Case Study: Agriculture

Never Underestimate the Power of Workplace Data

Facility Management Software Provides Unexpected Benefits

Facilities:
13,000,000 square feet

FM: Systems Solutions:
FM:Interact

Client Since:
1995

“We made the leap to FM technology, but the real payoffs are things that we never dreamed of.  These unanticipated payoffs…  It’s more than just moving furniture and people around.  It’s the power of the data.  It’s hard to quantify the value of facility information until someone needs it; then it is invaluable.”

Architect and Facility Information Manager

Background:
The Company is the world's leading developer and supplier of advanced plant genetics to farmers worldwide. The Company operates in every crop-producing continent of the world and employs 6500 worldwide.

The Company produces, markets and sells hybrid seed corn as well as hybrids or improved varieties of sorghum, sunflower, soybean, alfalfa, canola and wheat, in addition to forage and grain additives.  Worldwide, The Company sells products through a variety of organizations, including wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures, sales representatives and independent dealers.

Facilities and Property Overview
With over 270 locations in more than 40 countries worldwide and totaling almost 13 million square feet, The Company operates research centers and large seed plants that experience extreme seasonal personnel swings.  Some plants may only employ 45 in the off season, but head counts can fluctuate to the hundreds during the summer months.

Challenges
Prior to adopting an FM:Systems solution, The Company worked with a custom built facility management system that utilized an Oracle database and the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) hardware and worldwide network.  The non-graphic portion of the database was complex to use and there was no one responsible for data input and accuracy.  So in 1995, as The Company was moving to PC-based data infrastructure, it was decided to evaluate replacement facility management solutions.

Solution
After reviewing several competitive solutions, The Company selected FM:Systems for a wide range of reasons.  Cost, ease-of-use and configurable features all fit The Company’s existing technical architecture and business needs.

“We liked FM:Systems because the software was easy-to-use but also gave us plenty of opportunity for configuration,” said the architect and facility information manager at The Company.   Additionally, the vast number of implementations FM:Systems had performed in combination with the knowledgeable consulting services staff were major advantages.  “We hit the ground running because we could draw upon the knowledge and experience of the FM:Systems consulting team,” he said. 

Within half a day, The Company’s facility information management team was able to configure a properties module within the FM:Systems solution to track phone numbers, square footage, and personnel information worldwide.  “That was a testimonial to the flexibility FM:Systems offers,” said the facility information manager at The Company.

The original DEC-based application performed basic functions, like measuring square footage and adding CAD drawings.  When The Company moved to FM:Systems products, the need to manually type employee names on AutoCAD drawings was eliminated.  Pleased to finally be able to maintain the data in the database and have drawings reflect the database, the facility information manager for the company explained, “It just made it doable!  I don’t know what we would do without FM:Systems.”

Results/Accomplishments
As a result of implementing FM:Systems’ technology, The Company has experienced significant benefits.

Real-time access to critical data
One of the overriding benefits to the FM:Systems implementation has been the real-time access to critical data.  FM:Interact has allowed The Company to not only manage resources on a daily basis, but also analyze annual performance data.  “Access to the data is great, but once you gather this data in one place you’ll find uses for it that you never imagined,” expressed the facilities data manager.  “We get numerous requests for all sorts of info, and we have it on hand.”

Significant cost savings
This real-time access resulted in a savings of more than $100K in 2002 when gathering information for a multiple page USDA survey.  Because the information was already in the database, providing information on the 130 company properties was easily retrieved from a centralized location.  The Web-based system allows department contacts to enter information in the database and make it available in real-time.

The Company’s facility information team also cited how their FM:Systems solution provided savings when working with an international architecture firm on strategic planning.  “They commented that we took several weeks off of the front end of their process because we had the data already for them.  They were amazed at the detail and accuracy of the data,” said the facilities information manager. 

The Company has further utilized the data FM:Interact provides in terms of spotting trends.  The performance measures provided by FM:Interact have been so noteworthy that they have been published in Buildings Magazine and in IFMA’s Facility Management Journal in an article titled “Keeping the Wolves from your Door.”

The company’s facilities manager has become an evangelist for facility management automation.  As he puts it, “One of the things we always stress is that we made the leap to FM technology, but the real payoffs are things that we never dreamed of.  These unanticipated payoffs…  It’s more than just moving furniture and people around.  It’s the power of the data.  It’s hard to quantify the value of facility information until somebody needs it, then it is invaluable.”