business plan for a facilities management company

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What Is Facility Management and When Should a Business Start Thinking About It? Maintenance cost escalating? Trouble tracking assets? Who ya gonna call? Maybe facility management is for you.

By Bryan Christiansen • Apr 19, 2019

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

When you're running a business so small it fits into one tiny office, facility management is not something worth losing sleep over. But as your business grows, that one office of yours may turn into a building and a single machine transform into a production line.

Before you know it, you'll have a bunch of assets that need to be taken care of on an ongoing basis.

Related: How can entrepreneurs effectively manage their business inventory?

This is where facility management enters the scene: It ensures you a well-organized environment in which both your business and employees can thrive.

Facility management: the basics

At its core, facility management is a profession that focuses on the efficient maintenance of an organization's buildings and equipment in a way that offers the best value to the building owner and users alike.

It's also a multi-disciplinary support service that can be applied in any niche or industry. Among its many applications is that it can ensure safety, functionality and comfort in the built environment as well as compliance with existing legal requirements.

In North America, the facility management market is experiencing increased patronage from a wide variety of businesses: The Transparency Market Research 2017 report estimated a compound annual growth rate of 13.6 percent between 2017 and 2024.

Still, if you have never used professional facility management services before, you may be wondering if, or when, it should become the next step for your business. Here are the signs that it's time for a business to start thinking about adopting facility management:

1.Your maintenance cost is escalating.

It's an accepted fact that maintenance costs money, but these costs should not run down your business.

When you notice that repairs and servicing costs are rising inexplicably every year, some common money-wasters to check include abuse or under-utilization of existing equipment, wasteful stocking of inventory and spare parts and unused office space. Wired reported in 2013 that over the previous 30 years, the United States had added about 2 billion square feet of office space to its existing stock, which is not something today's highly mobile workforce needs. Having more space to maintain automatically increases your maintenance costs.

Another factor that quickly adds to your bottom line is poorly managed maintenance personnel and other staffing expenses. Over a 30-year period, while the operating and maintenance costs of a building account for 6 percent of total costs, personnel costs alone account for a staggering 92 percent, according to a British study reported on by Researchgate.

If you're running a system where you frequently call on independent plumbers, electricians, heating engineers and other technicians , the costs quickly pile up. Not to mention the fact that engaging these contractors also carries the risk of quality control issues, especially if:

• You have a very large facility.
• You are managing multiple locations.
• You have no real way to track whether tasks are being carried out properly.

One of our clients, Joe Romero from Myriad Genetics, had this exact problem. He had been hired as a facility manager and noticed that his predecessor had been tracking everything manually, which meant the company had no clue whether maintenance tasks were actually being completed.

When Romero implemented facility management software, he could see whether outside contractors were doing the work they were billing for. Long story short, he had to replace his primary maintenance vendor because he found out that that vendor was not doing the work he had been contracted to do.

Related: Top 3 Upcoming Trends in the Indian Facility Management Industry

Because of these problems, some businesses form an internal team or look for a single vendor to take over their back-office responsibilities. A good example is GoDaddy, which was able to realize 10 percent cost savings by employing integrated facility services . Another interesting note in that success story was how one reason GoDaddy went with integrated facilities services provider ISS was because ISS was already operating in all geographical regions GoDaddy was planning to expand to.

2. You're having difficulties in asset management and tracking.

Knowing that over 40 percent of small business track their assets manually or don't track them at all is concerning. While this practice causes minimal problems early on, real issues will start popping up as soon as you start to scale.

Facility management can help you manage and track assets and inventory better if you are experiencing any of the following:

• Asset register is inadequate or doesn't exist at all.
• It's becoming increasingly difficult to track the assets owned by the company.
• The organization cannot confidently declare its asset position.
• The current condition of any asset and its location is unknown.
• If any equipment, machine or tool were to go missing, no one would notice.
• You keep buying replacements for equipment only to find out later that you already had them.

Stanley Healthcare reported that a mobile solution for inventory tracking can reduce search times for needed equipment by 90 percent, as well as help a company realize significant cost savings by avoiding unnecessary inventory purchases (improving inventory invisibility) and equipment loss (shrinkage control).

3. You're seeing a rising backlog of uncompleted maintenance tasks.

Multiple research sources, like this one from Steelcase Global, confirm how employee engagement positively correlates with workplace satisfaction. In other words, happy employees are productive employees. Without a designated facility management service, however, it is only a matter of time before they become frustrated and distracted because of leaking taps, broken light bulbs or an air conditioning unit in the staff canteen that isn't working properly.

Even if these tasks are instructed to call appropriate services, these tasks are often put off untll later -- so they start piling up. Soon, the business is faced with a considerable deferred maintenance list and very little hope of resolving everything. Research from Rick Biedenweg and his colleagues at Pacific Partners Consulting Group discovered that every $1 deferred in maintenance costs results in $4 of capital renewal needs in the future, so this is something you definitely want to avoid.

Preventing the creation of a backlog of uncompleted maintenance tasks is just one of many responsibilities of a facilities manager .

4. Recurring safety issues

Recurring safety issues are an indication that you are operating in a potentially dangerous environment. The simple truth is that improving safety at your facility is not a matter of choice -- it is required by law. Every year, OSHA issues over 40 000 citations , with the most common repeated offenses being:

• lack of personal protective equipment (PPE)
• absence of a hazard-communication program for chemicals
• failure to maintain logs of accidents and injuries
• lack of safety training

Facility management takes these factors into accounts and can help you reach and maintain the highest levels of operational safety using a combination of technology and human expertise and following these extensive Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines .

Related: 5 HR Strategies To Promote Employee Health And Safety

When it's time for a change

If any of the above situations describes the current situation in your business, it's clear that time and valuable resources are being wasted. It doesn't matter if you are going to form an in-house facility management team or outsource everything to an independent contractor. The point is that you understand how facility management can result in significant cost savings, improved safety performance and better overall service delivery for your company.

Founder and CEO, Limble CMMS.

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How to Develop a Successful Facility Management Plan

Filip is an experienced search engine optimization writer with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and advertising industry. He specializes in information technology, business management, and finance.

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After completing her master's degree in English Language and Literature, Nevena began her full-time editing career in the marketing industry. Before this, she worked as an ESL teacher, translator, and fiction book editor.

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Facility management refers to planning and overseeing all the physical resources of your organization, such as buildings, equipment, furniture, and more. To ensure good facility management, you first need to create a plan to design, construct, maintain, and upgrade your facilities to maximize their value and achieve your business goals.

A facility management plan is a specific document that outlines the strategies and goals for managing your organization's physical resources.

A successful facility management plan can help you minimize costs and efficiently manage your physical resources. For example, a facility management plan can help in real estate decision-making by providing insight into your planning, design, and space management operations.

What Should You Consider for Your Facility Management Plan?

Developing a good facility management plan is easier said than done, as the factors around it can differ based on your company's goals. Nevertheless, you should consider these universal tips:

Provide Safety and Security

The safety and security of your employees, visitors, and assets should be your top priority when developing a facility management plan. You can achieve your organization's safety goals by implementing access control measures such as key cards, alarm systems, and CCTV cameras throughout the facility.

Another important element of creating a safe and comfortable workspace is adhering to safety regulations such as having fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, and wayfinding maps to exits in case of emergency.

■ Create an efficient wayfinding system with these best practices

Improve Communication

It's essential to ensure open communication between occupants, stakeholders, and other parties involved in your facility management. This can help clarify everyone's objectives and establish an open dialogue so that everyone's informed of any changes or improvements to the facilities.

In addition to boosting employee satisfaction , open communication will also allow your collaborators to express their concerns and doubts so you can address them before they turn into bigger issues.

Ensure Maintenance and Business Continuity

Planning for preventative maintenance, analyzing the elements that need maintenance or repair, creating budgets for these tasks, and preparing for unexpected problems are all key aspects to ensure your operations are uninterrupted.

To plan for maintenance and potential issues, you should consider implementing advanced maintenance management systems to better track and manage your assets. This will help to reduce costs and unexpected breakdowns to keep your business running smoothly.

■ Regular maintenance can allow for better facility management reports 

Optimize Space Utilization

 Space utilization is an important factor to consider when developing a facility management plan because optimizing space usage within your facility can boost employee productivity and reduce costs. Important space usage factors you should consider include:

• Office layout : Choose either an open or closed office layout based on your specific business needs.
• Design choices : Ensure your design creates an inviting environment within your facility while making the most out of the space.
• Eco-friendly spaces : Green workspaces can lower costs with more efficient energy use .
• Furniture and equipment : Make sure these elements are placed in the best positions where employees can easily access them and actually use them.
• Space flexibility : Opt for flexible workspaces that can easily be changed depending on your needs.

Taking these factors into account when calculating your space utilization rate can help ensure all areas of your facility are used to their full potential.

■ Ensure maximum space utilization using these key metrics 

4 Basic Steps for a Successful Facility Management Plan

If you're not sure where to start, take a look at these four basic steps for creating a successful facility management plan:

1. Identify the Current State of the Facility

By identifying the current state of the facility first, you create a baseline from which you can make decisions about budgeting, repair needs, and space utilization. It also provides insight into areas that need improvement, enabling you to focus your efforts on these critical points and maximize efficiency.

2. Prioritize Objectives

When developing a facility management plan, it's important to ensure it aligns with your overall business objectives to prevent wasting resources and halting progress.

If your business goal is to become more energy efficient, any facility improvements you make should reflect this goal. This could involve changes to the facility layout and implementing green workspaces.

By prioritizing your objectives, you can make sure your organization's efforts are focused on the right areas and your facility management contributes to your goals.

■ Improve your facility management with these essential KPIs 

3. Create and Implement a Plan

Once you've identified your objectives, you should conceive an actionable plan and set achievable timeframes.

If one of your goals is to switch to an open layout due to the benefits of open-space offices , your plan should outline the design choices, budgeting requirements, and furniture and equipment placement while specifying the expected completion dates for each point.

Once you have a plan in place, you should communicate it to everyone involved so they can perform their duties mindfully and with clear direction, thereby maximizing productivity and ensuring your objectives are met within the established timeline.

4. Monitor the Plan

Regularly monitoring the facility management plan is important to identify any shortcomings or inefficiencies and establish a success rate. This should involve regular check-ins with employees, creating maintenance reports, and changing the layout as necessary.

These steps will ensure that you can identify any issue early on and take corrective action quickly and efficiently while allowing for better decision-making in the future.

Automated Software Can Assist In Your Success

POC System: Office Space Management

When implementing a facility management plan, automated software like POC System's Space Management Software can be an invaluable asset. This useful tool offers the following features:

• Visual simulations to help with floor plan design 
• Streamlined booking of desks and meeting rooms
• Creating custom seating plans for maximum employee productivity
• Advanced analytics to evaluate the success of your objectives
• Real-time tracking of your current seating and office layout

These features can provide you with the tools you need to maximize space utilization and ensure your objectives are met within the set timeline.

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Easily Create a Successful Facility Management Plan

Creating a successful facility management plan that aligns with your overall business objectives can be highly beneficial to your organization's bottom line. This process should involve prioritizing objectives, creating and implementing an actionable plan, and regularly monitoring the facility space usage.

While this can be a daunting task, automated software like POC System's Space Management Software can make it a whole lot easier. With this tool, you can quickly develop an effective facility management plan and ensure your resources are being used in the most efficient manner.

■ Book a demo to explore POC's features

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The facility management plan is the formal planning instrument used by the organization to manage the current and future operations of the club facility. The plan is to put together to make sure the efficiency of operation is increased, saving them money over the life of your facility and even expand the overall lifespan of your facility. The quality, safety, and sustainability of the plan must be in the facility management plan. And, the plan to achieve these strategies.

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Step 1: Adding the core competencies

Step 2: adding the role of the facility management, step 3: adding the security facility, step 4: adding the operational, step 5: adding the business continuity planning, more in business, simple credit facility agreement template, 100+ ultimate agreement template bundle, horse facility lease agreement template, credit facility agreement template, facility use agreement template, facilities management agreement template, facility management service level agreement template, facility agreement template, loan facility agreement template, facility lease agreement template.

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Tips for Drafting a Facilities Management Strategy

How to make a facilities management strategy right for your business.

