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FM:Systems’ Distance Learning Labs – An easy option for FM:Interact training

Distance Learning Labs (DLL) from FM:Systems offers live, instructor-led learning events that are presented over the Web. Just like classroom training, distance learning students receive one-on-one attention from instructors, have the ability to ask questions, and must complete hands-on assignments. And you don’t have to travel to do it!

DLL sessions focus on topics associated with FM:Interact modules and run approximately three to four hours. Through a Web-based training system, students can login from their personal computer and be connected to the classroom. Materials are easily downloaded from the course information page, and all students are required to attend a free preparatory class to familiarize them with the interface and ensure there are no security issues with access. DLL is FM:Systems training that comes (via a computer) live to you!

Our customers love it! See what they have to say:

“So practical. I didn't need to travel anywhere to interact with the instructor and my classmates. We had an awesome instructor and I learned as much - if not more - in my DLL sessions with her than I have by working with my favorite consultant at our site. The training was worth every penny, and I would highly recommend it for anyone new to FM:Interact!”

“The instructor managed the classroom well. There were people at different levels and she engaged everyone!”

“The instructor gives us very practical examples as activities, which we can relate to and they are easy to follow with the handouts”

“There was an appropriate amount of instruction and interactivity for the participant to progress further on their own.”

“I like the structure of the class - instructor led teaching and demos. The student practiced what was taught then there was a second activity to reinforce the learning - very effective.”

“It was very easy to follow along - the instructor was very easy to communicate with.”

“The virtual participation and being able to have "hands-on" training within the session was very effective.”

“Interactive, engaging, and good exercises.”

See the Distance Learning Labs schedule here.

Going to the IFMA Workplace Strategy Summit tomorrow?

The Workplace Strategy Summit: Research in Action held at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York September 5-7 will unite FM professionals with the leading thinkers on workplace strategy to explore workplace effectiveness; the nature of collaborative work; and the organizational, lifestyle and infrastructure changes that will impact the workplace of the future.

This fast-paced, interactive event will discuss two main questions facing facility management professionals:

What do we really know about workplace effectiveness?

Do we understand the true nature of collaborative work, or are we relying upon theory and supposition?

Look for our own Mike Schley, Founder and CEO of FM:Systems and IFMA fellow, who will be addressing the conference. We hope to see you there!

See more information here: http://www.ifmafoundation.org/summit/summit/

Upcoming Webinar on FM:Systems’ Latest Product FM:BIM

Join us for a tour of the latest release from FM:Systems, a cloud-based system that helps AEC firms and building owners partner to bring down lifecycle costs. Join us as Marty Chobot, vice president of BIM initiatives for FM:Systems, discusses and demos this new product and its benefits for AEC firms and owners.

We have one more scheduled for August – sign up now:

August 29th | 2:00pm EST

In the meantime, find out more about FM:BIM at www.fmbim.com

Day-to-day with FM:Systems’ longest customer

An FM:Systems client since 1987, we recently caught up with our longest-standing customer, a major not-for-profit organization chartered to work in the public interest, applying expertise in systems engineering, information technology, operational concepts, and enterprise modernization to address sponsors' critical needs.

Q1. Tell me about your facilities?

With two principal locations in Massachusetts and Virginia, our company has more than 7,500 employees in sites across the country and around the world. Currently the corporate real estate (CRE) group manages approximately 1.2 million square feet in Virginia, approximately 800,000 square feet in Massachusetts, and approximately 500,000-square feet at additional domestic sites.

The corporate real estate department is responsible for all strategic/space planning, facilities operations, food services, mail and reprographics, and all other architecture, engineering and construction activities.

Q2. What was the initial need for a CAFM/IWMS solution?

A customer since 1987, when we first signed on to work with FM:Systems, the main two sites in Massachusetts and Virginia were running like two separate companies, with two separate databases. Prior to FM:Systems, the MA location used a home-grown system where the space planner would run a report once a month. Because the report was run by the corporate mainframe computer, the space planner made a monthly pilgrimage to the Computer Center each time the report was generated. Needless to say, the ability to run queries and/or ad-hoc reports was limited.

