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'Pen and Paper' management of buildings can lead to chaos and increased costs.

 
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2 Mar 2007

A leading provider of facilities management solutions in the Middle East has advised that relying on plain old pen and paper records to manage buildings and facilities can lead to chaos and spiralling costs.

FSI FM Solutions Middle East says that entrusting the job to a sophisticated computer system, known as computer aided facilities management (CAFM), can save 15 to 25 per cent in management costs each year by ensuring that operations run like clockwork.

Andre Kievit, the company's head of operations, gave a presentation entitled 'When Chaos Starts' at a recent meeting of the newly-formed Facilities Management Business Group in Dubai. He highlighted the potential dangers facing building and maintenance managers of relying on paper records, such as missing planned maintenance jobs and failing to respond to help desk calls.

'Pen and Paper' management of buildings can lead to chaos and increased costs.

FSI is owner and developer of a range of CAFM software called Concept TM which is now used by clients around the world. The software delivers vital information to professionals responsible for managing buildings, services and assets. Its vast range of capabilities include flagging up equipment that has broken down, keeping track of maintenance schedules, booking meeting rooms, allocating car parking spaces to visitors and guiding help desk staff on how to deal with maintenance calls.

The company, which has offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, will be demonstrating its ConceptTM range at FM EXPO, taking place from June 3 - 5 at Dubai International Exhibition Centre. The event, organised by Streamline Marketing Group, is now in its second year and is the first exhibition in the region to be dedicated to facilities management.

"Every company using a pen and paper system will benefit from installing CAFM software. The closer you can control a facility's environment, the better your performance will be, resulting in higher turnover and lower maintenance costs," said Kievit. "There is a great future for CAFM in the Middle East. Companies responsible for managing buildings, from residential developments, commercial towers and hotels to factories and hospitals, are becoming more and more aware of its benefits."

FSI originated in the UK and entered the local market in 2002. Since then its local client list has grown from 2 to 32 with Abu Dhabi Mall, oil and gas producer Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO) and Abu Dhabi's Millennium Hotel among its customers.

The Concept system is also installed in 25 Hilton hotels throughout the region including Hilton Dubai Creek, Hilton Dubai Jumeirah, the Hilton Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and the Hilton Kuwait. The company's relationship with the Hilton chain began when a member of FSI's management team stayed at the Hilton Baynunah in Abu Dhabi and noticed that its engineering staff were still using a basic pen and paper system to keep track of their planned preventative maintenance.

FSI now has plans to expand its business throughout Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Jordan over the coming year and sees its participation in FM EXPO 2007 as vital in achieving this. The company has also organised an event in association with FM EXPO designed to explore the benefits of proper facilities management to companies' bottom line results. 'Tune in to FM' takes place on March 7 at the Millennium Hotel, Abu Dhabi and features a range of speakers from the FM arena.

Andre Kievit said: "At FM EXPO 2006 we exhibited jointly with a partner company and this generated a number of business leads. This year we will have our own stand to promote our expanding presence within the Middle East and expect to attract even more visitors. The event's success reflects the fact that stakeholders in the region are recognising the importance of managing real estate properly. This creates an enormous growth potential over the next 10 years for the facilities management industry as a whole."

FM EXPO takes place alongside the Hotel Show, Office and InRetail exhibitions and is set to be more than double the size of last year's event. Features new for 2007 include a Supplier's Zone, a dedicated section for companies that supply products and services to FM practitioners, and a demonstration area where exhibitors can showcase new FM technology.



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