Making major changes in any organization is challenging. It entails thoughtful planning and clear-cut implementation, as well as consultation with—and involvement of—the people that are affected by the changes. Many companies still depend on a home-grown, “tried and true” method of managing their facilities, convinced that since it works, there’s no need to fix it. So any change in procedures is often viewed with a skeptical eye. In an organization that includes multiple facilities in several locations, putting a new facilities management system in place can be particularly challenging. However, the benefits gained in time and cost savings outweigh the challenges of adopting the new system.

1. TACKLING CHANGE
IN A MULTI-FACILITY
ORGANIZATION

2. 01 INTRODUCTION
02 MEET THE VILLAGE NETWORK
03 THE VILLAGE NETWORK’S SEARCH FOR FM SOFTWARE
04 HELPFUL TIPS FOR IMPLEMENTING PHASE I
05 TRAINING THE STAFF
06 WHY FMX
TABLE OF
CONTENTS

3. INTRODUCTION
1
MAKING MAJOR CHANGES
IN ANY ORGANIZATION IS
CHALLENGING.
It entails thoughtful planning and clear-cut implementation, as well as consultation
with—and involvement of—the people that are affected by the changes. Many companies
still depend on a home-grown, “tried and true” method of managing their facilities,
convinced that since it works, there’s no need to fix it. So any change in procedures is
often viewed with a skeptical eye.
In an organization that includes multiple facilities in several locations, putting a new
facilities management system in place can be particularly challenging. However, the
benefits gained in time and cost savings outweigh the challenges of adopting the
new system.
?
READ ON TO FIND OUT HOW
ONE ORGANIZATION IS
MAKING THAT TRANSITION.

4. “ “
MEET THE
VILLAGE
NETWORK
2 “It is very challenging keeping track of 20 locations,” said Mike Ballinger,
Assistant Director of Support Services, “All of our facilities—whether they are
sprawling across many acres or confined to a single office building—need
maintenance from time to time. For years, we were entirely dependent on paper
work orders, which were challenging to track. Our board encouraged us to
investigate an electronic system for tracking inventory and maintenance tasks,
which led us to FMX.”
The Village Network is a multi-discipline
trauma treatment and recovery behavioral
health organization providing outpatient,
residential treatment, and foster care
services to children in 20 separate
locations in Ohio. Some of the physical
facilities, like the campuses in Wooster,
Newark, and Bethesda, are owned by
the company and consist of multiple
residential cottages and administration
buildings, while others are single offices
or suites that are rented or leased.
WITH ONLY A SMALL
MAINTENANCE CREW
SCATTERED THROUGHOUT
ITS VARIOUS FACILITIES,
FINDING THE RIGHT FM
SOFTWARE PACKAGE WAS
A CHALLENGE FOR THE
VILLAGE NETWORK.

5. THE VILLAGE
NETWORK’S
SEARCH FOR
FM SOFTWARE
3
The Village Network team looked at 10 FM software packages they felt might fit their
specific needs. The package they chose had to meet specific requirements:
“
“The 10 packages were compared and analyzed, and finally narrowed down
to three. “We did a comprehensive comparison of the top three contenders
and found that, in the end, one system—FMX—met all of our requirements
and was in line with what we could afford,” said Mary Schantz, The Village
Network IT Director.
• User-friendly and easy to navigate
• Cost-effective to accommodate
a limited budget
• Customizable to fit specific
reporting needs
• Good staff training resources
• Systematic vehicle inspection
notifications to ensure compliance
with Ohio Department of
Job and Family Services
licensure requirements
• Efficient way to assign drivers and
vehicles to enable proper staffing
• Planned maintenance schedules
to meet state regulatory requisites,
including those of fleet vehicles

6. “
“
HELPFUL
TIPS FOR
IMPLEMENTING
PHASE I
4
The biggest challenge—and one of the most critical decisions you must make when
you implement any FM system—is to determine what data you should import into the
software. To do this effectively, you need the cooperation of your staff in completing the
inventory, especially if you are a large organization and/or have multiple sites. You also
need a consistent reporting method so that everyone is on the same page with the data
they provide. You can avoid numerous headaches if you do this right from the outset.
The Village Network team cites several tips to help you get started:
According to Schantz, “If you do
not put careful thought into what
data you want to collect and how
you want to collect it, you may
find that it is worthless five years
down the road. If we had Phase
I to do over again, we might
consider identifying one person
within the organization—or hiring
someone on a contractual basis—
to go to each of our locations
and do a very thorough job of
collecting the inventory data.
That way, we would know that it
was consistent across all facilities.
That might be a solution that
other organizations can consider
to ensure quality data.”
• Look at the floor plans for each
building and assign a building code
• Create a labeling system to
identify sites/rooms/equipment
• Supply the data collectors with a
template that lays out the asset types
you want, and give them examples of
what data to collect
• Encourage the staff to update
the data as necessary (input new
equipment, remove old unused
equipment, etc.)
• Conduct an annual review of all data
to make sure it remains up-to-date
and accurate

7. “
“
TRAINING THE
STAFF TO USE
THE SYSTEM
5“Our maintenance team will be using the system on a regular basis,” Ballinger
said. “Perhaps the greatest challenge will be to train them to provide details
about the work that was completed, rather than just marking a work order
‘done.’ This expanded data will be invaluable going forward.”
There may be staff resistance to abandoning the old way of doing things and embracing
a new FM system. Here are a few tips to pave the way:
• Get buy-in from key stakeholders
• Demonstrate how the new
system will save time and
make their jobs easier
• Conduct a hands on, ‘how-to’ session
• Have access to an online Learning
Center provided by the software
vendor to serve as a quick reference

8. WHY FMX Many organizations continue to get by with internally developed systems that depend
on pen-and-paper or numerous spreadsheets to track their facilities management
activities. Using a web-based workflow management tool like FMX allows staff members
to do their jobs easily and with greater control over their time. It opens the lines of
communication so that users never have to worry about the status of their requests, and
there is always accountability.
As The Village Network has discovered, FMX is easy to implement and navigate, can be
customized to fit specific requirements, and has training resources to quickly get staff up
to speed. It also includes capabilities that a large organization with multiple buildings
and locations—and especially those that must comply with government-mandated
regulations—find invaluable. In addition, FMX also gives organizations the ability to:
6
• Streamline work orders so that
everyone can log into the system
and create a request in minutes
• Easily respond to, assign, and resolve
issues while keeping track of time
and money spent
• Maintain a database and
maintenance history of all equipment,
fleet vehicles, and other assets
• Schedule planned maintenance to
ensure that nothing falls through
the cracks
• Develop customized reports that
fit specific needs

9. About FMX
FMX simplifies facilities management. With FMX, facilities
managers more efficiently and effectively track work orders,
schedule resources and plan maintenance to help control
costs and preserve asset value.
gofmx.com