Strategy is important in everything from board games to business planning. In the latter, strategy is often the key to success—a concentrated effort toward a measurable goal. If your goal is to leverage facilities into business success, strategic facility management is paramount. It’s a combination of facility management and facility planning, stitched together with a set of clear-cut outcomes in mind. 

Strategic facility management is all about focusing on the long-term. Applying strategy to facility management gives purpose to the workplace, making it a focal part of broader company initiatives. But, like all strategies, one involving facilities management needs clear motive. 

The best thing an FM can do to keep pace is pay close attention to the needs of facilities and the people using them. The demands of people and the way they work perpetuate trends within facilities management. It’s the duty of a facility manager to see that they’re adopted, optimized, and measured. 

What is Facility Management?  

Facility management is a broad term to describe the responsibilities focusing on building operations, workplace management, space planning, maintenance, security, asset management, and several other areas of real estate or real property.  

Using tools and technology like software solutions, facilities managers are tasked with keeping the environment around staff and the building itself running smoothly. Keeping an eye on maintenance schedules, carbon emissions, occupancy rates and data allow facilities managers to weigh in on decisions with insightful data on how a workplace is functioning. 

Supporting the Company Goals & Values  

Ideally, facilities management strategies are set up in such a way that they support the internal and business goals of the organization while aligning with stakeholder sentiments. Internal goals may focus on employee experience, lowering carbon emissions or optimizing the design of an office space/floor.  

Facilities management is often the unsung heroes of a company, supporting employees and the operations through their work with the building and collecting data on the one of several aspects they are responsible for.  

If your company values creating a workspace that is conducive to productivity and supporting the people within it, then facilities management efforts should reflect that and be aimed at giving their people the best environment possible. 

Key Considerations when Building a FM Strategy  

Now for the checklist you’ve been waiting for. 

1. Focus not only on cost savings but value creation  

Businesses traditionally operate from a standpoint of ROI and wanting to lower costs from any means necessary. Facilities management can do that, and often this is a product of good facilities management, but it should not be the only foundational reason for why you are doing what you’re doing. 

Creating value through your work can take many shapes and forms , whether it be changing the way a space is used, how maintenance is done so it costs less, or elevating how your organization uses and sees technology by introducing innovative processes or tools. 

Value creation uplifts the entire organization, not just accounting and facilities. Your strategies should have a goal to always improve some aspect of the workplace, leaving it better than it was prior. 

2. Implement a sustainable facility design plan.   

Sustainability might be starting to sound like a bit of a buzzword by now, but it’s far from it. The impact and the importance sustainability has on organizational success is prevalent across every industry. Many tips for improving facilities management plans revolve around creating sustainable business practices.  

Committing to initiatives like proactive maintenance, energy use, building operations and technology, are all physical asset focused things that can help the longevity of systems in the workplace.  

Design goes beyond the HVAC and lighting though; facilities management also encompasses space planning, space management, and workplace tools. Stuff like desk hotelling and reservations that leverage occupancy data to show a big picture of how the office is designed and being used. Designing an office to be best suited for the needs staff and people have has a compounding effect on what is put into work and the culture of a business. 

In some cases, such as manufacturing , sustainability is a main driver of growth and innovation as it gives a company the opportunity to evolve and adapt without expensive process overhauls. 

3. Know the total cost of all facility work done both directly and indirectly.  

At the end of the day most things do, in fact come down to costs and the bottom line. A successful facilities management strategy that is focused on the long run will have to consider costs and how much is being spent over time to make accurate assessments.  

Indirect costs can add up over time and should be tracked just as closely as direct costs to give yourself a clear picture of where your expenses are coming from and how your facilities might be responsible for certain downstream costs. 

Direct costs are the ones you see and handle from a cause-and-effect standpoint. HVAC maintenance? Repair invoice is a direct cost that goes into the long-term costs of your buildings life cycle. 

4. Consider the entire life cycle costs of a building.  

Buildings are long-term investments, and if you are the sole organization using yours, then the long-term life cycle costs are going to add up overtime.  

Considering things like leasing, maintenance, how your space use will evolve over time, and potential technology integrations are all going to be a part of the life cycle that adds to the list of costs. 

Considering short-, medium-, and long-term costs over the course of the life cycle forecasts budgets while giving you a look at the full scope of costs. Further, highlighting areas where investments might need to be made to make up for areas that are lagging or are experiencing issues.  

5. Optimize the use of available workspace by increasing ROI, not people per square foot.  

How you use your office space will be a key factor in if you are getting the best ROI, not how many people you fit into the office. That way of thinking that more people = more ROI, is simply not true anymore.  

Increasing your ROI on your workspace can mean investing in your workspace to give your staff what they need from an office . The use of a space management solution can help you on your way to optimizing this. Outfitting your space with everything your people need and keeping it that way is the best avenue to getting a better ROI on the space, by empowering people to get the most from it. 

6. Be the master of your company’s physical assets.   

Facilities management needs oversight of all assets and systems, from HVAC to lighting to office space and floorplan. Mastering these and the rest of your assets, knowing the reporting metrics and maintenance schedules means keeping everything in running order.  

Mastery means staying on top of things and keeping assets and their life cycles in line with business goals and values. Planning, operations, maintenance built into a robust strategy will eliminate headaches and unforeseen issues down the line.   

7. Automate automate automate!  

Successful and proper automation takes significant load off your team while streamlining processes surrounding maintenance, asset management, and even long-term costs. 

If you can ensure that you receive notifications, updates and scheduling reminders from a software solution regarding your ventilation system or the energy use from your lighting, that takes any guesswork out of it. You now have more bandwidth to address other areas and conduct analysis on reporting. In terms of cost, this gives you a clearer picture over the long and short term of where costs are going to be arising from and how often.  

This expands into total building automation, where the internet of things (IoT) and smart spaces are creating self-monitoring environments and systems to control things such as carbon emissions or energy use. Keeping levels under a certain amount without constant adjustment and checking of data makes reaching net-zero goals a more attainable end line. 

8. Introduce IoT to reduce costs and enhance capabilities.  

IoT systems are still relatively new, and their adaptation in a mainstream sense is yet to be realized. However, their benefits and application are readily apparent.  

Leveraging an IoT system in the future enhances what facilities managers can do as their network of interconnected tools grows as a result. Self-monitoring and data collecting IoT networks give greater reach and insight into how a building or workplace is interacting on a facilities level.  

In an increasingly digital dependent age, introducing IoT into your toolkit could be the catalyst to complete control and facilities optimization in your office using data on the connected areas. 

9. Ensure KPIs highlight both errors and opportunities.   

Analytics, data, reporting, all this information without context and clear KPIs loses some of its importance. Developing clear KPIs in your facilities management strategy that highlights both shortcomings and errors, as well as opportunities for improvement gives direction and purpose to your goals.  

What these look like is going to differ with each organization, but some core principles can include monitoring all areas, including those which your organization is actively working on improving. From there, establishing what constitutes the difference between an “error” and an area of opportunity in both a quantifiable and qualifiable way.  

What levels reflected in a system should be marked as a red flag? Where are areas that are not at their peak performance and could benefit from optimization? Optimize KPIs and your ROI will improve as a result, getting the most out of your facilities. 

10. Understand how workplace digitization plays a role in lowering costs.  

You’ve likely heard this term thrown around a lot during the last couple of years, with digitization rising to the top of priority lists in organizations to navigate a remote world. Digitization and the integration of in-house data and servers means less expenses through third parties as well as access to all data when needed and can be used as needed. 

Digitization leads to better decision making and innovation , which obviously leads to better IT decisions and business decisions to improving ROI on things such as infrastructure and usage. Integrating this into a strategy will optimize your facilities approach. 

More efficient processes and decisions will lead to lower expenses and better outcomes if things such as facilities management are digitized, as automation and better maintenance means more regular preventative action and less reactive action that could cost significant downtime, repairs, or replacement. 

11. Keep industry evolution in mind  

Things are changing and evolving every day, it may not be a groundbreaking piece of tech every week that changes an industry, but the gradual adoption of ideas and ways of doing things that lead to true evolution. To effectively draft a facilities strategy with this in mind, digitization and being open to new technologies is an important step.  

Understanding that things will change means keeping an open mind and staying up to date with trends. A good way to do this is subscribing to reporting entities like Verdantix for industry reports and trends that are developed with the help of key players in your space.  

Using these resources and listening to professionals around you who are in the same role can shape your outlook and have a forward-facing goal in mind when creating a facilities management strategy rather than only focusing on managing day to day tasks.  

Integration of a workplace management system to keep things in line, as well as visualization software or digital twins for asset management and insightful data collection only adds to your arsenal of tools to help get your facilities management strategy to where you and your business want it to be.  

Facility Management Company Marketing Plan Template

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When it comes to marketing your facility management company, having a well-crafted plan is essential. With ClickUp's Facility Management Company Marketing Plan Template, you can easily create a comprehensive roadmap for success.

This template will help you:

• Conduct in-depth market research to understand your target audience and competitors
• Develop a strong brand positioning strategy to differentiate yourself in the market
• Implement effective lead generation tactics to attract potential clients
• Create a customer acquisition and retention plan to build long-lasting relationships
• Utilize the right communication channels to create awareness and highlight the benefits of your facility management solutions

Take your facility management company's marketing efforts to the next level with ClickUp's Marketing Plan Template. Start planning your path to success today!

Benefits of Facility Management Company Marketing Plan Template

A well-crafted Facility Management Company Marketing Plan Template can provide numerous benefits for your facility management business. Here are just a few:

• Streamlining your marketing efforts and ensuring consistency across all channels
• Helping you identify and target your ideal clients more effectively
• Providing a roadmap for market research and analysis to make informed decisions
• Outlining strategies to establish a strong brand positioning and differentiate from competitors
• Guiding you in generating leads and converting them into paying customers
• Enhancing customer acquisition and retention through effective communication channels
• Creating awareness and showcasing the benefits of your facility management solutions
• Maximizing your marketing budget and optimizing ROI for your marketing activities

With a comprehensive marketing plan template, your facility management company can thrive and attract the right clients to support your business growth.

Main Elements of Facility Management Company Marketing Plan Template

ClickUp's Facility Management Company Marketing Plan template provides a comprehensive solution for organizing your marketing efforts.

Here are the main elements of this template:

• Custom Statuses: Keep track of the progress of your marketing tasks with 6 different statuses, including Cancelled, Complete, In Progress, Needs Input, Planned, and To Do.
• Custom Fields: Utilize 6 custom fields such as Quarter, Task Type, Impact, Progress, Percent Completion, and Effort to capture important information about each task and ensure accurate reporting.
• Custom Views: Access 5 different views tailored to your specific needs, including Key Results to track and measure your marketing objectives, Timeline to visualize project deadlines, Getting Started Guide for onboarding new team members, Objectives to define and monitor your marketing goals, and Progress Board to gain a holistic view of your team's progress.
• Project Management: Leverage ClickUp's powerful features such as time tracking, task dependencies, and integrations to streamline your marketing processes and maximize efficiency.

How to Use Marketing Plan for Facility Management Company

If you're looking to create a successful marketing plan for your facility management company, look no further! Follow these five steps to effectively use the Facility Management Company Marketing Plan Template in ClickUp:

1. Define your target audience

To start, identify and define your target audience. Who are your ideal customers? What industries do you serve? Understanding your target audience will help you tailor your marketing efforts to their specific needs and preferences.

Use custom fields in ClickUp to categorize and segment your target audience based on factors such as industry, company size, and location.

2. Set clear marketing objectives

Next, establish clear and measurable marketing objectives. What do you want to achieve with your marketing efforts? Whether it's increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or driving conversions, clearly define your goals to guide your marketing strategy.

Create tasks in ClickUp to outline each marketing objective and set deadlines for achieving them.

3. Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy

Now that you have your objectives in place, it's time to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy. Determine the key tactics and channels you'll use to reach your target audience, such as digital advertising, content marketing, social media, or email campaigns.

Utilize the Board view in ClickUp to create a visual representation of your marketing strategy, with each tactic represented as a card that can be easily moved and prioritized.

4. Implement and track your marketing activities

Once your marketing strategy is defined, it's time to put it into action. Implement each marketing activity outlined in your plan, ensuring that you allocate resources and budget accordingly. Be consistent in your messaging and branding across all channels to maintain a strong and cohesive presence.

