ASSET MANAGEMENT AND FACILITY MANAGEMEN IN CONTEXT: SYNERGIES, DIFFERENCES AND GAPS IN PRACTICE
Chapter 1 Introduction
In light of the growing demands of end users for more functional and more effective physical infrastructures, the built environment industry is confronted with various challenges. The built environment refers to a man-made surrounding that purports human activities. As such, the necessity for quality built environment requires that the management of facility must conform to a framework which is holistic in nature. The two most celebrated subjects when it comes to built environment are asset management and facility management. Since asset management is considerably a broad aspect, the paper focuses on infrastructure asset management and facility management. The fundamentals, the connections and the differences as well as real life examples are provided in this document.
Chapter 2 Literature Review
The Fundamentals of Asset Management
Evolution
Asset management is a pluralistic concept where it exists differently in various context; finance, enterprise and engineering, that is industry-specific. Tracing the evolution of asset management then is difficult, thereby necessitating to focus on a particular context, at least for this paper, which is the engineering asset management. According to the Asset Management Council, engineering asset management has been one of the important contributors to corporate productivity and good governance, leading to the growing importance of such from both private and public perspectives from a decade ago (AMC). An offshoot of this still broad category is what came to be known as infrastructure asset management which mainly deals with infrastructure assets. Providing customers with quality ‘infrastructure’ services to enhance satisfaction as well as governance and its accountability, risk management and financial efficiency in sustainable way are the main objectives of infrastructure asset management (Too and Tay 2008; Roohanirad 2002).
In Australia, the term ‘asset management’ was first integrated in the Australian Accounting Standard Board’s issuance of the Australian Accounting Standard 27 in 1993. In relation to construction, design and facilities, however, infrastructure asset management is a relatively new concept. Nonetheless, the life cycle of the physical asset reveals the necessity to evaluate the whole life cycle approach if it means to maximise utilisation thereby the benefits of the physical asset. Infrastructure asset management increasingly becomes an important endeavor on the investment decision-making. It also appears more apparent that asset management could be treated as a strategy that accounts the long-term outlook of the infrastructure performance and cost. Sustainability was perceived to be the key and that the necessity for a more systematic approach is evident (Too and Tay 2008, pp. 950-951).
Definition and Scope
The term asset management is both strategic and tactical in nature. Depending on the orientation, however, the concept of asset management in engineering, design and construction emerged just recently as a holistic strategy in managing the physical asset’s life cycle for the purpose of achieving lowest costs and maximising returns. Though there is no universally-acceptable definition of asset management, the paper will consolidate the definitions provided by the CRC for Integrated Engineering Asset Management and the Austroads. As a systematic process, asset management refers to the organisation, planning, maintenance, improvement, control and disposal of physical assets in as much as possible ‘risk-proof’, cost-effective manner but not sacrificing the quality of outputs. Such comprehensive and structured approach purports optimisation of service delivery towards communal benefits in long-term. This will be considered as the working definition for this paper.
Based on infrastructure asset management as a more specific realm, there are four scopes as operational and strategic, resource and function. Asset as a function deals with the improvement of infrastructure asset to prevent failure, manifesting that assets must be reliable and in optimum condition. The functionality of the asset must be also within an asset management system support. Making this asset a strategic endeavor, apart from being functional, the performance of assets must be on the basis of long term wherein value could be maintained. Asset as a business resource, asset management links with achieving organisational productivity and quality enhancements. Process responsibilities are addressed as a value-adding undertaking (Too and Tay 2008, pp. 953-954).
The community benefits delivery facilitates accessibility, mobility, economic development and social justice, as made possible by the collective purpose of the elements of asset management. According to Austroads, asset management has three main elements: strategic planning process, actions and performance feedback. These elements are further divided into seven phases which includes definition of objectives, formulation of asset strategies, development of investment program, identification of asset requirement, implementation of work program, audit and review. As such, the process of asset management basically follows the identification of the necessity for the asset based on the community requirements, the provision of the asset which consists of the ongoing maintenance and rehabilitation when the needs arise, the operation of the asset and the disposal of the asset when it no longer serves it purpose as the need no longer exists or whenever a more beneficial asset would replace such.
