The tools, processes and techniques used to manage and optimize the property’s performance and operation determine the quality of your property management. With access to digital drawings as models directly in the property system – and thus in your daily work – facility management is made easier in several ways.
Smooth access to current and correct drawings is a prerequisite for effective property management. In one way or another, you need to keep track of the property´s drawings. One of the challenges with traditional drawings, like PDFs, is that they have a specific purpose. To be valid for facility management purposes, the information has to be manually interpreted and complemented with additional facts from various sources, lists, etc. This usually causes a time lag, leading to a mismatch between the drawings and the real-time reality. Continuous and coordinated updates are important so that missing or incorrect information in the drawings does not affect ongoing operation and maintenance.
Today, you can find IWMS solutions with digital models, with the drawings digitally mirrored and updated to represent the building in real time. With a 3D property model, the information will be better connected and integrated, giving you a more dynamic interface. With the drawings as digital models in the facility management system, you can easily make corrections, thus always keeping them up to date with what is happening in different parts of your properties. In this way, you improve continuity and ensure that everyone has access to the correct and the same information, all at the same time. The overall management and maintenance work becomes easier, more transparent and cost-effective.
Here are some examples of how digital models can optimize your facility management:
1. Automatic area calculation
With digital drawings and models in the property system, usable area is automatically calculated according to the Swedish SIS standard for area and volume of buildings. This means that you no longer need to measure areas manually. Instead, the exact information is updated and available in real time so that everyone has the same quality data at the same time, the same square metres, wall thicknesses, etc. It also enables a more accurate calculation of the utilisation rate, which is an important key figure, not least for industrial facilities. With an automatic standard calculation, it is possible to obtain more detailed information. For example, about the utilisation of a specific production area or the cost per employee and office space. The automatic area calculation becomes a more accurate tool for budgeting and allocating internal rents.
2. Increases the ability to analyze patterns and plan arrangements
With all property and facility management data collected digitally in one place, troubleshooting, analysis and action planning are facilitated. The visual interface, in combination with integrated property data and the geographical position, will, for example, provide a better understanding of why a specific component has to be replaced every year in building A, but only every three years in building B? More precise information and better analysis data can facilitate both case management, and budgeting for planned maintenance, as well as
ongoing supervision and maintenance, or when negotiating with suppliers and tenants.
3. Easier to find facilities and equipment using geographical positions
In a visual property system such as Pythagoras, the geographical position is central in the digital models. This facilitates daily work, including component maintenance. With the help of the information carriers on the components, it is easy to find the specific location of, say, various sensors that need to be maintained in a specific room. The visual and mobile interface provides information about the location, property, building, room and exact position, for example in a large warehouse, giving a clear picture of the location and nature of any issues that need to be addressed. With all the information gathered in the property management system, including an updated maintenance plan, case management for properties and cost allocation, administration becomes easier in several ways.
4. One joint source of information, with drawings easy to access for multiple purposes
With the drawings converted into digital 3D models, they become accessible for more people in the organisation with different needs, for example an interim Operations Manager who needs a quick introduction with the work before an inspection, or a Property Manager who wants to visualise their property portfolio or see which agreements are linked to which areas. Another benefit is that everyone can start from the same digital model and simultaneously generate customised drawings directly from the property system for systematic fire protection work (SBA), facility management planning, component maintenance, etc.
5. Easier communication and more reliable deliveries
A digital model of the property makes is easier to share and adapt information for different purposes and stakeholders, including property managers, technical staff and contractors in areas such as cleaning staff. It also ensures that everyone executes their work based on the same basic information, which reduces the risk of misunderstandings or errors. With the drawings and all management-related information gathered in one place, it also easier for people with different areas of responsibility and in different parts of the organization to communicate. This increases both delivery reliability, and facilitates daily work in the business.
Pythagoras helps industrial companies, municipalities and educational institutions to optimise and coordinate their property management, with expertise and a visual system where drawings and digital models are at the core. Would you like to know more about how we can help you? Watch the customer case video with Hans Rostedt, FM Specialist at Epiroc, talking about the importance of a user-friendly and visual property system.
