Enhancing FM Efficiency

Market standard communication protocols are designed to standardize the exchange of information between different systems, fostering coherence, transparency and efficiency. There is not much FM industry experience with a protocol that covers the synchronization of basic data like building information and asset information, or incident calls and the progress of maintenance execution. Based on the experience of other similar domains it undoubtedly offers an array of benefits that enhance service delivery, foster customer satisfaction, and reduce operational inefficiencies and costs.

Improved data management

One of the core benefits of a communication protocol is enhanced data management. A streamlined channel for data exchange eliminates information silos and improves the accuracy and consistency of data across different systems. Synchronizing basic data such as building and asset information ensures all parties have access to the same updated and accurate information. This consistency reduces the risk of misinterpretation or errors arising from conflicting data, promoting operational efficiency.

Efficient incident resolution

Many companies work with multiple service providers and suppliers. For end users in these companies, it is not workable to have a separate portal for each service provider or supplier. The protocol enables customers to register incident calls to be handled by a service provider in their own FM system. This capability significantly enhances incident resolution. Customers can directly communicate their concerns, ensuring the appropriate service provider has accurate information about the issue. Direct communication eliminates the need for intermediary interpretation or communication, reducing the risk of misconception and enhancing the speed and efficiency of incident resolution.

Transparency in maintenance execution

By providing real-time information on the progress of reactive and planned preventive maintenance, the market standard protocol fosters transparency. Transparent communication enables customers to stay informed about the status of their service requests, enhancing their trust and satisfaction. It also allows service providers to demonstrate their reliability and efficiency, which can lead to improved customer retention and competitive advantage.

Cost efficiency

A market standard communication protocol can significantly reduce operational costs. By fostering efficient communication and reducing the likelihood of errors and misunderstandings, it eliminates wasteful practices and redundancies. Furthermore, by enabling direct incident reporting and efficient incident resolution, it reduces the need for multiple costly and time-consuming site visits to diagnose the problem. Some other examples how the use of a protocol-based interface can lead to significant cost savings are:

• Reduced development and maintenance costs: By standardizing interactions through a protocol-based interface, the service provider reduces the complexity and scope of what needs to be developed and maintained since they can implement one interface for all their customers. On the other hand, customers can implement one interface for all their service providers.

• Automation: A protocol allows for a higher degree of automation. Many tasks that might require human intervention in a web portal scenario can be automated, reducing labor costs. For example, customers can interact with the system to retrieve information, place orders and perform other tasks without needing assistance from the supplier's staff.

• Training costs: With a protocol-based interface, less time and fewer resources are needed to train users because they are interacting with their own systems that have been integrated with the supplier's system, rather than having to learn how to use a new web portal.

• Customer satisfaction: Use of protocol-based interfaces improves customer communication, leading to better service delivery reliability and user experiences. Improved reliability and user experience can lead to increased customer satisfaction, potentially reducing costs associated with customer turnover, complaints and the need for support.

• Analytics and optimization: The use of a protocol-based interface can provide more accurate and granular data about how customers are using the service. This can help in optimizing the service, reducing waste and thereby reducing costs.

Security

Creating a protocol-based interface between the system of a service provider and their customers can have numerous advantages in terms of cybersecurity over providing customers with direct access to the service provider's system via a web portal. Here are some of the key benefits:

• Data encapsulation: The protocol-based interface provides an abstraction layer that prevents the client from directly accessing the underlying system data. This encapsulation principle can enhance data security by limiting the system's exposure to potentially malicious clients.

• Auditability: It is easier to monitor and log access when using a protocol-based interface. Every access request, including successful and failed attempts, can be tracked and audited, which is critical for identifying potential security breaches or misuse.

• Limitation of attack surface: Protocol-based interfaces can minimize the attack surface by limiting the number of ways an attacker can gain unauthorized access to the system. A properly designed interface will expose only the necessary services, while keeping other parts of the system inaccessible.

• Isolation: If the service provider's system is compromised, the attackers would not directly have access to the customer's systems. Similarly, if a customer's system is compromised, the damage can be contained, preventing it from spreading to the service provider's system.

Interoperability

Market standard protocols enable interoperability, that is, they allow different systems to work together seamlessly. This is beneficial for customers using multiple service providers or service providers servicing multiple customers. Each party does not have to adapt to a unique system or communication style; instead, they can leverage the market standard protocol to facilitate smooth, standardized interactions between systems.

Maintenance service providers often have hundreds or thousands of customers who, in turn, often have multiple maintenance service providers. If only a small percentage of these customers need to have an interface between their FM system and the production system of their maintenance service provider, this will still mean that an enormous number of interfaces need to be built. Based on a protocol, suppliers of FM software and service provider production systems can develop a standard implementation of this protocol in their software. That out-of-the-box implementation can be installed by their users to connect between service providers and any number of customers.

Conclusion

The benefits of a market standard protocol for communication between the production systems of maintenance service providers and the FM systems of their customers are profound. The improved data management, efficient incident resolution, transparency in maintenance execution, cost-efficiency and interoperability offered by such a protocol make it a beneficial tool for modern FM. It streamlines interactions, enhances customer satisfaction and boosts operational efficiency.

Sidebar

The most widespread comparable protocol is EDIFACT:

United Nations/Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport (UN/EDIFACT) is an international standard for electronic data interchange (EDI) developed for the United Nations and approved and published by the UN Economic Commission for Europe.

In 1987, following the convergence of the UN and US/ANSI syntax proposals, the UN/EDIFACT Syntax Rules were approved as the ISO standard ISO 9735 by the International Organization for Standardization.

The EDIFACT standard provides:

• a set of syntax rules to structure data
• an interactive exchange protocol (I-EDI)
• standard messages which allow multi-country and multi-industry exchange

The work of maintenance and further development of this standard is done through the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) under the UN Economic Commission for Europe, in the Finance Domain working group UN CEFACT TBG5.