星空传媒

Services such as booking taxis, buying plane tickets, hiring cars, managing fleets, tracking logistics, commissioning reprographics or ordering stationery have well-developed web offerings.

Now new services are emerging 鈥� utility purchasing, maintenance and works, emergency repairs and mechanical and electrical servicing. Applications service providers (ASPs) already provide many of these services free or at cost to thousands of organisations globally.The facilities manager is losing his or her client to direct web services, and hasn't even noticed.

Most companies have introduced a snake in the facilities management grass, whether they know it or not, by promoting the use of intranets and the internet.

The ultimate facilities management customer, the individual at a desk with a telephone and a personal computer connected to the networks, has unprecedented access to outside services. For internal facilities management providers, it is death by a thousand cuts 鈥� reprographics using external image libraries, managers hiring cars online, emergency stationery that's cheaper than normal, and even outside catering.

The only way for facilities management to compete is to swim against the tide that is taking it from being a provider of integral systems towards what management writer Shiv Mathur calls 'commodity'.

If facilities management can shift its focus from the management of facilities to application service provision, then the intranet could actually help to transform the position of facilities managers within the organisation.

鈥楾here is an old joke where Noah sends two snakes out from the ark, saying 鈥済o forth and multiply鈥�. The snakes say: 鈥淲e can鈥檛, 鈥� we鈥檙e adders鈥�. This is often the response from facilities management 鈥�

To date, most facilities management intranet sites have been little more than showcases of what the department does, or directories for what it doesn't. A few have begun automating some services such as room bookings. None have started binding in their customers by becoming a full ASP.

Facilities managers must gain control of the technology and then innovate, innovate, innovate. Theirs should become the home page of choice of their customers. Some ideas that might help achieve this include the following:

• publish online up-to-date schedules of repairs and planned repairs so users know the light in the lavatory is going to be fixed
  
• show plans for building improvements and moves, including schedules of forthcoming free space
  
• schedule online complaints sessions to prepare for supplier meetings
  
• use two suppliers for competitive areas rather than one, such as taxis and encourage users to rate them. Users are given a choice while the suppliers are fed information on their performance
  
• assemble information for travellers. Use mapping software to email back taxi booking confirmation with a local map. Preregister travellers at their remote reception
  
• display print schedules and print runs in reprographics. Identify large quantities and help ensure people who may wish to add to orders have the opportunity
  
• use space and booking information to develop a facility which helps internal users find locations for outside events, away days, corporate entertainment or restaurants which suit your business
  
• measure satisfaction often, regularly and randomly. Try quick response questionnaires for heavy users and non-users. Rate the supplier(s)
  
• provide statistics and usage on the number of incoming/outgoing telephone calls people have had, how many meeting rooms booked/unbooked, visitors received, temporary staff employed per period, taxis used, repairs ordered/fulfilled, etc.

Even where an ASP is unfeasible, this mode of thinking often provides insights which lead to the development of new services.

While developing an online service for guest arrivals, one facilities manager tried tracking through-time from guests arriving at reception to meeting their intended contact.

It emerged that guests had an impression of corporate lethargy and arrogance. Measurement caused its own problems 鈥� security interfered, reception refrained from signing guests in until the intended contact was almost there and complained about persistently late hosts. Each obstacle was dealt with. Security was retrained to make helping wanted guests find their correct host their objective, and to help record actual arrival times. A list of tardy hosts was published and hosting was improved through discreet conversations with secretaries and information packs. Fully automated tracking turned out to be unfeasible, but many, problems were cleared up along the way.

It is the job of facilities management to add value. We can add value if we think of innovating to become part of our customers' integral systems. We can add value through ASPs.