Are Productivity and Email Mutually Exclusive?

I recently worked a major development project and found that the 600+ emails a day were completely paralyzing me, and I knew I wasn't alone.  I announced that I was implementing a new policy of "Planned Neglect."  Essentially, I said "I will look at emails first thing in the morning and in the evening, no more than thirty minutes each.  If you have a crisis that I absolutely must participate in then come see me or call me.  You know where I am and you have my numbers.  Use them."

As a result I discovered that,

• My ability to focus concentration on the most important matters and tasks increased dramatically
• My productivity and value contribution soared
• The quality of personal interactions improved
• People respected and even cheered my stance, and
• I enjoyed the project and life a whole lot more

This was not me running away and hiding from the world.  I did not limit my accessibility to the team, in fact I improved it.  Lesson learned?  Some day email will go the way of the Dodo Bird.  Until then it needs to be managed, as does any other good tool that turns into a time killer.

Your productivity and value quotient are the most important assets you contribute - protect them.

Crowdsourcing FM Soltions

Some will tell you that crowdsourcing is one of the main drivers in the race to the future of business.  In crowdsourcing work traditionally performed by one individual (usually an employee) is outsourced to many people in an open call.  Those responding to the call may compete for the work or be part of a virtual collaboration team.  Open competition enables a close talent match to the specific task or project and generates ideas from multiple perspectives that would not otherwise be available. 

As you might suspect, there are a number of online venues to bring those with need and those with talent together.  Innocentive, CrowdSource, YourEncore and Elance are examples of sites where you can connect with talented people all over the globe who are waiting to help you solve everything from graphic design projects to hard science and engineering problems.

All well and good, but how does this help FM?

Crowdsourcing is not just about finding talent to work on your projects.  It is also about capturing information and intelligence in more efficient ways that allow deployment of resources to solutions rather than data collection.

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is the second largest school district in the U.S. with over 700,000 students on 730 campuses and a budget of over $7 billion USD.  In other words, it’s big and it’s complex.  In 2011 LAUSD deployed a smart phone app to staff and students which allows any of them to immediately submit work orders complete with GIS data, photographs, and text information.   In other words, the district is crowdsourcing its inspection and work order data entry system.  Every staff member, parent and student brain and eyes are now remote sensors feeding real time data to the system – a much more efficient methodology than relying on a call center.  Now, resources that went into locating and reporting problems can be applied to fixing them.

LAUSD’s partner in this effort?  IBM’s Maximo.  Think IBM is investing in this effort for the benefit of one client?  I don’t.  Maximo is one of the industry giants and I suspect we will be seeing and hearing more about this technology shift.

Crowdsourcing benefits can be significant.  Reducing the cost of labor, increasing the alignment of need and talent, lower labor costs, improved cycle time, a distributed workforce that can respond on a targeted basis on a global scale are reasons to consider crowdsourcing.  That said, it does require a different mindset with a focus on “tasks” as opposed to “jobs.”

A modified version pre-qualifies talent and establishes a pool of competitors who compete for each assignment.  This option provides a higher degree of control and therefore confidence, and is typically adopted for more complex tasks. 

Quality typically matches and often betters that provided by dedicated resources in both open and closed variations of the model.  This is not necessarily because the talent is better, but crowdsourced workers are not multi-tasking or burdened by administrative requirements.  Also, crowdsourced assignments typically have tight specifications and the buyer has a customer mentality – “get it right before getting paid.”

Crowdsourcing as an FM strategy.  In some ways we’ve been doing it since the beginning, but not like this.  Use it to gather condition and work order data, or source talent to solve specific problems.  It is another tool in the kit, another option, and another opportunity.

Facility Management's (FM) Role in Sustaining Recovery

Investment capital will become more available as global economies emerge from extended malaise .  Competition for that capital will be intense.  Important and challenging business and social issues are present everywhere we turn.  A growing and aging world population, demographic and power shifts, healthcare costs and capacities, geopolitical stress and transition,  the protection and sustaining of natural resources to name just a few.  The list could go on and on, each important on its own merits.

Therein lays the problem.  The list is long, capital is short.  There is not enough money available in all of the world to fix all of the world’s problems.  What are we to do?  What role can FM play in the search for solutions?

FM has a responsibility and a need to lead in the development and implementation of effective solutions.  While we are not charged with saving the world from all of its ills we are the stewards of a large portion of its assets, represented by the existing built environment, new facilities and the natural resources consumed in their development and operation.  How we exercise this responsibility is determined by our day to day actions and the decisions we make. 

How then shall we go about contributing in a manner that informs our organizations, elevates FM’s leadership role, properly preserves and deploys capital, and stewards natural resources for which we are both consumers and interested in sustaining?  Here are a few thoughts.

Recapitalize the built environment:  As recovery makes investment capital available we must make good decisions about where and how to invest.  Much of that investment must be in recapitalizing the existing built environment, including facilities and infrastructure.  It is too large and too important to do otherwise.  Further, recapitalization extends the useful life of assets and avoids unnecessary diversion of funding to new development, which also lessens consumption of resources.  Your job:  Perform condition assessments and develop informed strategies and plans.

Improve FM’s financial skills:  As capital comes available there will be enormous competition as long pent up initiatives in all areas of business reach for the same resources.  New product development and maturation, sales, marketing, research and talent will all be consumers of what is a finite resource for every company.  FM’s ability to understand the business as a whole and develop solutions that solve enterprise problems and make economic sense will be a lever for increased capital flow to projects that make a difference.   Your job:  Improve financial analysis capabilities inside FM and develop strong links with your CFO.