Principles
With the combination of engineering principles and analytical tools as well as sound business processes and knowledge-based decision-making at its core, inherent to asset management are customer focused ideals, mission driven goals and system oriented performance as the guiding principles. Through asset management also, long-term outlooks and long-term and user-friendly facilities are feasible. Expectantly, asset management systems embrace strategic goal-setting, effective inventory and valuation of assets, reliable performance-prediction capabilities and utilisable outputs. Asset management also considers quantitative condition and performance measures and integration of individual management systems as well as the qualitative issues and the budget process. Important to asset management is the measure of how well goals are being met that impacts program quality, system performance and end-users expectations (Asset Management Primer 1999, pp. 7-9).
Example
In managing physical assets, there are many risks associated with it. Like in the case of Powercor, an electricity distributor, wherein the operation is always subjected to the risks imposed by external forces. Electricity assets could cause a major bushfire which is one of the major risks for electricity distributors, especially in a place where the geographical environment could exacerbate the already extreme condition. The distribution area of Powercor occupies 66% of Victoria and 54% of the assets are located in high fire hazard areas. A high bushfire risk for the residents of Victoria is inescapable, calling for the establishment of effective risk management and asset management systems in place. As such, could be started by own Powercor assets or by external sources. What the company did is assist other distributors in the area in order to reduce fire ignitions. Fire combatant agencies are also in full alert especially during hot season. Bushfire mitigation is also supported by the asset management strategy and model that underpins the 163 asset maintenance policies. Such policies are developed using reliability centered maintenance method so that maintenance and asset inspections costs could be reduced while also maintaining improved risk profiling within the area. Powercor, in addition, integrates a plant maintenance module in SAP which performs works and asset management functions (Skelton, n.d.).
Methodologies
Provided that asset management is also a data-intensive process, there demand for various tools in acquiring data to maximise its utility is critical. Information-based decision-making is so important for physical asset management. There are several methods that asset managers could choose from: analytical tools, engineering economic analysis, forecasting tools and group decision-making analytical methods (Asset Management Primer, pp. 24-25). Firstly, engineering models, along with economic and behavioral models, are pivotal for asset management. Analytical tools in asset management relate investments strategies to the performance of the system in order to maximise benefits and reduce costs. Through analytical methods, there is high feasibility to determine the impact that the condition and performance of the physical asset to the user and vice versa via engineering and economic-based “what-if’ analyses.
Secondly, engineering economic analysis facilitates physical asset investment in which the relative economic efficiency levels are at the core. This kind of asset management method also uses analytical tools since the basic rationale is to evaluate costs over the life of each physical asset investment. Through this method, they could identify the best option for establishing performance objectives at the least possible long-term costs as well as quantifying the risks for the strategy to be implemented or had already implemented. Life cycle cost analysis, benefit/cost analysis, optimisation and prioritisation and risk analysis are the examples of engineering economic analysis methods. During post-rehabilitation, performance prediction model are also being used to determine the future performance of the asset (Falls, Haas and Tighe 2005).
Third, forecasting tools are considered vital for asset management because of the fact that physical asset impacts future use. Forecasting tools are very important in relating future investment levels with future condition and performance. Further, forecasting tools assist in evaluating the impact of inadequacies in routine maintenance and deferred capital maintenance, for instance. Artificial neural networks and multiple regression model are the most utilised forecasting methods which provides framework in handling short and long-term planning of maintenance and rehabilitation of physical assets (Lee, Chung and Oh 2003).
Finally, in cases that there is a portfolio of proposed physical asset investments which could eventually lead to competition among assets and within modes, integrated systems approach are applied. Group decision-making embedded on analytical methods is one of these, whereby objective tools are used to assist the decision-making process. Creating a win-win situation is the main aim of these methods.
