The building industry has the process down pat. What used to be two dozen binders full of specs and O&M information is now a thumb drive, or stored in a tablet, loaded with all the pertinent information. Hundreds of thousands of square feet, dozens of complex systems, millions of dollars, hundreds of tons of material, an unimaginable number of datapoints – fettered with the wants and needs of dozens or hundreds of occupants, regulatory requirements and efficient operations – all boiled down to the digital version of two dozen binders. This is the equivalent of buying a Ferrari and the salesperson saying, “Good luck, the owner’s manual is in the glove box.”

One of the last, vast expanses of under-utilized ground in construction is the turnover process. Whether it is a competitive best practice added by the general contractor, or extras paid by the owner, there many opportunities to do more, be innovative and set the building operators for success.

Establish enhanced, recorded training along with a solid service and support plan with vendors and include it in the turnover package. Make sure the facility manager can invite whomever they need from their team to the training sessions.

Asset tagging is easily accomplished during the stages of construction, instead of later. The captured asset data could be preloaded into a CMMS system. For real extravagance, the vendors could have the recommended PM programs created, scheduled and loaded into the CMMS.

Better drawings and photos of behind-the-wall and above-the-ceiling MEP infrastructure can be overlaid onto the as-built drawings.

First-day manuals for employees are great, and the architect/general contractor can add tremendous value and assistance to producing a great users’ guide. These guides can include evacuation plans, rally points, checklists and more. Unfortunately, these guides are rarely mentioned or completely neglected during the construction phase. Instead, they are usually assigned to a harried facilities department, completed in haste after occupancy.

Having a robust warranty process is also important, and companies that do it right are noticeably different than companies that do not. There are many opportunities to build and implement an effective warranty process. Adding a warranty summary section into the guides can be as simple as publishing a one- or two-page listing of building components, subcontractors, warranty durations and best contacts.

Most large projects involve the FM and their staff in the design and construction process. Having an FM subject matter expert at the table during the design and construction process is not a “nice to have.” It is a “need to have.” Including the FM team in the process makes the building more operable. Better operability means better comfort, more efficiency, effective maintenance and even better storytelling. Their inclusion allows the team to contribute to the vision, the purpose and the design intent. They will be operating systems they had a hand in creating.

The next best place for general contractors and FMs to collaborate is the turnover process. This is more than an FM wish list. Construction companies are chosen for a variety of reasons, including the quality of their builds and other factors that set them apart from other companies. There is a tremendous opportunity here for the builders to talk with the operators to develop programs and processes that enhance their competitive advantage, and make sure that building is utilized as intended, is taken care of the way it is supposed to be and supports the mission of the occupants.

Finally – imagine you’ve purchased your Ferrari and instead of being pointed to the owner’s manual, you are sent to an on-site Ferrari school that includes maintenance, care, meet and greets with tire and windshield wiper vendors, classes on what the mileage and performance metrics should be and more. If you were the passenger, would you rather ride in that car, or the one that purchased with a half tank of gas, a Ferrari hat and the owner’s manual?

FM Consultants_Council (1)IFMA's Facility Management Consultants Council shares some commonly asked FM-related questions, accompanied by advice from top FM consultants. The questions and answers presented in this section align with IFMA's core competencies. While the answers are intended to be helpful, these responses should not be deemed complete and are limited in context.