Due to a change in the CRE management structure, a strategic decision was made to unify and streamline the two operations. Then began the long journey to standardize and manage one system serving many operators. Q3. How are you using FM:Systems today? What benefits have you realized?

With FM:Systems, we have been able to integrate and consolidate the previously two separate databases into one, streamlined repository for corporate data and information that is now accessible to all sites and locations throughout the country.

FM:Systems has enabled us to have a true database of accurate floor plans, where people sit, and how much space is allocated to each department. We are the source for all primary room locations for over 7,500 employees. FM:Interact also seamlessly integrates with our other corporate systems, allowing us to easily feed data in and out, which provides for more robust reporting.

The Web-based platform of FM:Interact allows us to post stakeholder specific move reports, enabling the move team to focus on more value add activities.

We recently completed a very in-depth, detailed 600 people move, while moving labs at the same time. We were only able to work on the move during evening and weekend hours, but with FM:Systems, we were still able to complete the project within four months. The configurable workflow made for a consistent, efficient move processes, and automated e-mail communication for service provider work status and centralized scheduling streamlined the entire operation.

Whether it’s pulling reports for a government audit once every quarter, or supporting a move, FM:Systems provides an outstanding level of customer service you’d expect from a smaller, dedicated organization, but is large enough to deliver the functionality and customization needed to run a big corporation.

With FM:Systems, the CRE department is afforded an opportunity to collaborate successfully across the organization.

The FM:Systems ROI Calculator aids Customer in Decision-making

We sat down with a new FM:Systems customer, one of the world’s largest communications providers, to discuss how the ROI Calculator helped them in choosing FM:Systems among 12 different IWMS software providers.

Q1. What was the initial need for a IWMS solution?

We began to see a need for a IWMS solution as we were manually controlling 10 different databases. Nothing was automated, and we didn’t have the manpower to handle it anymore. Whenever there was a move, floor plans would have to be redrawn and spread sheets manually updated. It was becoming increasingly clear that we needed a centralized database. Because of our small team, finding this solution would be a major investment for us and we needed to be assured that this decision was the right one.

Q2. How did the ROI Calculator help you in making this decision?

We began with a pool of 12 vendors and then narrowed those down to three. We then interviewed those three vendors to see which would benefit us the most. FM:Systems was able to take our data, put it in their ROI Calculator, and show us what our estimated savings would be by implementing the FM:Systems software. The ROI Calculator estimated that we would have a total savings of $177,000 in the first year. Looking at the cost-savings breakdown shown by the ROI Calculator led us to give more consideration to how much a move actually costs. The ROI Calculator also showed that the majority of our savings would be from space management, affirming our need for a solution. Overall, this tool helped to convince management that we did need an IWMS solution and that cost-savings was possible.

Use the free ROI Calculator here.

FM:Systems at Campus FM Technology Association Conference in Indianapolis

FM:Systems will be exhibiting and speaking at the 2012 CFTA conference in Indianapolis at the IUPUI campus beginning on August 7th.

The 2012 CFTA conference brings together facility management professionals from across the country. Speakers will be presenting on topics such as BIM, CAD, CAFM, Document Management, GIS, and Project Collaboration. Be sure to catch our own Marty Chobot speaking on “Using Building Lifecycle Data to Support Facilities Planning” at 8:30 a.m. on August 8th.

If you’re at the show, stop by and see us exhibiting at booth 5. We look forward to seeing you there!

FM:Systems speaking at World Workplace Asia

Founder and CEO Michael Schley will be speaking at this year’s World Workplace Asia, July 26-27, 2012 in Singapore at the Raffles City Convention Centre.

This year, Singapore was chosen for the event as it is developing rapidly as a dynamic global city and international hub for facility management. The learning and networking event will provide valuable resources to support facility professionals in meeting the current and future needs of their facilities, organizations and cities.

Mike will be speaking tomorrow at 3:10 p.m. SGT on BIM and FM: The Hype and the Hope.