The fundamentals of Facility Management
Evolution
At the point of completion of an architectural project as well as its initial occupation, the role of the architects and engineers had been concluded also; but for the architectural object itself, at that similar point, the lifecycle begins. As Devetakovic and Radojevic (2007) put it, “the way an architectural object will be used, maintained, altered, renovated and finally destroyed and recycled often exceeds the interest and consciousness of architectural designers” and its original design documentation. The result of the exploitation of the architectural object explains the very different look and function after several years. As such, the lack of maintenance concept, ignorant behaviours of local users, application of important materials are just some of the emergence dilemmas the architectural experience during the period of exploitation. Such circumstance points to the fact that the responsibility of sustaining the object does not stop after inauguration, perhaps, an ongoing maintenance; that is, facility management.
Definition and Scope
Dubbed as the ‘built environment, facility management generally refers to the management of public and private facilities, encompassing all the fabrics and services of such facility. Take note that the word used herein is the term ‘facilities’ and not ‘building’; this is because the writer believes that the term facility is an all-encompassing term. The services that facility management regarded to are divided into two categories namely hard services and soft services. According to Marsh (2000, p. 211), hard services cover the maintenance of the facility while soft services are inclined on ‘housekeeping’ functions such as cleaning and security. Per se, the facility management function is an important element in the lifecycle of the facility aside from its plan, design, construction and commissioning.
The International Association of Facility Managers, facility management is a profession that takes in multiple disciples for the process of ensuring functionality of the built environment by means of integrating people, process, place and technology. As what the Facility Management Association of Australia states, maintaining the efficiency of the ‘built environment’ is the primary goal of facility management. Through the integration of the elements identified, facility management is also responsible in ensuring that service are delivered in productive and profitable manner and in reducing the impact of use of the facilities thereby minimising the life cycle costs while also keeping key administrative and technical services to sustain the efficient performance of the facility (FMA).
Barrett and Baldry (2003) assert that there are five models of facility management. Facility management differs from organisation to organisation due to the fact the need for facility management arise depending on the particular needs of the organisation. Focusing primarily on location, these models include office manager, single site, localised site, multiple site and international. In the first model, facility management is not regarded as a distinct function within the organisation and delegated as an officer manager’s duty. This is because the operation nestled in one infrastructure which may be too small to warrant a requirement for facility manager. The activities concerning the management of the facility is basically reactive than proactive. The single site model applies to an organisation large enough to accommodate a facility management department, but is located in a single site. The third model applies to organisations with facilities on more than one site but within a specific area. Decentralisation principle is a key element of this model. The multiple site model is just like the localised models, only that the infrastructures are disseminated across geographic boundaries and territories. Finally, the international model, however, applies to large international organisations (pp. 4-9).
As Cotts (1999) puts it, there are several functions and subfunctions intended for facility management, and integrate the principles of business administration, architecture and behavioural sciences. The common functions of facility management include management of the organisation; facility planning and forecasting; lease administration; space planning, allocation and management, architectural/engineering planning and design; workplace planning, allocation and management; budgeting, accounting and economic justification; real estate acquisition and disposal; construction project management; alteration, innovation and workplace installation; operations, maintenance and repair; telecommunications, data communications, wire and network management; security and life-safety management and general administrative services.
Principles
Based on the report provided by JL Associates (2002), the principles governing facility management are divided into four kinds: planning, design, technology and business. Initially, facility management plans must be established which purports on attending to the ongoing support and operations requirements of the facilities. Addressing the strategic issues and the necessary action plans are the objective of making facility management plans strategic. As such, plans should incorporate initiatives and constraints from the internal environment while also learning opportunities and how to reduce errors from the external environment. The review of the current asset base could point out the mistakes of the past, needs of the future and opportunities to reuse instead of building a new one. In addition, these plans include the determination of the vision, how to achieve that vision and provide inputs on the outcome of the facility management plan. The report states that plans that allow for creative input means to move further than normal expectations. Quantifiable and/or qualitative measures to establish performance expectations and analysis of the various components, recurrent and capital costs are other factors for effective facility management strategic plans.
