ARCHIBUS Applications: Compliance Management

 Compliance Management

Manage complex compliance requirements proactively to help mitigate risk, ensure safe work environments, and reduce administrative burdens

Benefits

• Ensures a safe, productive work environment by implementing a structured process to comply with regulations, codes, and/or best practices
• Minimizes the likelihood of regulatory actions including monetary fines and/or costly litigation resulting from inadequate compliance oversight
• Lowers the overall cost of maintaining a comprehensive, defensible compliance program by reducing administrative time spent on data collection, notifications, and document management
• Helps reduce the number of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) incidents and insurance premiums associated with them by identifying and correcting compliance gaps

The Compliance Programs Map enables managers to quickly visualize where their highest risk projects are located as well as the regulatory status and priorities

Property and facility professionals are responsible for providing safe, efficient, and productive work environments, yet they can face a bewildering array of codes and regulations with different schedules, costs, and implications for the organization. Unlike spreadsheets or other non-integrated tools, Web-based ARCHIBUS Compliance Management provides a highly scalable solution to easily and efficiently negotiate the substantial data and recordkeeping involved with regulatory compliance programs and permitting processes. This helps reduce administrative costs and prevents costly disruptions such as occupational injuries, property damage, and shutdowns that may result from inadequate compliance practices. ARCHIBUS Compliance Management helps mitigate risk to protect an organization’s reputation and enhance stakeholder value.

*Information for this article provided by ARCHIBUS*

Like what you read?  Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin! Subscribe to our mailing list to keep up to date with the latest news from RSC, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet

ARCHIBUS Applications: Energy Management

The purpose of ARCHIBUS' Energy Management Application is to track and manage energy use to control costs, reduce carbon footprint, and mitigate risk, something we all want to do!

Benefits

• Lowers annual energy costs, typically by 5% (or approximately $0.10 – 0.20 USD per square foot of space/year) and reduces carbon footprint
• Provides audit capabilities to easily access, aggregate, and evaluate consumption patterns as the basis to renegotiate rates and consolidate energy providers
• Reduces business risk and exposure to changes in energy costs or carbon emissions regulation through “what-if” analyses
• Improves decision-making by aligning energy spending to organizational priorities
• Energy Management Screenshot

Graphical dashboard views, such as Utility Cost with Consumption (by building and billing period) shown above, simplifies visualization and analysis while improving decision support for energy management strategies

With increasing utility costs, mandates to reduce carbon emissions, and sustainability efforts gaining more visibility, effective energy management has become even more important for organizations. ARCHIBUS Energy Management provides the means to easily aggregate, evaluate, and optimize energy and utility spending decisions to reduce unnecessary consumption and costs. Unlike spreadsheets or finance software alone, Energy Management helps users correlate and manage extensive cost data with real-time facility and infrastructure portfolio information to track energy expenditures against a business plan or objective benchmarks.

*Information for this article provided by ARCHIBUS*

Like what you read?  Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin! Subscribe to our mailing list to keep up to date with the latest news from RSC, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet

ARCHIBUS NEWS: Newest Software Release

IFMA’s World Workplace Showcases Newest ARCHIBUS Software Release Delivering Intelligent Building Portfolio and Asset Lifecycle Management

Imagination and innovation in real estate, infrastructure and facilities management honored by leading RE/FM software developer

September 26, 2016 — Boston, Massachusetts

ARCHIBUS, Inc., the world’s leading developer of real estate, infrastructure and facilities management software, announces the latest release of ARCHIBUS software at IFMA’s World Workplace, October 5-7, in San Diego, California USA.

The new release delivers on the promise of Enterprise Information Modeling™ (EIM) by providing a collaborative environment that synchronizes operational tasks with strategic goals for optimal business performance and ROI.

Also included are new and enhanced applications and capabilities that organize all information on people, processes, places, assets, and costs. The result is a decision-support environment that enables organizations of all sizes to optimize capital investments and improve operating expenses for complete lifecycle management of all its assets.