This session will discuss the advantages that BIM brings to the FM profession while also debunking some BIM myths. The audience will learn how to incorporate BIM into a facilities management operations and management strategy and learn about how BIM is advancing in Asia.

We hope to see you there!

#fm:systems #BIM #World workplace

Upcoming Webinars on FM:Systems' New Product FM:BIM

We’ve got two scheduled for August – sign up now:

August 2nd | 2:00pm EST

August 29th | 2:00pm EST

In the meantime, find out more about FM:BIM at www.fmbim.com

#facility management #BIM #FM:BIM

Autodesk interviews Messer Construction on BIM and FM

Tom Culotta of Autodesk and Andy Burg of Messer Construction discuss how Xavier University is integrating Revit data with FM:Systems' space management software to support lifecycle facilities planning.

Day-to-Day with FM:Systems customer Bob Donahue, Facilities Planning Manager, MathWorks

Working in the facilities department at the MathWorks for over 15 years, we sat down with Bob Donahue, Facilities Planning Manager, at this year’s FM:Systems User Conference to get a better idea of how the company is leveraging FM:Systems BIM Integration Component to realize not only a Return on Investment, but a Return on Information, true ROI.

Q1. Tell me about your facilities?

Headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, the company has more than 2,500 employees in 15 countries throughout the world. Currently the facilities group manages approximately 25-30 sites worldwide, totaling 30+ buildings -- and about 40 floors of space, which, sometimes the number of floors is more important than the number of buildings and sites.

We’re doing the opposite of what many companies are doing with the alternative workplace. We’re expanding our campus and want everyone to come to work everyday. The international offices are setup this way as well. We want everyone in the office for collaboration. Plus, everyone has their own hard wall spaces, with 50% of offices along the windows, and natural light flowing to the other spaces; it’s not “cube land.” Free cookies every Friday, too :).

Q2. What was the initial need for a CAFM/IWMS solution?

When we constructed our first building we realized it wasn’t just floors or office spaces anymore, we had to manage our own building processes. It became more serious for us. It was at that time we began handling some international offices, which is where the struggle began in dealing with conversions between square feet and square meters. At this point, we needed to think seriously about how we could effectively manage this on our own.

We went to Gartner to begin our initial research for a facility management company. In a pool of four to five companies, FM:Systems stood out to us after the first run of demos. All of our drawings were in AutoCAD and FM:Systems was equipped for that. And we could tell it was a scalable solution that would grow with us, and it did. That was over ten years ago, and today we are still using FM:Interact and FM:Space.

Q3. How are you using FM:Systems today? What benefits have you realized?

When we began using FM:Systems to manage the workplace, we got the whole company on board. We went from color-coded, handwritten maps to a sleek software system that is user-friendly enough for our staff to use. Our facilities have always had more employees than space, and with FM:Systems we make sure employees are put in the right seat at the right time.

In terms of maturity level, as far as Space Management and Move Management, we’re singing along, and probably getting an A or A+ in terms of usability of those modules. Since real estate has become bigger for us, we’re using the Real Estate Portfolio Management module as well, but this year we’re really focusing on the Facility Maintenance module and BIM Integration Component. Our campus expansion is all being done in Revit, we’ve invested ourselves in Revit and we’ve worked with the contractor and sub-contractors so that we have a delivered model to work into FM:Systems BIM integration. We’re already investing in some Wentworth Institute co-op students to help bring our old buildings from 2-D to 3D, since we will be renovating our existing spaces, in addition to the campus expansion. Our goal is to have the entire Natick headquarters working within a BIM model.

Sustainability is really important, so that’s probably the next focus on our list. The huge impact for us is having 250,000 new square feet of very high-end space. We’re implementing some high-impact, energy-efficient elements to the new space; meeting all the new codes. We’ve approached everything that we’re doing with the mindset that we’re “owners” now – a Return on Information, not just Investment.

What does the future of the workplace look like?

