International. Facility Managers (FM) require the use of various computer tools to manage the budget volume of their area and have immediately updated information.
Recently Martín Guerrero reviewed in an article that the tools used in FM can be divided into several main groups: ERP (Enterprise Resources planning), CMMS (Computer Aided Maintenance Management), CAD (Comuputer Aided Design), CAFM (Computer Aided Facility Management) and IWMS (Integrated Worplace Management systems).
ERP is a system for planning, control and operation from a financial point of view. It is characterized by being composed of different integrated modules that support the main activities: finance, production, sales, purchasing, logistics, accounting (of various types), project management, GIS, inventories and warehouse control, orders, payroll, etc.
The ERP manages the items associated with the Facility Manager from the point of view of administrative management, fundamentally.
CMMS or CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System), for its acronym in English, allows the maintenance management of the equipment and / or facilities of one or more companies, both corrective and preventive maintenance, predictive, etc.
This system is focused on the availability of resources and covers the control of incidents, scheduling of reviews, control of stocks and spare parts, as well as the generation and monitoring of work orders.
On the other hand, CAD or computer aided design is 2D drawing and 3D modeling software. 2D drawing tools are based on vector geometric features such as points, lines, arcs, and polygons, with which it can be operated through a graphical interface.
3D modelers add surfaces and solids. CAD can also be used within the framework of product lifecycle management processes.
As for the CAFM, it is an information and management system that allows working graphically and alphanumerically indistinctly supported by a document manager integrated into the system.
The CAFM makes it easy to manage all the information of the properties in a graphic and simple way. Most of the existing CAFM packages on the market are based on CAD systems with a more or less robust linkage with alphanumeric elements in databases.
The acronym CAFM or IWMS is used interchangeably on many occasions. However, there are differences between these systems. From a functional perspective, the most important difference is that IWMS includes extensive Real Estate and lease management functionality, project management and sustainability management.
IWMS systems integrate five key components of functionality, operated from a single technological platform and database: Wealth Management (control of properties and leases, insurance, investment plans, etc.), Space and project management (space allocation, project control, inventories, etc.), Maintenance management (incident control, revision scheduling, stock control, etc.), Service management (requests, reservations, fleet management, etc.) and Sustainability management (energy consumption, carbon footprint, waste management, etc.).
Above all, we must bear in mind that these tools only help with the management of the information handled by a Facily Manager, but they are not the solution. Depending on the amount of portfolio managed, even the implementation of complex systems will not be essential; it will depend on the real needs, as explained in the FM House post.
The global computerization of systems and the continuous advancement in technology will demand specialized Facility Managers organizations in the future, which makes this profession a career that is on the rise.