ARCHIBUS V.23 delivers actionable intelligence with the:

• ARCHIBUS Enterprise Information Model™ which normalizes, correlates, and summarizes business intelligence from massive amounts of data and heterogeneous sources such as GIS datasets, building models, CAD drawings, Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), Building Automation Systems (BAS), ERP systems and more.
• ARCHIBUS Web Central 3D Navigator™  which lets users visualize, analyze and interact with their buildings, building systems and assets data, in a new way, that extends from the initial design/build phase to full lifecycle management of an organization’s building assets.

The EIM environment integrates operational and financial information within the new Strategic Financial Analysis (SFA) application, which provides a unified cost model of an organization’s capital asset investments and operating expenses of its entire portfolio. Using intuitive configurable consoles, SFA delivers metrics and benchmarks for the full range of real estate, infrastructure and facilities data?including CapEx, OpEx, total cost of ownership / occupancy, and asset condition.

In conjunction with the ARCHIBUS Strategic Space Planning and Enterprise Asset Management applications, users can easily plan and visualize what-if, and event-driven scenarios to align real estate, infrastructure and facility information to achieve business objectives.

Whether processing an individual request or accepting data on an entire portfolio, ARCHIBUS EIM correlates all information within its comprehensive suite of applications to provide a holistic view of an enterprise.  

The new ARCHIBUS release is now available for purchase from ARCHIBUS Business Partners, like us! For information on how to get the new release contact us at info@rsc2lc.com

*Information provided by ARCHIBUS

Like what you read?  Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin! Subscribe to our mailing list to keep up to date with the latest news from RSC, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet

ARCHIBUS APPLICATIONS: Condition Assessment

Benefits

• Mitigates risk by prioritizing problems for correction, based on objective measures and organizational needs
• Enables proactive identification of deficiencies to extend asset service life
• Demonstrates how costs are associated with corrective measures to justify budgets
• Reduces administrative cost by establishing a closed loop assessment and resolution process costs

Track conditions in the field, identify high-priority items at a glance, and drill down to detailed information for taking immediate corrective action

Could you justify increased deferred maintenance and capital renewal spending based on static, and possibly outdated information? Web-based ARCHIBUS Condition Assessment provides an objective, dynamic process for evaluating physical assets to help substantiate corrective action, based on risk mitigation and operational priorities. Using Condition Assessment’s accurate, timely repository can help increase asset service life, minimize costly downtime, reduce administrative expense, and streamline capital planning and budgeting processes. Successful deployment could deliver improved Facility Condition Indices at a lower total cost of occupancy.

content and images provided courtesy the ARCHIBUS website

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin to keep up to date with the latest news from RSC, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet

ARCHIBUS Applications: Cost Chargeback & Invoicing

This week we're excited to bring you more information about ARCHIBUS' Cost Chargeback and Invoicing application. This tool is a great way to improve the process of charging back costs, issuing invoices, and tracking receivables to reduce administrative expense.

Benefits

• Increases transparency of costs to improve real estate portfolio decision-making
• Improves operational efficiency through simplified chargeback/invoice/payment processing
• Decreases administrative errors with automated chargeback calculations and invoice/payment monitoring
• Streamlines chargeback and invoicing processes through intuitive Wizard-based interfaces
• Cost Chargeback and Inventory

View details for any invoice in one location that includes due dates, terms, contacts, associated costs, payments, and more

Increasing efficiency and reducing errors in performing chargebacks and executing invoicing/receivables processes is essential for reducing the administrative cost of managing properties. Now both goals can be achieved with the ARCHIBUS Cost Chargeback & Invoicing application. This Web-based solution’s sophisticated Wizards enable lease administrators and portfolio managers to automate all real estate-related accounting functions. The Chargeback Wizard provides users with an intuitive tool for flexible cost allocation to internal cost centers and/or external tenants, while the Invoicing/Receivables Wizard enables accurate, automated billing and payment processes for enhanced account management.


Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin to keep up to date with the latest news from RSC, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet

The Three Keys to Occupancy Accuracy Within IWMS

Providing Accurate Occupancy and Vacancy

(Utilization and Realization)

When discussing occupancy and vacancy, which is also known as utilization and realization, there are three key components to look at when looking for accuracy. Despite how overwhelming accuracy may seem, especially when looking at tech companies that have anywhere from a 50% to 300% churn rate, it is still very possible.

