We believe that we have something in common with you. We all want to optimise your company’s facility management. So we feel it’s our responsibility to warn you of 5 facility management mistakes that you might be overlooking… and that might be casting a cloud over your ability as a manager. Let’s take a look, shall we? 

1. Not using appropriate software

Nobody likes arrogance! So we will try not to blow our trumpet here…  However, be it Infraspeak or another CMMS, staying in the past and resisting customisable maintenance software is a fatal mistake. Not only because these software solutions help to keep your schedule organised, but also because it provides you with reports and data about the entire assembly line. Which brings us to…

2. Not basing your decisions on hard data

One of the biggest facility management mistakes is to base your decisions on your intuition or on your experience. With the help of the appropriate software, you can control your inventory in real-time, track each work order and monitor trends. Together with various maintenance indicators, you can improve management on the basis of hard data and avoid making awkward ‘guesstimates’

3. Not controlling your inventory

We can’t stress this enough: you need organised information in real-time. Not tracking your inventory is an unforgivable facility management mistake that invariably translates into long repair times. This in turn, translates into huge costs with emergency shipments, huge breakdown times, profit loss etc. We think you have heard enough. 

4. Disregarding employee input

In order for you to have a good understanding of what is going on with your employees and their daily tasks, you are, surprise surprise, reliant on the information that they provide you. For this reason, you need to make sure you promote a company culture of trust and mutual support so that your employees feel comfortable speaking to you. You do not want a scenario like ‘Mourinho at Manchester United’… 

5. Separating preventive maintenance from predictive maintenance

This is still a controversial issue: should you invest in preventive maintenance or in predictive maintenance? The biggest mistake maintenance managers make starts right here. It’s not a question of one or the other: they go hand in hand. Prepare a maintenance plan that integrates both and evaluate which solution provides the best cost-benefit for different equipment.