How to Excel in Facility Management: 7 Key factors to consider
Understanding and tracking the right KPIs is crucial for success in facility management. In this article we shall explore the essential KPIs every facility manager should monitor, explaining what they are, why they’re important, and how to track them effectively to enhance your facility’s performance.
Facility management is a complex job. You’re responsible for everything from managing maintenance tasks and inventory to ensuring your clients feel safe and comfortable. And with tight budgets and ever-increasing demands, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
But there’s a secret weapon that can help you navigate this complex world: key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs give you a clear picture of your facilities’ performance. They allow you to identify areas for improvement, make data-driven decisions, and achieve operational excellence. Let’s look at some of the KPIs that are essential to successful facility management.
The power of clarity: why defining your KPIs is essential
In facility management, data is your most valuable asset. But raw data alone is meaningless. You need to know what to track and why. That’s where KPIs come in.
Think about it: if you don’t know what you’re measuring, how can you know if you’re making progress?
Having clarity on which KPIs to track is crucial. It focuses your efforts, ensuring you’re not chasing every metric. Instead, you focus on the ones that are most important for your business goals.
KPIs also ensure accountability, providing a clear way to measure progress allowing you to hold yourself and your team accountable for achieving desired outcomes.
And ultimately, KPIs improve decision-making. By understanding your KPIs, you can make informed decisions based on data rather than intuition, leading to more effective and efficient operations.
KPIs to track for efficient facility management
There is no one-size-fits-all approach that works when it comes to KPIs, but we’ve crowdsourced insights from over 50 facility managers to identify the eight metrics that are crucial for any FM. These metrics will help you stay on track, manage costs, and ensure a safe and comfortable environment for your clients.
1. Reactive vs. planned maintenance ratio
Did you know that reactive maintenance can cost 2-5 times more than planned maintenance? This KPI measures the balance between unplanned (reactive) and planned maintenance tasks. It’s a crucial indicator of your preventive maintenance strategy.
This is important because reactive maintenance is always more expensive than planned maintenance. On top of that, it disrupts operations. A broken elevator, a malfunctioning HVAC system, or a sudden power outage can cause major disruptions to businesses, leading to lost productivity and dissatisfied customers.
By prioritizing planned maintenance tasks, you can reduce the need for emergency repairs and save money.
Planned maintenance also helps prevent breakdowns, ensuring that your equipment is running smoothly and reliably, which minimizes downtime for your clients and reduces the risk of costly disruptions.
Reactive maintenance can sometimes lead to rushed repairs, increasing the risk of accidents or injuries. Focusing on preventative measures creates a safer environment for your team and clients.
2. Vendor work order SLA adherence
Imagine a business that depends on a smoothly running HVAC system. Let’s say their air conditioning unit fails on a hot summer day, and their employees sweat it out while waiting for a repair. If the vendor doesn’t respond promptly, it could cause major disruptions to their business, potentially leading to lost revenue. This can damage your reputation as a facility management service provider.
By tracking vendor work order SLAs, you can identify reliable partners and those who need improvement. You can track how often they miss deadlines, how quickly they respond to requests, and how effectively they resolve issues .if you notice a particular vendor consistently misses deadlines or takes a long time to resolve issues, you might want to consider finding a new vendor who can provide more reliable service.
Tracking SLA adherence also ensures that your vendors are meeting their agreed-upon response and resolution times, leading to faster service and less disruption for your clients. You can set clear expectations for vendors and hold them accountable for meeting those expectations.
If a customer needs a broken elevator fixed, and the SLA requires a technician to arrive within two hours. By tracking SLA adherence, you can ensure that the vendor meets that commitment, minimizing the inconvenience for your clients.
When vendors consistently meet their SLAs, it results in happier clients, leading to greater customer satisfaction and loyalty. For instance, a customer might be more likely to renew their contract with your FM service if they consistently receive fast and reliable service from the vendors you work with.
3. Asset health & performance output
Imagine managing a high-rise office building with multiple elevators, backup generators, and advanced security systems. You need to keep a close eye on these critical assets to ensure they operate smoothly, reducing the risk of costly repairs and downtime.
This is where tracking asset health and performance comes in.
With effective asset performance management, you can detect problems ahead of time. For the mentioned example, this means regularly inspecting and servicing elevators to identify potential issues like worn-out cables or faulty sensors before they cause a breakdown. This not only extends the lifespan of the elevators but also ensures the safety and convenience of the building’s occupants.
For instance, if you notice an elevator frequently has to stop unexpectedly, you can investigate the reason and implement preventative measures before it becomes a major problem, potentially inconveniencing tenants.
Here’s what you need to consider when tracking asset health:
- Asset Uptime: How often is your equipment running smoothly?
- Failure Rate: How often does your equipment break down?