1) Employee synchronization within the HR system

Making sure that both the HR and the IWMS systems are synchronized is one of the most important steps. You don't need fifteen applications open in order to find and move just one person. The HR and IWMS systems should be able to take care of these details with ease, but, first, both systems need to have the same set of information being fed to them, which is why synchronization is key.

This sync should happen daily - it can happen at night when everyone is gone. This sync looks for things like new hires, those in the HR system but not in the IWMS, terminations, those in the IWMS system but not the HR, modifications like change in manager, phone number, room, email, etc., and errors, like no first name, placed in a division that doesn't exist, etc.

Some challenges with this are that companies have anywhere from 2 - 25%  that are contractors and don't go through the HR system, in which case you have to look at things like the security badging system or other on-boarding systems that will allow you to track a person.

2) Move process 

When a change occurs within a company, the move process within the IWMS system must be utilizedEvery move must be executed within the IWMS system to reflect the changes that are happening in the physical sites. This means that it needs to be used for every single move that occurs, no matter how large or small. It all needs to be recorded and changed.
properly in order to be effective.

This is the step that requires the most attention, and needs to be managed daily. A good IWMS system will be flexible enough to make this step as simple or as complicated as you need it to be. While most IWMS systems can move furniture, equipment, moving the person is the most important aspect in this article. Knowing where people sit provides the occupancy/vacancy data to make strategic decisions

3) Floorwalk

Despite the accuracy that the previous two steps will provide, it is still necessary to walk the floors from time to time. There will always be rogue moves. Maybe Alice moved her things one day and Jenny noticed that she had a window seat and moved her things since no one else was using that space. Especially with today's world of WiFi and DHCP, this is even easier for employees to do now.

Depending on how active your company is, floorwalks may be necessary every month, every quarter, or every year. We have clients that walk floors every month and some that walk them every three years.

If these three steps are being utilized, this should give you a 90% to 98% accuracy rate, which is very good. But, as a word to the wise, don't get caught in being 100% accurate. The moment you've walked the floor, someone has moved, similar to when a tile floor is being mopped. The moment it is clean, someone has walked on it. This is why all three steps, HR and IWMS sync, move process, and floorwalks are so important. When being used to their full advantage, hey will keep information from slipping through the cracks so a high accuracy rate can be realized.

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin to keep up to date with the latest news from RSC, LLC.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet Follow @rsc2lc Tweet

The Intelligence Cycle & IWMS

The Intelligence Cycle and an Integrated Work Management System have a lot more in common than you might think.  Thanks to IWMS Daily, we came across this amazing article entitled "6 Aspects of Military Intelligence & How They Relate to IWMS."  After reading the article, we felt inspired to look a little more deeply into the relationship.  The article you are about to read is a mix of Military, Department of Defense, FBI, and CIA definitions of their intelligence Cycle as well as input from the article that inspired us with a bit of RSC flair.

We are grateful for the service provided by all the men and women enlisted to protect the freedoms the USA was founded on.  In honor of Independence Day and all those who gave their lives serving in defense of the freedoms our great Country was founded upon, we wanted to share something that bridged the two worlds.

The intelligence cycle is a term used by various government agencies including the military, FBI, and CIA to name a few.  It is "the process of developing unrefined data into polished intelligence for the use of policymakers"1 and consists of six interrelated operations 2.  The process is circular in nature and fundamental for processing data in civilian, military, or law enforcement system.

As outlined in the article, we present to you the six parts of the intelligence cycle and how they relate to IWMS

 

1. Planning and Direction

•  Intelligence requirements are determined by a decision maker to meet certain goals 3.  As in the military a good IWMS must have a situational awareness of all available resources as well as the means to quantify them.  It requires charting a direction which identifies the resources needed to attain a particular goal.  In the FM world this can be thought of as improving the allocation and prioritization of real estate operations and more rapid development as well as investing in technology or replacing older RE/FM systems 4.  At Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC., we strive to listen to our client's needs and desires as we help in the planning process.  We provide flexible guides to assist clients decipher what is most important.