Build effective business cases:  Effective business cases begin with objective analysis of accurate business data which leads you to the right projects and initiatives.  Once you have the right capital investment strategy and portfolio it is up to you to effectively make the case and gain executive approval.  The very best plan and strategy in the world is absolutely useless if not acted upon.  Too often FM fails in gaining project approval because it does not present a balanced and compelling case.  Your job:  Improve or add effective communication and presentation skills to the FM suite.

Develop a long term budget lens:  Not that FM can drive this one, but we can encourage and inform the dialogue on investment return.  The traditional short term focus on investment return marginalizes long term benefit generation.  Investors require a quick return so we build projects and operate in ways that maximize short term return.  Sometimes in doing so we accelerate future capital deployment.  Not paying attention to a growing deferred maintenance backlog is one example.  That backlog will most likely continue to grow, asset condition will continue to deteriorate, and eventually (sooner rather than later) it will need to be replaced.  The short term focus also works against adopting new technologies that improve building efficiency.  In today’s world of rapidly changing technology this issue is not to be discounted.  More efficient buildings provide greater productivity, lower operating costs and higher occupancy rates, each a key competitive lever in its own right.  Your job: Present business options that explain Total Cost of Ownership over the entire life of the asset.

Improve your sustainable profile:  Sustainability has moved deep into the consciousness of the business world primarily because it makes good business sense.  Nearly everyone cares about doing the right thing, but when you can do the right thing and improve competitiveness and the bottom line you have a real winner.  That is why your Board of Directors is putting pressure on leadership (and don’t think they aren’t) to improve sustainability.  You should be doing it for yourself as well.  Sustainable initiatives can improve quality, lower operating cost, allow redeployment of resources, extend life cycles and a host of other good outcomes that you care about because they make your life easier.  FM is one of the biggest levers for sustainable performance and should be one of its biggest champions.  Taking a leadership position on an important issue with executive level visibility which provides social and business benefits improves FM’s credibility and perception as a savvy and visionary partner.  Your job:  Become a Subject Matter Expert in sustainability and how it can be leveraged to improve your business.

Innovate:  Innovation can be a game changer.  Whether it be by integrating technologies in a new way, rethinking your business/service model, developing new space paradigms that improve collaboration, or partnering with other parts of your business to add value – all have potential to improve FM’s performance and value.  Innovating, however, requires taking risks, something that many FM leaders are reluctant to do.  Risk is minimized by thorough due diligence and that should be your approach.  Have a good idea?  Think it through.  Engage others.  Model it.  Run a small pilot project.  Innovate!  Your job:  Be alert and receptive to new ways of doing old things, and new ways of adding value in your area of responsibility.  Be willing to fail on occasion on your way to wins that make a difference.

Mobile CMMS: The Future Maintenance Team's BFF

This week's post comes to us courtesy of Ashley Halligan, an analyst at Software Advice.  Ashley focuses here on a topic that is important to all FM's, the adoption and deployment of CMMS solutions (and by extension all forms of FM technology) to speed response and improve quality of service.

By Ashley Halligan

Anyone who's worked in the maintenance management industry knows that maintenance is a constant task--the slightest oversight can result in costly asset malfunction, leading to expensive repairs or--worst case scenario--replacement. That said, having an around-the-clock maintenance team is a valuable addition to any facility --but having the appropriate staff available at pertinent times may be impossible. 

And in comes the true value of mobile CMMS and its impending trend--providing improved reaction time, resulting in immense cost-savings. 

Because of the sometimes hefty investment of CMMS systems, some organizations have been hesitant to move forward with such an investment. Additionally, some techs are intimidated by new technology--some feeling as though these systems and applications may eliminate the need for their jobs. 

However, these systems and apps help automate communication at an organizational level so that all people have access to synchronized data. 

Some of the core functionalities of these products are as follows: 

Paperless work order management: Managing work orders either on or off-site saves significant amounts of times, allowing data entry that's immediately synchronized into the CMMS organization-wide. This also alleviates the need to handwrite notes that can be miscommunicated, and also take time to reenter at a later time onsite. 

Inventory management: Having synchronized inventory management is another efficient tool in the field--allowing immediate access to available assets, as well as equipment that may be issued to other jobs or locations. At the touch of a finger, a maintenance technician can see if an asset is available and immediately disperse it to the needed location.

Asset management and QR codes: Having an asset's entire maintenance history available instantly helps with assigning jobs, or assessing potential issues. Quick Response or QR codes provide a tool to scan an asset's code, bringing up its entire history--including preventive maintenance, malfunctions, reactive maintenance, etc. 

Having these functions available by all maintenance personnel in all locations an organization may have--provides a platform for instant communication, immediate updates, and a more cohesive reactivity plan in the case of malfunction or emergency. 

Read Halligan's original story here. 

Five Most In Demand Jobs in FM Today

Kudos to Ashley Halligan  for her article on the five jobs most in demand in today's FM world.  Reading the list one quickly understands that what has always been the heart of FM is still the heart of FM - making buildings work.  While there is much talk about FM's ascendance to the board room the heart of the profession remains with the details of operating and managing space.  Today that requires different skill sets than it once did, with an emphasis on technology and data.  Good stuff, Ashley.  Read it here.

Roger McNamee on How to Save the Internet

Interesting perspective on the technology future now coming into view. I love the "the Internet is like a digital Detroit. You can find stuff there and you can get mugged there" line, but I don't agree that we will be set free when our beliefs give way to facts, as he suggests near the end. That little detail aside, I think his six concepts are largely right on. The technology shifts already underway are fundamental and powerful in nature. TED scores another win with this one. And BTW.... who says 55+ 'ers can't keep up?