We sat down with Joel Ratekin, Ratekin Consulting, a featured speaker at this year’s FM:Systems User Conference to speak more about his presentation; why companies pursue new workplace strategies in a down economy.

Q1. Expand on your presentation – how is the workplace changing?

Emerging global trends are changing the nature of work. Success now is based on improving business results, reducing overhead, and increasing employee engagement. A key piece to achieving all these results is recruiting and retaining a high performing workforce. And flexibility is at the top of their list!

Our new global economy also brings with it around-the-clock demands. Business operates in real time. Instant connection anytime, anywhere is necessary and expected, as information has become a commodity. Fortunately, technology has changed the entire landscape of our work world, enabling people to connect with systems that have no borders. An office is anywhere there is wireless service.

Q2. What are the trends in workplace strategies of late?

These changes in the business world are further impacted by the world itself. Environmentalism is no longer just a cause - it's a business tactic. Fuel costs, land shortages and energy issues are forcing today's corporations to make sustainability an operational standard.

The new distributive workspace takes all of these emerging issues into account. Staffing needs are met through both virtual co-location and a spatially intelligent work environment. Cubicles are replaced by defined areas that allow for both interchange and privacy. As the walls come down, so, too do the restrictive silos of information. Collaboration has become the new norm.

Q3. How important is technology to the new workplace strategies developing?

The knowledge worker is being recognized as one of the most important assets in this new workspace. Forward thinking managers are realizing that the best workers don't need physical supervision, and that success is determined not by the clock you punch, but by the achievements you make. Because technology enables individual work to be completed from anywhere, the office is becoming a hub to accommodate this increasing collaboration.

Day-to-Day with FM:Systems Partner Mark Mergenschroer, BIM Development Manager, TME Inc.

Mark has more than 14 years of construction and engineering design experience. He has participated in the management and design of more than 50 MEPF BIM models. An Autodesk Revit Certified Professional, Autodesk Revit Certified Associate, and a NICET Certified Fire Protection Designer, Mark oversees BIM operations at TME, Inc. We sat down with Mark at this year’s FM:Systems User Conference to get a better idea of how TME is leveraging FM:Systems Revit integration to drive new business opportunities.

Q1. Tell me about your facilities?

TME, Inc. is a full service mechanical, electrical, structural, and energy engineering firm headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas with offices in Fayetteville, Arkansas; Tucson, Arizona; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and St. Louis, Missouri. The TME staff includes 170 people and has 3 operating divisions - TME Consulting Engineers, TME Energy Services, and TME Structural Services that work together in a complementary manner to provide innovative and cost effective engineering solutions.

We have provided engineering and energy services for more than 2500 projects at more than 1000 facilities located nationally for clients in 24 states and internationally in 5 countries, including Canada, Costa Rica, Ireland, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

Q2. Tell me about your customer base

Our core areas of expertise include healthcare, higher education, and energy conservation projects. FM:Systems has recently allowed us to approach clients in the state and local government arena, such as the State of Iowa, and reach customers that we haven’t been able to before with Revit integration.

Q3. How are your customers using FM:Systems today? What benefits have they realized?

Our clients are really looking forward to bringing everything to one central location with FM:Interact. One client, the State of Iowa, has hired us to work on two correctional facilities, but we’re just getting started. We’re currently bringing in 32 new buildings, and is looking into bringing all state correctional facilities into FM:Interact as well. In working with the State of Iowa, everything will be in one centralized location, on one server. This has allowed us to become a true “BIM consultant” on the project.

We have also been introducing BIM to our healthcare clients. They’re really seeing the benefits of utilizing FM:Interact for a centralized repository of all pertinent and regulated information. Owners are seeing the advantages of BIM for visualization, reduced construction costs, minimized construction conflicts and decreased project completion times. More importantly, they are seeing BIM graphics and data as an integral part of their lifecycle activities for the project. BIM is redefining roles and services.

FM:Systems’ Enhanced BIM Integration Breaks Down Barriers Between AEC Firms and Facility Professionals

News from FM:Systems today...

