capital resources for more efficient operations.”
- “Building energy data. Used to adapt building operating strategies for energy conservation.”
- “Sub-metering to see where our utility costs are focused, and to track specific savings after upgrades.”
- “Consumption of power, water, gas, and other utilities.”
3. Costs by Facility/Departments and Other Comparisons
- “Cost comparisons between department(s) to allocate resources.”
- “Total cost per building for maintenance. Financial performance and expenses.”
- “Being able to compare our efficiency to others in our field.”
- “Water usage per office. I would use to help the tenants to look for and correct water wasting behaviors”
It is challenging to manage what is not measured.
As the requirement for information is becoming more imperative for decision-making, it is critical to maintain visibility into all aspects of your operations. That is where business intelligence comes in by the use of key performance indicators (KPIs) and trends.
Just as your vehicle has a dashboard, the use of virtual dashboards with multiple gauges and indicators is a popular tool to visually indicate what is occurring.
Key questions around BI
When anyone first steps into this realm, we all have core questions.
Where do you begin with business intelligence? If you have begun, what can you consider as a next step? What elements and mindset should be considered around data-driven decisions and the usage of business analytics? What am I not seeing or need to consider when I look at KPIs? What tools and techniques can help streamline BI?