Use Automations in ClickUp to streamline your marketing activities, such as automatically sending out email campaigns or scheduling social media posts.

5. Monitor, analyze, and optimize

Finally, regularly monitor and analyze the performance of your marketing activities. Track key metrics such as website traffic, lead generation, conversion rates, and customer feedback. Identify what's working well and what can be improved, and make data-driven optimizations to continuously enhance your marketing efforts.

Utilize Dashboards in ClickUp to create visual reports and track key marketing metrics in real-time, making it easy to identify trends and areas for improvement.

By following these five steps and utilizing the Facility Management Company Marketing Plan Template in ClickUp, you'll be well-equipped to create and execute a successful marketing plan that drives growth and success for your facility management company.

Get Started with ClickUp’s Facility Management Company Marketing Plan Template

Facility management companies can use this Marketing Plan Template to effectively promote their services and attract potential clients while building strong relationships with existing clients.

First, hit “Add Template” to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you’d like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to create a comprehensive marketing plan:

• Use the Key Results View to track the progress of your marketing objectives and measure success
• The Timeline View will help you visualize your marketing activities and plan them accordingly
• Refer to the Getting Started Guide View to understand the template's structure and fill in the necessary details
• Use the Objectives View to define your marketing goals and outline strategies to achieve them
• The Progress Board View will allow you to track the status of each marketing task and ensure timely completion
• Organize tasks into six different statuses: Cancelled, Complete, In Progress, Needs Input, Planned, To Do, to keep track of progress
• Update statuses as you progress through tasks to keep team members informed of progress
• Monitor and analyze tasks to ensure maximum productivity and achieve marketing success.

Related Templates

• Online Travel Agency Marketing Plan Template
• Residential Real Estate Marketing Plan Template
• Construction Equipment Marketing Plan Template
• Cosmetic Business Marketing Plan Template
• Drinks Marketing Plan Template

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Facility planning: A strategic approach to a better office

Facility planning is essential for the modern office, especially given the rapidly changing landscape of today’s workplace. With more and more companies embracing remote work , hybrid work , and more flexible working in general, they need strategic solutions that come from good facility planning in order to maintain structure and productivity. 

In this article, we explore why and how facility planning can help companies stay profitable and better support their workers. Even in the midst of new and changing realities on the ground. 

Panel Discussion

Top strategies for hybrid office space planning with CBRE’s Susan Wasmund

What is facility planning?

Facility planning is the systematic process that smart organizations use to ensure they have the facilities and related resources necessary to meet both their short and long term goals. Sometimes referred to as strategic facility planning, it’s the key decision-making that companies use to future-proof their workspaces. 

The reality is that simply following space management best practices isn’t always enough for your facility. Without good strategic planning and foresight, companies often stay stuck in problem-solving mode, instead of anticipating new problems before they arrive. 

On the other hand, when companies realistically assess their current and future space and facility needs, they can put themselves in a much better position to weather any new storms. 

In other words, facility planning is what helps companies take a proactive approach to their workplace strategy and real estate management , instead of a reactive one.  It’s about bringing business goals in line with facility goals. It’s also about ensuring both the business and its facilities are ready for the future. 

Who is responsible for facility planning?

The facility planning process is complex, requiring a high level of collaboration in the workplace .

That said, facility needs are typically handled by a facility manager (FM), or a facility management team. FMs make great planners, because they typically have both the data and resources at hand to make smart decisions for the office. And because keeping things running smoothly and anticipating needs is ultimately their main goal. 

FMs are responsible for all aspects of facility management, including ensuring employees have the tools and space they need to do their jobs properly.  As such, they are in the best position to understand facility goals. This is especially true when they collaborate with either an executive or growth team to stay up to speed on overarching business goals as well. 

Moreover, the roles and responsibilities of FMs have been evolving since the pandemic, so that they are more and more becoming leaders in their organizations—again, priming them to be in the best position to make good facility plans. 

This is also one of the main reasons why facility management services are usually best handled in-house—either by a dedicated FM, or by using facility management software to disperse these tasks among invested team members.  

What are the four steps in facilities planning?

No matter who manages facilities planning for your organization, this process works best when it follows the following four steps.

1. Understand your goals

As we’ve mentioned, facility planning is about bringing business goals in line with both current facilities and any planned expansions. So before any planning actually takes place, the planning task force needs to identify what demands are being placed on them from the business, coupled with the realities of their existing facility.

Thankfully, these two perspectives often dovetail. 

For example, cost-effective sustainability is quickly becoming a goal of virtually every business. 

Improving space utilization —which can dramatically cut back on the amount of corporate real estate needed—can therefore keep everyone happy. 

Remember, business drivers will vary from company to company. This ranges from responding to changing markets or demographics, adopting new information technology, preparing for potential mergers, or opening new offices or storefronts, just to name a few.

And of course, virtually every company is concerned with growth. 

Identifying which goals are most important now is the critical first step to planning. To make this process work, everyone on the facility planning team needs to understand the mission, vision, and company culture. 

FMs should therefore be given the tools and access they need to evaluate the entire real estate portfolio . Then, they can then understand how the business plan and other items coming down the pipeline will impact their space needs.

Only when they are armed with this critical data can they understand if current facilities will meet demand, or whether construction projects—or maybe just a better desk booking system—should be planned for the near future.

2. Analyze and set benchmarks

Of course, planning doesn’t stop with simply understanding your goals. You also need to understand how to actually make those goals a reality. 

To properly plan a facility, FMs need to leverage any and all existing data about the organization’s existing space management.

This isn’t just about knowing what your square footage is; it’s about figuring out how those square feet interact with staffing concerns and long term goals. 

Specifically, FM need three tools to strategically analyze their existing workspace and make plans for change:

• Comprehensive reports and analytics that provide actionable insights into the existing needs of employees and real-time use of existing space, including occupancy and portfolio reports
• Scenario planning software, which makes it easy to virtually test out the impacts of reconfigurations before having to manually implement them
• Stack plans , which provide a high-level picture of how space is currently being used

Of course, this assumes there is already an existing strategy in place to maximize the three basic elements of space management —effective space planning, effective office use, and effective space tracking. 

When these systems are in place, and the right data is being collected, FMs can use them to perform gap analysis and set benchmarks. This will guide future facility management in the best way possible. 

3. Start planning

Once FMs understand both their goals and their benchmarks, they can begin the actual work of creating their master plan. This is when the challenging work of translating a facility plan into a business plan happens. It will look different, depending on the business drivers for your organization. 

To plan properly, FMs should first document their primary objectives, and then conduct a risk assessment of any plans. This assessment should include cost analysis, which can be done using scenario reports. 

At this stage, FMs can also benefit immensely from move management software . They will also need to develop a method for both gaining approval and reporting on results. 

Especially if their plans will include new working policies (such as implementing flexible seating arrangements like hot desking or office neighborhoods ), they may also want to seek input from both human resources and the employees themselves. 

In fact, companies should look to include all stakeholders in all aspects of the strategic planning process. 

4. Start acting

The more FMs are able to maximize the first steps of facilities planning, the easier acting on their plan will be. 

This is also where the right tools become essential. The best way to implement any new changes to a workplace or facility is with the right facility management software. Ideally, this is one that can integrate with your company’s existing integrated workplace management system (IWMS).

Finally, remember that strategic facility planning isn’t a ‘one and done’ occurrence. 

This is an iterative process. Any plans will need to be assessed, adapted, and maybe even rewritten on an ongoing basis. This will include continually relying on real-time data and comparing it against financial reports and other benchmarks. This will provide a picture of what’s working and what isn’t. 

What is the importance of facilities planning? 

There is a rise in types of work environments , the growing reliance on the digital workspace , and greater competition. As a result, we can only expect facility planning to become more and more important. 

When managed properly with the right tools, companies can expect to see the following benefits from strategic facility planning:

• Cost savings and improved sustainability, usually in the form of requiring less office space
• Improved employee experience and engagement, derived from new working arrangements that make better use of office space and enhance the digital workspace as well—critically important now during the Great Resignation
• Greater efficiency, thanks to the thoughtful analysis of how resources can optimized

Better still, these new changes will likely benefit other departments, potentially improving all aspects of using an office. For example, when FMs bring in better wayfinding systems to support any of the hybrid work models we’re currently seeing, they’re actually making the office easier to navigate for anyone who walks through its doors. 

In other words, when organizations are planning their facility, they are actually planning to future-proof their facility.

What are the dangers of not having a plan? 

Like Benjamin Franklin famously said, if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. Winging it is simply not an option. Especially when you’re managing something as complex as even a small company—let alone complete enterprise facility management . 

As the pandemic taught us, things don’t always go to plan. But the companies that had a system in place for making and implementing plans were the ones that were able to more quickly adjust to the new reality. Companies that have the right approach to facility planning will always be more nimble and resilient than those that fail to plan in the first place. 

See OfficeSpace in Action

Get a personalized demo and create a hybrid workplace that works for everyone

OfficeSpace offers a software solution that makes facility planning easy. Reach out for a free demo. 

Photos: Thirdman , Sora Shimazaki , ANTONI SHKRABA production , Mikhail Nilov

How to write a business plan for an arts facilities management company?

Creating a business plan for an arts facilities management company is an essential process for any entrepreneur. It serves as a roadmap that outlines the necessary steps to be taken to start or grow the business, the resources required, and the anticipated financial outcomes. It should be crafted with method and confidence.

This guide is designed to provide you with the tools and knowledge necessary for creating an arts facilities management company business plan, covering why it is so important both when starting up and running an established business, what should be included in your plan, how it should be structured, what tools should be used to save time and avoid errors, and other helpful tips.

We have a lot to cover, so let's get to it!

In this guide:

Why write a business plan for an arts facilities management company?

• What information is needed to create a business plan for an arts facilities management company?
• What goes in the financial forecast for an arts facilities management company?
• What goes in the written part of an arts facilities management company business plan?
• What tool can I use to write my arts facilities management company business plan?

Being clear on the scope and goals of the document will make it easier to understand its structure and content. So before diving into the actual content of the plan, let's have a quick look at the main reasons why you would want to write an arts facilities management company business plan in the first place.

To have a clear roadmap to grow the business

It's rarely business as usual for small businesses. The economy follows cycles where years of growth are followed by recessions, and the business environment is always changing with new technologies, new regulations, new competitors, and new consumer behaviours appearing all the time...

In this context, running a business without a clear roadmap is like driving blindfolded: it's dangerous at best. That's why writing a business plan for an arts facilities management company is essential to create successful and sustainable businesses.

To write an effective business plan, you will need to take stock of where you are (if you are already in business) and where you want the business to go in the next three to five years.

Once you know where you want your arts facilities management company to be, you'll have to identify:

• what resources (human, equipment, and capital) are needed to get there,
• at what pace the business needs to progress to get there in time,
• and what risks you'll face along the way.

Going through this process regularly is beneficial, both for startups and existing companies, as it helps make informed decisions about how best to allocate resources to ensure the long-term success of the business.

To maintain visibility on future cash flows

Businesses can go for years without making a profit, but they go bust as soon as they run out of cash. That's why "cash is king", and maintaining visibility on your arts facilities management company's future cash flows is critical.

How do I do that? That's simple: you need an up-to-date financial forecast.

The good news is that your arts facilities management company business plan already contains a financial forecast (more on that later in this guide), so all you have to do is to keep it up-to-date.

To do this, you need to regularly compare the actual financial performance of your business to what was planned in your financial forecast, and adjust the forecast based on the current trajectory of your business.

Monitoring your arts facilities management company's financial health will enable you to identify potential financial problems (such as an unexpected cash shortfall) early and to put in place corrective measures. It will also allow you to detect and capitalize on potential growth opportunities (higher demand from a given segment of customers for example).

To secure financing

A detailed business plan becomes a crucial tool when seeking financing from banks or investors for your arts facilities management company.

Investing and lending to small businesses are very risky activities given how fragile they are. Therefore, financiers have to take extra precautions before putting their capital at risk.

At a minimum, financiers will want to ensure that you have a clear roadmap and a solid understanding of your future cash flows (like we just explained above). But they will also want to ensure that your business plan fits the risk/reward profile they seek.

