What is Integrated Facilities Management?
Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) is a comprehensive approach to facilities management (FM) that centralizes the management of organization-wide systems, processes, and service providers under a single outsourced platform focused on technology.
In other words Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) services offer the smart approach of consolidating both hard and soft services or combining them under a single Service Level Agreement (SLA). This integrated approach enables organizations to achieve and maintain sustainable and innovative facilities, including healthy buildings and smart buildings.
Benefits of IFM
This approach offers several benefits such as;
1. Cost Reduction: By consolidating contracts, bills, and relationships, IFM helps reduce costs associated with managing multiple service providers.
2. Complexity Reduction: IFM simplifies facility management by centralizing all services under one vendor, eliminating the need to manage and coordinate multiple subcontractors.
3. Consistent Staff Coverage: With IFM, there is consistent staffing coverage for all facility services, ensuring uninterrupted support and maintenance.
4. Improved Capital Planning: IFM enables better capital planning by having a comprehensive understanding of facility needs and implementing effective strategies for maintenance and upgrades.
5. Peace of Mind: IFM ensures that both the hard (e.g., building infrastructure) and soft (e.g., cleaning, security) facility service needs are fully met, providing peace of mind to facility owners and managers.
IFM versus Traditional FM
IFM (Integrated Facilities Management) distinguishes itself from traditional FM (Facilities Management) by providing a comprehensive approach to managing physical spaces. Traditional FM covers a wide range of tasks like maintenance, infrastructure management, and smaller item upkeep. However, the complexity of traditional FM programs often leads to increased costs. Many organizations outsource FM services, resulting in logistical challenges and missed opportunities for efficiency and collaboration.
On the other hand, IFM addresses these challenges by introducing transparency, efficiency, and automation through streamlined processes, KPIs, analytics, and improved decision-making. According to McKinsey & Company, partnering with an IFM provider can reduce FM costs by up to 15 percent.
Why then should businesses adopt IFM?
Regardless of the industry or function, shared data drives increased efficiencies, cost reduction, and progress in our interconnected world. IFM stands as the leading solution in facilities management to help achieve these objectives, offering the following features:
1. Industry-Leading Technology: IFM solutions offer customizable, cutting-edge technology that streamlines workflows and integrates with existing systems. Real-time program data enables data-driven decision-making and improves efficiency across departments.
2. Trusted Independent Service Providers (ISPs): IFM provides access to a national network of trusted, licensed ISPs for prompt response to urgent maintenance needs. The IFM provider manages communication and optimizes workflows, freeing up businesses to focus on other critical responsibilities.
3. Total Cost Approach: Unlike traditional FM providers, IFM adopts a total cost approach, identifying interdependencies and streamlining workflows to reduce program costs. Negotiated pricing and service level agreements enhance coordination and result in significant savings.
4. Advanced Analytics: IFM leverages advanced analytics to track assets and implement preventive and predictive maintenance, reducing emergency repairs and shifting the maintenance program from reactive to strategic.
5. Better Financial Management: IFM offers a comprehensive view of FM finances, allowing for improved budgeting, emergency planning, and allocation of funds based on historical data and specific requirements.
6. Consultative Support: IFM brings skilled professionals who provide consultative support to help facilities teams and senior leadership make data-driven decisions aligned with business needs.
What are the Downsides associated with IFM?
Despite the numerous benefits, you may wonder if there are any downsides to adopting an IFM solution. Let's address them:
1. Cost: While legacy FM programs may seem cheaper in the short term, they fail to provide the strategic benefits and comprehensive program savings that an IFM program can deliver. IFM is specifically designed to generate substantial positive impacts on the bottom line.
2. Implementation: Implementing an IFM program may seem challenging, but with the right partner and adequate support, the process can be efficient and relatively quick, often taking around 90 days without additional costs.
3. Job Losses: Contrary to the perception that implementing an IFM solution leads to job losses, many FM professionals actually experience deeper relationships with their employers when IFM is in place. The introduction of IFM can enhance the roles and responsibilities of FM professionals, allowing them to contribute to the organization's success more effectively.
Tracking the performance of your IFM program is crucial in achieving continuous improvements.
An industry-leading IFM technology platform provides comprehensive visibility into FM program operations and spending, facilitating the monitoring of key performance indicators (KPIs). Here are some selected KPIs to consider:
1. Work Order Management: Monitor work order progress to assess on-the-ground activity and the day-to-day health of your program. This includes tracking the total number of active, scheduled, and completed work orders, the average time required to complete a work order, and the backlog of deferred work orders.
2. Scheduled Work Orders (Preventive Maintenance): Preventive maintenance is more cost effective than reactive maintenance. Tracking scheduled work orders helps identify recurring tasks and provides insights into seasonal or trend data by category, location, or other filters.
3. Asset Condition: Monitor the overall health of your assets by tracking reactive service requests by asset, time spent on reactive maintenance, and the first trip percentage, which measures the rate of resolving reactive service requests with a single service provider visit.
4. Service Level Agreement (SLA) Compliance: Track service provider performance, including the timely completion of tasks, maintenance requests, and other work orders according to SLAs prepared and maintained by your IFM provider.
5. Financial Health: Understanding how your FM program impacts your organization's bottom line is crucial for making meaningful improvements. A quality IFM program enables you to compare budget versus actual spending, identify cost reduction opportunities, and make real-time budget adjustments. Analyzing year-over-year spending trends and spend categories helps you identify areas for improvement, while up-to-date work order status and service coverage provide valuable insights into workflows.
Now, let's explore how IFM works within your business
1. Engaging Your Facilities Team: The process begins by involving your facilities team and gathering asset and project data. It's essential to identify an IFM partner who can assist you in implementing a customized plan that aligns with your organization's goals.
2. Consolidating Facilities and Maintenance Projects: Consolidating facilities and maintenance projects under one IFM contract simplifies operations for a large corporate office building with multiple tenants. It ensures consistent service, better coordination, and cost optimization, improving efficiency and reducing complexity.
How to choose the right IFM provider.
Choosing the right IFM partner is critical to the success of your FM program. In a highly competitive and disruptive retail environment, businesses must be willing to embrace change and seek ways to improve. When evaluating or selecting an IFM partner, consider the following questions:
1. Customizable Technology Platform: Does the IFM partner offer a robust technology platform that can be tailored to meet your organization's specific requirements? It's crucial to determine if the platform allows access to customized dashboards and reports, both in the office and the field, and whether there are any associated charges.
2. Analytics and Data-driven Insights: Does the IFM partner provide analytics and data-driven insights that cover your entire FM program? Identifying trends, capturing savings, and enhancing operational efficiencies is essential for making strategic decisions based on program insights. Ensure that the IFM partner can facilitate organizational communication and recommend improvements by consolidating IFM data in one accessible location.
3. Industry Subject Matter Experts: Is there a team of industry subject matter experts who are familiar with your FM program requirements and can assist you with your requests? It's crucial to have access to a dedicated account team that understands your business and has a history of providing quality services, rather than relying on customer service representatives who lack relevant knowledge.
4. Access to Service Providers: Does the IFM solution provide access to a network of vetted and highly qualified service providers across all your sites? Ensure that the service requirements are detailed in service level agreements (SLAs) and that the work is reviewed by a quality assurance team. Negotiated service fees at the IFM level, without hourly, overtime, or emergency callout charges, should be part of the offering.
Partnering with Depriss IFM is a significant step in aligning your FM program with your organization's goals and achieving strategic objectives. Contact us today!