Design principles, consequently, comprise of access, environment, flexibility, future, fit and management. In terms of access, facilities must be designed with ease of accessibility to users of varying capabilities, making it as environmentally-friendly, sustainable, safe and comfortable as much as possible. Facilities to o must be adaptable and flexible for multiple purposes and should accommodate future changing needs. The facilities also should be manageable in a way that it will support flexible uses and match with the user needs; while at it, facilities have to be a part of a community where it resides.
Next, adequacy, functional, interoperability, priority, reliability and value adding are the technology principles of facility management. These are very particular with computer-aided facility management wherein information and communication technology systems must be adequate and must function to support the activities and needs of the users of the facility. Based on the plan, the systems must be appropriately deployed and be reliable since it will be a value adding process for service delivery and community development. Minus the degradation of the facility itself, the facility must maximise the potential of interoperating with other institutes.
Finally, on business matters, facility management must be guided by the following areas: asset management, outsourcing, control, coordination, ownership, partnership, staffing and utilisation. The report sets forth that complex assets and the management of facilities must be professionally performed since it require that standard good practice in maintenance, acquisition plans and disposal plans must be incorporated. The rationale behind this is the fact that controlling assets and facilities is a shared responsibility and it can be even be shared across wider sectors. To evolve to meet the challenges imposed by environment, facility management must take into account ways to extend and improve and distribute responsibilities. Outsourcing could be considered if it will reduce costs and increase flexibility. An example of responsibility sharing and outsourcing is in the form of staffing wherein the proper selection and professional development are prioritised.
Example
QUT Facilities Management is an example of a localised site model. The population of the school is approximately 40, 000 students with 3, 700 staff. QUT has three campuses residing in 70 hectares and research facilities and four other sites. QUT is committed in providing quality infrastructure and campus services, cost-effectively. The University has its own Facilities Management Department. In maintaining the functionality of the facilities, there are 220 staff who provides for bookshops and catering services, capital works, major projects operators, campus services and security. Notably, the facility management endeavor in the place combines both hard and soft services which serve as the main functions of the department (FMD Website 2008).
Methodologies
Among the most commonly used engineering models are Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) and/or Failure Mode Effects Criticality Analysis (FMECA). The former is a qualitative method utilised when configuration information are non-existent and the latter is a quantitative method which determines the probable failure rate. In was argued that the latter is an offshoot from the former though FMEA is still being used in the field. Contemplating on criticality emerge when engineers recognise the greater need for a systematic way of determining how to mitigate faults and failures and how they could likely to develop maintenance strategies while also ensuring reliability.
Reliability predictions and risk evaluation approach serves the purposes of upholding quality characteristics while also failure pattern and maximising return on investment. Reliability prediction describes the process used in estimating the constant failure rate during the useful life of a product (Reliability 2005, p. 5). Risks, in addition, must be classified as fatality, environment, property or business, and as economic, legal, technical, image, organisational or survivability in order to distinguish the most appropriate solutions. RAM or Reliability, Availability and Maintainability analysis is used especially that the measures on operational time and down time, appreciation and depreciation of equipments and repair time are critical. Fault tree analysis and event tree analysis are also used in order to determine the likely occurrence of faults and event outcomes that serves as threat to either reliability or maintainability or both.
Chapter 3 Methods and Procedures
The research was approached in a descriptive manner. A descriptive research intends to present facts concerning the nature and status of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study and to describe present conditions, events or systems. As descriptive also, the study concerns the relationships and practices that exist, beliefs and processes that are ongoing, effects that are being felt, or trends that are developing.
Majority of the research will be secondary. The literature reviews to be presented in the second chapter of the study will represent the secondary data of the study. For this research, the researcher, after gathering the relevant data needed, will collate them together then afterwards render a critical analysis on the collected documents and materials.
Aside from gathering empirical data, comparative contextual analysis of the literature will be adopted. Comparative contextual analysis refers to the method of comparative research whereby contextual analysis of similarities and differences is possible.