This will off-course vary from bank to bank and investor to investor, but as a rule of thumb. Banks will want to see a conservative financial management style (low risk), and they will use the information in your business plan to assess your borrowing capacity — the level of debt they think your business can comfortably handle — and your ability to repay the loan. This evaluation will determine whether they'll provide credit to your arts facilities management company and the terms of the agreement.

Whereas investors will carefully analyze your business plan to gauge the potential return on their investment. Their focus lies on evidence indicating your arts facilities management company's potential for high growth, profitability, and consistent cash flow generation over time.

Now that you recognize the importance of creating a business plan for your arts facilities management company, let's explore what information is required to create a compelling plan.

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Information needed to create a business plan for an arts facilities management company

Drafting an arts facilities management company business plan requires research so that you can project sales, investments and cost accurately in your financial forecast, and convince the reader that there is a viable commercial opportunity to be seized.

Below, we'll focus on three critical pieces of information you should gather before starting to write your plan.

Carrying out market research for an arts facilities management company

Before you begin writing your business plan for an arts facilities management company, conducting market research is a critical step in ensuring precise and realistic financial projections.

Market research grants you valuable insights into your target customer base, competitors, pricing strategies, and other crucial factors that can impact the success of your business.

In the course of this research, you may stumble upon trends that could impact your arts facilities management company.

You may find that more and more people are looking for an efficient and cost-effective way to manage their arts facilities. Additionally, you might discover that customers are increasingly interested in comprehensive services that cover a wide range of arts facility management needs.

Such market trends play a pivotal role in revenue forecasting, as they provide essential data regarding potential customers' spending habits and preferences.

By integrating these findings into your financial projections, you can provide investors with more accurate information, enabling them to make well-informed decisions about investing in your arts facilities management company.

Developing the sales and marketing plan for an arts facilities management company

Budgeting sales and marketing expenses is essential before creating an arts facilities management company business plan.

A comprehensive sales and marketing plan should provide an accurate projection of what actions need to be implemented to acquire and retain customers, how many people are needed to carry out these initiatives, and how much needs to be spent on promotions, advertising, and other aspects.

This helps ensure that the right amount of resources is allocated to these activities in order to hit the sales and growth objectives forecasted in your business plan.

The staffing and capital expenditure requirements of an arts facilities management company

Whether you are starting or expanding an arts facilities management company, it is important to have a clear plan for recruitment and capital expenditures (investment in equipment and real estate) in order to ensure the success of the business.

Both the recruitment and investment plans need to be coherent with the timing and level of growth planned in your forecast, and require appropriate funding.

Staffing costs could include salaries for facility managers, security personnel, maintenance workers and administrative staff. Equipment costs could include items such as computers, printers, and software necessary for operations, cleaning and security supplies, furniture, and tools and materials for repairs and maintenance.

In order to create a realistic financial forecast, you will also need to consider the other operating expenses associated with running the business on a day-to-day basis (insurance, bookkeeping, etc.). 

Once you have all the necessary information to create a business plan for your arts facilities management company, it is time to start creating your financial forecast.

What goes into your arts facilities management company's financial forecast?

The financial forecast of your arts facilities management company will enable you to assess the profitability potential of your business in the coming years and how much capital is required to fund the actions planned in the business plan.

The four key outputs of a financial forecast for a arts facilities management company are:

• The profit and loss (P&L) statement ,
• The projected balance sheet ,
• The cash flow forecast ,
• And the sources and uses table .

Let's take a closer look at each of these.

The projected P&L statement

The projected P&L statement for an arts facilities management company shows how much revenue and profits your business is expected to generate in the future.

Ideally, your arts facilities management company's P&L statement should show:

• Healthy growth - above inflation level
• Improving or stable profit margins
• Positive net profit

Expectations will vary based on the stage of your business. A startup will be expected to grow faster than an established arts facilities management company. And similarly, an established company should showcase a higher level of profitability than a new venture.

The projected balance sheet of your arts facilities management company

Your arts facilities management company's forecasted balance sheet enables the reader of your plan to assess your financial structure, working capital, and investment policy.

It is composed of three types of elements: assets, liabilities and equity:

• Assets: represent what the business owns and uses to produce cash flows. It includes resources such as cash, equipment, and accounts receivable (money owed by clients).
• Liabilities: represent funds advanced to the business by lenders and other creditors. It includes items such as accounts payable (money owed to suppliers), taxes due and loans.
• Equity: is the combination of what has been invested by the business owners and the cumulative profits and losses generated by the business to date (which are called retained earnings). Equity is a proxy for the value of the owner's stake in the business.

Your arts facilities management company's balance sheet will usually be analyzed in conjunction with the other financial statements included in your forecast.

Two key points of focus will be:

• Your arts facilities management company's liquidity: does your business have sufficient cash and short-term assets to pay what it owes over the next 12 months?
• And its solvency: does your business have the capacity to repay its debt over the medium-term?

The projected cash flow statement

A cash flow forecast for an arts facilities management company shows how much cash the business is projected to generate or consume.

The cash flow statement is divided into 3 main areas:

• The operating cash flow shows how much cash is generated or consumed by the operations (running the business)
• The investing cash flow shows how much cash is being invested in capital expenditure (equipment, real estate, etc.)
• The financing cash flow shows how much cash is raised or distributed to investors and lenders

Looking at the cash flow forecast helps you to ensure that your business has enough cash to keep running, and can help you anticipate potential cash shortfalls.

It is also a best practice to include a monthly cash flow statement in the appendices of your arts facilities management company business plan so that the readers can view the impact of seasonality on your business cash position and generation.

The initial financing plan

The sources and uses table or initial financing plan is a key component of your business plan when starting an arts facilities management company.

It shows where the capital needed to set up the business will come from (sources) and how it will be spent (uses).

This table helps size the investment required to set up the arts facilities management company, and understand how risks will be distributed between the business owners, and the financiers.

The sources and uses table also highlights what the starting cash position will be. This is key for startups as the business needs to have sufficient funding to sustain operations until the break-even point is reached.

Now that you have a clear understanding of what will go into the financial forecast of your arts facilities management company business plan, let's have a look at the written part of the plan.

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The written part of an arts facilities management company business plan

The written part of an arts facilities management company business plan is composed of 7 main sections:

• The executive summary
• The presentation of the company
• The products and services
• The market analysis
• The strategy
• The operations
• The financial plan

Throughout these sections, you will seek to provide the reader with the details and context needed for them to form a view on whether or not your business plan is achievable and your forecast a realistic possibility.

Let's go through the content of each section in more detail!

1. The executive summary

In your arts facilities management company's business plan, the first section is the executive summary — a captivating overview of your plan that aims to pique the reader's interest and leave them eager to learn more about your business.

When crafting the executive summary, start with an introduction to your business, including its name, concept, location, how long it has been running, and what sets it apart. Briefly mention the products and services you plan to offer and your target customer profile.

Following that, provide an overview of the addressable market for your arts facilities management company, current trends, and potential growth opportunities.

Next, include a summary of key financial figures like projected revenues, profits, and cash flows.

Finally, in the "ask" section, detail any funding requirements you may have.

2. The presentation of the company

As you build your arts facilities management company business plan, the second section deserves attention as it delves into the structure and ownership, location, and management team of your company.

In the structure and ownership part, you'll provide valuable insights into the legal structure of the business, the identities of the owners, and their respective investments and ownership stakes. This level of transparency is vital, particularly if you're seeking financing, as it clarifies which legal entity will receive the funds and who holds the reins of the business.

Moving to the location part, you'll offer a comprehensive view of the company's premises and articulate why this specific location is strategic for the business, emphasizing factors like catchment area, accessibility, and nearby amenities.

When describing the location of your arts facilities management company, you could emphasize the potential for growth. The area may be home to many cultural institutions and events, providing a range of opportunities for the company to expand and develop. The local infrastructure may also be well-developed, making it easier for the company to access resources and reach customers. You could also emphasize the potential for access to a diverse talent pool, enabling the company to recruit the best professionals for its mission. Additionally, the area may be home to a vibrant and dynamic arts and culture scene, making it an attractive and desirable place to do business.

Lastly, you should introduce your esteemed management team. Provide a thorough explanation of each member's role, background, and extensive experience.

It's equally important to highlight any past successes the management team has achieved and underscore the duration they've been working together. This information will instil trust in potential lenders or investors, showcasing the strength and expertise of your leadership team and their ability to deliver the business plan.

3. The products and services section

The products and services section of your arts facilities management company business plan should include a detailed description of what your company sells to its customers. 

For example, your arts facilities management company could offer services such as event and facility coordination, equipment rentals, and maintenance and repair services. Event and facility coordination could include helping to plan and manage events, such as concerts and exhibitions, and coordinating the use of the facility. Equipment rentals could help customers to easily access the necessary equipment for their events. Maintenance and repair services could help to ensure that the facility and its equipment are in good working order and safe to use. All of these services could help to ensure that customers are able to make the most of their time and resources in the facility.

The reader will want to understand what makes your arts facilities management company unique from other businesses in this competitive market.

When drafting this section, you should be precise about the categories of products or services you sell, the clients you are targeting and the channels that you are targeting them through. 

4. The market analysis

When you present your market analysis in your arts facilities management company business plan, it's crucial to include detailed information about customers' demographics and segmentation, target market, competition, barriers to entry, and any relevant regulations.

The main objective of this section is to help the reader understand the size and attractiveness of the market while demonstrating your solid understanding of the industry.

Begin with the demographics and segmentation subsection, providing an overview of the addressable market for your arts facilities management company, the key trends in the marketplace, and introducing different customer segments along with their preferences in terms of purchasing habits and budgets.

Next, focus on your target market, zooming in on the specific customer segments your arts facilities management company aims to serve and explaining how your products and services fulfil their distinct needs.

For example, your target market might include local businesses looking for a reliable and efficient arts facility management company. These businesses might value the ability to outsource a wide range of services, such as event planning, maintenance and security, to a professional organization. They might also appreciate the company's expertise and customer service, which could be customized to meet their needs.

Then proceed to the competition subsection, where you introduce your main competitors and highlight what sets you apart from them.

Finally, conclude your market analysis with an overview of the key regulations applicable to your arts facilities management company.

5. The strategy section

When crafting the strategy section of your business plan for your arts facilities management company, it's important to cover several key aspects, including your competitive edge, pricing strategy, sales & marketing plan, milestones, and risks and mitigants.

In the competitive edge subsection, clearly explain what sets your company apart from competitors. This is particularly critical if you're a startup, as you'll be trying to establish your presence in the marketplace among entrenched players.

The pricing strategy subsection should demonstrate how you aim to maintain profitability while offering competitive prices to your customers.

For the sales & marketing plan, outline how you plan to reach and acquire new customers, as well as retain existing ones through loyalty programs or special offers.

In the milestones subsection, detail what your company has achieved thus far and outline your primary objectives for the coming years by including specific dates for expected progress. This ensures everyone involved has clear expectations.

Lastly, in the risks and mitigants subsection, list the main risks that could potentially impact the execution of your plan. Explain the measures you've taken to minimize these risks. This is vital for investors or lenders to feel confident in supporting your venture - try to proactively address any objection they might have.

Your arts facilities management company could face a variety of risks. For example, it may be exposed to financial risk, such as potential losses caused by a poor investment decision. Additionally, it might be vulnerable to operational risk, such as potential losses caused by a change in personnel or a disruption in the supply chain.

6. The operations section

The operations of your arts facilities management company must be presented in detail in your business plan.

The first thing you should cover in this section is your staffing team, the main roles, and the overall recruitment plan to support the growth expected in your business plan. You should also outline the qualifications and experience necessary to fulfil each role, and how you intend to recruit (using job boards, referrals, or headhunters).

You should then state the operating hours of your arts facilities management company - so that the reader can check the adequacy of your staffing levels - and any plans for varying opening times during peak season. Additionally, the plan should include details on how you will handle customer queries outside of normal operating hours.

The next part of this section should focus on the key assets and IP required to operate your business. If you depend on any licenses or trademarks, physical structures (equipment or property) or lease agreements, these should all go in there.

You could have key assets such as high-end technology and specialized equipment used to manage the arts facility. This may include computer systems, sound systems, lighting systems, and other equipment needed to run the facility. Additionally, the company might have intellectual property in the form of proprietary software applications and processes used to manage the facility. These could be unique and provide a competitive advantage.