2. Collection

• Collection is the gathering of raw information based on requirements determined in planning and direction 5.  Data collection is done in either a strategical or tactical way in order to connect seemingly unrelated information to produce a holistic and comprehensive understanding of a certain goal.  In an IWMS these data sources may consist of occupancy, costs, leasing, future space requirements, operational maintenance management (scheduling repairs), customer satisfaction, project management, etc. 6.  RSC aids in collecting electronic information and standards along with manufacture recommendations.  We also provide best practices along the way.

3. Processing & Exploitation

• Defined by the US Department of Defense as "the conversion of information into suitable forms" 7.  Corporate leadership, like their military counterparts, require data to be fully analyzed and vetted in order to make rapid strategic decisions on the appropriate (daily) course of action.  The processing of collected data facilitates improved customer experience, reputation management, and building partnerships among others -- all of which impact a company's bottom line.  Some outcomes of processing and exploitation in IWMS include work order processing, energy management, and environmental impact 8.  After gathering data, we synthesize and consult.  We create a pilot project including sample data from 1-3 buildings and multiple floors with employee information, assets, etc.  We prove the theory hypothesized from the collected data.

4. Analysis and Production

• In the military, analysis and production fuses processed data from various sources together into a centralized report to identify potential patterns 9/10.  An IWMS does the same thing.  The goal of the IWMS, however, is to improve management of (Corporate) Real Estate/Facilities Management.  Aspects of this goal include flexibility to expand future applications/utility, reporting, financial management, market planning, site selection, transaction management, lease management, operations/maintenance, sustainability, energy management, and business intelligence to name a few 11.  After analyzing the data, RSC puts together a punch list of items and is reviewed with the client and any remaining data is uploaded.

5. Dissemination and Integration

• The military defines dissemination and integration as the delivery of intelligence to users in a suitable form applicable to appropriate missions, tasks, and functions 12 in the form of reports 13 on either the front lines or in higher leadership levels.  This is done through various types of communication (e.g., social media, mobile devices, the "cloud," and database transfers).  The dissemination (sharing or broadcasting) of information is not the end of a process, but a continuous link between the producers and consumers of data.  An IWMS integrates BIM, CAD, and GIS intelligence and delivers the data to users (some of which may include Client Service Directors, Human Resource Directors, & Marketing Directors) through dashboards, mapping displays, analytics, mobile applications 14, and RSC's very own Space View.  At this point staff is introduced to the new process and training to use the system.  Minor tweaks are also considered and incorporated when they follow the plan and process outlined in items 1-4 above.

6. Evaluation and Feedback

• Evaluation and feedback is a continuous assessment of intelligence operations to ensure requirements are being met 15. This military practice assists in planning, collection, processing, executing, and making overall improvements.  In corporate environments this process translates into consulting and honestly identifying any deficiencies with the system 16.  At Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC., we understand that these applications are living and breathing systems which require constant feeding and growth.  An internal champion makes decisions on whether enhancements need to be made to a new or existing IWMS by gauging system performance and efficiency.  There's no wonder why RSC believes an internal champion is key to a successful IWMS integration.  It's a tried and true concept that even the US Government uses.

When these six military intelligence cycles are applied, the benefits of IWMS are clear.  An Integrated Work Management System reduces costs, increases efficiency, and improves productivity.  If your company is not already using an IWMS, like ARCHIBUS, we urge you to do the research, ask questions, and invest!  The benefits an IWMS can bring to your company, no matter how large or small, are innumerable.

With that being said, we hope you have a happy, festive, and safe Fourth of July!

Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest to keep up to date with the latest news from Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet

Why ARCHIBUS is here to stay!

As you know, I just returned from the ARCHIBUS Nexus conference at the Marriott Marquis in San Diego.  Being curious about the direction of the company, I listened and observed, secretly looking for the flaws in the direction of ARCHIBUS.  This was not because I had lost faith in the product. The skepticism came from the passing of Bruce Forbes the founder and late CEO of ARCHIBUS.

It had been 4 months since his passing.  Watching the new CEO, Wise Cho, listening to Steve Segarra the CTO, and seeing Sean Benson step up as a spokesperson, my concerns turned from being concerns to interest and fascination. The conference moved forward as if nothing had changed.