- Past Breakdowns: What issues have you encountered in the past? (This helps identify recurring problems.)
- Maintenance History: How often is your equipment serviced?
- Usage Frequency: How often is your equipment being used?
The asset depreciation takes into account the wear and tear over time and helps you understand the true value of your equipment, allowing you to make informed repair vs replacement decisions.
Tracking the uptime of the HVAC units, the number of times they’ve broken down in the past, and the frequency of maintenance tasks can help identify units with a high failure rate and requiring frequent repairs. This data signals that you need to consider replacing them with a more reliable model or investing in more frequent maintenance.
By monitoring asset performance and depreciation, you can reduce the risk of unexpected breakdowns and make informed decisions about repairs, replacements, and upgrades. You also save money on repairs in the long run, and your equipment is more efficient than ever!
4. Real-time budget expenditure analysis
Let’s be real. No one wants to face a budget shortfall at the end of the year. By tracking your budget expenditures, you can avoid unpleasant surprises.
Real-time budget expenditure analysis allows facility managers to compare actual spending against planned budgets, identify areas of overspending, and implement cost-saving measures. You can identify trends and take corrective actions by closely monitoring maintenance and repair costs. If you notice frequent repairs for the building’s plumbing, investing in a major overhaul might be more cost-effective rather than continuing with piecemeal fixes.
This approach not only saves money in the long run but also ensures the reliability of the building’s systems.
IT infrastructure is another area where budget management is crucial. Tracking expenses related to servers, networking equipment, and software licenses can help identify inefficiencies.
Perhaps some software subscriptions are underutilized, or certain hardware could be consolidated or upgraded to improve performance and reduce costs. This enables more efficient resource allocation and ensures that critical IT services are always available.
Real-time expense analysis helps facility managers make data-driven decisions, optimize spending, and demonstrate fiscal responsibility. This approach can maximize return on investment and ensure efficient use of resources.
5. Utility costs per 1 m² or 1 ft²
Understanding and managing utility costs is crucial for the financial health of any large facility. By tracking utility costs per square meter or foot, facility managers can uncover significant savings opportunities and implement energy-saving measures.
Think about how much energy a large office building or a sprawling hospital consumes. By understanding your energy consumption patterns, you can identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency.
Water consumption, for instance, can be a significant expense, especially in large buildings with extensive plumbing systems. Monitoring water usage can identify high-consumption periods and potential leaks. Implementing water-saving fixtures like low-flow toilets and promptly repairing leaks can substantially reduce water bills.
Waste management costs can also add up quickly. Implementing better waste segregation practices and promoting recycling can reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills, thus lowering disposal fees.
Tracking and benchmarking utility costs per 1 m² or 1 ft² helps identify inefficiencies, implement energy-saving measures, and reduce operational costs. This saves money, contributes to a greener environment, and enhances the facility’s overall sustainability.
6. Employee & occupant satisfaction surveys:
Regularly conducting satisfaction surveys among employees and building occupants provides valuable insights into the quality of your facility’s services and environment.Consider the cleanliness of the building. Feedback from employees and occupants can highlight areas that require more attention, such as restrooms, common areas, or specific office spaces.
If surveys reveal dissatisfaction with the cleanliness of the restrooms, for instance, you can address this issue by increasing the frequency of cleaning or improving the quality of cleaning services. This not only improves the overall environment but also boosts morale and satisfaction.
Occupants’ feedback reveals how safe and comfortable they feel within the building and whether there are any concerns about security measures.If there are complaints about long wait times for access or malfunctioning entry systems, you can upgrade access control systems or increase security personnel during peak times to address these concerns effectively.
If occupant surveys show that they are frequently uncomfortable due to poor air quality, you can invest in better ventilation systems or air purifiers.
Facility managers can use employee and occupant satisfaction surveys as a tool to improve the facility experience and build a stronger reputation.
7. Safety & compliance
Staying compliant with regulations and standards is crucial to avoid penalties and ensure a safe working environment. By tracking compliance deadlines, facility managers can proactively manage regulatory requirements and avoid legal issues.
Fire safety regulations often require regular inspections of sprinkler systems and fire alarms. By keeping track of these compliance requirements and deadlines, you can ensure that inspections are completed on time, avoiding potential fines and ensuring the safety of building occupants.
monitoring. Ensuring that waste is disposed of correctly and that emissions are within permitted levels keeps you compliant and demonstrates a commitment to environmental responsibility.
Health and safety compliance involves regular equipment checks and maintenance, like emergency exits, first aid kits, and personal protective equipment (PPE).
By tracking these compliance activities, you ensure that all safety measures are up to date and that the building meets all health and safety standards. This reduces the risk of accidents and ensures a safe working environment for everyone.
By staying on top of your compliance requirements, you can protect your facility from legal and financial risks and ensure a safe and secure environment for everyone.