Finally, you should include a list of suppliers that you plan to work with and a breakdown of their services and main commercial terms (price, payment terms, contract duration, etc.). Investors are always keen to know if there is a particular reason why you have chosen to work with a specific supplier (higher-quality products or past relationships for example).

7. The presentation of the financial plan

The financial plan section is where we will include the financial forecast we discussed earlier in this guide.

Now that you have a clear idea of what goes into an arts facilities management company business plan, let's look at some of the tools you can use to create yours efficiently.

What tool should I use to write my arts facilities management company's business plan?

In this section, we will be reviewing the two main solutions for creating an arts facilities management company business plan:

• Using specialized online business plan software,
• Outsourcing the plan to the business plan writer.

Using an online business plan software for your arts facilities management company's business plan

The modern and most efficient way to write an arts facilities management company business plan is to use business plan software .

There are several advantages to using specialized software:

• You can easily create your financial forecast by letting the software take care of the financial calculations for you without errors
• You are guided through the writing process by detailed instructions and examples for each part of the plan
• You can access a library of dozens of complete business plan samples and templates for inspiration
• You get a professional business plan, formatted and ready to be sent to your bank or investors
• You can easily track your actual financial performance against your financial forecast
• You can create scenarios to stress test your forecast's main assumptions
• You can easily update your forecast as time goes by to maintain visibility on future cash flows
• You have a friendly support team on standby to assist you when you are stuck

If you're interested in using this type of solution, you can try The Business Plan Shop for free by signing up here .

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Hiring a business plan writer to write your arts facilities management company's business plan

Outsourcing your arts facilities management company business plan to a business plan writer can also be a viable option.

Business plan writers are skilled in creating error-free business plans and accurate financial forecasts. Moreover, hiring a consultant can save you valuable time, allowing you to focus on day-to-day business operations.

However, it's essential to be aware that hiring business plan writers will be expensive, as you're not only paying for their time but also the software they use and their profit margin.

Based on experience, you should budget at least £1.5k ($2.0k) excluding tax for a comprehensive business plan, and more if you require changes after initial discussions with lenders or investors.

Also, exercise caution when seeking investment. Investors prefer their funds to be directed towards business growth rather than spent on consulting fees. Therefore, the amount you spend on business plan writing services and other consulting services should be insignificant compared to the amount raised.

Keep in mind that one drawback is that you usually don't own the business plan itself; you only receive the output, while the actual document is saved in the consultant's business planning software. This can make it challenging to update the document without retaining the consultant's services.

For these reasons, carefully consider outsourcing your arts facilities management company business plan to a business plan writer, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of seeking outside assistance.

Why not create your arts facilities management company's business plan using Word or Excel?

Using Microsoft Excel and Word (or their Google, Apple, or open-source equivalents) to write an arts facilities management company business plan is a terrible idea.

For starters, creating an accurate and error-free financial forecast on Excel (or any spreadsheet) is very technical and requires both a strong grasp of accounting principles and solid skills in financial modelling.

As a result, it is unlikely anyone will trust your numbers unless - like us at The Business Plan Shop - you hold a degree in finance and accounting and have significant financial modelling experience in your past.

The second reason is that it is inefficient. Building forecasts on spreadsheets was the only option in the 1990s and early 2000s, nowadays technology has advanced and software can do it much faster and much more accurately.

And with the rise of AI, software is also becoming smarter at helping us detect mistakes in our forecasts and helping us analyse the numbers to make better decisions.

Also, using software makes it easy to compare actuals vs. forecasts and maintain our forecasts up to date to maintain visibility on future cash flows - as we discussed earlier in this guide - whereas this is a pain to do with a spreadsheet.

That's for the forecast, but what about the written part of my arts facilities management company business plan?

This part is less error-prone, but here also software brings tremendous gains in productivity:

• Word processors don't include instructions and examples for each part of your business plan
• Word processors don't update your numbers automatically when they change in your forecast
• Word processors don't handle the formatting for you

Overall, while Word or Excel may be viable options for creating an arts facilities management company business plan for some entrepreneurs, it is by far not the best or most efficient solution.

• A business plan has 2 complementary parts: a financial forecast showcasing the expected growth, profits and cash flows of the business; and a written part which provides the context needed to judge if the forecast is realistic and relevant.
• Having an up-to-date business plan is the only way to keep visibility on your arts facilities management company's future cash flows.
• Using business plan software is the modern way of writing and maintaining business plans.

We hope that this practical guide gave you insights on how to write the business plan for your arts facilities management company. Do not hesitate to get in touch with our team if you still have questions.

Also on The Business Plan Shop

• In-depth business plan structure
• How to write a business plan for a supplier
• How to format a business plan and make it look good?
• How to write the suppliers section of your business plan?
• Key steps to write a business plan?
• Free business plan template

Know someone who owns or wants to start an arts facilities management company? Share this article with them!

Founder & CEO at The Business Plan Shop Ltd

Guillaume Le Brouster is a seasoned entrepreneur and financier.

Guillaume has been an entrepreneur for more than a decade and has first-hand experience of starting, running, and growing a successful business.

Prior to being a business owner, Guillaume worked in investment banking and private equity, where he spent most of his time creating complex financial forecasts, writing business plans, and analysing financial statements to make financing and investment decisions.

Guillaume holds a Master's Degree in Finance from ESCP Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Business & Management from Paris Dauphine University.

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Facilities Management Plan Template

What is a Facilities Management Plan?

A Facilities Management Plan outlines processes and procedures for managing a facility. It outlines strategies and goals for improving the efficiency, safety, and security of a facility and the people who work in it. It is important for facilities managers and teams to have a plan in place to ensure that the facility is managed in the most effective and efficient way possible.

What's included in this Facilities Management Plan template?

• 3 focus areas
• 6 objectives

Each focus area has its own objectives, projects, and KPIs to ensure that the strategy is comprehensive and effective.

Who is the Facilities Management Plan template for?

This Facilities Management Plan template is designed for facilities managers and teams in all industries who are looking for a way to create a plan for managing their facilities. This template provides a structure for creating a plan that can be adapted to fit the needs of any facility. It can also help facilities managers and teams stay organized and on track to achieving their goals.

1. Define clear examples of your focus areas

Focus areas are the primary goals that the Facilities Management Plan is designed to achieve. These focus areas can vary depending on the goals and needs of the facility, but some common examples include enhancing facility management, optimizing maintenance processes, and enhancing facility security. It is important to clearly define these focus areas as they will serve as the foundation for the rest of the plan.

2. Think about the objectives that could fall under that focus area

Objectives are the specific goals that need to be achieved in order to accomplish the focus area. For example, under the focus area of enhancing facility management, objectives could include improving communication between Facility Managers and staff and increasing the efficiency of facility management. Objectives should be specific and measurable.

3. Set measurable targets (KPIs) to tackle the objective

KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators, are measurable targets that are designed to track the progress of an objective. For example, an objective of increasing the efficiency of facility management could have a KPI of decreasing the time spent on daily tasks. KPIs should be measurable, achievable, and relevant to the objective.

4. Implement related projects to achieve the KPIs

Projects, or actions, are the steps that need to be taken in order to achieve the KPIs. For example, if the KPI is to decrease the time spent on daily tasks, a project could be to implement a facility management software. Projects should be specific and achievable.

5. Utilize Cascade Strategy Execution Platform to see faster results from your strategy

Cascade Strategy Execution Platform helps teams create, execute, and measure their strategic plans. Cascade makes it easy to create a plan and keep track of progress, and helps teams identify areas for improvement and take action quickly. With Cascade, teams can see faster results from their strategy.

The strategic facilities plan (SFP) is a roadmap for facilities managers to inform others of current activities, where the department is headed, and how it expects to get there. The SFP is also a corporate endorsement of facilities priorities and policies. Using the company strategic plan as the basis for facilities strategies enables the facilities manager to establish clear parameters for actions and ensures that activities are consistent with the corporate direction. It also identifies to to management of the organization future facility plans so it may budget and plan more effectively.

For a mid-size company with a space inventory of one to two million square feet, developing an SFP the first time may require six months, or longer if the process is automated. The SFP’s usefulness is directly proportional to the amount of work invested to develop it. An automated SFP can be updated continuously, yielding greater benefits.

Six components of a strategic facilities plan:

1. mission statement.

The first step in drafting an SFP is to develop a facilities department mission statement containing policies with corresponding goals and objectives. The statement should be derived from the corporate mission, goals, and objectives. For example, if a company is divesting should acknowledge the need for the successful sale, divestiture, and re deployment of existing facilities resources.

2. Goals and objectives

Goals and objectives evolve from the facilities mission statement and set functional parameters and operating standards for the facilities department. Goals are quantitative statements translated into measurable tasks, such as completion of a certain construction project. Objectives are qualitative – for example, completion of a standards program. To avoid misunderstandings, goals and objectives must be reduced to writing.

3. Situational analysis

This is the process of capturing information about external and internal events that could have a significant influence, negative or positive, on the facilities department in the coming year. For example, corporate strategic planners may be unaware of legislation that increases regulatory compliance procedures regarding indoor air quality.

4. Key Variables

Determine the key variables that could affect the success of the facilities function. If a projected facilities funding increase does not occur, for example, the installation of computer workstations may be delayed due to inability to upgrade a building’s electrical service. Knowledge of what is happening in buildings is critical for effective budgeting and operation. Each key variable should be listed in order of priority, based on its impact on facilities, the company, or both.

5. Strategic scenarios

Scenario development enables the facilities manager to plan based on the likelihood that certain events may occur during the upcoming year, and set priorities and activities accordingly. The idea behind scenarios is to “rehearse” probable developments and be prepared to act if they occur. To make sure the scenarios are viable, develop three to five options; make each materially different from the others; make each one realistic (plausible); and enhance each scenario with the assumptions behind it.

6. Recommended strategy

Based on the scenarios, a final recommendation can be made to decision-makers, which will have a high degree of support for the choices they must make. The choice of strategy should meet the following criteria:

• It should have internal consistency.
• It should be consistent with the corporate culture and environment.
• There must be flexibility within the strategy.
• Appropriate resources to implement it should be available.
• It should involve an acceptable degree of risk to the company.
• It should be achievable in an appropriate time frame.
• It should be practical.

A facilities strategy should be clear and easily understood by corporate management. This type of clarity improves the image of facilities management as a corporate activity.

This installment of FM Check List is adapted from BOMI Institute’s Fundamentals of Facilities Management course, ( www.bomi-edu.org/13031.html ), a requirement in the Facilities Management Administrator (FMA) designation program.

This document is an update of the BOMI article originally published on FMLink in March 1999.

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Facility Management Plan: A Modern Approach For Managers

When developing effective facility operations strategies, facility management tactics and practices are an essential part of the planning process. While facility managers have traditionally relied on preventive maintenance as a proactive asset management methodology, there is a significant shift to predictive maintenance (PdM) due to real-time data becoming more prevalent and machine learning providing better insights into potential areas of risk.

Today we will discuss how facility maintenance strategic planning helps managers develop effective maintenance tactics and practices, including ongoing actions as well as emergency and contingency checklists and budgeting guidelines. We will also discuss how managers can create this plan, and best implement it. Then, introduce LLumin’s computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS+) software as the best PdM solution available to facility managers.

Facility Management Planning and Modernization

A facility management plan should provide an in-depth overview of the processes that govern your facilities. This comprehensive and detailed document aids in establishing and executing procedures for the maintenance and upkeep of company assets to ensure they operate at peak performance. A facility management plan will typically cover the following three areas:

• Maintenance plan: A maintenance plan makes it easier to schedule work orders, balance budgets, and reserve resources needed to keep company assets in good working order. A facility management plan will define maintenance procedures for critical facility assets such as HVAC, fire safety, power, and plumbing systems. This plan should be designed to reduce the risk of unexpected system failures, which can disrupt production or endanger the safety of your workforce. It should also address all questions regarding maintenance or facility upkeep concerns.
• Emergency plans: A facility management plan should include emergency procedures to be followed in the event of a system failure or other emergency situations. Because of the unpredictable nature of emergency events, emergency maintenance cannot be planned in advance. However, your maintenance plan should address emergency preparedness and detail proper procedures for emergency events.
• Budgeting: Maintenance without set schedules and budget plans is extremely risky. Because of this, your facility maintenance plan should include a comprehensive monetary plan and budget for all necessary maintenance requirements.

