what it is - smart church solutions
TRANSCRIPT
C H U R C H F A C I L I T Y M A N A G E M E N T
S O F T W A R E
What It Is and
How It Can Help
Church Facility Management Software: What it is and
How it Can Help
Let’s set the scene.
You are entrusted to manage and steward an entire facility. The lights, heating and air,
maintenance, technology, planning, real estate, repairs, and many other things all fall
on you. On a Friday, you are working on fixing the leaky roof, ensuring all the bathroom
lights are working correctly, and finding someone to service your HVAC system before
the weekend hits. Feeling overwhelmed and anxious reading this? We understand.
That is a lot to handle, along with everything else you are carrying.
What if there was a simple solution to help you stay on top of everything? Well, if you
haven’t guessed by now, there is. Church facility management software is designed to
streamline processes and push toward efficient, well-oiled operations. In the following
sections, we will break down what church facility management software is, why it is
essential, and how it can help you cut back on inefficiencies.
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What is Church Facility Management Software?
First, let’s talk about what church facility management software is. Church facility
management software is a tool meant to increase the efficiency and effectiveness
of your team. Also referred to as CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management
System), church facility management software maintains a computer database of
information about an organization's maintenance operations.
Work order management software is a component within the CMMS category.
Specifically, work order management software helps manage assets and enables
practitioners to create and manage service requests and work orders. People often
believe the myth that an event scheduler can do everything a facility management
software can, which is not the case. In the following section, we will review the
key difference between the two.
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Church Event Management vs.
Church Facility Management
Often, when people refer to facility management software, they talk a lot about
scheduling and not maintenance. However, managing the use of your facility is
just a portion of what facility management requires.
Instead, facility management should encompass the daily maintenance, preventive
maintenance, asset management, life cycle planning, and other aspects related to
the management of the space, not just how it is used.
So, what exactly are the differences between church event management software
and church facility management software? In short, one only manages the use while
the other manages the physical components of the facility as well as the use. Let’s
break it down a bit further to help you understand the key differences:
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In summary, managing the events that take place in your facility is important.
However, proper facility management requires further stewardship and takes event
management a step further.
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C H U R C H FA C I L I T Y M A N A G E M E N T :
• Addressing corrective maintenance issues
• Work order management
• Planning for and implementing preventive maintenance measures
• Vendor management
• Asset and equipment management
• Life cycle planning for capital renewals
• Inventory management (consumable and repair)
C H U R C H E V E N T M A N A G E M E N T :
• Systematic planning for the use and utilization of the spaces within the facility
• Scheduling to avoid conflicts properly
• Planning the use of needed resources for events such as tables, chairs, etc.
• Addressing the setup and potential cleaning associated with said events
• Potential utilization by outside groups
Why Your Church’s Event Scheduler Should Integrate
with Your Work Order Management Tool
We have outlined the differences and similarities between event management software
and facility management software in the previous section. Now, let’s talk about why they
should coexist under the same roof.
When planning events, your facility team will most likely need to set up and teardown
various resources such as tables, chairs, projectors, coffee pots, etc. To work around
their maintenance and custodial schedules, your facility team should know what events
are taking place and when to start planning for them. One of the benefits of having
both systems integrated is creating a closure for a room based on the work being
performed. For example, in eSPACE Work Order Management, you can set closures for
different rooms or for resources that are off-limits for repairs, renovations, electrical work,
servicing, etc. I am sure you can see the benefits of limiting use and event reservations
when your facility team has critical work to be done in a space.
Another benefit of both systems integrated is creating a work order request directly for
an event. Setup and teardown teams can use this directly to assign what needs to
happen before and after an event. This feature can also be used for special requests
before and after various events, such as a deep cleaning following a high-traffic event.
Lastly, integration also allows your facility team to rent the equipment needed for
specific events and prepare for sets to be built or other physical space modifications
before events occur.
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What Churches Need to Look for in Facility
Management Software Along with system integration, there are several components to consider when vetting
facility management software. This section will review areas to consider during this
process to help narrow and clarify your search.
Ease of Use for Administrative Staff
Among your staff, multiple people will benefit from using this software. Your facility
manager or maintenance director will be utilizing it daily, but other team members
like your administrative team or someone working on production/IT can also use it.
For instance, let’s say an administrative staff member noticed a burnt-out lightbulb or
a leaky faucet. Instead of tracking down a facility manager by foot, they can input the
work order via text or email. That work order is then immediately uploaded to the facility
manager’s system to prioritize and assign as deemed appropriate. Attending to the
issue has now been streamlined, speeding up the time it will take to resolve. Plus, this
saves the administrative staff member along with the facility manager time and
headaches. Here are some images as to how easy the process should be:
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Ease of Use For Facility and Maintenance Managers
Facility management software shouldn’t be overly complicated to use. Let’s be honest.
Not everyone is tech-savvy. Therefore, your facility manager or anyone else who will
utilize the software daily should navigate the program easily.
A simple dashboard and simple user interface can go a long way when it comes
to usability. Additionally, accessing the program from several various devices will
make it much easier for anyone to use the software on an ongoing basis. Adopting
smartphones and tablets makes it almost necessary to provide a software solution
that can easily be navigated on these devices.
Ability to Track Assets and Equipment
When was the last time you serviced your HVAC unit? What was the result of your
previous roof inspection? Struggling to remember answers? Tracking your assets with
ease is another key component of facility management software. Yes, some of us are
excellent at remembering dates, numbers, and other important information. However,
human error is still bound to occur because we are, in fact, human.
