© 2016 CFS Facilities Management Inc.
Sources:
FMLink, Financial Impact and Analysis of Equipment Inventories
Construction Specifications Institute – UniFormat2010
For a facility manager, a lot rests on the completeness and accuracy of equipment inventories, from the ability to calculate man-hours to emergency readiness. Whether or not – or the extent to which – an organization captures and maintains a component-level inventory, based on industry standards, can affect how it competes in the marketplace.
User experience (UX) is typically thought of in the context of technical devices like smart phones and websites. A broader look reveals a distinct connection between UX and FM, specifically regarding the adoption and conformity to international standards. While standards are not always regulatory in nature, their application dramatically reduces ambiguity, improves understanding between user groups and design teams, and increases predictability where asset lifecycle and compliance are concerned.
A successful asset management process – one that results in value creation – requires experienced people and the proper technology in the form of hardware, software, data and networks. Access to new knowledge from IT resources is rapidly increasing, opening up possibilities for organizations prepared to invest in computing infrastructures, as well as the staff who maintain them.
Partial and/or self-generated inventories are the least transferable. Not tied directly to any specific standard, they’re vulnerable to inaccuracies and human error (omissions, latency, typos). At the other end of the spectrum, complete, component-level master inventories are usually obtainable only after new construction. For existing buildings, a component-level inventory consisting of all equipment that conveys, or is tracked, serviced repaired or maintained, is critical to efficient operation.
Standards systems like Uniformat and ISO are the very backbone of asset classification. The ISO (International Organization for Standardization) puts it simply enough: standards make things work.
Uniformat classification serves as a consistent reference for analysis, evaluation, and monitoring during the feasibility, planning, and design stages of buildings, [and] also enhances reporting at all stages in construction from feasibility and planning through the preparation of working documents, construction, maintenance, rehabilitation and disposal. Uniformat’s approach to organizing data is also important to the continued development of building information modeling (BIM) software.
The latest ISO standard, released in 2014, is both a framework and action plan for aligning asset management functions with organizational goals and objectives.