Facilities Management Middle East
BESPOKE CAFM SYSTEM
Initial Saudi Group’s head of CAFM Division, FM, Yazan Abujabal, explains why they decided to opt for a bespoke CAFM system and looks at the benefits the system has brought to both the company and its clients
Over five years ago, we realised that if we wanted to maintain our position as a leader in the region’s FM industry, we needed a world class CAFM system that would support our operations and enable us to continuously improve the services we offer.
Our ICT and FM teams were tasked with evaluating the systems currently on the market and also to explore the possibility of developing our own ISG system. They ultimately made a very convincing business case that ISG system was by far the best option for us.
We wanted a system that allowed us to control and adapt its look and feel, as well as its functionality, ensuring a perfect fit with our brand, our FM delivery methodology and our approach to customer service. We also wanted to be able to customise aspects of the system to meet individual client needs.
We needed a system that was free of any rigid constraints, and that was able to grow and develop its functionality and capability in synch with the constantly evolving demands of our business and our clients. Finally, we wanted a system that would deliver measurable cost benefits and add real value to the business, giving us the tools to continuously track and evaluate our operations, ultimately enabling us to increase operational performance and to offer clients increased efficiencies and cost savings.
The development project was launched in 2017 and a key factor to its success was the input we received from across the business. Although primarily an FM tool, the development team engaged with all the departments within the company that have an involvement in delivering an FM contract, from tendering, contract award and mobilisation, through to hand- over and service delivery.
The CAFM system is now live and being used to manage the FM service delivery at many of our key clients’ buildings and facilities, supporting our operations and allowing clients to seamlessly interact and communicate with our operational and help desk teams.
The system has comprehensive suites of measuring, monitoring and reporting modules, which are critical in ensuring compliance with SLAs, KPIs and industry best practice. It also includes a range if sophisticated Business Intelligence applications that enable analysis of performance data and other metrics that have helped us and our clients to innovate and improve all areas of service delivery and contract management.
THE SYSTEM HAS COMPREHENSIVE SUITES OF MEASURING, MONITORING AND REPORTING MODULES, WHICH ARE CRITICAL IN ENSURING COMPLIANCE WITH SLAS, KPIS AND INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICE.
The system has brought considerable benefits to our business, both operationally, through continuous performance improvements, and commercially, as a unique value-added service to our clients. Importantly, it has ensured that we have a CAFM system with the agility to evolve and adapt in-line with the increasingly sophisticated needs of the FM market in the region.