Chapter 4 Discussion of Synergies and Differences
The interplay between Asset Management and Facility Management
Philosophies
The subjectivity of the term asset management configures that it is indeed broad in scope. Depending on the context to which it will be applied, asset management could be further subdivided thereby construction asset management. From a personal viewpoint, what will be of a very similar aspect are infrastructure asset management, as an outgrowth of construction asset management, and facility management. The implications are the multidisciplinary practice that seeks integration in order to achieve certain outcomes and the specific sustainability requirement. These disciplines are integrated built environments which both emerged from various philosophies of optimising resources for the management of the facilities, dealing with increased user expectations, responding to failures, dealing with aging of and issues of renewing and coping with emerging scenarios that the international environment impose (Shah, Tan and Kumar n.d.; Nutt and McLennan 2001, p. 27).
The sustainability of this built environment, essentially, does not only take into accounts for the quality of life of the end users but also on the quality of life of the physical infrastructure, which could in return affect the functionality and effectiveness and influences the expectations and benefits to the end users in so doing. The first philosophy of infrastructure asset management and facility management is the life cycle philosophy. The philosophy of life cycle engineering highlights that the entire life of the product should be considered in its original design. Life cycle entails the infrastructure life cycle concept, technology life cycle forecasting and engineering depreciation (Dieter 1991).
As both are endeavors to leverage sustainable community developments, infrastructure asset management and facility management are responsive for the demands for effective and functional physical infrastructures. Perceived as the user- and use-centered philosophy, infrastructure asset management and facility management focus on the needs, wants, and limitations of the end user of the physical object as well as with the goals and tasks associated with the use of that physical object.
Nevertheless, the two concepts are both deliberated as a decision-making framework that is entrenched on the principles of sound business conduct as well as architectural, engineering and behavioural aspects. The delivery of services on communal basis ensures that within various settings there are reliable physical infrastructures that could provide end users of varied capabilities with the maximum benefits of utilisation in long-term, which will be regarded as the Taguchi approach philosophy. Taguchi approach in engineering implies that the quality of the product and product’s performance can result in poor quality and monetary losses within the entire life of the physical object (Eiklenborg et al n.d.).
In optimising the service delivery, within the robust framework and management plan, there is also the necessity to minimise the related risks and costs over the entire life of the asset or the facility (Infrastructure Asset Management 2007). This philosophy is known as the safety culture philosophy whereby attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and values of the involved stakeholders and the way values are shared in relation to safety are the main focus (Hollnagel, Woods and Leveson 2006, p. 229).
While the physical infrastructures are obliging to the requirements of the communities, the communities in return have obligations to these physical infrastructures. Therefore, the necessity of integrating the human resource on the infrastructure asset management and facility management frameworks. The greater interrelationship between the two concepts directs on community strengthening and people empowerment (McShane 2006). For McLellan (2006), such philosophy was hailed as the sustainable design philosophy. Such philosophy of sustainable design purports on providing solutions that maximise the quality of the built environment while minimizing or eliminating negative environmental impact (p. 114). Sustainable engineering was perceived to be a pre-requisite for sustainable development wherein the built environment community and practitioners concerns the benefit for both the country and the people (Botha 2002).
The differences between Asset Management and Facility Management
How infrastructure assets and facilities are being managed
How infrastructure assets and facilities are being managed is the ample difference between the two. On the one hand, the infrastructure asset management conforms to Standards of Services (SoS), system preservation (sustain SoS) and Capacity Expansion (Change SoS). SoS serves as the foundation of infrastructure asset management wherein the objectives and measurable terms are outlined in addition how the asset should perform within an appropriate minimum condition grade and what should be done in case of asset failure. Sustain SoS and Change SoS are the set of actions in sustaining or delivering services based on agreed standard of service cost-effectively and the framework of making strategic choices and improvements of the standards of services (Hefly and Murphy 2008).
Sustain SoS is comprised of four strategies and Change SoS has three strategies. The whole-life cost approach, asset management plan and prioritised capital planning are examples of the management systems for the former whereas asset portfolio strategy and improvement project management are the examples of the latter. Also known as the total cost or ownership or life cycle cost, whole-life cost approach deals with the management of assets through individual interventions. Asset management planning purports on achieving strategic objectives and prioritised capital planning refers to ‘comes off the top’ for budgeting purposes. Asset portfolio strategy requires that the need for service is real and with feasible long term costs. When consultation with stakeholders enters the picture, this is known as the improvement project management.
