Facilities Management - TCO & BIM

June 17th, 2009

TCO & BIM…

These two terms seem to be on the bleeding edge of facilities management, yet gaining momentum and quickly coming to the forefront of FM best practices. Doug Christensen, TCO Pioneer and AxisFM board member, authored an article in the June edition of Facilities Manager Magazine that explains both at a high level.

On BIM Christensen states, “Technology is making the BIM definition a reality. The digital representation makes the data accessible and available.The use of 3D helps to visualize what has been at times hard to read and understand from a one dimensional set of flat plans. Having a common place to store in one place all data, information, knowledge, and understanding of a building or an asset provides a reference library unique to that investment. This library will provide a wealth of reliable data and information that will assist in the lifecycle decision making for that building or its systems.”

So how do BIM and TCO correlate? Christensen says, “The strongest relationship is that both are built on the principle of managing the lifecycle of the building or asset. Both concepts define lifecycle the same way. BIM is a process of gathering data and information at the beginning of the project and tracking knowledge and understanding over the life of the investment works hand in hand with TCO. TCO is a process of gathering costs over the life of the investment at each stage of the lifecycle. They both divide the kinds of data and the kinds of costs the same way.”

He concludes, “The lifecycle perspective as you use BIM and TCO together, interoperable, is one tool that will get results. This vision will inspire and change the organization for the better as we challenge ourselves and our team to move down the road and improve our business.”

Getting results is what we’re all after. Shaving costs and increasing efficiencies. AxisFM believes the lifecycle approach incorporated with the interoperability and consolidation of tools will bring organizations the biggest bang for the buck.

Click here to read the full article.

The Silver Lining…

May 26th, 2009

A little silver lining in these tough economic times…

The best part about a bad situation is that there is always someone to remind you that you could always be worse off than you currently are.  So true.  So true.

In an analysis of the federal government’s stimulus package by Patton Boggs entitled “No Small Change: The Stimulus Package and its Impact” there was a great section that served as that friendly reminder that, indeed, things could be worse.

Here are some highlights:

At the beginning of the great depression, the GDP was $865 billion in today’s dollars.  This being a very small fraction of today’s real GDP of 14.3 trillion

From 1929 to 1933, GDP fell 30 percent, while the stock market lost a whopping 90 percent of its value. By comparison, stocks lost approximately 30 percent of their value in 2008 and are down approximately another 10 percent so far in 2009.

In 1933, unemployment was probably at least 25 percent, and many experts put it much higher. By comparison, unemployment today is 7.6 percent of the workforce.

The report continues, “Moreover, the severely damaged economy in the 1930s lacked the governmental platform of safeguards and safety nets - both financial and social - that we enjoy today, and which tend to brake the downturn and provide a  foundation for a turnaround. In addition, the amount of the current stimulus dwarfs the 1930s precedent. The total spending of the New Deal was just 2 percent of GDP.”

So as the global community of facilities management professionals discusses the challenges of the current economic climate, just remember it could always be worse…

Post by:  Chase Purles | AxisFM Expert

Capital Asset Dollars in Tough Times

May 21st, 2009

It seems that in tough times organizations take their limited capital dollars and focus on innovations in the business and ignore their operations. This results in the more high visibility use of capital being the building of top line revenue at the sacrifice of the assets of the business.  The key to this is that maintaining the capital assets will ultimately help the organization.  Deferring critical maintenance items could impact the organizations ability to perform in the future, recruit top talent or maintain customers.

The question is can you do both?  Extend the performance of the asset portfolio and add to the bottom line?  I think the answer to that is based on the organizations ability to see clearly into their asset portfolio and identify where the real savings can be realized.  These savings can come from retrofits or replacing energy hogs or poor performing assets that will impact operational continuity. If organizations have the visibility they need they will emerge from this market with a step ahead of the competition and really perform for their customers.

Posted by:  Coray Christensen, AxisFM Expert

IFMA’s World Workplace Facility Management Conference & Expo

May 19th, 2009

IFMA’s World Workplace Conference is just around the corner and I am curious how well it will be attended with the state of the economy? Barack Obama’s recovery plan should be the focus of many breakout sessions, but what I can tell from IFMA’s web site is that a good portion of the conference will be built around sustainability.

