The Pros & Cons of CAFM in Facilities Management
The Pros & Cons of Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM)
Weighing up the pros and cons of Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) will allow you to make an informed decision about whether it’s the right choice for your facilities management business. From managing budgets and staying in line with compliance requirements, to building ESG strategies and finding reliable contractors and suppliers—facilities managers (FMs) have a lot to contend with.
Effective facilities management can be difficult to achieve when there are so many competing priorities that demand your attention. That’s why facilities managers and companies have found CAFM systems to be particularly useful in saving time, cutting costs, and ensuring a healthy work/life balance.
Ultimately, CAFM systems make life much simpler for facilities managers by providing a technological solution that streamlines their processes. However, in a world that’s becoming more reliant on technology, we must strive to maintain the human touch.
In the property management industry, it’s all about people, whether its helping tenants fix a problem in their home or building relationships with suppliers and contractors. With most CAFM systems, FMs lose that personal touch because they have to rely on software to solve their issues.
In this article, we’ll uncover how Elogs CAFM system offers a unique human touch, as well as:
- What is a CAFM system in facilities management?
- What are the benefits of CAFM software?
- What are the cons of a CAFM in facilities management?
- Why is a human touch important in facilities management?
- What is Elogs CAFM + Service Desk?
- What are the benefits of Elogs CAFM + Service Desk?
- How does Elogs maintain the human touch?
What is a CAFM system in Facilities Management?
CAFM is software that allows you to streamline the management of facilities, buildings, infrastructure, and assets. It allows full visibility of your costs, risks, and assets, giving you the ability to manage your time effectively and do what you do best.
Essentially, these systems make life much easier for facilities managers because they can save time and boost productivity.
What are the Benefits of Computer Aided Facilities Management Software?
Full Visibility
Having full visibility of your supply chain is a vital component of effective facilities management.
However, this is generally hard to achieve because there are often numerous spreadsheets and folders full of paperwork to keep track of, making full visibility virtually impossible. Computer Aided Facilities Management gives you full visibility of your supply chain by storing all documentation in one place, tracking actions, and giving you comprehensive audit trails so that everyone stays in the loop.
Transparent Communication
One of the most important aspects of facilities management is communication; an FM’s key responsibility is communicating with stakeholders, investors, suppliers, and contractors. As you can imagine, this is especially difficult when maintaining numerous properties and keeping track of ever-changing tasks.
CAFM systems make this easier by giving you a single source of truth whereby there is one secure location for all your plans, documentation, and task-relevant information.
Enhanced ESG Performance
CAFM systems play a pivotal role in supporting ESG objectives because they provide comprehensive tools for data collection, analysis, and reporting.
Essentially, these systems make life easier for property managers who want to track and improve the ESG score of their properties.
Improved Time Management
One of the main reasons that projects drag on is because it’s hard to manage your time effectively when there are so many competing priorities demanding your attention.
With CAFM, you can manage any number of sites, properties, and assets at one glance.
Instead of wasting time chasing down suppliers and contractors to find out whether a job has been completed, you can just check the CAFM system to stay up to date. The simplification of these processes saves you time, meaning you can put your energy into the bigger tasks at hand.
Cost Efficient
A key challenge in facilities management is getting senior leadership buy-in and convincing decision-makers that CAFM is worth the investment.
All you need to do is show them the ROI, demonstrating how Computer Aided Facilities Management improves cost savings through:
Regular maintenance of equipment.
Keeping track of your assets in the CAFM means you won’t have to constantly pay for replacements, and you can extend the lifecycle of your assets.
Improved asset value & simple asset management.
By using CAFM systems to ensure compliance, with ESG requirements for example, you can increase the market value of your properties.
Increased visibility of your supply chain.
A CAFM allows you to choose suppliers who are reliable and qualified, meaning you can improve first time fixes and reduce callouts; this will also save your business money long term.
What are the Cons of Computer Aided Facilities Management?
When you look at the pros of CAFM systems, it sounds like a perfect solution for the challenges that facilities managers face.
But, as with anything, there are always drawbacks…
Investment.
There is an initial cost when investing in this type of software, so the decision will depend on your budget.
Training.
It’s important to have a dedicated team who can use the CAFM efficiently and effectively. This may require more investment into training and development of your people.
Usability.
CAFM systems are not always intuitive and easy to navigate. So, it can be difficult for users to get the most our of the features on offer.
Customisation Limitations.
Although CAFM systems tend to have a wide range of features and capabilities, they won’t always meet the unique requirements of every organisation.
Lacking a human touch.
As with most software, the CAFM solution lacks that unmatched personal touch that you get with face-to-face customer service.
Why is a Human Touch Important in Facilities Management?
People are still the most important part of any organisation, so it’s crucial that the human touch is preserved when facilities managers are implementing a CAFM system.
Of course, technology can support people driven activities, but it can’t replace them.
On top of this, tech can also be difficult to navigate and can run into issues. That’s why it’s important to have humans standing by, to help and offer extra support.
In facilities management, CAFM systems may not always be able to gauge complicated situations. So, you’ll still require human judgement and experience to complete on projects efficiently.
At the end of the day, tech can’t solve all your problems by itself— you need human support too.
What is Elogs CAFM + Service Desk?
What sets us apart from other CAFM providers is our robust and dependable 24/7 service desk.
The Elogs CAFM + Service Desk acts as an extension of your company, providing a seamless and efficient job management experience for facilities managers and property managers.
We understand the importance of round-the-clock support which is why we ensure that assistance is readily available, day or night.
Our service desk team log the jobs raised by facilities managers, dispatch those jobs to your service providers, then track their progress from initial attendance to completion. This ensures that no job falls through the cracks and that all tasks are addressed efficiently.
Our team also proactively monitor the integrity of the data entered the system so that the information on the platform is accurate and up to date.
What are the Benefits of Elogs CAFM + Service Desk?
The Elogs CAFM + Service Desk is a game-changer which enhances the overall customer experience.
Our CAFM frees up valuable time for FMs by taking on the responsibilities of job management and service coordination. This allows them to redirect their efforts towards strategic planning, analysing data, and optimising processes, ultimately leading to more efficient facilities management practices.
Elogs’ CAFM system is also integrated with Prosure360, allowing you to see a traffic light report of your supply chain. There are many benefits to this integration which will allow you to have full control of your supply chain. Ultimately, this will make your life easier by showing whether your contractors and suppliers meet your specific standards.
This continuous support of our service desk ensures that urgent issues are addressed promptly, which reduces potential downtime and minimises the impact on the organisation.
The Elogs service desk provides a personalised experience which boosts customer satisfaction and helps to build long-term relationships with clients.
How does Elogs Maintain the Human Touch?
When managing your properties, we believe in the power of technology and people.
Our blended approach offers the functionality of a CAFM system along with the support of the Service Desk, which retains the human element.
This provides a personal touch, giving facilities managers a helping hand and a real person to speak to about the issues they’re having.
CAFM can streamline the management of your properties, while the people at our Service Desk can offer you sound judgement, clear communication, and empathy; all the beautiful things that make us human.
