CAFM
Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) software is a solution designed to streamline the management and operation of complex facilities, including the optimization of space utilization, costing, and planning.
VLogic’s IWMS software offering, VLogicFM, includes a comprehensive suite of CAFM tools that enable operations managers to improve facility budget planning, raise space productivity, increase safety standards, improve occupant satisfaction, and streamline facility operations. VLogic’s IWMS software makes it far easier to manage facilities because it avails managers of the critical metrics and reports they need to do their jobs efficiently and at less cost to the organization.
“The tools which would teach men their own use would be beyond price.”
- Plato
CAFM Answers Three Key Questions
CAFM software gives facility managers the tools to quickly and efficiently answer three key questions about the facility:
- What do I have?
- Square footage metrics for rooms, floors, buildings, and sites
- Facility descriptions, data, images and documentation
- Accurate as-built CAD drawings of your facilities
- Valuable reports including facility costs and charge-backs
- Where is it located?
- Accurate floorplans of all rooms, buildings, and sites
- Distribution reports showing where departments are assigned on the floor plan
- Easily accessible reports and accurate floor plans that are mapped to room numbers and departmental assignments
- Who is using it?
- Map employees and departments to every space or groups of spaces on the floor plans
- Plan employee or departmental moves with tools such as stacking plans
- Enable room and desk booking of shared spaces, such as conference rooms, or enable hot desking / office hoteling for a hybrid workforce that divides its time between home and the traditional office
- Track occupancy in real time for room scheduling purposes and for better space planning and budgeting
What is the Difference Between CAFM and CMMS Software?
CAFM software is often confused with CMMS or Computer Maintenance Management System software. While both CAFM and CMMS tools are used to manage facilities, they are focused on different sets of problems. Many modern facilities have upgraded to IWMS (Integrated Workspace Management System) software that combines both CAFM and CMMS in one solution.
The following outlines the different focus areas between CAFM and CMMS:
- CAFM focuses primarily on the space itself and not so much on the assets in the buildings.
- CMMS, on the other hand, is designed to help facility managers inventory and maintain facility assets and building systems. This subset of tools focuses on work order management, including preventative maintenance schedules and on-demand maintenance.
Major Features of CAFM
The following table outlines the major features of a typical CAFM toolset:
- Manage Architectural & MEP/Utility As-built CAD Drawings (see Drawings-as-a-Service solution and Drawings Maintenance & Updating service)
- Store Static Drawings & Docs on the cloud (see Cloud-based Drawings Library solution)
- Track Space Utilization: What, Where, Who (see Tracking Solutions)
- Account for Space Costs: Usage Charges by Department/Service/Project
- Track Fire & Life Safety Drawings & Component
- Manage Employee Utilization & Plan Moves
- Enable Hot-desking & Office Hoteling (see Room Scheduling & Hot Desking solution)
- Track Space Occupancy in Real-time
- Manage Leases
- Track Building Conditions
- Report on space usage metrics and cost by department / service / project (eg. Medicare/Medicaid Reimbursement Reports)
- VLogicFM’s CAFM or space management features are detailed on the Space Management solutions page.
Frequently Asked Questions
CAFM software dramatically improves how a complex facility is managed, resulting in operational efficiencies, including: (1) cost reduction, (2) better safety standards, (3) increased space productivity, (4) improved occupant satisfaction, and (5) streamled facility operations.
No, CAFM is usually included in IWMS tools. Furthermore, you can typically pick and choose which specific CAFM modules to activate in your overall IWMS SaaS subscription.
Yes, because CAFM is based on accurate facility metrics, customers need to provide detailed facility information for migration to CAFM cloud-based systems.
Yes. However, don’t worry if you only have PDF or paper versions of your as-built drawings. VLogic’s in-house drafting team can migrate those documents to the proper CAD format.
Yes, we can help you even when your drawings are not accurate. Our in-house services team can travel to your site and perform a drawings verification survey so that our drafters can update your drawings based on those onsite measurements.
We need three things: (1) accurate as-built CAD drawings of your facility, ideally in CAD format, (2) an Excel spreadsheet that indicates the departments, service lines, or cost centers you wish to assign to the spaces on your floor plan, and (3) a list of your expected users, including their names and email addresses.
The length of time to onboard a facility is directly linked to the square footage size of your facility. For a small 100,000 SQFT facility with accurate CAD drawings, we need less than a week to onboard the facility (assuming facility data is provided at kickoff). The onboarding time will increase for larger facilities, or if VLogic’s in-house services team is required to verify or update your drawings.
Upon receipt of your CAD files, CAD drafters will (1) create “polylines” or CAD software objects that correspond to each of the identifiable spaces on your floor plan. (2) The CAFM system will tag these polylined spaces with unique IDs and then link them to the departmental/service line/cost assignments you provided in Excel. (3) The CAD files are then run through a software checker to ensure that their properties match up with the requirements of the CAFM system. Upon passing this drawings test, (5) the CAFM team will upload the files to the system. Following this step, (6) System admins will configure your users and software settings and (7) activate your account.