FM:Systems’ Enhanced BIM Integration Breaks Down Barriers Between AEC Firms and Facility Professionals FM:Interact offers support for multiple models and advanced space management and asset integration

RALEIGH, N.C. – May 1, 2012 – FM:Systems, a provider of integrated workplace management systems (IWMS) and computer-aided facility management (CAFM) software, continues to lead the market in Lifecycle Building Information Modeling (BIM) by announcing significant enhancements in its BIM Integration Component with the latest release of FM:Interact. As an Autodesk Design and Construction Industry Partner, FM:Interact boasts many new capabilities to help facility managers capture the information from Autodesk Revit models to better manage their portfolio.

FM:Interact now allows facility professionals to easily integrate data from multiple BIM models. Many different firms work together on any construction project – architects, engineers, contractors and various subcontractors, etc. – and each firm often brings its own model to the project. Tying all the information from numerous models to one building record in FM:Interact ensures critical building data isn’t lost – one of the key benefits of working with BIM.

“FM:Systems’ Lifecycle BIM approach helps extend the value of data from Revit to support the way buildings are managed,” said Jim Lynch, vice president, building and collaboration products, Autodesk. “We support solutions such as this to help facility managers better manage their buildings based on BIM information.”

For space managers, FM:Interact’s BIM integration now supports both Autodesk Revit room and area elements. Support for Revit rooms lets facility managers track building information such as flooring types and architectural finishes while Revit areas help space managers keep accurate, detailed records of space and occupancy.

For maintenance professionals, the new mapping templates in FM:Interact help streamline asset integration. Templates define the BIM deliverable requirements for the various design and construction industry firms involved in a project, ensuring the operations team gets a model built specific to their needs. In addition, mapping templates can be used across multiple projects and buildings, providing facility professionals with consistent, reliable BIM data. “One of the biggest challenges in Lifecycle BIM is helping facility professionals better communicate with design and construction industry firms in the beginning of a project so the models that are delivered have the information the building owner needs,” said Marty Chobot, vice president, FM:Systems. “Our goal is to build products that help remove the barriers for sharing building information. We want to help facility professionals plan occupancy and maintenance before they even take occupancy of the building.”

Additional features enable system administrators to control access to Revit, enhancing security on projects in which multiple design and construction industry firms are connected to the same system.

About FM:Systems, Inc. By connecting people, place and process, FM:Systems helps facilities and real-estate professionals improve customer service, reduce costs and increase productivity enterprise-wide. FM:Systems Web-based software improves management of space, occupancy, moves, maintenance, leases and property. Customer results include: real estate costs reduced by 15 percent, move spend reduced by 88 percent, enterprise productivity savings of $1.5 million and an internal customer satisfaction rate of 97 percent.

Many of the world’s leading organizations rely on FM:Systems products, including CA, Devon Energy, DuPont, GMAC, Herman Miller, Indiana University, Lockheed Martin, National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), Northwestern University, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Progress Energy, Target stores, and the U.S. Census Bureau. FM:Systems is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, and conducts business in the Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information about FM:Systems, please visit www.fmsystems.com or call 1-800-648-8030.

Read the press release here.

Come see us at CoreNet Global San Diego!

FM:Systems will be exhibiting at this year's CoreNet Global Summit in San Diego, April 29-May 1, 2012.

CoreNet's theme this year is REIMAGINATION - transform and sharpen your competitive edge through innovation. This era of uncertainty for global markets, organizational stability and your own career path requires you to REIMAGINE, REIGNITE and REINVENT yourself. Sharpen your business acumen and knowledge of emerging technologies, organization models and sustainability.

We hope to see you there! You stay classy, San Diego.

FM:Systems BIM data integration passed the COBie challenge at NFMT!

Last week at NFMT in Baltimore, FM:Systems entered the COBie Challenge and we're pleased to say we passed with flying colors and are now certified as a consumer of COBie space, asset and related attribute data. See today's press release (below) for more information, or visit www.fmsystems.com/news.

