IWMS implementations are complex projects. Project managers are hired to complete a project within time and budget. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the project is successful or does it?

This week’s debate is about what defines a successful project.

Debate

Is an IWMS implementation successful when completed within time and budget?

You can use the comment field below this post for your opinion. I’m looking forward to your comments.

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1. Debate: The Impact Of The Revised BOMA Standards on IWMS
2. Debate: Space-Planning Software Myths
3. Debate: Climate negotiations and the impact on IWMS

In 1915, BOMA International published the first Standard Method of Floor Measurement for Office Buildings. It has been accepted and approved by the American National Standards Institute. Throughout the years, the standard has been revised to reflect the changing needs of the real estate market and the evolution of office building design.

BOMA International has introduced the latest version of the office standard.This version signifies a major revision, including a new name Office Buildings: Methods of Measurement and Calculating Rentable Area. The objective of the office standard is to provide a uniform basis for measuring rentable area in both exiting and new office buildings by taking a building-wide approach to floor area measurement. It provides a methodology for measuring both occupant space as well as the space that benefits all occupants.

Debate

Since Integrated Workplace Management Systems also support BOMA standards, those new standards will undoubtedly have an impact on IWMS. In today’s debate I would love to hear what you think about the impact of the Revise BOMA Standards on IWMS.

Please use the comment box below this post for your comments.

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John Clark (Tririga) has pointed out a wonderful article on buildings.com about space-planning software’s greatest features. In this article Leah B. Garris describes some space-planning myths.

Space Planning Myths

Myth: It requires too much data entry to be effective.
Reality: “New capabilities capture data via automated processes that monitor user actions, which minimizes the data entry required,” says John Clark, director of corporate marketing at TRIRIGA. Some software provides automated processes that track actions in stack planning and use this info to count the number of employees moved, calculate the churn rate, and estimate the cost of the move. The results are automatically compared to targeted goals, scored, and presented side-by-side.

Myth: It’s too hard to produce a visual on a computer. Only engineers can successfully use desktop software to produce business-worthy visuals.
Reality: “We strongly believe that this is a major reason why communication is such a problem for most organizations,” says Jill Roberson, social media manager at SmartDraw. “Can you imagine how hard it would be to communicate a facilities layout for a manufacturing plant without using floorplans or schematics? People don’t communicate with visuals because they believe it’s too hard and time-consuming. This is a total falsehood.”

Myth: You have to have specialized expertise, such as CAD, to use it.
Reality: “Users with CAD knowledge will be able to expedite some of the processes,” says Karen Roller, vice president of services at MicroMain. “However, new space-planning software enables customers to use the system without that expertise.”

Debate

The above three myths are very important, however I am quite sure that there are more space-planning myths. I would really like to hear about what kind of Space Planning Myths you acknowledge. Therefore, this week’s debate is about Space-Planning Myths.

You can use the comment box below this post to describe your myths and realities.

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3. Debate: Are Vista Equity Partners’ Acquisitions a Positive Thing for the IWMS Industry?

Over the last couple of weeks San Francisco based private equity firm Vista Equity Partners caused substantial rumor in the IWMS industry with their acquisitions of Intuit Real Estate Solutions (IRES), and more recently Accruent. Both IWMS vendors are considered to be the in the top-10 IWMS vendors worldwide.

As a response both Tririga and Lucernex offered migration plans and discounts for displaced customers. To me, the acquisitions by Vista Equity Partners are a clear indication that the IWMS Market is maturing fast. As any industry matures more and more organizations join the party. In the IWMS industry the dance of mergers and acquisitions has begun, therefore this week’s debate is about the recent vendor acquisitions.

Debate

Are Vista Equity Partners’ acquisitions a positive thing for IWMS Industry?

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The Copenhagen climate negotiations (COP15) beginning today must yield an ambitious, sweeping agreement to capitalize on pledges by countries to fight global warming, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said yesterday.

The largest and most important United Nations climate change conference in history with diplomats from 192 nations warned that this could be the best, last chance for a deal to protect the world from calamitous global warming.

It seems that most nations have realized the eminent threat of global warming for the world’s population, and will do the utmost to achieve a global agreement. As a result all important world leaders will be attending the conference, and have already announced ambitious programs to reduce CO2 emissions.

This ambitious agreement will definitively have its’ impact on Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS). The question of today’s debate therefore is:

How will the Climate negotiations impact IWMS?

Please use the comment feature below this post to give your opinion.

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We have all read the news about Former Bricsnet CEO, Farid Jinian  indicted for embezzlement.

Press Release

SAN FRANCISCO ― The former head of San Francisco software company is being held without bail after a federal grand jury indicted him on embezzlement charges.

Federal prosecutors say Ethan Farid Jinian was arrested at San Francisco International Airport Wednesday after returning from a trip to China.

According to an indictment returned on Nov. 12, the 49-year-old San Francisco man is alleged to have embezzled more than $1 million from Bricsnet FM America Inc. between November 2006 and September 2008 while he was CEO of the company.

