A leading facilities management service provider explain how adopting Facilities-iQ has already cut asset coding from days to hours, and how even bigger gains are still to come.
About the Organisation
The organisation operates across the UK and Ireland, predominantly in the healthcare and education sector. Their portfolio spans both PFI and non-PFI sites, from small contracts up to major PFI contracts covering 30 to 40 schools. They deliver both hard and soft FM services.
SFG20 spoke to their Business Excellence Director, who oversees every supporting function to the operational business, from asset management through to support services for their systems and reporting teams.
We also spoke to their Data Analyst who is responsible for mobilisation and leads on everything related to data updating and amending, as well as the Head of Systems and Reporting who supported the implementation of the Facilities-iQ platform across the business.
Before the Move to SFG20 Facilities-iQ and Mobiliser, How Were You Managing Tenders and Keeping up to Date with Statutory Requirements?
“It was quite a manual process,” the Business Excellence Director explained. “We relied heavily on our senior asset management team to do SFG20 coding updates. The asset collection and coding was very manual and time consuming. Before we implemented Facilities-iQ, we had the potential for errors and the duplication of work. It was quite clunky.”
The Data Analyst and her colleagues had worked hard to automate what they could, including building their own templates and cheat sheets to support the mobilisation process, but there were clear limits to what manual workarounds could achieve.
“It was nowhere near as good as Facilities-iQ.” the Data Analyst told us.
The Head of Systems and Reporting highlighted how the organisation is gaining increasing value from Facilities-iQ.
“By giving our estimators and the business development team access to the platform, we can get more bids out there, make our team more self-sufficient and speed up the process at the tail end. So, when we do win bids, we can put them back through Facilities-iQ, see what the changes are and then go back to the client and say: right, okay, things have shifted from when we first bid.”
What Triggered the Decision to Adopt Facilities-iQ and SFG20 Mobiliser?
The gap between bid and mobilisation was the critical pain point. Data that had been coded at bid stage could take a significant amount of time to work through the process.
“From bid to the actual data, it could take six months because of the delays,” the Data Analyst shared. “We then had to go back to the data we initially coded and account for all the changes. There was the risk of missing certain steps or people because of the time gap. While we did our best with the processes we had, throughout the process, it wasn’t perfect.”
For the Business Excellence Director, the broader goal was accessibility. With only two or three people in the asset management team fielding requests from across the business, pressure was mounting.
“By introducing Facilities-iQ, we wanted to make that information more accessible, so that the bids team could be more self-sufficient and self-serving rather than having to rely on the asset management team. It’s about opening up the information to a wider audience and alleviating some of that pressure on our asset management team.”
The Data Analyst shared that a further driver was consistency.
“It’s very important that we all use the same tool and information rather than using different sources. Facilities-iQ gives us that one source of data.”
Beyond consistency, the team was looking to reduce reliance on a small number of specialists, speed up the bid-to-mobilisation journey and lay the groundwork for a more data-driven approach to decision-making.
“We’re very keen to look at new technologies that make us more efficient and drive our business from a data aspect rather than from a hearsay, assumption point of view. Facilities-iQ is that pinnacle piece for us,” the Business Excellence Director shared.
What Did the Migration to Facilities-iQ Involve for You?
The organisation’s implementation was rapid – with the help of SFG20’s Professional Services team, they were up and running within a couple of weeks.
“The SFG20 team were really responsive and picked up on our request very quickly. In the interim time when we were learning, it was a super quick turnaround for our training. Even within that time, we had a couple of urgent requests for bids and an urgent request for a new contract, and SFG20 ran them through Facilities-iQ on our behalf which we were grateful for.”
Rather than a long-winded planning process, the team implemented quickly and is now building its internal roadmap, engaging stakeholders, gathering requirements and deciding how and when to extend the platform’s reach across the business.
“We’ve initiated Facilities-iQ and we’re very much looking forward to carrying on the journey with SFG20.”
What Aspects of SFG20’s Implementation Consultancy Have Been Most Valuable?
Speed of response and the quality of training were highlighted by all three interviewees. The SFG20 team answered queries promptly, provided explanations in plain language and made themselves consistently available as the organisation found its feet with the platform.
“It was a very quick turnaround, and SFG20 were very quick to respond to that. We had specific requirements and SFG20 supported that very well,” the Business Excellence Director told us.
“Any questions I had, any concerns I had, they were answered very quickly,” added the Data Analyst. “I am very confident in what I can do with the system. Facilities-iQ is like my bible now.”
The Business Excellence Director echoed this: “The training was thorough and really straightforward. We’ve had continued support from SFG20 as we’re learning, so we’ve been able to go back to them and say, how do we do this? What do we do here?”
Was There a Particular Moment Where the SFG20 Team Went Above and Beyond?
For the Business Excellence Director, the standout moment was clear. With training still underway and urgent bids on the table, SFG20 stepped in to support the organisation.
“SFG20 said, we can do it for you – just send us the asset register sheets and we’ll run it through Facilities-iQ. This showed us that SFG20 were going to go happily above and beyond for us and offer a service way above what we were expecting.”
What Did You Find Most Helpful About SFG20’s Approach?
“SFG20 were proactive, clear in communication and nothing was too much trouble,” said the Business Excellence Director.
“Things were explained to us in a way we could understand and pick up really quickly. We weren’t bamboozled by language and technology. They understood our requirements and acted on them quickly. SFG20 were willing to go above and beyond our expectations. We are really enjoying working with SFG20 and look forward to developing our relationship further to support both of our organisations.”
The Data Analyst adds: “I probably asked the same question one too many times, but it was answered every time. There was really good communication.”
Since Go Live, What Has Changed in How You Mobilise Contracts or Manage Regimes?
The most immediate and tangible change has been time. Asset coding that previously took days now takes hours and, in some cases, data is being returned the next day.
“That’s the main goal: spending less time and being much more productive,” the Data Analyst added.
Have You Had Any Feedback Internally from Operational Teams, Contract Managers or Leadership?
“People were impressed by the turnover. Before, due to our workload, sometimes it could take weeks. This for me, was the biggest difference,” the Data Analyst said.
“For me, it’s not necessarily what people are saying – it’s what they’re not saying,” observed the Business Excellence Director. “For example, we’ve seen a reduction in people chasing us for information. I see that as a positive.”