FM:Systems Completes NFMT 2012 COBie Challenge

COBie integration will help FM:Systems customers gather building information from a broad range of sources

RALEIGH, N.C. – March 20, 2012 – FM:Systems, a provider of integrated workplace management systems (IWMS) and computer-aided facility management (CAFM) software, today announced it has completed the Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) Challenge at this year’s Building Operating Management’s National Facilities Management and Technology (NFMT) Conference. FM:Systems was certified as a consumer of COBie space, asset and related attribute data. COBie, the internationally recognized open-standard format for the exchange of building asset information, makes it easier to capture building project data and has already been adopted by several federal agencies in their construction submittal requirements. The COBie Challenge at NFMT allows software companies to demonstrate the simplicity of consuming facility management handover information provided at or before occupancy of a new or renovated facility in real time. The challenge included live demonstrations and case studies by vendors of construction and asset management applications, including FM:Systems, who demonstrated how to use building information modeling (BIM) data to solve real-world facility management challenges. “COBie is a powerful framework for sharing building information,” said Marty Chobot, vice president product management and strategic alliances, FM:Systems. “Providing integrations with open standards like COBie helps our customers access building data from a broad range of sources.”

FM:Systems Helps Harvard Pilgrim Reduce Costs and Increase Productivity

Today we announced some customer news; FM:Interact is enabling Harvard Pilgrim Health Care to effectively track, analyze and report facilities information to improve operational effectiveness and minimize costs.

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is a full-service health benefits company serving members throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. The facilities team needed a better way to track space use for the organization to help cut operating costs. With more than 700,000 square feet managed by the facilities department, previous space management products either lacked functionality or weren’t flexible enough to integrate with other systems already in use.

In selecting FM:Systems, Harvard Pilgrim found a robust solution with a user-friendly interface and comprehensive data collection, tracking, and reporting capabilities, and they’ve been able to cut costs by consolidating unused space. Previously manual processes like onboarding and maintenance requests are now entered in the system, enabling internal resources to be allotted to more strategic projects like ergonomics and work station evaluations. Having data centralized for quick access and reporting helps departments communicate and work together more effectively. “We’ve really been able to streamline and simplify the way we do business,” said James Connolly, facilities manager, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. “Where we used to have disparate, manual processes, FM:Systems has made us more efficient by integrating our lease information, move and service requests, and work orders into one. We’re realizing savings in time and resources and have been able to manage churn more effectively.”

“It’s always exciting to see customers maximizing the potential of FM:Interact and using the system to make a big impact in their organization,” said Kurt von Koch, vice president of sales and marketing for FM:Systems. “Harvard Pilgrim is a great example of how FM:Interact can help organizations cut costs, improve productivity and increase internal communications.”

Advanced Spatial Technologies to deliver FM:Systems lifecycle BIM solution in Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific

The January/February 2012 issue of IFMA's Facility Management Journal highlights some international news from FM:Systems and partner, Advanced Spatial Technologies (ASt).

Autodesk, Inc., a leader in 2-D and 3-D design, engineering and entertainment software for the manufacturing, building, construction, media and entertainment markets, announced it has selected FM:Systems, a leading provider of integrated workplace management systems and computer-aided facility management software, and Advanced Spatial technologies Pty Ltd (ASt), an FM:Systems solution provider, to provide integrated building information modeling (BIM) and facility management solutions across Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific.

As Autodesk’s Preferred Industry Partner for facility management, FM:Systems has demonstrated leadership in the integration of building information modeling and facility management solutions.

Building upon a shared goal to bring the benefits of BIM to the operations phases of a building’s lifecycle, the two companies work together to integrate BIM data from Autodesk software products, such as Autodesk Revit Architecture, with FM:Systems facilities software to support enhanced building operations and maintenance.

Autodesk in Australia recently recognized Advanced Spatial technologies Pty Ltd as a preferred industry partner for facility management solutions in the Australia and New Zealand region. ASt, an FM:Systems international business partner, has been delivering FM:Systems software solutions and Autodesk AEC solutions in Australia and Asia-Pacific since 1995.

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