Facility Management Software for Schools: Shortcomings & Solutions

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Jul 27 · 4 min read

Facility Management Software for Schools: Shortcomings & Solutions

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), there are approximately 130,930 K-12 schools in the United States. Each of these educational institutions is more than 5–10 years old and requires consistent management over the years. Therefore, most of these institutions are using facility management software for schools like CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Software), BAS (Building Automation System), etc.

Despite that, facility professionals still face numerous challenges during times of emergencies or sudden maintenance needs! Why is that?

Well, for starters, this issue arises from the lack of access to instant data. To clarify, this article will state the shortcomings of facility management today and how they can be fixed with quick access to building information using an app.

Common Gaps in School Facility Management Facility management software for schools includes countless solutions like IBMS, (Integrated Building Management Software) CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Software) BAS (Building Automation System), and more. Most of these solutions are used by school facility managers for the daily management of buildings. Yet, not all facility professionals can comprehend and understand the use of these solutions seamlessly.

This is because these web-based solutions require in-depth technical knowledge. Therefore, unless the school tutors their facility professionals like field workers, technicians, etc. how to use this software, work may be delayed.

Check an example: Suppose a school is experiencing a pipe leak on the fourth floor and a technician is notified. This technician calls up the facility manager and requests the location of the shut-off valve for the pipe. The facility manager is then required to travel to the data room or sit on his laptop and go through

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then required to travel to the data room or sit on his laptop and go through each intricate file to find the location of the valve.

Yet, what if the facility manager is not in the office? Or unavailable? The technician might not know how to operate facility management software for schools like CMMS and ends up rushing to the data repository, which might be 30 mins away on a huge school campus.

Then while he shuffles through thousands of data, the leaking water pipe might end up flooding the fourth floor. As a result, this can lead to Asset damage Emergency in case of short circuits Damage to facility buildings These consequences will adversely affect a facility and lead to extensive loss of money, in some cases millions. In this circumstance, people cannot accomplish much using the university & higher education facilities management software.

However, if the school facility used a simplified solution like document mapping facility apps, the above instance can be negated.

Improving Facility Management Software for Schools: Modern facility management tools for schools come integrated into mobile apps that offer instant access to building data.

This might sound like nothing, yet, data is all a facility needs to enhance dayto-day productivity: 1. Emergency Prevention As shown in the example above, gathering data from CMMS can be difficult.

Yet, modern facility management software integrated into an AI-driven smart application offers instant access to building data and improves functions.

If a facility manager receives a phone call from a technician about a faulty pipe, he can immediately pinpoint its location using the app.

This way, the technician can employ the ‘right man for the job’ and instantly fix the leaking pipe.

As the time taken to complete the task is less, there is minimal or no damage to a school facility. Consequently, this improves productivity as well.

2. Enhanced Productivity Summer holidays are the time K-12 schools spend on maintaining and managing school buildings. The CMMS, BMS, and other tools come in handy during space management, asset maintenance, etc.

Yet, imagine the time and money consumed in this process. For example, a school is planning to change the computer room into a playroom. This will mean the employed construction team needs to work with as-built and old blueprints, etc.

There is always the possibility of hiring a new employee or worker every day.

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There is always the possibility of hiring a new employee or worker every day.

Having to sit all day on the laptop for the school facility manager to acquire the same or different sets of data for new teams will significantly impede his productivity. The same will be true for the construction team.

However, if these building managers use an app to handle their maintenance tasks, their job becomes easier. With the use of this app, the productivity of facility management software for schools is amplified.

The app stores effectively scanned facility data like as-built plans, blueprints, etc. in cloud storage. Additionally, it is easily available in seconds via the app that can be used by the facility manager as well as professionals like technicians, servicemen, and more.

Therefore, when everyone has instant access to data, the job becomes streamlined and productivity boosts as well.

The best part, it is not as complex as the CMMS and is less expensive.

On that note, now that gaps in facility management software for schools are addressed, it’s time for managers to think smart. Invest in an app and amplify the workings of this software for boosting facility management in 2022.

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