The Harsh Truth About A Homegrown IWMS That FMs Need to Know
You have skilled staff, and you’re proud of your facilities. Your staff work diligently to ensure that your facilities and inventory are as well-managed as possible. Why aren’t your systems working as smoothly as they could? The harsh truth is that your homegrown systems may not be up to the job. Choosing an IWMS that’s designed for facilities management is your best choice when you’re aiming for efficiency.
The Challenge Of Creating A Homegrown System
When you’re creating a homegrown facilities management system, you have two challenges. Your technology department understands tech, 
but they may not thoroughly understand the needs of your job. A custom, homegrown product might meet your most basic needs, but you may need to find ways to work around the inadequacies in the system.
If your facilities management staff works to create their own systems, they may not be as proficient on the technology side of things. They may use tools that are inadequate at tracking and managing facilities needs. You may not get the reports you need. You may not be able to access your data in the cloud. You’ll need to work to fill in these gaps, and that takes time and could cause errors.
Consistency Of A Homegrown System
If you get a homegrown IWMS tool working for you, the other challenge is that the technical support staff who created the system may not be there forever. Your talented staff who’ve developed your system might be sick when you have a question, or they may go on leave or move to another organization altogether. Homegrown systems can lack adequate tech support in the long term, so when you have a question or a suggestion for improvement you may not know where to turn.
Although it is convenient at first to have your developers in house, we all can agree that things change in an office – and if you’re not supported your workload will suffer.
The Right Tools And The Wrong Ones
Have you ever used a wrench to try and hammer a nail? While you may have been able to complete your task, just because you have a heavy object doesn’t mean you have 
the right tool for the job. The same goes for your facilities management systems. Generic systems such as Word, Access, and Excel are wonderful at what they do. They can store data and manipulate it. Cloud-based tools like Dropbox and Evernote can also be very useful for your business, allowing your staff to communicate and share files when they’re working on a mobile device. However, none of these are a complete substitute for a tool that’s designed exactly for your needs: asset and inventory management and facilities maintenance.
When you’re looking for a facilities management system, look for a CMMS system that’s designed specifically for your needs. You have a mobile workforce, or one that’s growing in telecommuters who are always changing where they work. So you need a system that works in the cloud, and one that can be accessed wherever they are. You have specific reporting and tracking needs, so you need a data management system that’s designed for facilities management.
Visit iOffice today to look at our facilities management software that’s tried, true, and effective.
Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published in April 2015 and has been updated for accuracy and relevance.
