Building owners and operators could save up to 20% on their annual maintenance budgets with the creation of an Approved Provider scheme for the market leading service and maintenance tool SFG20, according to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA).
The service includes detailed maintenance tasks for all the main types of equipment found in buildings and is constantly updated with changes to standards and legislation to ensure building owners and operators can remain compliant. Schedules display how often tasks need to be carried out to avoid over or under maintaining assets and what skill sets are required to do the work.
SFG20 is already regularly integrated with different software solutions, which can be done on an individual basis with subscribers taking raw data that is then loaded into their own software. However, a simpler solution is to use an SFG20 Approved Provider who can automatically load SFG20 into a user’s preferred software solution such as a Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) system.
These third-party building maintenance software companies now have access to a common platform created in collaboration with SFG20’s developers, which means maintenance schedules can be imported directly into CAFM systems to ease the planning, scheduling, execution and tracking of planned maintenance activities.
NHS specialist Asckey Data Services is the first company to gain Approved Provider status and is already working to integrate SFG20 into its CAFM system fmfirst estates and facilities, which it says will give its customers better control over maintenance schedules and costs.
The new solution will be available as an option within the standard fmfirst estates system, which will see the standard PPM module pre-populated with both the SFG20 core schedules and SFG20’s newly launched HTM (Health Technical Memoranda)-aligned schedules developed specifically for hospitals. These will be automatically updated each time a revised SFG20 update is released saving end users the time and cost of having to manually import the new information each time.
Asckey’s commercial director Bernard Hill said the SFG20 integration would enable fmfirst’s NHS users to manage their maintenance activities “safe in the knowledge that they are following the latest legal and industry standards”.
“Trusts could make savings of up to 25% in annual maintenance budgets through the implementation of correct maintenance schedules/frequencies, optimum allocation of staff resources, and increases in asset life spans,” added Mr Hill.
Asckey has been implementing specialist NHS maintenance software systems since 1994 and explained that by closely monitoring and maintaining asset inventories, organisations can ensure maximum efficiency from their equipment.
“This means reduced repair costs as well as improved legislative compliance,” said Mr Hill. “Efficient maintenance prolongs the life and efficiency of assets, resulting in energy savings which directly benefits the bottom line of businesses – a study in the US found that poor maintenance practices can increase energy usage by as much as 60%.”
More and more building owners – including increasing numbers in the public sector – are adopting SFG20 to establish a cost-effective strategy that closely matches user requirements to investment in planned service and maintenance. Many users have recorded savings of up to 20% in their running costs by adopting SFG20 and embedding its measures into their building management processes. One government department has recorded savings of more than 28% on its extensive annual bill for managing and maintaining its estate.
SFG20 is also helping more building owners understand what technologies are most appropriate and value for money for their buildings and has been enhanced with the addition of tailored programmes designed for specialist market sectors, including catering and healthcare, developed in collaboration with other professional bodies and practitioners.
Transforming
“The growth of digital asset management is transforming the way buildings are maintained,” said BESA Commercial and Innovation Director Bruce Kirton. “Working closely with software providers will help us deliver even greater technical support to FMs as they embrace the opportunities created by digital technologies to transform building performance.”
He added that building maintenance software companies like Asckey and SFG20 often shared the same customers “so the challenge was to build an upfront solution for CAFM providers using a common platform”.
“The result is a system that makes it easy and cost-effective for end users to gain access to SFG20 via their existing software providers,” said Mr Kirton.
“We are delighted that Asckey has moved so quickly to become an adopter. They have clearly recognised the benefits to their customers of using our functional sets to manage buildings more effectively and how it can help them defend their maintenance budgets,” he added. “SFG20 looks forward to working with many other software providers in the same way.”
For more information about SFG20 and its Approved Provider Partnership visit: www.sfg20.co.uk