The Shift to Predictive Maintenance Models

With the availability of integrated technologies and adaptive software systems, proactive maintenance strategies are enabling facility managers to monitor assets and visualize repair and replacement requirements before assets malfunction or fail. As a result, the facility management sector has begun to shift away from preventive maintenance to PdM models .

There are several advantages to PdM over other maintenance models. One of the most significant advantages of PdM is its advanced analytics and alerting capabilities. When assets exhibit failure patterns, the appropriate personnel are notified, and company assets can be repaired before lengthy downtime occurs.

Implementing CMMS software such as LLumin’s CMMS+ solution can enable a predictive maintenance strategy, increasing overall operational efficiency. LLumin’s CMMS+ can detect assets at risk of fault or failure, allowing facility and maintenance managers to avoid last-minute repairs and rushed orders. Most importantly, the software identifies machinery’s energy use and output, particularly those that have shown a decrease in performance, while also helping to extend the lifespan of company assets and lowering net carbon emissions.

Rethinking Emergency Planning

To optimize emergency planning, it’s necessary to rethink how technology is used to avoid emergency events before they occur, such as unexpected breakdowns and changes in facility conditions that can endanger health and safety.

Rather than relying on preventive maintenance that is scheduled on a calendar or based on asset runtime, predictive maintenance uses real-time data monitoring to capture patterns that indicate equipment or a component is about to fail.

The best way to mitigate emergencies is to ensure that your facility management plan includes updated and optimized maintenance strategies. This should include the development of maintenance strategies capable of identifying and resolving equipment issues before they cause failure and the use of predictive or condition-based maintenance.

Modernized Budget Planning

When discussing the benefits of predictive maintenance , it is common to focus solely on cost and maintenance quality. However, there are several advantages that have an impact on an organization’s financial performance, especially when the higher financial costs of unplanned downtime and accidents are taken into consideration.

Currently, most organizations use preventive maintenance models, and these practices can be a significant source of budget allocation and spending. The operational budgets of these organizations are frequently devoted mainly to preventive maintenance management. Adopting a predictive maintenance model can increase an organization’s budget accuracy and efficiency while extending the life of expensive company assets.

Preventive maintenance will not sufficiently address future budgetary constraints in the age of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and predictive analytics and diagnostics. A predictive model capable of suggesting maintenance procedures based on data will be required to forecast maintenance costs accurately.

Updating and Implementing Your Facility Management Plan

Updating and implementing your facility management plan will require creating a comprehensive strategy to address operational weaknesses and opportunities for improvement—and support from upper management.

The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) lists four steps to planning and executing a comprehensive facility management plan, which are:

• Understanding: Define your overall mission, vision, and purpose of implementing modernized changes.
• Analysis: Through scenario planning, consider current and future facility maintenance needs, measuring current organizational strengths, weaknesses, and potential opportunities or threats.
• Planning: Outline the actions that will be taken as part of your facility management plan and the anticipated time frame for achieving new organizational objectives.
• Action: Implement the plan while tracking performance and shortcomings over time.

Utilizing LLumin’s CMMS+ for Facility Management Planning

Modern facility management planning is being significantly impacted by cutting-edge technologies capable of reducing costs and helping organizations maintain a competitive advantage in the face of strict financial constraints. This technology is helping organizations achieve their maintenance and performance goals.

LLumin’s CMMS+ software is an innovative tool to help facility managers increase visibility and management of expensive assets, asset issues, statuses, and potential risks. The advanced predictive maintenance platform is a complete solution for condition-based monitoring. Not only does the CMMS+ software monitor real-time, machine-level data, but it also analyzes it based on historical information and machine-learning algorithms. So, facility managers can stay ahead of machine failures, increasing uptime—and their bottom line. 

When you choose to work with LLumin, you will have access to top-notch customer service throughout the entire process. Your implementation will be tailored to your company’s unique goals and business processes. We will provide you with a complete implementation plan and support team to accelerate and guide you through your digital transformation.

So if you are looking for a cutting-edge CMMS+ accompanied by a seamless implementation process and an expert customer support staff, then LLumin is a perfect fit.

Getting Started With LLumin

LLumin develops innovative CMMS software to manage and track assets for industrial plants, municipalities, utilities, fleets, and facilities. If you’d like to learn more about how our platform can improve your facility management plan, we encourage you to schedule a free demo or contact the experts at LLumin to see how our CMMS+ software can help you reach your efficiency and cost-cutting goals.

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The Top 7 Facilities Management Goals and How To Achieve Them

The best facilities managers set strategic goals for their team. Check out the top seven goals you should be setting for you and your team this year!

Table of contents

Facilities management goals your team should set, how to set facilities management goals for your team, the bottom line.

Goal setting is one of the most important aspects of any organization. Without established goals, it can be challenging to know what direction an organization should be moving in or what measures to implement to achieve success. This is especially true for facilities management teams.

Facilities management teams have a lot of responsibilities. From ensuring the safety and security of employees and the property to maintaining a clean and efficient workplace, many goals need to be met. Therefore, facilities management teams need to set specific goals and objectives, so everyone knows what is expected of them.

In this blog post, we outline the top goals and objectives of facilities management teams and explain why setting them is essential. We also discuss how you can effectively set goals for your team and ensure they are achieved.

Below are some of the top goals that facilities management teams should set to help you create a safe, efficient, comfortable, and productive workplace.

1. Keep disease prevention and infection control a priority

Facilities management teams should keep disease prevention a top goal. Although some people believe the spread of COVID-19 is lessening, it’s still present in high numbers and has the potential to surge again. Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared monkeypox a global health emergency.

By remaining vigilant and practicing sound disease prevention methods, teams can reduce staff absences, make the workplace more attractive to job applicants, and help the community.

Some ways to do this include ensuring proper ventilation, regularly cleaning and disinfecting surfaces, offering free testing, encouraging employees to vaccinate, and educating employees on good hygiene practices.

2. Strategize for the future

As any facilities manager knows, it’s important to have a long-term strategic plan. Anticipating where the organization is going and what its needs will be 1 to 5 years down the road can help you make decisions today that save time and money in the future and boost performance.

But of course, strategic planning is only the first step. You also have to ensure that it stays relevant and is followed. Revisiting the plan regularly and updating it when needed is essential to keeping it accurate and helpful.

If you don’t already have a long-term strategy, making it a goal for the coming year is a great way to ensure that your facilities are well-managed now and in the future, so you have the best chance of success.

3. Enable good communication

Good communication should be a key goal for any facilities management team to run the facility smoothly. Keeping an open line for dialogue with stakeholders and occupants is crucial to ensure they’re comfortable with their surroundings. By doing so, your facilities management team can learn how the facility is perceived regularly and work on making improvements accordingly.

Additionally, occupants should be able to easily convey their opinions and recommendations via safe and secure channels, such as dedicated email, one-on-one meetings, or through facilities management software so that they can voice their concerns without fear of reprisal. By having an open and effective line of communication, your team can work together to make the facility more efficient and pleasant.

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4. Increase sustainability and energy efficiency

Facility managers are increasingly turning their attention to sustainable practices and energy efficiency. These initiatives have many benefits, including reduced operating costs, a smaller environmental footprint, and improved indoor air quality.

Additionally, green and energy-efficient practices can create a more comfortable work environment for employees. This, in turn, shows that you’re a responsible company that cares about doing the right thing, which also helps you attract new talent and customers who share those values.

Facilities management teams can increase sustainability and energy efficiency in a number of ways. Some of these include:

• Implementing energy-efficient lighting systems
• Using utility tracking and energy management software
• Installing energy-efficient windows and doors
• Upgrading to energy-efficient appliances
• Improving insulation
• Minimizing waste and recycling as much as possible

5. Keep up to date with maintenance

Another important goal for facility management teams should be to keep up with maintenance (both reactive and preventive maintenance). Keeping the facility well-maintained can prevent minor problems from turning into big ones. Additionally, it can help extend your equipment’s life and improve your workplace’s overall operational efficiency.

You have numerous ways to ensure that your workplace is properly maintained. For example, you could create a preventive maintenance schedule, conduct regular inspections, ensure you have a proper system in place to manage work orders , and provide employees with proper training on maintaining equipment. You can also check out this helpful guide on how to set effective maintenance goals .

6. Create a comfortable work environment

Employees spend a large majority of their day at work. Therefore, facilities management teams need to create a work environment that’s comfortable and conducive to productivity.

You can use several approaches to make a work facility more comfortable for everyone who uses it. These can include adjusting the temperature, introducing natural light, adding plants, hiring a professional cleaning company, having comfortable seating, and ensuring employees have everything they need to make their jobs as easy as possible.

By taking these steps, you can create an environment where employees enjoy spending time, which will help them be more productive. A comfortable work environment is good for both employees and employers, so it’s something every facilities manager should strive for.

7. Ensure safety and security

The safety and security of employees and property should be a top priority for any facilities management team. In addition to the clear moral and legal implications, several practical reasons exist for why workplace safety and security should be a top focus. First, safe and secure facilities are more productive. Employees who feel safe and secure are more likely to show up to work and be productive while they’re there. Second, safe and secure facilities are more efficient. Facilities that are well-lit and free of hazards are easier to navigate and require less maintenance. Finally, safe and secure facilities are more cost-effective in the long run. Facilities can save on insurance premiums, repairs, and replacements by preventing accidents, theft, and vandalism.

So, now you have a clear idea of the goals you might want to set, how do you put that plan into practice? This may seem simple, but it’s not uncommon to set poor organizational goals that hamper success. Here are a few tips to help you set effective goals for your facilities management department:

• First, write your goals down and create a facilities management checklist . This helps ensure everyone is on the same page and knows what needs to be done.
• Second, be specific when setting your goals. Vague objectives only lead to confusion and frustration. Instead, focus on creating tangible and measurable goals.
• Third, avoid setting unrealistic goals that can’t be attained. This only serves to demotivate your team members. Instead, set achievable objectives that challenge your team but still allow them to succeed.
• Fourth, ensure that your goals are timely by setting deadlines for their completion. This helps keep your maintenance team focused and on track.
• Finally, remain accountable for meeting your goals by periodically checking in with your team and helping them troubleshoot any issues they may have.

By following these simple tips, you and your facilities management team can set effective goals and ensure the desired goals are achieved. When in doubt, set SMART facilities management goals.

Here is an example of what an effective facilities management performance goal might look like:

“We will reduce the number of workplace accidents by 25% within the next 12 months by implementing a safety training program for all employees and increasing the frequency of safety inspections.”

There you have it! These are some of the most important goals and objectives on every facilities management team’s list, as well as some tips on setting effective goals for your organization.

By setting these goals and striving to achieve them, you can create a safe, comfortable, productive, and cost-effective work environment.

Alayna McCurry

VP, Marketing at FMX

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How to Develop and Write a Facility Asset Management Plan

 We’re here to ensure that doesn’t happen to you. In this article, we’ll explain what a facility asset management plan is and show you how to create one, covering helpful examples along the way. 

The purpose of a facility asset management plan

A hierarchy of asset management documents begins with an asset management policy , flows into an asset management strategy , and ends with a series of asset management plans.

Each document level serves a particular purpose, which, when combined, supports a business’s asset purchase, use, care, and disposal expectations.

An asset management plan is a document detailing a department’s process to turn a defined strategy into actionable steps. Unlike policy or strategy documents, the wording and focus are short-term, measurable, and dynamic .

A company will have only one asset management strategy but may have multiple asset management plans. It’s common for each internal department to have a plan that focuses solely on the assets and particular context within the department.

Developing an asset management plan

A facility asset management plan is an operationally focused document that has no room for aspirational statements. Think of it as a tactical checklist, listing tasks to achieve within a certain timeframe and budget. The goal of this document is to implement the higher-level objectives outlined in the asset management strategy document .

The following steps will help you gather the data you need to write an effective facility asset management plan.