Don't get me wrong - there were moments of silence for Bruce, testimonials about his leadership and humanity, presentations of his legacy and history; these were needed and appreciated as we all healed from this loss.

As the conference transitioned from commemorating a great leader to presenting the next generation of ARCHIBUS leadership, I was once again impressed with the thought that ARCHIBUS is not going to disappear.

The following are just 3 reasons ARCHIBUS will continue to lead the industry:

1) Bruce Forbes - Benevolent Leader

We all know the unique style that Bruce Forbes had; ranging from using his own rearrangement of words in the English dictionary, to showing the gifts he had received from various parts of the world at conferences. 

I reflected on Bruce's legacy during the slide presentation of his life.  There were several quotes within the video that helped me to reflect a little better on how Bruce had managed ARCHIBUS to success. Quotes like, "Each of you have the same DaVinci in you. We are all genetically related. It relates to how we manage people, processes, and places.", and, "One of the things we are all trying to do is to make things better for ourselves and our families. If we can work ourselves to personal needs and organizational needs, we all win." widened my perspective on Bruce's style and led me to conclude that I had overlooked his great leadership.

"It's not about the money, but what you can impact on the world, what you can provide for future generations. God gives us a very short time here on earth, let's make the most of it."

Not only did he care about his exponentially growing business, but he cared about other's lives as well:

"Success begins with you. Every one of you have your own careers, your own families, your own organizations, your own departments, you own vision for the future. The opportunity that we have together is to take the visions that you individually have, compile them with other visions, and become the remarkable."

He created an environment in which the worker could thrive by being supported by others.

"The ARCHIBUS community basically recommends each other to become recipients of awards. There are many categories. These [people that have received awards] are heroes."

2) Wise Cho - Filling Big Shoes

Now, in direct juxtaposition to Forbes's style, Cho is quiet, pensive, and not at all similar in public style to Bruce.

I saw Wise take his own style and combine it with the genius that Bruce Forbes had put into the company previously. Though maybe not as vivacious as Bruce, Wise has his own aura that fills his position perfectly.

In the very first meeting that he had with the business partners, he outlined the mission statement of ARCHIBUS, the culture, and the vision to go forward, then stepped aside and let other people within the company present.

As a CEO myself, I was very impressed. This tactic combined a continuation of what Bruce had already established with a vision of the future growth of ARCHIBUS. This mix could not have been more perfect. Cho kept to what he knew and did not try to change himself nor ARCHIBUS.

3) Stability - Continuing Without a Hitch

I came to realize that ARCHIBUS is a company that has great internal stability. The conference had the exact same format as it had for the past 18 years. 

Even more impressive is the fact that none of the staff at ARCHIBUS left nor vied for other positions. Bruce Forbes built a legacy and a company that could continue to work without him. That energizes and excites me to continue in my line of work.

ARCHIBUS will continue to run strongly and smoothly. It is evident that Bruce Forbes built a company that is self dependent and stable. He has chosen people that will continue his legacy like Wise Cho, and make sure that ARCHIBUS will be strong in leading the industry.

ARCHIBUS is here to stay.

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin to keep up to date with the latest news from RSC, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet

ARCHIBUS Applications: Lease Administration

This week we are excited to share with you all more about ARCHIBUS' Lease Administration Application. This application allows users to centralize and automate lease administration processes to increase efficiency, reduce errors, and avoid penalties.

Benefits

• Automates processes for lease tracking and management
• Improves access of lease information to facilitate easy analysis and reporting
• Streamlines tracking of landlord and tenant responsibilities to avoid unnecessary charges
• Minimizes errors and speeds data entry through intuitive prompts, reducing administrative costs

One of the greatest benefits is that this application can proactively track leases and options through alerts. Additionally, Lease administration allows users to drill through a personalized hierarchy to find the lease you need to manage, as well as review lease specifics through tabbed views and geospatial queries.

Organizations with extensive lease portfolios are faced with the daunting task of tracking numerous leases with varying expiration dates and equally variable terms of tenancy. Relying on manual processes to track and manage these leases can result in errors based on inaccessible or inaccurate information, missed renewal dates, internal customer frustration, and possible monetary penalties. Web-based ARCHIBUS Lease Administration provides a centralized repository, flexible dashboards, automated alerts, and more. Deploying the application will help streamline data entry, automate lease information-gathering and management, and improve analytic capabilities, all while providing a high service level at reduced cost.

