Bottom Line Value – Delivering Better Service and Results

Value for money is the key consideration of any product or service. It is a principle that not only underpins good practice, but it lays out a formula for effectively evaluating outcomes.

A value for money assessment is not merely a consideration of the lowest price; it weighs quantity, quality, timeliness, and cost. In business, this assessment provides for a more comprehensive approach to budgeting and ultimately reflects through to bottom-line value.

This, in turn, drives procurement strategies, operational KPI’s and whole-of-life asset planning. In striving to deliver higher quality goods and services, assessing the value for money proposition and impact to the bottom line, providers can maximize utility and position themselves favorably in pursuit of delivering greater results to clients.

When considering the value for money proposition, we, as facility service providers, must assess and strategize on delivering the most innovative and efficient result.  Quality and safety will still key drivers and non-negotiables, but how can we maintain or improve these standards, while reducing delivery costs to optimize value?

With many facility operators experiencing significant lags/delays in planned maintenance (painting, refits, upgrades, etc.), and reactive “minor” maintenance taking a back seat to ongoing pandemic servicing (touch point cleaning, etc.), we, as service providers, are challenged to look for efficiencies in delivery. Here innovation is needed to assist the ongoing operation of assets, plus time for assessing the applicability of assets. Ageing infrastructure/assets, low utility spaces and the changing dynamic of how commercial infrastructure is used begs the question, “are assets appropriate for how they are used?”

Where an asset’s operational revenue/income does not align with costs, there is pressure to assess the applicability/utility of that asset, including how asset services are delivered. We can assist operators through innovations and efficient solutions aimed at achieving better bottom-line value.

Through the investment in new smart equipment, like robotics, we can mobilize solutions to minimize human labor costs while maintaining service delivery and quality.  We can install smart sensors to measure and analyze usage of spaces, which, when coupled with AI analytics, can project predictive serviceability of assets moving forward, ensuring the appropriate level of service. It also allows for low utility spaces to be assessed and retrofitted to achieve hybridization, not only in usage but also for servicing.

In striving to achieve better value and outcomes in asset operations and services, a collaborative discussion between the facility manager and service provider is required, initiating the assessment and analysis of assets and their use. The data achieved from such an exercise allows for mapping, future planning and identifies opportunities for improvement. In understanding the servicing need (task), execution (tool), and duration to achieve this (time), a more holistic understanding of asset services can be attained (total).

Deriving value is not merely a consideration of the lowest price. It is a collaborative dialogue between facility managers and service providers to optimize the outcome for all parties.

The ultimate intention is to review, assess and analyze what we do, how we do it, and ask the question, ‘is there a better way?’