Enterprise Asset Management for Facilities Management

Facilities Management businesses continue to face the challenges of tight profit margins, reduced facilities occupancy, decreasing budgets and increased client expectations, especially around keeping their staff safe. The need to be able to create a competitive advantage that differentiates an offering from others is increasingly imperative.

In recent years, Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) solutions such as IBM Maximo have enabled FM operators to keep a 360-degree view of their contracts. Other digital technologies have moved to the forefront, too, such as Field Service Management (FSM) software and Planning & Scheduling Optimisation (PSO).

As all three technologies evolve, they are becoming increasingly integrated and automated – and if FM operators invest sufficiently, they can take advantage of these digital enhancements to improve productivity, increase profit margins and exceed their Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

How FM Operators can leverage Maximo Application Suite

Maximo Application Suite is a new product from IBM which, amongst many other things, can unlock predictive maintenance for Facilities Management businesses. Applications such as Maximo Monitor collects data from remote sensors on equipment in buildings, and algorithms can then analyse this data to spot any performance anomalies.

Furthermore, in Maximo Predict, automated data analysis in the system allows predictions about asset failures or outages, and triggers maintenance before the customer even knows that an issue exists. Work Queues can also be configured to automatically show the assets with the highest probability of failure at the top, according to the health and criticality conditions that you have set.

Another Maximo Application Suite app, Maximo Visual Inspection, allows users to build and ‘train’ their own visual models, and compares a camera image with the model to spot anomalies. This can be used, for example, to monitor critical areas for faults, or can be used with a drone-based camera to check the exterior and roof of buildings.

Utilising Mobile Solutions in the FM industry

Fingertip is Peacock Engineering’s mobile solution which fully integrates with Maximo Application Suite. Fingertip acts as an essential part of the automated FSM solution – the FSM needs to be able to contact all field staff, to schedule and allocate work in the most effective way.

You can use a digital twin to perform diagnostics and troubleshooting, recommend corrective action, and even generate insights to improve the next generation of the product.

A mobile solution ensures that maintenance workers in the field have instant access to data about assets. They can access and issue work orders from the point of work and perform a wide range of other tasks such as inventory management, supply chain management, and equipment calibration.

FSM enables FM operators to:

Increase customer satisfaction and meet all SLAs
Optimise planning and scheduling of work
Better billing, increased revenue and profitability
Achieve asset and facility best practice
Improve staff productivity with digital transformation
Inventory and Supply Chain control and optimisation

Fingertip’s Core Framework provides the application structure on which the other capabilities hang. Unlike other mobile solutions, Fingertip does not try to replicate Maximo on a device. It has been designed to address the process and information needs of your maintenance workers in the field, making for a user experience that is uncluttered and intuitive.

Automatic, dynamic scheduling reduces non-productive time

Planning and Scheduling Optimisation technology can be fully integrated with EAM systems, which enables businesses to optimise maintenance scheduling by nearest available engineer, most suitable engineer, or a range of other options.

Scheduling can be completed automatically by the software – meaning that it will dynamically rearrange appointments for all field personnel, as requirements change throughout the day.

For example, if an engineer is held up at one location longer than expected, the scheduling system will automatically reassign appointments to your other engineers in the most efficient way and can also send alerts out to all clients to advise them of any changes to their appointment.

Working in conjunction with a mobile EAM solution, the scheduling system has live information about the location of your field personnel, thereby ensuring that appointments are always rearranged in the best possible way. This reduces non-productive time and allows you to decrease the number of field engineers, or get more work completed with your existing team.

Achieve SLA targets, avoid contract penalties and increase profitability

With access to the best EAM technology, FM operators have a complete view of SLAs, KPIs, maintenance and work history, technician and appointment availability, enabling issues to be resolved faster and more effectively. This helps businesses in the industry to achieve and improve on SLA targets and avoid contract penalties.

Peacock Engineering are experts at implementing Maximo Application Suite for Facilities Management companies, and we have worked for several of the UK’s largest FM providers.

For a full demonstration of how Maximo Application Suite can be leveraged by your FM business, contact us today at info@peluk.org.