CREJ

15 / 20

January 2017 — Property Management Quarterly — Page 15
I f you’re a property or facilities
manager, consider taking stock
of your facility service company
to ensure that its technology
platforms are helping you keep
your building running, improve build-
ing performance and meet business
objectives.
In our ever-evolving technology
landscape, competitive service com-
panies offer more than adequate
plumbing, heating, ventilating and
air-conditioning, and electrical skills.
They offer a level of technological and
operations savvy that can increase the
efficiency and accuracy of all service
work – resulting in fewer service calls,
less downtime, higher energy efficien-
cy and better building performance.
If you have a planned maintenance
agreement with a service firm, ask
how it uses technology to operate its
business to get a better sense of how
its technology (or lack thereof) may
impact your business. Following are
some questions you should ask your
service provider.
• How does your service provider use
technology to help you achieve your
business goals?
Savvy property owners and manag-
ers want partners who can help them
solve their business problems, not
just fix leaky pipes. Service providers
are moving beyond traditional pre-
ventative maintenance and routine
repairs to outcome-based services like
operating facilities and energy man-
agement. The objective of top service
providers should go beyond just fix-
ing stuff. They should deliver services
that enable you to meet your business
goals and increase your profitability.
• How does mobility and connectivity
enable your provider
to improve its ser-
vice?
Mobility is now a
basic component
of field service.
Companies without
it are at a competi-
tive disadvantage.
Service connectivity
and mobility are top
drivers for speeding
up business cycles
and increasing
productivity. This
requires that service providers use
technology to achieve a tighter, more
efficient integration between sales,
customer communications, dispatch
and delivery.
Progressive companies and their
service technicians have the ability to
stay connected with countless devices
ranging from company sites and tech-
nicians’ mobile devices to customer
equipment and automation systems
that enable real-time visibility into a
building’s operational performance.
Mobility enables productivity
enhancements that improve overall
service, such as the ability to have
an accurate view of your facility and
relevant equipment before arriving on
site; faster ability to log, assign and
accept service cases, update service
orders, request tasks, access knowl-
edge and close out service jobs; and
use of virtual specialists and peers,
combined with access to knowledge
bases for faster resolution times and
higher first-time fix.
• How is your service company using
technology to better understand your
facility and equipment?
A common problem for facilities
service providers is their lack of docu-
mented knowledge about their cus-
tomers’ facilities and equipment. By
partnering with a technology provider,
service companies can develop and
maintain an accurate view of custom-
ers’ facilities, equipment and service/
repair history. This helps the service
provider better service your facility
because it enables better scheduling,
parts planning, inventory control and
the ability to perform remote diagnos-
tics and repairs.
A good service partner should be
committed to developing increasingly
complex service programs uniquely
tailored to your situation, which can
vary greatly depending on your indus-
try, region, facility, on-site staff and
types of equipment. The objective is
to use technology to stay tuned in to
your facility continuously to optimize
performance.
• Does your provider use data to drive
continually better service and give you
metrics?
Good data around building efficien-
cy and performance enables predic-
tive analytics and better insights into
quality and productivity. But a service
firm that sends you reams of reports
and spreadsheets isn’t doing you
much of a favor.
A good service company will know
how to aggregate lots of data regard-
ing your facility, equipment and repair
history – and distill that data into suc-
cinct and meaningful information you
can use. High-quality analytical tools
combined with structured, well-man-
aged analytical processes are required
to avoid getting overwhelmed by data
“noise” while allowing you to uncover
and act on real trends and cause-
effect drivers.
• Does your provider invest in technol-
ogy training for its staff?
Most service companies send their
service technicians to training to
develop their trade skills. But you
should ask about what types of tech-
nology training they offer and how
they learn about the latest technolo-
gies that run equipment.
Equipment is becoming more com-
plex and often is part of a system
with a software component associ-
ated with it. Extensive product and
application knowledge is required.
Technology assists us with faster
learning curves through availability of
knowledge, ease of communication
with peers, access to performance
support and easier-to-use productivity
tools for field technicians. Service staff
who are well trained on technology
platforms will perform better for you.
• Is your provider looking into the
future to prepare for what’s next?
Next phases of service field mobil-
ity likely will include improvements
meant to better enable service staff
with better user interfaces and faster
network speed.
Remote monitoring, predictive ana-
lytics and energy management will
become more commonplace as well.
An innovative service company will
keep its eyes on the horizon in order
to understand technology trends and
continue evolving. It’s about more
than repairs and maintenance – by
selecting a firm that embraces tech-
nology, you can increase the efficien-
cy, longevity and overall value of your
facility. s
Technology
Chris Westlake
Vice president, RK
Service, Denver
ASSET SERVICES | With global real estate management services across all property types, we streamline operations,
reduce costs and minimize risk. How can we help you transform your real estate into real advantage?