6 Aspects About IWMS That Everybody Ought to Know
Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS) are software solutions designed to optimize facility management and real estate performance of organizations. As even the acronym causes confusion, clarification is required. In this post I will discuss what everybody ought to know about IWMS.
1. Integrated Solution
Although many point solutions optimize facility management and real estate performance, their focus in most cases is to solve a single business problem. IWMS on the contrary, is an integrated solution not aimed at solving one individual business problem, but improving the organization as a whole. Thinking that your business problem doesn’t have any relation with other business problems to me is just naïve.
2. Process driven
Processes are the foundation of any organization. They can be found everywhere within your organization flowing from department to department, from stakeholder to stakeholder, and governed by organization rules they are daily routine for many employees. Even the slightest improvement in organizational process can have a huge impact on the bottom line of an organization.
Most IWMS’s are process driven. This means that IWMS optimizes processes. From a trouble ticket to asset disposal, processes can be optimized.
3. Decision support
Optimizing processes can only be successful when you have solid information about those processes. Although you might have a gut feeling about certain process in your organization, you are not able to make informed decisions without reliable information. IWMS can empower you with that information to make those decisions. What’s more, combining information from other parts of the organization can improve the organization as a whole.
4. Five main solution areas
Integrated Workplace Management Systems provide solutions in the following functional domains.
- Project Management
- Corporate Real Estate
- Facilities & Space Management
- Maintenance Management
- Environmental Sustainability
Each of the above solution areas has specialized characteristics however in order to be classified as an IWMS these functionalities need to be met.
5. Web-based
As the workforce is becoming more and more decentralized, the need for web-based software solutions is only increasing. A dispersed staff challenges facility and real estate professionals to re-evaluate and change the status quo. This change is mostly initiated by the intrusion of web based technology in our lives. Most IWMS are web-based and are well equipped to be used both domestically and internationally.
6. Standards Compliancy
Over the last couple of years quite a few standards initiatives have gained substantial momentum (OSCRE, LEED, BREEAM, IPD, etc.). Directed by legislation it is expected to be increasingly supported by IWMS vendors. Most IWMS vendors have already incorporated standards in their product portfolio and this will increase dramatically.
Steven,
I agree completely with the six points of definition that you have provided for Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS).
To help readers identify if a particular IWMS vendor meets the criteria, I would like to add the following:
1. Integrated Solution:
Integrated provides the most operative word in the definition. For an IWMS solution to deliver an integrated solution, one should evaluate if the vendor provides a single application and technology solution with: a single database repository to store all IWMS data and documents; a single business logic engine to manage the business processes; a single web-based user interface for all users; and a single reporting and analytics technology to improve decision support.
2. Process driven:
Since IWMS solutions rely heavily on their ability to support and automate business processes the infrastructure provided to support these processes becomes critical in the evaluation of an IWMS solution.
One should evaluate the predefined business processes delivered in the “as-shipped” product to ensure alignment with one’s organizational needs.
Understanding that vendors deliver “generic” and/or “industry-specific” processes in their “as-shipped” IWMS solutions and that customers require organizational-specific processes in many cases, one should also evaluate the business process configuration capabilities offered by the vendor. The customer should be able to configure the processes and data structures required, without changes to source code. The vendor should offer capabilities to migrate these configurations between development, test and production environments. The vendor should provide capabilities to migrate these configurations upon upgrades.
3. Decision support:
In many cases, the return on the IWMS investment is sourced from improved decisions. Like the process management capabilities, one should evaluate the predefined reports and performance metrics as well as the configuration capabilites to extend the “as-shipped” decision support capabilities. Also, look for advanced decision support logic such as FAS 13, GHG Protocol and other financial models within the predefined applications to help improve decisions.
4. Five main solution areas:
As with point #1, one should evaluate IWMS solutions based on the delivery all five of the functional domains within a single integrated application and technology platform as a minimum standard.
5. Web-based:
“Decentralized systems have higher TCO [Total Cost of Ownership]” – Gartner Inc. One should evaluate the technical architecture of the IWMS solution to ensure that all layers are built on a web-based application and technology stack.
6. Standards Compliancy:
Standards compliancy simplifies and streamlines data exhange between service providers and third-party systems. One should evaluate IWMS vendors based on their predefined integration with standards such as OSCRE and whether integration of the standard has been certified by the standards body as a qualification of adoption and compliance.
I hope this helps.
John Clark
TRIRIGA Inc.
http://www.tririga.com
Excellent article!
Whilst in recent years web-based platforms have certainly been the way to go, today’s technology enables applications to be developed as either web or pc based application. Offering both sides of the coin! Obviously, it is important to consider the serious system/data security issues that need addressing when deploying a purely web-based application.
One point I would like to note is the increased use of Pocket PC mobile solutions. As an IWMS provider, we are noticing that more and more clients are exploring our Pocket PC solution to support process and improve overall performance. Utilising mobile devices helps to increase response times in accordance with SLA and KPI performance and provide better customer service levels.
Kind Regards
Rob Whalley
Tabs FM
http://www.tabsfm.com
What I did not realise until reading this article is I must have developed an early IWMS system.
This was constructed in the late 1990’s early 2000 as a global system for HSBC Property.
This system linked M&E and Fabric condition surveys together with all the real estate data to assist in the HSBC property strategy. At the core of this was budgets, expenditure and occupancy management.
The key to the success of the project was a user interface that gave a full picture of what was happening on each property covering occupancy, real estates (lease, rents and service charges), budgets, expenditure, rates (property tax), capital projects, revenue spend, disposals and acquisitions.
The users also had a selection structure based on difference drill down trees, so you could evaluate the largest cost per area, highest energy cost, lowest occupancy (filtering out warehouses etc).
Always difficult to quantify is the easy of use and functionality, so when evaluating IWMS system ensure that key representatives of the team evaluate the application to confirm it meet the needs. Please do not just leave this to a request to tender or formal processed response.
An RFP (request for proposal) that states it is required to manage Rents Reviews has many different meanings to an Estates Survey and an Accounts Payable administrator.
Happy hunting and great article.
Hi Martin,
great to hear that before the acronym being coined professionals such as yourself have developed Integrated Workplace Management Systems. Can you share additional information about that project?
Yours sincerely,
Steven
My personal affiliation and experience in Facility derangement leads me to this idea that over last decades FM service delivery models has been radically changed. Once maintenance manger who was suppose to keep boiler running has now compelled to play active role across all phases facility life cycle which embracing all five strategic areas, mentioned above. Without having solid information base it is not possible to deliver quality facility services at competitive cost, which is, in today’s world, a major theme in every organization. Effective deployment IWMS can help facility mangers to demonstrate, real value to for money to core business they serve.
MAH,
thank you very much for your comment. Facilities and Real Estate have gained momentum as a strategic management tool over the last decade or so. This also demands for Service Providers (both internal and external to the organization) to cope with these changes accordingly. IWMS can play a vital role in the increased professionalism of Facility and Real Estate Service Providers.
Yours Sincerely,
Steven
Genuinely intriguing. Continue to keep those topic coming.
A 7th, and often understated aspect of IWMS systems – that offer distinct advantages over multiple point solutions is that the customer now has a “single throat to choke”. In other words there is a single point of accountability which is part of the premise that drives the perceived “higher value” that IWMS offers the market.