For the management of the facility, systems involve premises management, condition and performance, preventive maintenance, strategic facilities management and six-part facilities management (Alexander 2003; Leyenberger and Steven 1993). Premises management focuses on premises policy, planned maintenance and total control. Condition and performance is a task of assigning assets a condition rating and track performance characteristics. Preventive maintenance is more focus on schedules of work orders over the administration of the facility. A proactive approach of maintaining the quality of the facilities throughout the exploitation period is the strategic facility management (Varcoe 1992) and the six-part facilities management refers to the duty of assessing the condition of facilities based on the budgets for operations, maintenance, code and access, upgrades and capacity expansion.
Based on the given management methodologies, an imperative assumption is that infrastructure asset management is more on reliability and facility management is on maintainability. Asset management is the process wherein the possibility of maximising the value of a specific physical object starting from its acquisition to disposition within a realistic set of objectives. As such, the goal is to optimise asset use while also making assets reliable and efficient through services standards, as taken from all the directions possible including the voice of stakeholders. Facilities management focuses more on coordinating the physical object with the people in order to create an optimum functioning environment. That is, facilities management deals with an already completed project.
How software systems are used in the management of infrastructure assets and facilities
When it comes to technologies, there are general purpose software and asset specific software that asset managers employ. The former offers generic functionality and are needed to be customised and adapted for specific data and work processes depending on the specific classes of assets. The latter, on the other hand, provides built-in data models and processes in order to assist the management of a specific asset or a class of specific asset.
General purpose software uses Relational Database Management System (RDBMS), such as ORACLE database, equipped with data management, work management, scheduling and procurement as well as data import/export options and the capability of interfacing with other software such as CAD, GIS and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System. However, these softwares are not widely used because of large installation requirement and high start-up costs, and also requires experts to install, operate and maintain.
Implementing specific data and process management procedures is the function of asset-specific softwares, which are commonly used to support the RDBMS for asset inventory database and provide built-in GIS. Asset-specific softwares are used for managing assets such as pavement, water distribution systems, sanitary and storm sewers among others (Halfawy, Newton and Vanier 2006, p. 212).
MAXIMO is one among the several software solutions which offers comprehensive asset management solutions. IBM Maximo Asset Management, Computerised Maintenance Management Software (CMMS) and Spatial Asset Management are the leading software products whereby the former provides for all-inclusive support for managing the asset, the second supports the maintenance functions ranging from tracking work orders, requests for on-demand maintenance, scheduling of preventive maintenance and management of the asset resources and the third is intended on enabling users to capture, analyse and display assets, location and work orders. AutoCAD is an industry standard software which allows complete personalisation of functions or supplement third party software in order to meet the specific needs of the asset. TRIRIGA is the next solution provider that offers construction project management software (CPMS), purporting management of risks, improving collaboration and efficient reporting system (Computerised Facility Integration 2008; IBM website 2008).
Ensuring the functionality of the built environment, facility managers incorporate two approaches when it comes to IT, people, place and process integration: building information models (BIM) and industry foundation classes (IFC). As depicted by accurate three-dimensional geometry, BIM grants the integration of digital description of the physical object. The attributes of BIM conceives the definition of the details via its robust geometrical measures, extensibility of object property definition and meaning in semantic fashion, integrated information and life cycle support. Mitchell and Schevers (2006) suggest that using BIM models in managing facilities will advent them on acquiring the consistency in the data, in-built model intelligence including intelligent queries and support for other intelligent programs such as CAD and ORACLE.
Moreover, IFC outgrew from BIM and is based on ISO standard, allowing interoperability between and among multiple application softwares. As a standard itself (ISO PAS 16739), IFC supports specific layers consisting of resources – fundamental concepts, kernel – global concepts, extensions – resources specialisation, shared elements – domain-oriented concepts and domains – the model utilised. The benefits of using IFC are the easiness of collaborating with compliant and third party software thereby lenience with exchange of information, reduced use ‘lock in’ and for archival purposes.
