A capital project is an investment that builds on or improves a capital asset. They are typically large in scale and cost and involve significant resources and planning to complete.

What is a Capital Project?

A few examples of capital projects are airport terminals, railways, and roads. In the case of a capital project for a corporation, you might see the development of a facility  instead. A corporation allocates both financial and human capital to build or maintain new assets, and it’s not unusual for these types of projects to be planned for months or even years to make sure execution is seamless.

Data Analytics

Data analytics are crucial for monitoring, analyzing, and auditing capital project costs, as such analytics can provide insights on cost and schedule performance – along with a number of other trends – no matter the capital project at hand. 

Even though data-driven management for digital capital projects is a useful tool, it’s a tool that has yet to be optimized by most organizations. Old methods are still going strong, and many industries are wary of sharing their real-time data.

The FMI Report¹  found that 95.5% of all data goes unused in engineering and construction, which can result in tremendous hidden costs for owners who often fail to consider the significant amounts of usable digital asset data that is created, used, paid for and then discarded when the project is handed over from the construction and design team.

These costs are incurred when, after their capital project is complete, those very same owners then pay to create a whole new set of identical digital asset data needed to implement asset management, work order and other key software systems relied upon to run their new facility. Therefore, they pay again for the very same data already created and left behind during the construction and design process.

Updating your organization’s network of tools and services to facilitate real-time facilities management operations sounds easy enough at a glance. However, there are so many mobile solutions available in today’s market that exploring your mobile management options can quickly become daunting. 

As such, it’s wise to step into exploring different mobile solutions with a strategy in mind. Consider the following points while searching for an enterprise mobile solution so that your company can streamline facilities management operations and invest in a service that meets your every business requirement.

#1- Unique Operational Requirements

A significant variety of mobile solutions exist in today’s market, so to condense the number of solutions to choose from, business owners need to evaluate their unique facility management needs.

For example, when searching for mobile solution offerings, determine whether your company requires the following features and whether they’re available through the management and/or maintenance operations software you’re considering:

• Data Collection & Analysis
• Real-Time Facilities Management Capabilities
• Order Management
• Vendor Management
• Asset Management
• Inventory Planning
• Maintenance Scheduling
• Work/Labor Tracking
• Document Storage/Organization

Organizations should also ensure the system provides a “Single Pane of Glass” where facility managers can view all of their smart and connected building system asset data in one place. Facilities are investing more capital than ever in smart and connected building systems, but to access this critical data, technicians and FM leadership often have to engage with multiple OEM apps to gather the appropriate information. . The best mobile solutions combine smart and connected asset data from the manufacturers and the systems themselves and allow facility managers to save time and money by combining all of this data into one easy to use information platform, eliminating the need to train staff to use multiple manufacturer platforms to extract necessary data.

#2- Integration Capabilities

Integration capabilities are critical for organizations that have already implemented a selection of programs and tools to streamline company functions. Discovering whether an enterprise mobile solution can be integrated with the current software is necessary for reducing complications and streamlining the process of adopting new programs.

#3- Support and Training

Many organizations are experiencing a “brain drain” post COVID, with large swaths of tenured staff retiring or facing leveraged buyouts to cut costs, resulting in many organizations losing critical institutional knowledge. The right mobile tool can help bridge the gap by collecting this information within the system which can then be passed down to the next generation of staff.

The timeline needed to learn how to use new software may decrease productivity in already overwhelmed workplaces, and ineffective training often leads to errors and delays. As such, training is an essential part of workplace efficiency, especially when using new tools and programs. Working with a mobile solution provider that offers support and training throughout implementation can help ensure that each user is informed about software functions and knows how to initiate each process they’re responsible for.

#4- User Interface and User-Friendliness

Even if a particular maintenance operations software covers every function your organization could ever need, implementation will not be a success if the software is too cumbersome to use. Choosing a user-friendly program with a clean interface can greatly simplify learning how to use the new software. Preventing employees and other team members from becoming overwhelmed is an ideal way to streamline information retention and avoid complications. An easy to use solution is essential because it encourages teams to more easily adopt the new technology as a natural part of their day-to-day operations.

#5- Security Measures

Finally, adequate security protocols are imperative when introducing real-time facilities management software to your organization’s network of tools. Protecting your company’s data from unauthorized access, theft, alteration, or loss helps secure the information your business depends on to function. It also simplifies security processes and frees up human resources so that employees can be dispatched to more engaging tasks.

In addition to researching solutions on your own, there’s an added benefit when providers offer product demonstrations. If you’re searching for a mobile solution to streamline your facility management operations, viewing a demo or speaking with software professionals will likely make your decision much more straightforward.

There are many different EAM systems and integrators whose implementation goals and processes vary greatly. If an organization is seeking to implement an EAM system to manage their assets, we recommend that they first define their goals for the system and clearly define what ‘success’ would look like. Whether they are seeking to increase labor efficiency and reduce overall maintenance costs, improve inventory management, develop business processes and system capabilities for the tracking and charge back of airline and tenant maintenance services, or improve health, safety, and environmental performance, there are EAM systems which can be utilized to help them more efficiently meet the needs of their organization today and in the future.

Organizational change management is one of the most important, and often challenging, aspects of replacing or implementing a new technology, but critical to the overall success of the project. The organization needs to decide that they are ready to invest in this necessary culture change and put the required resources and processes in place to help the organization through this process. The key components needed to enact this culture change include: