Fixed Asset Management System for Facilities Managers

Access to a reliable fixed asset management system is vital for any facility manager. The facilities management industry was wholeheartedly embracing technological advancement before the COVID-19 crisis. Now, with companies across the board seeking to trim waste and minimize expenditures, a fixed asset management system may be even more critical for facilities management.

Keeping Costs Under Control

Back in November, McKinsey issued a report entitled “Six emerging trends in facilities management sourcing” in which authors Sourav Das Adhikari, Steve Hoffman and Britta Lietke stated that “for companies with distributed operations – retailers, manufacturers, transportation and logistics – facilities management can represent 10 to 25 percent of total indirect spending.” Even in late 2019 before the virus negatively impacted our global economy, companies were considering how to cut costs due to several factors including fear of a recession. Subsequently, some were taking a look at facilities management as an area of opportunity for reductions. However, “business leaders must strike a tricky balance to reduce non-core costs without affecting the performance of core operations,” the authors advise. One strategy for keeping expenditures under control while improving productivity in facilities management, they add, is outsourcing. A fixed asset management system may enable them to do just that.

Streamlining the Facility Manager's Job

A facilities manager’s job is varied and substantial, including such responsibilities as compliance, sustainability, risk management, and the preservation of operational efficiency and security. Keeping manual records on these details and more for multiple fixed assets in multiple locations is a daunting task, not to mention a potentially error-prone one. Automation promotes accuracy and allows facilities managers to focus on other priorities instead of putting out fires or hunting down information. A fixed asset management system compiles all of the data supporting every asset in the facility manager’s realm and stores it in a single and secure location accessible around the clock to all stakeholders.

One of the biggest benefits of a fixed asset management system is the ability of facilities managers to stay on top of asset maintenance proactively. Perhaps now more than ever, companies want their equipment and fixed assets to last as long as possible. To be successful in that endeavor, they need to shift away from reactive repairs and into a more proactive style of equipment management. In other words, they need to incorporate routine inspections into their practices. Based on knowledge gleaned from those routine inspections, they can make informed predictions as to when maintenance should be performed and then set up custom reminders to do that through a fixed asset management system. Equipment that is regularly inspected and properly maintained will enjoy a longer useful life.

Predictive Maintenance

Ultimately, as companies in nearly every industry move toward a more connected reality through the Internet of Things, we’ll see greater adoption of predictive maintenance, says blogger Jeff O’Brien; “rather than performing routine calendar-based inspections and component replacement, predictive techniques monitor equipment for pending failures and notify you when a part replacement is required. When a predictive maintenance strategy is working effectively, maintenance is only performed on machines when it is required, thus reducing the parts and labor costs associated with replacements.”

Asset Panda’s fixed asset management system offers facilities managers a configurable and mobile solution for managing the entire lifecycle of their equipment. Our platform is intuitive and flexible, making it easy to incorporate new technologies as they become available.