I’m looking forward to attending myself and have been invited to speak. I spoke a few years ago at the IFMA conference in San Diego on “Understanding our Circle of Influence with our Clients, Vendors and Executive Management.” I will be giving the same presentation again. After working with four Fortune 500 companies it is obvious that Facility Managers have a back door to any executive meeting if they can position their value to their company correctly.

The conference will be fun, regardless of the numbers, just curious who will be attending?

Posted by: Chase Purles, AxisFM Expert

The World’s Biggest & Baddest Buildings - A Facilities Management Perspective

May 12th, 2009

Have you ever walked into a building and thought, “Wow, I’m glad I’m not responsible for maintaining this…” In that same time-honored tradition of feeling better about your own job by looking at how much worse things could be, we’re going to take a quick look at some of the world’s biggest, baddest, and most over-the-top facilities.

We’ll also endeavor to unscientifically estimate yearly costs for facilities management based on IFMA benchmarks. For sake of simplicity, we’ll estimate costs as if they all were located within the US. (Sorry, I’m not going to kill time trying to find benchmarks for Kuala Lumpur). Basically an estimated cost of what it might cost to keep the lights, keep it safe, clean, and operating normal.

1. Dubai International Airport

In terms of sheer floor space, it doesn’t get any bigger than Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 3, which just opened in October of 2008. Dubai International is only the world’s 20th busiest airport, but that didn’t stop this oil rich country from constructing a new terminal with an unbelievable 16.1 million square feet of floor space—more than any other building on earth. The important lesson here is that if you ever have to catch a connecting flight in Dubai, don’t forget to bring plenty of extra water and your best walking shoes. Or a Segway with a couple of extra batteries. Or maybe a jetpack.

Estimated Annual Facilities Management Budget: $126 million +

dubai

Dubai International Airport

2. Rungrado May Day Stadium

Huge sports stadiums definitely fall into the “big and bad” category, and the clear winner here is the Rungrado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea. This massive structure seats 150,000 people—with more than 2.2 million square feet of floor space. May Day stadium hosts a few sporting events each year, but in true communist dictatorship fashion, it’s mainly used to stage huge “look how awesome we are” performances celebrating the North Korean nation. It has also been the site of a few decidedly unsavory activities—like the grisly public execution of a group of rebellious North Korean generals in the late ‘90s. Of course, that’s nothing compared to what you might witness at Oakland Coliseum during a typical Raiders game, but it’s still pretty bad.

Estimated Annual Facilities Management Budget: $13 million +

mayday-stadium

Rungrado May Day Stadium

3. Pentagon

If you’re looking for the world’s biggest and baddest traditional office building, look no further than the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia—with its impressive 6.6 million square feet of office space. This iconic building, which was completed way back in 1943, houses about 23,000 defense department employees and includes more than 17 miles of corridors. The next time you start feeling depressed about the state of your own facilities, imagine taking care of 6.6 million square feet of space that was built when facilities managers were still dealing with “knob and tube” wiring and asbestos was considered state-of-the-art.

Estimated Annual Facilities Management Budget: $36 million +

pentagon

The Pentagon in Arlington Virginia

4. Tropical Islands Resort

So what do Germans do when they have a “hankering” for a tropical getaway, but can’t hop a flight to the islands? Tropical Islands Resort! In terms of facility greatness, this one has it all. This Resort is the world’s largest structure without supporting pillars. Inside the structure you’ll find the world’s largest indoor water park, overnight camping areas, and a large artificial rainforest. Originally built as a hangar, Tropical Islands Resort is over 753,000 square feet and accommodates 8,000 visitors a day.

Estimated Annual Facilities Management Budget: $5 million +

tropicalislandsresort

Tropical Islands Resort

5. First World Hotel

If your first thought was “who let Curious George paint this hotel?”, we’re thinking on the same wavelength. Looking beyond the color wheel explosion, this is the world’s largest hotel in terms of room count. With 6,118 rooms and over 3 million square feet, First World Hotel is officially a facilities management handful. This resort includes an indoor ski resort, enclosed theme park, bowling alleys, a museum, and parking garage with nearly 3500 parking spaces. So, if you’re up for a shoebox-sized room and searching for your car in a never-ending parking garage with your ski gear in tow, First World Hotel is the place for you.