*This information was provided via the ARCHIBUS website.* 

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin to keep up to date with the latest news from RSC, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet

July BAATUG

RSC is excited to collaborate with Samsung on another amazing and free ARCHIBUS User Group training Thursday July 21st. Come join us for an in-depth training on ARCHIBUS' Building Operations Application with location, dinner, and refreshments provided by Samsung!

The Bay Area Archibus User Group (BAATUG) was started by Bob Stephen of Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC in April of 2006. The underlying purpose for the group was to provide answers to common questions asked by Bob's clients.

The monthly training group now consists of current clients and interested individuals wanting to learn more about ARCHIBUS, AutoCAD and report writing. The quarterly two hour collaborative forum consists of one hour of training on a previously announced topic, and a second hour in a round table discussion of any topic suggested by the group.

If you'd like to learn more about the event, check out our evite.

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin to keep up to date with the latest news from RSC, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet

ARCHIBUS Applications: Personnel & Occupancy

This week we are excited to share with you a little more about ARCHIBUS' Personnel & Occupancy application! The Personnel & Occupancy application optimizes space occupancy rates and improves planning capability to accommodate future expansion, consolidation, or re-balancing.

Benefits

• Provides immediate, accurate reporting of occupancy statistics for space usage and re-balancing purposes
• Improves forecasting accuracy for future needs based on current room availability and planned occupancy growth
• Simplifies assignment of employees to temporary or permanent available space using highlighted drawings
• Communicates occupancy information easily through personalized, intuitive Web-based forms, summary tables, and reports
• Helps achieve business results with ARCHIBUS Quick-Start, a productivity aid which includes tutorial videos and “How To” instructions
• Increases productivity with ARCHIBUS All-in-One Home Page with quick access to 80% of most common tasks
• Personnel & Occupancy Screenshot

Use the Space Console to assign personnel to rooms, identify opportunities for employee colocation, or search for both available space and individual occupants or teams

Immediate access to accurate personnel and occupancy information can often be a challenge to organizations, especially to those who experience high churn rates or are in the process of expanding or consolidating operations. ARCHIBUS Personnel & Occupancy provides managers with a Web-based means to retrieve the information they need from a central repository and link employee information with related space inventories, drawings, planning strategies, and more. The result is improved reporting on employee headcounts and locations, average room areas, room availability, space benchmarking, occupancy rates, and other vital knowledge needed to effectively manage an organization’s total cost of occupancy.

*This information was provided via the ARCHIBUS website.* 

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin to keep up to date with the latest news from RSC, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet

10 Keys to a Successful IWMS Integration: Pt. 10, Automation

This week we are proud to bring you our final segment of our 10-Part series on successfully implementing an IWMS.  In this article we will discuss transitioning from a “Crystal Ball Mindset” to a “Successful Garden” approach.

An IWMS system is only as good as the data that is being fed into it. I have had experiences with clients when, after we have installed an IWMS system, they have come back to us and asked why they are not receiving the data in the reports that they want. We will go back and find out that no one has input data into the system, which is why there is no data, or incorrect data, in the reports.

IWMS Systems aren’t crystal balls, they’re a garden.

IWMS Systems and gardens work in a similar way. If you want to eat watermelon this fall, you’re going to have to plant and cultivate watermelon this spring and summer.

Similarly, if you want to understand your occupancy and vacancy, you’re going to have to synchronize employee data, walk the floors from time to time, and update data and reports for strategic planning. It’s the same thing with asset tracking, building operations, and lease management.  The system has to be carefully cultivated to be able to get the answers back in due time.

Solving problems is still possible.

All of this being said, an IWMS System is still the best way to get the data and information needed. It will help solve every problem that is present.

However, it’s not a crystal ball; it will only generate data if data is being regularly fed into it. The business process and the resources required to provide that information are very important. Once the reports are produced from the IWMS systems, the information that provided will help you continue to make strategic decisions when planning how to use and manage your space

There are 9 essential things that are needed to make your IWMS Systems garden grow.

