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The Hunt for Information in Facility Management

The fundamental need for capturing, analyzing, and reporting on data will always be constant throughout the years, regardless of current trends or facility type. Our team of experts at QModo have experienced first-hand the pressure of searching for accurate, dependable information vital to completing a time-sensitive project. In QModo’s newest webinar: “The Search for Information,” panelists will discuss the pressing issue of finding the right documentation in the field and some of the most efficient ways to locate this information.

QModo’s Chief Customer Officer, Ed Zunzunegui, and President, Jeff Twardzik, will lead the discussion on ending the search for information in industries like healthcare, higher education, manufacturing, commercial real estate, hospitality, and more. Our Guest speakers, Joe Weickert, Facilities Manager at Maple Grove Hospital, Bryce Hall, Technical Services Manager at Seneca Foods, and Glenn Patrick, Facilities Director at UP Health System – Portage, will weigh in on these topics and share their challenges and experiences. Invite your team members to join the conversation on Wednesday, March 22, at 11 am EDT. Register now to secure your spot by clicking here, and visit QModoAI.com for more details.

When responding to an emergency, the last thing you want your technician to do is rummage through piles and piles of papers, trying to locate one vital piece of information. According to industry research, up to one third of a technician‘s time is spent looking for and gathering information – costing more than $11K per year, per technician. Unfortunately, facility managers and their engineers/technicians often have information scattered on and around their desks, on their computers/ipads/phones, or solely committed to memory. This makes it relatively impossible to locate mission-critical data at the right time. With the primary goal of keeping a facility safe and operating efficiently, facility managers are often hampered when searching for the correct information, placing the facility and its occupants at risk.

For example, consider this typical building maintenance scenario:
A contractor working in your building accidentally hits a sprinkler head with his ladder. Water is pouring into the occupied space, the flow switch triggers an alarm and, unless informed otherwise, the fire department will automatically be notified and on their way to your building.

Without proper procedure information, it is easy to get overwhelmed and off-track when responding to a situation like this. With that in mind, the technician will first need to shut off the valve and stop the water flow, shut off the alarm, and then call to inform the fire department. It may seem simple, but by the time the technician has located the print room, combed through hundreds of papers and documents to find the right one, and ran back to locate the shut-off valve and turn it off, it has already taken at least 20 minutes – causing significant damage to the facility. In addition, all of this is happening while the alarm is blaring in the building, disrupting every day operations. 

Having the right information accessible and in your hand on your mobile device is everything in a situation like this. Time is a significant component when resolving a facility malfunction; the faster a problem is extinguished, the safer the facility becomes. A faster response time also means less damage to the facility and less money to be spent on repairs. In the previous example, the technician takes a long time to shut off the water flow, and when they do, they are placing the entire facility at risk if an actual fire occurs. However, with a faster response time, the technician would be able to replace the broken sprinkler and therefore mitigate that risk. 

Resolving the broken sprinkler was no small feat, and in today’s work environment, it only gets more complicated. With a shrinking workforce, most facilities are scrambling to keep up with daily rounds. The ability to delegate tasks is no longer an option; with more junior technicians moving in, the knowledge gaps grow far greater every year. As a result, scenarios like the one above are far more common in today’s work environment, and facility resources are becoming more and more vital to the technician. 

Does this all sound too familiar to you? 

Unfortunately, facility managers in every industry spend countless hours per week searching for information needed to complete their tasks and responsibilities. Our team at QModo has experienced this firsthand and will lead a discussion on the challenges of finding information in facility management on Wednesday, March 22 at 11 am EDT. Join the conversation and hear from expert panelists with years of experience in the industry as they discuss the most sought-after solution in facility management. Register today by clicking here.