Computer Aided Facility Management (CAFM) and Computer Integrated Facility Management (CIFM) are the two most common facility management softwares. Other commercially available softwares are Vizelia, Ryhti, Rambyg and ActiveFacility. CAFM and CIFM provide a single yet comprehensive storage of information which tracks people, places and physical object. Vizelia software optimises workplace information, technical management and real-time reporting. Ryhti, a module-based software, applies on the management of buildings based on facilities, technical systems, equipment, people and documents databases. Rambyg originated from Denmark and is used during the life cycle of the physical object in terms of operation and maintenance. Another software that serves the entire lifetime of the physical infrastructure is the ActiveFacility, a server that manages all the building data (Mitchell and Schevers 2006).
While all these softwares are integrated because they can improve return on investments, decrease costs and risk, increase productivity and improve decision-making, these software have own features and benefits that could either refute or collaborate with other compliant and third party softwares. For instance, the Maximo softwares, while the asset management software provides for the asset lifecycle and maintenance management, CMMS is distinct on data analysis, reporting, scheduling maintenance functions and tracking inventory whereas Spatial Software are equipped with GIS functions for spatially enabled work orders, work requests, assets and locations. Simply, asset management software could be utilised on all the stages of building physical assets while the other two are mainly used on specific stages.
Features of CPMS include internet-based architecture, centralised data and project reporting. Because it is internet-based, there is the inherent possibility of 24/7 access, guaranteeing that team members have access both internally and externally to project documents and improving collaboration by doing so. Electronic documents, in addition, could be easily retrieved but the problem with storing might emerge. The centralisation of data, nonetheless, could eliminate multiple logins and reduce legal discoveries while creating easiness in tracking and uploading reference files and creating easy project reporting. AutoCAD, on the other hand, is mostly used in the designing stage and the maintenance stage for GIS-ready reporting (Computerised Facility Integration 2008).
CIFM and CAFM, conversely, are more focused on reducing the inefficiencies of the facilities management team because it supports functions including lease management, strategic planning, space planning, space forecasting, move management and asset tracking while delivering bottom-line results as well. Ryhti and Rambyg are both employed in the management of the building. The only difference is that the former is an open structure database wherein customisation is possible while the latter is developed for the entire lifecycle of the facility. Same with ActiveFacility which is also used throughout the existence of the facility; however, ActiveFacility could be also customised depending on the requirement of the facility (Mitchell and Schevers 2006).
In sum, if we are going to classify the softwares identified based on its implementation, AutoCAD will come first, followed by CPMS and Spatial Asset Management. Vizelia and ActiveFacility fall under the same category of management of facility data and reporting functions, with Ryhti as another function-specific software because of modular feature. However, ActiveFacility could be also considered as an all-encompassing software along with Maximo Asset Management, CAFM and CIFM and Rambyg. While all others are individually built software packages, CPMS and Rambyg are web-based, meaning accessibility and exchange of information is relatively high but could be considered as cost-inefficient.
Chapter 5 Conclusions
As a pluralistic concept, asset management was taken from a construction perspective, thus infrastructure asset management. Infrastructure asset management refers to the whole life cycle approach of managing the physical asset. Being important to decision-making, infrastructure asset management considers four scope such as strategic and operational and resource and function. Facility management, on the other hand, contains a more specific definition that goes beyond the fabrics and services such as hard and soft. Both disciplines are governed by the principles of architecture, engineering, behavioural and economic models as well as sustainable development principles.
Apart from differing in functions and processes, the two concepts also differ on how the conducts are being managed. Infrastructure asset management is being managed through a three-tier approach: standards of services (SoS), sustain SoS and change SoS while facilities are managed by means of premises management, condition and performance, preventive maintenance, strategic facilities management and six-part facilities management. Further, IT integration are evidenced by asset management software which could be either all-inclusive or function specific as Maximo Asset Management, CMMS, Spatial Asset Management, AutoCAD and CPMS. While for facilities management, commonly used softwares are CIFM or CAFM, Vizelia, Ryhti, Rambyg and ActiveFacility.
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