The indictment was unsealed Thursday when Jinian made his first court appearance.

According to prosecutors, Jinian directed other Bricsnet employees to issue checks to him, claiming that he was promised the money as part of his compensation.

Debate

However the article is not the most important thing that crosses my mind. I wonder how to what extend it will affect Bricsnet? What do you think about this? You can use the comment feature below this post to give your opinion.

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On the promotional blog of FacilitiesDesk I have read an article about web based CAFM.

According to the author:

Most of the traditional CAFM – CMMS Systems are desktop based. You need to install the software on every desktop for you to gain access to the system database. But things have changed for the better, the world is moving towards web. Today, you can find quite a lot of Web based CAFM – CMMS system wherein you only need to install the server on a central location and then connect the client using your web browser(internet explorer, firefox etc).

Apparently the author assumes that traditional CAFM (IWMS) systems are desktop based. I don’t agree with that as most of the IWMS I have evaluated are already web based for quite some time now. The  CAFM / IWMS vendors that have been around long enough initially were desktop based but the majority migrated to web technology.

So what do you think?

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The internet is changing the world we currently live in. Video is becoming common good in the IWMS arena and all IWMS vendors seem to Twitter their way around the IWMS community to inform potential customers of new releases, market trends, etc.

IWMSnews.com isn’t blind to these developments and therefore I would like to ask your opinion about the following:

Should IWMSNews.com add product / vendor videos to our website?

I would love to hear your opinion about this. I have published a couple of Archibus videos to the homepage. So what is your opinion about this? Do you like it?

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As an independent resource for the IWMS community I try to read as much as I can about developments in our industry. Occasionally you come across some interesting opinions of other professionals such as a publication on the website of FSI FM Solutions from the United Kingdom.

In the article Tony Leppard, MD of FMx Ltd, the author of CAFM Explorer, claims that CAFM is still the strongest acronym to describe an integrated FM solution.

The introduction of the article seems to be very interesting for a debate here on iwmsnews.com.

As CAFM (computer aided facilities management) systems have become more established, numerous acronyms have sprung up for systems that only cater for helpdesk and ppm (planned preventative maintenance) applications.  There are claims these systems are more attuned to CMMS (computerised maintenance management system) or IWMS (integrated workplace management system) working.

Indeed, in the USA and Canada, the word is that many are claiming CAFM is becoming an outdated technology and that most large organisations are deferring to IWMS instead.  This could be misleading or just plain jockeying for market position.  Or sour grapes.

The definition of IWMS goes as follows: ‘An enterprise platform that supports the planning, design, management, utilisation and disposal of an organisation’s location-based assets.  IWMS systems assist organisations in optimising the use of workplace resources, including the management of a company’s real estate portfolio, infrastructure and facilities assets’.  Is this not what CAFM does?

UK software house FMx Ltd owns the trademark for CAFM and is keen to shed some light on the situation.  Tony Leppard, MD of FMx Ltd, the author of CAFM Explorer, and seasoned player in the FM business for 25 years, claims that CAFM is still the strongest acronym to describe an integrated FM solution.

‘The flow of information between FM applications makes for a far more productive solution that isolated applications like helpdesk,’ he says.  ‘For example, a reactive issue is almost always associated with assets, location, people, contractors, trades people, costs, rooms, and so on.  So where do you draw the line?

Debating Thesis

So what do you think? Is CAFM still the strongest acrononym to to describe an integrated FM solution? Or is IWMS equally qualified to fit that purpose. I would love to hear your opinion about to what extend you think this statement of Tony Leppard is valid.

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Joel Pearlman has posted a very interesting question on our LinkedIn Group to be discussed on iwmsnews.com. The question that he posted has to do with IWMS Consultancy and your organization.

He writes:

“In a typical IWMS implementation lifecycle, the consultant is involved in system planning, design, and execution. At some point after system ‘go-live,’ the consultant’s role should decrease significantly. Operating procedures and any ‘custom’ features have been documented, and turned over to the business owner. The organization now operates the system in a more or less self-sufficient manner.

Unfortunately, this has not been the experience of many organizations who have implemented IWMS. Many IWMS consultants, whether out of inexperience or by design, deliver systems that ‘lock in’ the organization to that of the consultant. The result is an IWMS that cost much higher than industry norms.

The purpose of this discussion is to share your experiences to help others avoid this increasingly common IWMS implementation pitfall.”

So therefore his question:

What are some signs that your IWMS consultant is not working in your organization’s best interests?

I’d love to hear your opinion about this question.

Yours Sincerely,

Steven Hanks

Related Posts

1. Debate: Is an IWMS implementation successful when completed within time and budget?
2. Debate: The Impact Of The Revised BOMA Standards on IWMS
3. Debate: Are Vista Equity Partners’ Acquisitions a Positive Thing for the IWMS Industry?