Estimated Annual Facilities Management Budget: $20 million +

first-world-hotel

First World Hotel

6. Boeing Plant

In terms of sheer volume, the Boeing plant in Everett, Washington is the largest building in the world. The building covers 4.3 million square feet and is nearly 472 million cubic feet in volume. So, if you’re shopping for a jetliner, the Boeing plant in Everett is a one stop shop where you’ll find 747s, 767s, 777s, and for you over-achieving facilities management types, the 787 Dreamliner.

Estimated Annual Facilities Management Budget: $32 million +

boeing

Boeing Plant

7. Berjaya Times Square

Last, but not least is the Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. What makes this building so special? Its 7.5 million square feet were built in “one phase.” It is a mega-scale multi purpose complex consisting of shopping outlets, a cinema, an indoor theme park, a hotel, residences, offices, etc. As if that wasn’t enough, the “claim to fame” for this complex is that the TV show “The Amazing Race” once passed through and filmed on location. For that reason alone, you should put it on your list of places to visit before you die.

Estimated Annual Facilities Management Budget: $48 million +

timesquare

Berjaya Times Square

So what buildings are on your “biggest and baddest” list? What’s your pick for the biggest and baddest high rise, resort hotel or manufacturing facility? Let us know, and we’ll add it to the official list, which is carefully maintained on the back of a TGI Friday’s napkin.

How Facility Management will be affected by the 2009 Stimulus Package?

April 30th, 2009

So, what’s up with all of this stimulus money and how does it affect facility management? We know it is out there or will be coming soon, but where can you find out information about it? http://stimulusrecovery.info/ is supposedly the site of record to answer our questions, but it actually causes me to have more questions than answers.

Type in “Stimulus 2009” in Google and you will see over 31 million hits? What every facility manager wants to know is how the stimulus package will affect them. Yes, there will be positives and negatives we all need to be aware of, but we need to know about them sooner than later.

http://www.recovery.gov/ does a good job of outlining how some of the stimulus money will be spent in the building arena, but still leaves me with many questions? So, where should the Facilities Management community turn to with their questions?

Any advice would be appreciated…

Post by Chase Purles, AxisFM Expert

Facility Asset Management - Not Managing it is Risky Business

April 27th, 2009

I recently read a white paper on IT asset lifecycle management and was intrigued at the parallels to facility asset management. The white paper published by Evelyn Hubbert and Forrester Research made the argument that IT asset lifecycle management helped with the following:

  • Managing Cost
  • Mitigating risk
  • Ensuring compliance
  • Green initiatives

The exact argument can be made for facility asset lifecycle management as well. Instead of computers, servers, printers, and network devices, we’re talking roofing systems, HVAC systems, interior and exterior finish items, infrastructure, and grounds. From IT to facilities, the lifecycle concepts apply perfectly.

Managing Cost
Lifecycle data helps facility managers see clearly how assets have performed over time, which assets can be “sweat” for a longer period of time, which assets are draining maintenance resources and dollars and would be beneficial to replace, etc. The point is, if you have all the data, you can make strategic decisions to shave costs, reallocate funding, and stretch dollars.

Mitigating Risk
Understanding the conditions and remaining useful life of every facility related asset is a powerful notion. With an analytics system like AxisFM, understanding which assets are at risk of failure is only a few clicks away. By properly managing asset lifecycle, you can nearly eliminate facility/production down time due to asset failure.

Ensure Compliance
With new regulations coming online daily, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay on top of them all. Whether it’s ADA, Sarbanes Oxley, LEED, or Energy Star, having an asset lifecycle management system can help you understand your level of compliance and understand clearly which assets need to be revisited to establish compliance.

Green and Sustainability
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, an asset management system can aid in tracking progress in becoming compliant with green standards such as LEED or Energy Star. Understanding your progress in “going green” and it’s impact is also very important. Asset management systems with integrated capital planning can help you clearly illustrate the short and long-term financial impact of investing in Sustainability and Green initiatives.

Posted by Chase Purles, AxisFM VP Marketing

AxisFM Begins Blogging

April 9th, 2009

The AxisFM Facility Management Blog in now live.