1. Have and Internal Champion 
2. Appropriate IT Department collaboration 
3. Define ownership
4. Defined standards
5. Understand your business process
6. Pace yourself
7. Exercise proper resourcing  
8. Turn chaos into communication  
9. Have accessible tools
10. Input correct and correlated data

Keep it simple and straightforward

Extending the garden metaphor even further when talking about IWMS systems, if you want to be able to tell what you’re growing, you’re going to have to label everything and not mix seeds.

If you want better data, keep it simple. Use the proper resources to input valid data to reap labeled, precise results.

 IWMS Systems, while not a crystal ball, can still get you the answers you need – provided that they are fed the right data.

If you’re ready to make sure that your IWMS System is being properly fed and maintained, we’d love to help you get everything squared away so that your reports are top-notch. Just give us a call.

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin to stay up to date with the latest news from RSC, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet

5 REASONS YOUR COMPANY NEEDS A PAINTED PICTURE: PT. 5, GENERATES FREEDOM AND EFFICIENCIES

This is our final part of a 5 part series on "The 5 Reasons Your Company Needs A Painted Picture" by our CEO, Bob Stephen

If you haven’t read the Painted Picture post, please do so!

The entire culture that RSC has built started when we really focused on the Painted Picture. When we initially presented our vision to our staff, I noticed that my staff either agreed whole-heartedly with the vision, or they disagreed and had concerns.

A Painted Picture Can Bring Employees Together

The staff that believed in the vision helped RSC to grow and become closer. They wanted to move forward because the vision gave them the clarity, energy, and strategies to do so successfully.

Within the group of people that disagreed with the vision, I noticed two factions: the first was the people who didn't believe in the vision, and the second was the people who simply needed more context to understand the vision. We helped those employees who couldn't align themselves with the vision into another job at another company. We knew, like other companies before us, that we wanted to change how we operated our at-work family, so to speak. This kind of change will always end up in some high initial turnover rates. A great example of this is Tony Hsieh's (CEO of Zappos) move to Holacracy. He gave those employees who were not ready to make the change into Holacracy a choice to either adopt the principle or leave with $2,000 and the past week's pay. Read about his changes to his company culture and how he helped those employees who weren't in accordance with the vision where they would feel more comfortable.

The employees that simply needed more context to understand the vision and what it was trying to accomplish. I provided several one-on-one meetings with those staff members. After a handful of meetings, once they understood where the company was going with the vision, realized that they were able to align their ideas with the Painted Picture.

Generating a Greater Freedom and Increased Efficiency

Once the entire company was on board with the Painted Picture and company vision, people found that they have greater freedom and efficiency.

Freedom

Because the staff is no longer bogged down with trying to guess where the company is going, they don't have to second guess each and every action, nor wonder whether or not they are doing the right task. Instead, they know where the company is headed, what they need to do, and how to get there. It also frees their time to do the job at hand instead spending time wondering whether or not they are on the right track. The Painted Picture also facilitates communication, because employees know how, why, and about what to talk. They don’t have to guess the topics or the how-to’s, creating more freedom and less politics in inter-office communication. We, as a company, are able to get together and talk about things very quickly and efficiently.

Efficiency

The result of this freedom and open communication is that we as a company are more efficient. Meetings take half as long as they once used to because we’re able to communicate better. For example, project management meetings used to last all day; they’re now about 5 hours long. Mid-management meetings used to be 3-4 hours long; they’re now 60-70 minutes long.

Even though the meetings are shorter, we are able to complete just as much, if not more, work. We’re able to address many issues in just a few sentences before making a decision to move forward. This is due to the fact that we all know the direction that we need to go, thanks to the Painted Picture. We’re also better equipped to assess strengths and weaknesses of our team, and how those fit in with the company’s vision. In that way, we’re able to encourage continued growth in employees' strong areas and help them find other, better options for strengthening weaker areas of performance.

Overall, having our painted picture has provided a huge amount of freedom and drastically increased our efficiencies in the company. That’s why, when I get comments about how amazing our company culture is, I can’t help but smile. It has taken a lot of work to get where we are, but it has been worth it.

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Pinterest to keep up to date with the latest news from Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet