TACKLING CHANGE in a Multi-Facility Organization

CONTENTSIntroduction ......................................................................................................................... 3

I. Meet the Village Network ........................................................................................... 4

II. The Village Network’s Search for FM Software .................................................. 6

III. Helpful Tips for Implementing Phase 1 ...............................................................7

IV. Training the Staff ........................................................................................................ 9

Why FMX?...........................................................................................................................10

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Making major changes in any organization is challenging. It entails thoughtful planning and clear-cut implementation, as well as consultation with—and involvement of—the people that are affected by the changes. Many companies still depend on a home-grown, “tried and true” method of managing their facilities, convinced that since it works, there’s no need to fix it. So any change in procedures is often viewed with a skeptical eye.

In an organization that includes multiple facilities in several locations, putting a new facilities management system in place can be particularly challenging. However, the benefits gained in time and cost savings outweigh the challenges of adopting the new system.

READ ON TO FIND OUT HOW ONE ORGANIZATION IS MAKING THAT TRANSITION.

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Meet the Village Network

The Village Network is a multi-discipline inpatient and outpatient behavioral health organization providing outpatient services, residential treatment services, and foster care services to children in 23 separate locations in Ohio. Some of the physical facilities, like the main campuses in Worchester and Bethesda, are owned by the company and consist of multiple residential cottages and administration buildings, while others are single offices or suites that are rented or leased.

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“It is very challenging keeping track of 23 locations,” said IT Director Mary Schantz,

“All of our facilities —whether they are sprawling

across many acres or confined to a single office

building—need maintenance from time to time. For

years, we were entirely dependent on paper, using

numerous spreadsheets to assign different people to

different tasks. Recently, we’ve begun using tablets

to submit work orders, so we have joined the

electronic age. However, this system, too, has

not proved very efficient.”

With only a

small maintenance

crew scattered throughout

its various facilities,

finding the right FM

software package was

a challenge for

The Village

Network.

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The Village Network’s Search for FM Software

The 10 packages were compared and analyzed, and finally narrowed down to three. “We did a

comprehensive comparison of the top three contenders and found that, in the end, one system—FMX—met all of

our requirements and was in line with what we could afford,” Schantz noted.

Schantz and her team looked at 10 FM software packages they felt might fit their specific needs.

The package they chose had to meet specific requirements:

User-friendly and easy to navigate

Cost-effective to accommodate a limited budget

Customizable to fit specific reporting needs

Planned maintenance schedules to meet state regulatory requisites, including those of fleet vehicles

Systematic vehicle inspection notifications to ensure compliance with Ohio Department of Job and Family Services licensure requirements

Efficient way to assign drivers and vehicles to enable proper staffing

Good staff training resources

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Helpful Tips for Implementing Phase 1

The biggest challenge—and one of the most critical decisions you must make when you implement any FM system—is to determine what data you should import into the software. To do this effectively, you need the cooperation of your staff in completing the inventory, especially if you are a large organization and/or have multiple sites. You also need a consistent reporting method so that everyone is on the same page with the data they provide.

According to Schantz, “If you do not put careful thought into what data you want to collect and how you want to collect it, you may find that it is worthless five years down the road.”

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You can avoid numerous headaches if you do this right from the outset. Schantz cites several tips to help you get started:

Look at the floor plans for each building and assign a building code

Create a labeling system to identify sites/rooms/equipment

Supply the data collectors with a template that lays out the asset types you want, and give them examples of what data to collect

Encourage the staff to update the data as necessary (input new equipment, remove old unused equipment, etc.

Conduct an annual review of all data to make sure it remains up-to-date and accurate

Schantz adds, “If I had Phase I to do over again, I might consider

identifying one person within the organization—or hiring

someone on a contractual basis—to go to each of our locations

and do a very thorough job of collecting the data. That way,

we would know that it was consistent across all facilities. That

might be a solution that other organizations can consider to

ensure quality data.”

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There may be staff resistance to abandoning the old way of doing things and embracing a new FM system.

Here are a few tips to pave the way:

Training the Staff To Use the System

“Of our 300+ staff, approximately

100 will be using the system on

a regular basis,” Schantz said.

“Perhaps the greatest challenge will

be to train them to provide details

about the work that was completed,

rather than just marking a work

order ‘done.’ This expanded data will

be invaluable going forward.”

Get buy-in from key

stakeholders

Conduct a hands on,

‘how-to’ session

Demonstrate how the new system will save time and

make their jobs easier

Have access to an online Learning Center provided by

the software vendor to serve as a quick

reference

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WHY FMX?

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Streamline work orders so that everyone can log into the system and create a request in minutes

Easily respond to, assign, and resolve issues while keeping track of time and money spent

Maintain a database and maintenance history of all equipment, fleet vehicles and other assets

Schedule planned maintenance to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks

Develop customized reports that fit specific needs

About FMX: Facilities Management eXpress, LLC is a leading-edge provider of workflow management solutions that empower facilities managers and building tenants to manage resources and equipment easily and cost effectively.

Using a web-based workflow management tool like FMX allows staff members to do their jobs easily and with greater control over their time. It opens the lines of communication so that users never have to worry about the status of their requests, and there is always accountability.

As The Village Network has discovered, FMX is easy to implement and navigate, can be customized to fit specific requirements, and has training resources to quickly get staff up to speed. It also includes capabilities that a large organization with multiple buildings and locations—and especially those that must comply with government-mandated regulations—find invaluable. In addition, FMX also gives organizations the ability to: