What are some effective ways to cut costs while maintaining quality in FM services?

Operations needs are the base unit of FM service cost. Those operation needs are being early built during RFP preparation then translated to cost upon bidders submission. Key success factor for cost cutting is to audit the operation plans to meet mutable business needs. Usually what was built yesterday is not necessarily needed today, at least not same capacity, intensity or even the scope itself. Another one is to audit invoice to explore any deviated and overlapped expenses. Taking into mind that invoices values are not the only audit point but also the cost allocation/ centre.

The first part of auditing should be processes. It's common practice to go right to things that have a direct cost attached to them such as consumables. Everything is directly attached to processes and they are the most expensive. Inefficient processes consume time which is the most valuable consumable in FM. Knowing exactly how much time is spent and in which areas can greatly reduce operating cost and the tangibles attached. Also, we should be prepared to acknowledge that in order to reduce costs, we may have to initially invest in better ways for long term results.

First you should audit your business goals in the core business. Than you can start to look at your facility services and find out whether they are in line with your business goals and really sopport the core business processes.

For me cost of supplies can be looked at very closely as a cost containment strategy. For me I found decreasing inventory and purchasing consumables when needed save cost This works only when we have an excellent FM preventative strategy.

Why Facility Management Matters Every business with a physical space needs facility management (FM). FM professionals make sure workplaces are safe, work well, and don't cost too much. In today's business world, FM is becoming more important as companies want to be more efficient, productive, and sustainable.

Because we only look for "deals" we miss the opportunity for fair partnerships aiming at a win-win situation with our service providers.

You shall make clear to your providers that making business must to be good for both parts and you have to be ready to negotiate better prices always. You have to keep in mind that, in an attempt to keep up with inflation, some companies use to make up and raise their prices way above the real necessity. We have to keep a close eye on them.

Man sollte nicht nur eine regelm??ige Prüfung der Dienstleister und Prozesse zum Anlass nehmen, die Ausgaben effizienter zu gestalten. Auch angekündigte Preiserh?hung bieten i.d.R. noch eine Basis zum Verhandeln. Wichtig ist es auch, seine eigene Position aus Sicht des Dienstleisters zu kennen, um eine Basis für die Argumentation zu schaffen.

Long-story-short - It's all about Energy. Manageing these resource cost-effectively, requires technical expertees and performane measures and measurements, which have a short term if not immediate ROI. So why delay? Of course there are no "tailor made" solution but choices such as implementing the PDCA cycle are prime starters/movers!

Certainly! It's essential to understand your FM services thoroughly to negotiate effectively. Seek discounts, rebates, or incentives for long-term commitments and explore customization options for a tailored service. Don't hesitate to compare providers for better deals or reliability and be open to switching if it aligns with your business goals.

In my experience, replacing outdated light fixtures by energy saving ones, introducing solar power where and when possible, replacing old wiring by more efficient wiring, installing water saving devices (faucets, flush valves, etc.), among other smart moves will help you to reduce your operational costs on a long term.

Plan, Plan, Plan. Most energy saving measures are one-off. You just look at a cluster (lighting, HVAC, lifts,...) and not the entire system (floor, building, outdoor areas...) which can lead to lose some sinergies or even scale effect. These systems also interact with the envelope of the building itself: lighting with windows and skylights (for example), HVAC with window and wall insulation. Even how you plan the trees outside the building can impact positively or negatively. Also remember HUMAN BEHAVIOUR -> you need to bring people into the energy-saving mission otherwise they will resist most of your measures since they will probably need changes of behaviour to be effective!!

Almost every property receives a water bill every month and until recently there was not much you could do about it. But now there is. Water meters overstate consumption by inaccurately reading air bubbles as additional water. SmartWaterValve.com is a unique device (3 patents) corrects the problem, making meters read more accurately and are proven to lower water bills an avg of 20%. SmartWaterValve has a 10 Year Warranty, is Maintenance Free, and has been Validated by multiple independent engineers. Rather than waiting to budget most property owners buy them as a repair & maintenance item given their fast payback.

D'après mon expérience il faut investir dans l'amélioration des systèmes CVC car se sont les grands consommateurs de l'énergie.

In my experience bring your buildings up to the 21st-century by replacing outdated light fixtures with energy saving LED, adding solar power, power inverters and adding updated HVAC controls with outside air sensors and economizers will reduce your operational costs. It will cut your labor cost and energy consumption and make your building look modern!

Space optimization is one of those things with top ROI and quick gains, so it is in the best quadrant for using technology and dashboards to measure closely. Besides the space used by people (remember that occupation was 66% before the pandemic and now it is around 35-45%) bare in mind the space used by Lockers - Consumables & Spares - Archive. You need to put a price on the sqm used by those and see who are the departments or BU's that spend the most and discuss with them how to optimize. When negotiating with service providers you can also aks them during RFI stage how they can help you reduce space for consumables and spares and when you are planning some works check out equipments and infrastructure that can save $$$ space.

Absolutely, managing space efficiently is crucial for optimal facility management. By optimizing space utilization through strategic arrangements and embracing technology for real-time monitoring, you not only enhance comfort and functionality but also contribute to cost-cutting measures. It's a smart move for boosting overall productivity and making the most of your valuable resources.

Il faut bien choisir l'outil de gestion FM, ce dernier doit répondre au demande de l'utilisateur et paramétrer selon besoin. Et bien s?r des formations à l'ensemble.

Choosing sustainable and integrated systems,digitalization,advanced tools and equipment definitely will help in cutting costs besides data analysis for all FM processes to get full functionality.

You probably have processes from early on, which have become obsolete but they are still part of either your way of interacting with providers or internal clients (individuals or departments). You will find it difficult to quantify the amount of resources you will save by reviewing and optimizing them and will probably never do it. So take the "compliance pill": old procedures and policies might lead to failure to comply with new laws and regulations. They may also not address new systems or technology, which can result in inconsistent practices. Use this to be able to gather resources to review them annualy (the first time will allways be the worst, afterwards it almost comes naturally) - you will Reduce Risk and Improve Efficiency!

Very sound advice. I’ve seen organizations benefit time and time again by taking the time to train and engage staff. Often times a little extra trading can reduce costs by empowering employees to identify and mitigate problems before they become more serious and expensive.

This is something that I strongly believe in. Training for staff which would decrease the overall outsourced cost. Ideation workshops are a must for FM team. We can decrease cost by gaining ideas from the persons on the floor. This occurred for a janitorial project we were working on.

Training,training and more training in all of the most current maintenance techniques,modernize existing equipment and by doing so efectively reduce excess man hours and wasted time

Trained FM staff is the key to cost savings and FM uptime. Upfront training or hiring qualified people may be costly in the beginning but will pay off in dividends in the future.

Change Management isn't just for the "others" - every improvement you make either by implementing tech or improving processes, also impacts your crew in the way that they will need to adapt and even gather new competencies or skills. They need time and a safe space to be able to leap to new system: test - train - pilot.

In my experience there are many redundancies which are kept for once in a many quarters kind of scenario which adds to the overall cost as every department wants to keep these additional expenses considering rainy day scenario. However with proper distribution of resources during these kinds of emergencies can free up lots of expenses. Hence proper planning and regular reviews will help achieve these savings.

As FM is run by people ie. We don’t manufacture anything, by investing in people and upskilling and cross skilling reduces the need for contractors and also helps with retention (and loyalty). Self delivery keeps costs down and retention means less cost and time spent on recruiting.

Optimize. It is the magical word for cost cutting without compromising quality. Update your needs. Digitalize your operation as possible to see resources efficiency. Hire on demand to stay agile. Disrupte the axioms. Everything changes as a life rule, why your operations can't? Think disruptive to optimise cost, otherwise your business will be disrupted by others.

Why we always look for cost reduction for better services? Most of the times it is the manpower what is reduced to make cost less which is just peanuts and that affects the quality to an extent. We cannot be penny wise pound foolish. Overheads and extra margins have to be looked into and reduced.

Costs reduction is an every day exercise. The manager has to get used of thinking “outside the box” and keep focused on what can be done to optimize your budget.