1. Complete an asset inventory

Asset inventory requires more data than just asset location. A detailed asset inventory should contain the following information (estimate the following information where it’s available):

• Asset location: If you have an asset tracking system in place , you should already have this information.
• Asset condition: Don’t simply cover asset operation and maintenance in this assessment. Check whether the asset is clean and cosmetically well-maintained, is it compliant with safety requirements, is it experiencing performance issues, etc.
• Asset value: The finance department should list depreciated values for each company’s asset . Note down if this theoretical value contradicts the asset’s condition.
• Remaining life: This estimate is very subjective, but consider how long the equipment will go on performing its function before a replacement is needed. We’re not talking about economic life; we’ll cover that soon. Just quantify its mechanical life if maintained to its current standard.

Checklist for Creating a Preventive Maintenance Plan

Following a consistent preventive maintenance plan can make life easier. use this checklist to create your own.

2. Identify critical assets

The most straightforward way to identify assets is to perform a criticality analysis . You’re looking to analyze how each asset failure impacts your costs, operations, environmental complaints, and safety.

Create a scale with metrics to rank the severity. For instance, equipment failure with a low severity may rank at 1 and cost the business less than $10,000, but a high severity of 5 may be over $500,000 or even potentially close the business.

This criticality ranking helps you rank the assets and identify those that deserve more attention from your maintenance team.

3. Identify asset performance

The goal is to understand how well each asset performs its role in making the company profitable, compliant, and safe.

Keep in mind that even newer assets in good operating condition can perform below the expected standards or require very high maintenance expenditures to function optimally.

The easiest way to gauge asset performance is to consult your computerized maintenance management software (CMMS). Check the asset’s maintenance costs, as well as its reliability and performance metrics.

Compare these in-service results with industry norms to understand how well your assets are performing.

4. Carry out a gap analysis against strategy expectations

Steps one through three will provide insight into your asset performance, useful life, criticality, and costs. With this foundation, you can compare the current asset state and capability against the objectives of the asset management strategy.

Suppose the asset management strategy states that asset lifecycle costs must get reduced by 25%, production efficiency should improve by 30%, or the non-conforming product metric must reduce from 9% to 3%.

By understanding the current conditions on your plant floor, you will immediately see if you can reach those goals. If not, you should also be able to identify problematic assets and processes you need to improve to get where you need to go.

5. Determine tactics to close the gap between performance and expectation

Once you know where you’re falling short, you can develop a list of tactics to help fix these issues.

These tactics will often be wide-ranging and may include:

• Improving operator performance
• Implementing more equipment redundancy
• Investing in asset modifications
• Revising existing or implementing new maintenance programs
• Changing maintenance contractors and vendors.

6. Develop an annual works plan

Now it’s time to break down the tactics you identified in the previous step and outline a plan for their implementation. Think of this as a project plan with costs and justifications.

Look three to five years ahead and consider the following (don’t forget to define the starting and completion dates):

• Prioritize quick wins: You identified glaring deficiencies or easy fixes during your analysis. Focus on the easy ones first to start generating rapid results and increase worker and management support.
• Identify maintenance modifications: Changing a maintenance plan requires careful consideration and planning to prevent disruption. Collaborate with the engineering and maintenance teams to gain agreement on actions, dates, and resource requirements.
• Allocate the needed resources: Training existing employees, modifying schedules, or implementing new hires all require coordination and planning. Don’t forget to communicate these changes before they happen, and involve HR in the discussion. Also, define the costs of these changes.
• Highlight changes to the asset lifecycle: Discuss, plan, and define costs of any equipment modification, disposal, and new purchases. Communicate those to your procurement team.
• Plan operational changes: List the required operational changes (shift amendments, upskilling plans, involving operators in equipment maintenance). Discuss changes with all stakeholders. 

7. Estimate the budget

Estimate all changes and capture the direct costs for implementation, along with its effects on:

• Asset longevity
• Capital apportionment
• Spare-holding costs.

Remember, the cost of an asset usually forms only about 20% of the total cost of ownership , with the rest being the remainder of the lifecycle costs.

Use net present value (NPV) calculations to support major investments.

8. Conduct regular reviews

Make sure to schedule regular reviews of the asset management plan. Check if everything is on schedule and within the estimated budget, and whether the changes are leading to the desired outcomes.

A typical structure of an asset management plan document

You will never find two identical asset management plans. They vary by industry and the specific context within the department.

However, the following structure can be used as a guide when writing such a document.

The summary should highlight the key takeaways from the gap analysis and subsequent tactics, actions, timeframes, and expected outcomes.

As a concise overview, it should give the reader a taste of what’s to follow.

2. Purpose and scope

This chapter aligns the actions in the plan with the objectives of the overarching asset strategy.

It should place a boundary around the plan’s impact by describing the departmental or geographical limits it applies to, and the time span over which the plan will be relevant.

3. Current assessment

Explains the major roadblocks or restrictions that make strategic objectives difficult to achieve.

Group the identified issues under common headings. It could be poor critical equipment reliability, sup-optimal skill levels, or a lack of resources.

4. Future performance

This chapter links the successful corrections of the current deficiencies to positive changes supporting the objectives from your asset strategy.

Explain — in measurable terms — the benefits that will accrue to the business.

5. Maintenance program

Changes in operating philosophy, equipment modifications, new assets, or reliability initiatives will require a review and adjustments to the maintenance program.

The shift may be:

• A transition from planned maintenance to total productive maintenance (TPM)
• Revised shift pattern
• New tooling
• Improved spare holdings.

Detail what must change to accommodate or promote improved asset performance and longevity.

6. Financial calculations

If you spend a dollar in business, you must be sure you’ll get at least two back.

In this section, lay out the budget for your plan, show how that expenditure will repay itself through performance in line with strategic objectives, and set the timescale within which you expect to see a result.

7. Improvement action plan

This section is the monthly project plan that shows the start and completion date of each initiative and, preferably, those responsible and accountable for the event.

This chapter will be your roadmap with which you can build key performance indicators and reward successful implementation.

A few examples of different asset management plans

Finding examples relevant to the private industry is a challenge. Most private companies keep such plans confidential.

Still, we can find examples from public utilities, which help show the wide differences in format and style:

• Cheshire East Council : The UK city’s council plan dives a little more into strategy than an internal departmental action plan usually would. It has a good three-year action plan stipulating when tasks or review activities will begin and finish.
• Auckland Council : This New Zealand city’s council plan is far more comprehensive than the one expected from a department in a manufacturing company. However, it discusses the strategic aim of the council and the gap analysis against current performance. There are also extensive CAPEX and OPEX calculations, with timelines of specific initiatives.
• Thunder Bay : Canadian city’s plan has useful examples of asset condition estimation, age, estimated useful life, and service levels received from the assets. As this is a first-stage plan for asset management, rather than discreet actions for each asset, it lays out a timetable for the next stage of asset analysis and evaluation. Appendix F also shows how the plan aligns with other corporate planning departments. 

Get the most out of your assets

Facility asset management plans are essential components of an organization’s asset management initiative. They are short-term tactical plans that:

• Indicate the steps a business or department will take to meet the objectives of their asset management strategy
• Justify budget spending
• Set key performance indicators (KPIs) to track.

Creating an asset plan that follows your policy and strategy documents can help you get the most out of your assets, maximize operational effectiveness, and can give you an edge over your competitors. To learn more about asset management and maintenance, keep browsing the Limble blog .

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Action Plans

Successful facility executives make their marks in part by ignoring facilities — at least when it comes to setting priorities. That’s not to say facility performance isn’t important. On the contrary, it’s immensely important. But when it comes down to identifying which aspects of facility performance count most, top facility executives look first to the needs of the organization. Those needs set the agenda.

That approach explains why different facility executives can have such different to-do lists. Here’s a look at the items that top the 2002 agenda for facility executives in five leading organizations. Taken together, these five snapshots provide a picture of the complex range of challenges facility executives will face in the coming year and of the strategies they’re using to meet those challenges.

Innovation Is Fidelity’s Priority

During a recession, finding ways to wring every penny out of real estate expenses can become such an overriding priority that, in some organizations, cost cutting becomes an end in itself. Not so at Fidelity Investments Corporate Real Estate. “We’re trying to offer our customers a competitive advantage,” says Stephen Bell, president of the Fidelity real estate unit. “Cost cutting is one way to do that. But we’re still focused on providing innovative workplaces. We’ve not cut back on that. In fact, we’ve expanded our efforts to provide creative occupancy solutions.”

Behind that approach is simple economics. Because real estate represents about 4 percent of total Fidelity operating costs, even a substantial reduction in those expenses pales in comparison to the payback for improving performance for the rest of the company. “That’s the significant opportunity,” says Bell. “We’re interested in reducing real estate costs, but not if it means hurting the performance of the rest of the company.”

In the search for creative ways to house Fidelity’s business units, one path leads through a research lab dedicated to exploring innovations in the design of physical space. It isn’t surprising to hear the word “creative” applied to things like new ideas in furniture or office layout. But at Fidelity, creativity extends to areas employees never see — under the floor, for example, or in a mechanical room.

When it comes to infrastructure, the Fidelity real estate group is on the lookout for approaches that will deliver a competitive advantage. The headquarters of Fidelity’s German arm will have chilled ceilings, radiant heating and innovative lighting. In the United States, everything Fidelity has built over the past two and a half years has been set up for wireless communications. “We know wireless isn’t ready for prime time,” says Bell. “But when it’s ready, we’ll be ready.”

Fidelity expects innovation to pay off. For example, the company designed a 600,000-square-foot facility in Texas with underfloor air distribution. It’s following up with a study to see whether it’s had any impact on churn; to gauge the impact on indoor air, Fidelity is tracking absenteeism.

Fidelity occupies about 8.3 million square feet of space in the United States, a number that is growing 12 to 14 percent a year. To manage that space, Fidelity relies on a corporate real estate staff of about 165 that focuses on activities where a high level of expertise can have the most impact on performance. There’s a client services team of top project managers. There’s the in-house workplace research lab run by a former marketing manager. There’s a group of data center engineers so good that they’re used as benchmarks by outsourcing providers. There’s a consulting engineer whose job is to keep on top of energy technologies. “Our focus has been outsourcing tactical functions that we can buy,” Bell says.

In a recent organizational change, security now reports to corporate real estate. That plan was in the works prior to Sept. 11; the terrorist attacks accelerated the shift. The real estate group now sits on several company-wide committees looking into areas like bioterrorism. Even when corporate real estate isn’t ultimately responsible for developing policies and procedures, it sometimes leads the effort.

“We need to make sure we deal effectively with the threats,” Bell says. That means starting with risk assessments and then evaluating physical changes to improve security.

“It wasn’t in our business plan, but it’s become a huge issue for us,” Bell says.

— Edward Sullivan , editor

At Miami, Efficiency is Driving Change

Victor Atherton can boil his professional philosophy down to one word: efficiency. As associate vice president of facility administration at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., Atherton’s mission is to operate the university at the least cost per square foot possible. And those aren’t just words.

The university has saved $2.7 million through productivity and energy efficiency gains in 2000, and Atherton aims to do as well or better this year. His incentive is based on his unusual arrangement with the university: What the department saves, the department keeps. And a further productivity gain is one of the first things on his mind these days.

A zone maintenance system and a computerized maintenance management system have enabled the school to reduce its maintenance staff in full time equivalent employees by 40 percent — all by attrition.

“But we still spend 18 percent of our time on travel, 2 percent on paperwork, 6 percent on getting parts and 3 percent on troubleshooting,” Atherton says. “This represents 15 people.”

His mission this year is to cut those 15 unproductive people by half, and his tool is not going to be an axe but a computer.

It’s a Web-based, wireless, Palm-Pilot-like device that will allow the facility staff to access and collect data in real time not only from building systems and the university’s own computers but also from OEMs and anywhere else for that matter.

“We might be able to achieve even greater efficiency and reduce staff by another 8 people,” Atherton says. That represents a quarter of a million dollars, though it will take awhile to achieve that through attrition.

“This system won’t be bleeding edge, but it’s out there,” he says. “We like to be progressive at this university. We’re not going to sit and wait for things to happen.”

Another area where the university isn’t waiting around is deregulation.

Success in its goal to buy and sell electricity depends on the university’s ability to monitor and control its electric load. The core of the system that is going to help do this is operating in one building where the load has fallen by 14 percent. Other buildings are now being added to the system.

This system, with further development, will combine weather and energy cost forecasts and other variables. It will allow equipment power needs to be varied right down to fan motors. Atherton also wants the system to recognize when a classroom is unoccupied so it can shut HVAC systems down and then determine what the minimum time is to get the classroom back up again.

