PDFs vs Sharing Links

PDFs may have their uses, but in the world of digital building maintenance, they’re best avoided.  

Why? Because PDF printouts of SFG20 schedules found on the internet reflect a static snapshot of one particular point in time, meaning they quickly become out of date and inaccurate. This can put users at risk of falling off the SFG20 standard and exposing themselves to non-compliance, not to mention confidentiality breaches.  

There are dozens of scenarios where sharing information using PDFs can go wrong, so is it really worth sticking to the old ways and taking the risk? At SFG20, we don’t think so.  

Read on to find out why PDFs carry compliance and confidentiality risks, and how using our secure sharing link feature in our new software solution Facilities-iQ can safeguard your organisation from potential harm.   

The Problem With PDFs 

PDFs represent an old, inefficient way of working, namely because they: 

• Reflect a static snapshot of one particular point in time which quickly renders them out of date, inaccurate and non-compliant  
  

• Do not allow teams to collaborate due to the lack of approval/sign-off process  

• Require printing, filing, updating and sharing which can rack up costs and negatively affect your organisation’s carbon footprint  

• Run the risk of confidential, site-specific information (such as what is found in  customised schedules) being accidentally shared or even leaked to the wrong recipients  

• Do not provide audit trails, which can make tracking maintenance history feel like a guessing game 

The Solution: Facilities-iQ's New Way Of Sharing  

You’ll likely already know that the SFG20 standard is updated each month by our highly qualified technical team to ensure it always aligns with the latest legislation, regulations and codes of practice.  

However, if PDFs are your chosen way of sharing content, this can be challenging and take up a lot of your time as it means that you’ll have to always ensure that you’re circulating the most up-to-date version of information with your team.  

As a solution to this, Facilities-iQ enables you to create secure sharing links at the touch of a button to share Maintenance Regimes (or parts of a regime) with authorised people only, always under the latest accepted version of SFG20.

What Are The Benefits Of Using Sharing Links In Facilities-iQ?  

• Allows you to securely share confidential site information with both internal and external stakeholders, supporting collaboration while giving you the peace of mind that your information is in the right hands   

• Allows all users to see the latest, accepted version of the SFG20 standard, reducing your risk and helping you stay on top of ever-changing legislation 

• Saves time and money by removing the need to print, distribute and update PDFs 

• As sharing links don’t need to be physically printed like PDFs, they’re an eco-friendlier way to transfer information  

• Provides audit trails, upholding accountability, quality control and compliance 

• Allows you to tender and compare quotations on a like-for-like basis  

• No heavy manual input involved, enhancing work efficiency and saving precious time – just choose your recipients and press send 

Put PDFs In The Past With Facilities-iQ 

At SFG20, we want to move digital maintenance collaboration forward, not backward. 

Rather than using static, unreliable documents such as PDFs which carry compliance and confidentiality risks, Facilities-iQ's sharing links ensure that you are sharing the latest, accepted (i.e. compliant) SFG20 content with your intended recipients, all while helping to reduce your carbon footprint. 

That’s just one of the many time-saving and cost-effective benefits of Facilities-iQ - if you’re interested in seeing our new and better-than-ever software solution in action and want to learn more about how we’re supporting thousands of organisations to keep their buildings efficient, safe and compliant, hit the button below.