Consulting
For organizations of all types and sizes, managing workplace information is critical to improving customer service and driving down costs. FM:Systems is dedicated to providing a smooth and successful implementation of your IWMS system. Our goal is to provide customers with expertise to ensure successful implementation and ongoing operation of their system.
FM:Systems’ consultants can apply years of professional facility management experience and IWMS, CAFM and CMMS knowledge to help define and maintain an effective project life-cycle. We will work with your organization to establish goals, monitor milestones and recommend enhancements and processes to optimize your investment.
Needs Analysis
The first step in our consulting methodology is a thorough Needs Analysis. We believe that technology is only a small part of automation. It is the processes put in place to drive utilization of your system that makes IWMS a cost effective investment.
Our consultants bring years of facility, real estate and technology knowledge to your implementation. We will work with key players in your organization to create a plan that includes your goals, establishing data sources, and recommendations for implementation scope and timeline. Some of the information gathered during this step includes:
- Evaluation of legacy systems and processes for space management, move, asset inventory, lease and property management, work order, preventative maintenance and CAD activities
- Brainstorming and determination of desired goals
- Interviews with key organizational contacts
- Recommendations for complete system implementation
Implementation
Once the Needs Analysis is complete – FM:Systems’ consulting team can help guide your organization through the implementation process. Whether provided directly from FM:Systems or from one of our qualified Solution Providers, a thorough understanding and execution of IWMS implementation includes several aspects.
Data Integration—A successful FM:Interact implementation should integrate and share data from and with different sources throughout your organization. This is accomplished by establishing the data source “owners”. A good example is integrating FM:Interact with the Human Resources database to get employee names, department, and other information. The IWMS system in turn will provide the employees location ID to the HR database. FM:Systems can help you link the FM:Interact to other systems in your organization to increase the effectiveness and distribute the benefits of your system.
Database Configurations—Although FM:Interact is a robust and highly configurable system out of the box, we understand that you may not have the resources to make the system integrate with your business processes. We can work with you to configure FM:Interact to your needs to further develop the unique preferences at your organization. The inherent flexibility of the software design guarantees configurations will migrate to future versions, ensuring your investment will last.
Custom Reporting—The internal reporting engine provided within FM:Interact is ideal for generating a wide range of reports with it’s intuitive, flexible layout. However, we recognize that some organizations want to develop much more complicated reports. FM:Systems can create custom reports by integrating with advanced reporting tools such as Crystal Reports.
CAD Services
For a fully successful IWMS implementation, a key factor is fully integrating your facility and real estate information with the spatial data in your CAD drawings.
The information in FM:Interact can be communicated throughout an organization in reports or color-coded floor plans. Often, these images help bring the facilities “to life” with concise information shared in a easy-to-understand format.
FM:Systems can polyline your CAD drawings and link them to the FM:Space database. This important step links the AutoCAD drawings to the database, and allows you to query both database and floorplan for any piece of information. We will work with you to apply the correct space classifications and functional codes to your rooms and measure your space according to IFMA, BOMA, FICM or your own organizational area measurement guidelines.
Whether provided directly from FM:Systems, one of our qualified Solution Providers, your preferred local A/E firm or by internal resources, a thorough understanding of these industry standard area measurement guidelines should be applied to allow accurate benchmarking with your industry peers.
Training
FM:Systems can provide on-site training programs, increasing the effectiveness of both training and usage immediately following the class. Our classes range from training new users on basic FM:Interact capabilities and reporting to advanced database and systems configurations.
Another option for follow-up or additional new user training is provided quarterly at our FM:Site training courses. Held in Raleigh, NC, this program covers the most popular training topics and offers you the added benefit of networking with your FM peers from around the country.
Project Management
FM:Systems can provide complete Project Management services to help with all aspects of your FM:Interact implementation.
The team assigned to your project will be with you every step of the way, offering guidance and assistance to help get your system running smoothly and quickly.
Once a Needs Analysis is conducted, our consultants can assist in managing your implementation by setting up a project schedule and monitor deadlines to help ensure a successful and timely implementation. FM:Systems also offers ongoing services for project support on an as-needed basis.