Technology is not the only thing preoccupying Atherton, however. After the events of Sept. 11, security has been put on the front burner.

Immediately following the attacks, the facility department did a security assessment. Things that didn’t seem a problem before Sept. 11 now did.

Besides buildings that were vulnerable to bombs because of open and unoccupied first levels, the team also found that some air handling units could be accessed. The department is working on securing access to these areas and putting in a system that allows the department to shut down individual air handling units at the push of a button.

“The assessment was an eye opener,” Atherton says. “You don’t think of people trying to blow up your buildings, but now we do.”

— David Kozlowski , senior editor

Security Tops the Public Buildings Service Agenda

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 reinforced the importance of ensuring that the government’s buildings and their occupants remain safe, says F. Joseph Moravec, commissioner of the Public Buildings Service (PBS). “Our federal clients, like commercial tenants nationally, are very concerned about safety.”

PBS is the real estate arm of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). “We’re the chief landlord of the civilian federal government,” says Moravec. “We develop, manage, lease, sell and buy property, and provide security.” PBS manages some 340 million square feet of space across the country. Its portfolio of 8,000 buildings ranges from laboratories to border stations to office buildings. Approximately 100 federal agencies make up its client base.

Of course, securing the government’s buildings had been a priority long before last fall. Since the bombing of the 1995 Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the federal government had been incorporating stricter security guidelines in its building designs and operations, says Moravec. For instance, windows in new facilities use a multi-layer system of glass that helps control breakage.

Even so, the focus on secure building designs and operations has become more intense since September. More visitors and tenants in federal buildings now pass through X-ray screens and magnetometers, which help detect concealed weapons. In order to beef up its ranks of security guards, PBS is asking for $200 million in supplemental funding.

Employing state-of-the-art security features and guidelines is necessary, of course. However, the biggest lesson learned in Oklahoma City is that intelligence and preparation are the best defense, says Moravec. “Once terrorists arrive at a building, there is only so much you can do,” Moravec points out. In order to be as prepared as they can, PBS’ special agents have stepped up their involvement with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces and the CIA’s Interagency Committee on Terrorism.

In addition to ensuring that the government’s buildings are secure, Moravec and his colleagues are working to improve their operational efficiency. For instance, Moravec is making a concerted effort to leverage PBS’ size and national presence as the agency works with tenants and vendors. “We realize that we're missing some opportunities for synergy.”

Asset management is another issue at the top of Moravec’s to-do list for 2002. He points out that the capital appropriations process through which PBS obtains funds, which involves presenting a case to Congress, isn’t always conducive to obtaining the funds required to maintain and update its facilities. As a result, a number of the government’s buildings have not been maintained as well as they could have been, and are not energy efficient, says Moravec.

To change that, GSA is supporting a property reform act that would allow PBS to use some of the asset management tools now available in the private sector. For instance, PBS would be able to have a private firm develop a parcel of land, which PBS would then lease back from the firm.

— Karen Kroll, contributing editor

Kaiser Permanente Plans $4 Billion in Construction

Impending state requirements have given healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente a giant challenge: replacing nearly half of its California hospitals and upgrading others to meet the state’s new seismic requirements. “The cost will be in the neighborhood of $4 billion,” says Thomas Heller, vice president of national facilities services for Kaiser Permanente. “We’re in active design and construction of five hospitals right now.”

Although Kaiser Permanente is a national healthcare organization, with nearly 50 million square feet of space and roughly 100,000 employees and physicians across the country, Kaiser has more members, employees and physicians in California than in the rest of the nation combined. About 38 million square feet of its space is in that state, including 5 million square feet of hospital space that will have to be upgraded or replaced.

Despite the magnitude of the task, Kaiser isn’t cutting any corners — just the opposite. State law sets two levels of seismic requirements. By 2008, hospitals must be capable of protecting patients and staff from an earthquake, though the building

isn’t required to be useable after the quake. By 2030, hospitals must be remain functional following an earthquake.

Kaiser is designing replacement hospitals to meet the 2030 requirements. “Since healthcare is our core business, for us to be nonfunctional doesn’t make any sense,” says Heller.

Economics support Kaiser’s approach. Meeting the 2008 standards would be costly, disruptive to patient care and virtually impossible for some hospitals; what’s more, these hospitals would still have to be upgraded or replaced by 2030. “Hitting the 2030 standards is more expensive initially,” says Heller, “but it’s a wise investment in the long run.”

Meeting the seismic requirements by 2008 for the 13 hospitals Kaiser plans to replace would be next to impossible, Heller says. Kaiser is supporting a proposal to extend the time for meeting the first set of standards, when a hospital commits to meeting the 2030 standards by 2013. If 2008 sounds like a long way off, bear in mind that, with all the approvals and reviews required, it takes nearly seven years to get a new hospital built in California, Heller says.

As a healthcare organization with facilities in the Washington, D.C., area, Kaiser has been on the front lines of the effort to respond to terrorism. A top level effort is now underway at Kaiser to evaluate the risks of and responses to terrorism.

“Our first priority is how we care for people,” Heller says. “Right along with that, we have to consider our emergency preparedness plans, including direct threats to hospital facilities.”

To be able to care for patients following a terrorist strike, hospitals may well require some modifications. “When you’re dealing with bioterrorism, you may have to consider the isolation of patients with infectious diseases or deal with a volume of patients you hadn’t considered when the building was designed,” Heller says.

One thing that won’t be on the agenda for Heller is winning top management support. He already has that, thanks in part to the facility organization’s solid track record of balancing cost and service. “Facilities are a critical part of our healthcare program, and we’re always vigilant,” says Heller. “We always ask whether we’re providing the right level of service at the right price.”

At CarrAmerica, The Economy is the Challenge

“It’s the economy.”

That phrase, which first became popular during the 1992 presidential election, resonates again in today’s world. “The economy certainly is a bigger challenge than it’s been in 10 years,” says Philip Hawkins, chief operating officer with CarrAmerica Realty Corporation. CarrAmerica, a Washington, D.C.-based real estate owner, developer and operator, manages 38 million square feet of office space in about 12 markets across the United States.

The management team at CarrAmerica has been preparing for the current economic downturn for the past several years, says Hawkins. By late 1999, CarrAmerica’s research showed that the demand for office space was outstripping job growth, at least in selected markets.

That information prompted the firm’s management team to focus more intently on build-to-suit projects. Over the past 18 months, about 85 percent of CarrAmerica’s development projects have been build-to-suit or substantially pre-leased. That compares to 30 percent three years ago, says Hawkins. In addition, most of the new speculative projects were started about a year ago; CarrAmerica currently is not embarking on any new speculative building.

At the same time, CarrAmerica’s professionals have been working to come up with innovative ways to help its tenants manage their space issues. “We’ll be as flexible as possible to meet our mutual needs,” says Hawkins. For instance, one tenant in Silicon Valley needed to sublease 200,000 square feet of its space. A credit-worthy tenant was interested in the facility, but wanted to lease it directly and needed a longer term than the original agreement would allow. CarrAmerica worked with the original tenant to modify its lease, and was able to provide the new tenant with a direct lease for the time period needed.

CarrAmerica also is striving to find ways to keep its operating costs low, and thus hold the line on the charges its tenants pay, says Hawkins. One example is CarrAmerica’s InfoCenter, a Web-based workflow product. Through InfoCenter, CarrAmerica’s operations employees and tenants can communicate back and forth inexpensively. A tenant calls or e-mails its request to CarrAmerica’s facilities team, and then can monitor the progress of the work online. “It’s a way to track the work more efficiently,” says Hawkins.

Finally, making sure that its employees, tenants and buildings are secure remains a significant concern for 2002. “We’ve learned that event risk is really significant, whether it’s Sept. 11 or the day the plane went down,” says Hawkins, referring to the November 2001 crash of American Airlines Flight 587.

The goal should be to prepare for risk in general, as trying to plan for a specific event almost is impossible, asserts Hawkins. To that end, the facilities management professionals at CarrAmerica have been reviewing their security plans in detail. For instance, the company’s management team has been working with its on-site facilities professionals to make sure that they know which authorities to call, and in what order, for different emergencies. One example: if an anthrax scare occurs, one of the building manager’s first calls would be to the Centers for Disease Controls (CDC). That probably wouldn’t be the case if a fire breaks out, notes Hawkins.

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Defense technology company Picogrid raises $12M for Lawton facility

By: Jeff Elkins // The Journal Record // March 28, 2024 //

Defense tech startup closed their seed round at $12 million. The company plans to use their capital to ramp up manufacturing both in California and their future facility in Lawton. (Photo/Picogrid)

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Envision Board Must Face Employee Stock Ownership Plan Lawsuit

By Jacklyn Wille

Envision Management Holding Inc.'s board of directors must face a lawsuit over the company’s employee stock ownership plan in a case that’s already been to the Tenth Circuit, a district judge said.

Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney on Thursday denied the board’s motion to dismiss , saying the case involved factual disputes that should be resolved after discovery. Sweeney, who sits in the US District Court for the District of Colorado, announced her decision in a short docket entry that didn’t include a lengthy analysis of the case.

The proposed class action targets a 2017 transaction in which the medical imaging ...

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U.S. Approves $1.5 Billion Loan to Restart Michigan Nuclear Plant

The conditional loan from the Energy Department is part of a broad effort to revive the use of nuclear energy in the United States.

By Ivan Penn

The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it had agreed to provide a $1.52 billion loan guarantee to help a company restart a nuclear power plant in Michigan — the latest step in the government’s effort to revive the nation’s reactors.

The loan guarantee from the Energy Department will allow Holtec International to revive the Palisades nuclear plant in Covert Township, Mich., on the shores of Lake Michigan and about 40 miles west of Kalamazoo, and keep it going until at least 2051. The loan guarantee is conditional on the facility receiving regulatory approvals and fulfilling other requirements. The plant ceased operations in May 2022.

Nuclear power plants produce electricity without emitting the greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet, a feature that has made them popular with lawmakers and energy executives. But many of the country’s nuclear reactors, including the Palisades plant, are at or near the end of their lives and need major upgrades. And few U.S. companies have built new nuclear plants in recent decades because doing so is incredibly expensive and time consuming. As a result, lawmakers in both parties have backed incentives and subsidies for nuclear energy.

Holtec bought the Palisades plant in 2022 in order to close the facility but later campaigned to reopen the plant with the backing of the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat.

“Once open, Palisades will be the first successfully restarted nuclear power plant in American history, driving $363 million of regional economic impact and helping Michigan lead the future of clean energy,” Ms. Whitmer said in a statement.

Federal loan guarantees and grants are expected to help extend the life of other plants and spur the development of new technologies to help ensure there is sufficient power to electrify home heaters, cars and industry.

California in recent years reversed its decision to close the Diablo Canyon Power Plant on the Pacific Coast because lawmakers are concerned that the state will not have enough sources of electricity to avoid rolling blackouts on hot summer afternoons. The Department of Energy awarded $1.1 billion to Pacific Gas & Electric to continue the plant’s operations.

“Nuclear power is our single largest source of carbon-free electricity, directly supporting 100,000 jobs across the country and hundreds of thousands more indirectly,” Jennifer M. Granholm, Mr. Biden’s energy secretary, said in a statement on Wednesday, announcing the loan guarantee for the Palisades plant.

The United States has the largest nuclear energy operation in the world, with almost 100 units across the country, including two new ones at the Alvin W. Vogtle Generating Plant in Georgia, which took more than a decade to build and cost a staggering $35 billion.

Because of the challenges of building large plants like the two Vogtle units — something experts have said was unlikely in the United States in the near future — the Biden administration also has pushed for smaller reactors that could be built more quickly and at lower cost.

Those units, often referred to as small modular reactors, could be built in stages rather than all at once. But no small modular reactors have received full approval and licensing from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Holtec wants to use the site of the Palisades nuclear plant to build two small modular reactors, though the cost of those would not be covered by the loan guarantee announced on Wednesday.

Until the small reactors become a reality, a greater focus has turned toward extending the life of nuclear plants already in operation and reviving older units.

Ivan Penn is a reporter based in Los Angeles and covers the energy industry. His work has included reporting on clean energy, failures in the electric grid and the economics of utility services. More about Ivan Penn

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