Additionally, having one person accountable for all assets is a dangerous game.
What happens if that person retires and there is no record regarding your assets and
equipment? Keeping all of this information in a cloud-based software can be accessed
by anybody at any time, which will keep everyone in the loop. This is what we refer to as
the “hit by a truck” avoidance. We realize that sounds dramatic, but the reality is that
people retire, take different jobs, and the like. Having a system that has the data safely
and securely stored is prudent as you ensure the next generation of facility stewards the
resources and knowledge to be effective in their role.
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Ability to Track Inventory
Having a centralized tool to track your current inventory is a necessity for most churches.
However, an excel sheet or handwritten log might not be your best solution. Let’s say you
just changed out all filters for your HVAC units. You used 11 different filters across your
campus to do so. Now, rather than remembering to make a change to your inventory
excel sheet, facility management software can automatically deduct it from what is
currently on hand, decreasing the possibility of human error.
Effective facility management software can even take this a step further by setting
reordering thresholds. For instance, if an item falls below a certain point, you can
program your software to email you a reminder to order more. That way, you are always
on top of orders and never run out of supplies.
Associating Costs and Invoices Within Work Orders
Not only should a good facility management software help with managing external
vendors, but it should also help track costs associated with work orders. This could in-
clude external vendor costs, labor, or material, as well as the cost of your internal team.
From an administrative perspective, this is a game-changer. Rather than going through
old invoices trying to figure out payment backgrounds, everything can be tracked and
handled in one system. You can even process reports to see how much was spent on
specific items or with certain vendors in a specified time.
Keep Conversations Within the Work Order
Let’s say someone on your staff submits a work order for a burnt-out lightbulb. The
technician reviews the work order and realizes the person who submitted the work
order never specified which lightbulb was defective and where it is located.
Rather than having to track down the person who submitted the work order, your
facility management software should allow for real-time communication within
each work order.
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For instance, eSPACE offers a helpful feature called “Conversations.” This is similar to
a communication platform, like Slack, but it is within each work order. You can quickly
begin a private or public conversation with anyone on your team, including the person
who created the initial work order request. This keeps all the data and communication
in one place to make it easier to complete the work order and any future reference.
Excellent Analytics
How many days on average does it take to complete a work order? Which technician
is getting the most done? Which day of the week is typically the busiest?
All of these questions you should be able to find out with ease backed by cold, hard
data. Below are some examples of our favorite analytics in eSPACE:
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Created Work Orders
14 Work Orders
Priority
Completed Work Orders
13 Work Orders
Priority
Average Age of Completed Work Orders
3 days 13 hrs.
Based on 24 hr days
Average Time to Completed a Work Order
3 days 6 hrs.
Based on 24 hr days
Service Categories
General Maintenance & Repair (5)
Housekeeping / Janitorial (4)
HVAC, Refrigeration, Controls, etc.(1)
Appliances - Kitchen & Laundry (1)
Life Safety Issue - Fire & Safety (1)
Building Resources & Management (1)
Communications / Advertising (1)
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Excellent Analytics
Work Orders by Location
Work Orders by Technician or Vendor
Work Orders by Day of Week
10
8
6
4
2
0
Num
be
r of W
ork
Ord
ers
20
15
10
5
0
Num
be
r of W
ork
Ord
ers
80
60
40
20
0
Num
be
r of W
ork
Ord
ers
Burt V. Debbie Dustin B. Ed Fire Station, Gary G. John Kathy O. Lori Lorrie Lorrie’s Luke Not a real Thom Chandler Barton 204 (V) Bubba Lochhead Eriksen Lighting (V) Littrell Vendor (V) Metz
Last Year
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Last Year
Main Campus East Campus Orlando Rentals
Last Month
Life Cycle Projections Any effective facility management software will also include forecasting life cycle costs,
capital reserve needs, and future money needed to replace items as they reach the
end of life. This is critical for a couple of reasons:
1. Life cycle costs are inevitable. You will replace every stitch of carpet,
every HVAC unit, all your roofs, and the like. These are not “if” costs but
rather “when” and “how much” questions. Intentional and proactive facility
stewards are projecting these costs and planning for them today. Think
about your capital reserve life cycle account to be like your 401k or IRA;
you plan to have money available in the future, so you start saving today.
2. If you notice you have a piece of equipment with an odd number
of service calls, you can cross-reference your life cycle tool to see the
remaining useful life and make an informed decision. For example, if you
have an HVAC unit planned to be replaced in a year, but it has already
had five repairs in three months, it may be best to replace it now. You can
avoid ongoing maintenance calls and the inconvenience of downtime
if you replace it sooner rather than later, assuming you have been diligent
in your capital reserve funding.
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Conclusion Here’s the main point: the right facility management software could carve hours of
wasted time from your team’s workday. Not only that, but it can save money, increase
efficiency, and reduce headaches.
Effective facility management is all about stewarding what you have been entrusted
with. That means stewarding your physical facility, equipment, and assets, along with
everything that takes place within your space. Event management software can help
with the latter, but facility management software checks all the boxes.
eSPACE: Your One-Stop Shop for Facility Management
At Smart Church Solutions, we offer one easy solution: eSPACE. This is our web-based
software created to reduce the workload on your team so you can focus on your
mission. eSPACE helps you stay organized, plan with confidence, and remove stress
from your team. By honing in on event management and work order management,
eSPACE improves your building and team’s efficiency.
To learn more about eSPACE or to schedule a demo, head to Smart Church Solutions’
website or contact Lee Cool at [email protected].
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