Webinar Report

OK, so you compared this course to the ACC 200 CD’s and said it was way better, but it was still so slow I had a hard time staying awake.

Forrester Research

Found it interesting that some of what Google has done is helping to drive some of the trends that Patrick (from Forrester) said they were seeing. Google is probably way too powerful. Another thing that Patrick mentioned that I found interesting was that when he went through several different things that software is doing (that it never used to) and when he talked about the future trends, he mentioned many of the things that we discussed in class such as Automation, RFID, and wireless technology.

Best Practices Found from research:

1. Focus on enabling core functions over features – keep it simple and start with only a few key things to start with.
2. Consider a SaaS (Software as a Service) deployment – The system is hosted, but how easy is it to move inside the company?
3. Usability is key to adoption – This is pretty obvious, but it must not be overlooked because of the workforce that will be using the technology. Involve the end users as soon as possible.
4. Ensure easy customization – This is inevitable. Understand what it will take to customize the software. This is what really sets software apart. Use this to gauge the maturity of the vendor’s software.
5. - Test System Performance – understand your maximum number of users and maximum volume at the same time. Find a way to simulate this during the testing phase before you actually implement.
6. Assess real-time requirements – The more information that is required as necessary for “real-time” the slower the system will work and the more expensive the project will be.
7. Consider integration requirements early on – This represents the biggest cost on any implementation. Take a look at what systems they have already integrated with in the past.
8. Look for black holes in coverage areas – vendors should be carrier- and device-neutral and be able to support multiple devices
9. Don’t forget about peripheral devices – some vendors can support more than others, but make sure you have an idea of what you want to do down the road and make sure that the software can support what you plan to do in the future.
10. Determine the upgrade path from the start – know what will be required to upgrade, patch and fix problems within the software and what will be the most feasible.
11. Test the vendor’s vertical expertise – set your expectations early on and make sure that the vendor can meet them.
12. Think Enterprise Wide – Look at what the whole organization needs and look at what the rest of your company is already doing, this can save a lot of money because you can combine initiatives.
13. Include Performance Reporting – Get the module from the vendor so that you can get best practices and benchmark your processes.

Another thing that I found quite interesting about this portion of the webinar was that the biggest recommendations matched quite well with what I did in our case study. I thought it was interesting that he recommended only rolling out portions at a time so that it was easier and less expensive to implement.

Tennant Case Study

Lessons learned:

- focus on the customer

- integrate the team not just the application

- experienced partners are key

The pilot process proved beneficial because the end users were the ones helping to test and they were able to provide input and insight into the building process and the overall functionality of the software and the program that the company would be using.

During the case study, I was amazed at the success they were able to achieve above the goals that they had set. It was very impressive that they were able to automate over 85% of their work orders and over 83% of their parts ordered.

Dexterra – Service Provider

I found it was interesting that Dexterra said they were, “the only ones who….” Doesn’t everyone say that? Shouldn’t there be some sort of restriction on making such claims? Anyway, I just thought it was interesting because that is what everyone does, especially when they are trying to “win” business (not that Dexterra was in this case).

Information Technology and the FM

Well, the biggest thing is that technology is becoming more and more prevalent. There are many functions today that are done with computers (work orders, inventory, etc.) that used to be done by hand. As we continue to advance technology will become more and more important to the FM. As a result, the FM needs to have a good working relationship with the IT department. Also, as mentioned in class several times, the FM department will be called on to help with many IT projects. I also think that the FM department will become more and more of a driving force behind newer and better IT in the company. Basically, it is important for the FM to have a general understanding of what IT does and how it works.

Google Desktop

Well, I'm not sure if I was supposed to download Google Desktop with the last assignment and play with that as well. I finally decided to give Desktop another try. I had downloaded it a while back, but didn't really like the way that it took up so much room on my computer and it seemed to run really slow and take forever to load any of the gadgets. I still haven't gotten it to load my new email yet, it says it is still indexing. Last time I got it to show me new email for a day, then it wouldn't load any more new email. Hopefully I won't have the same problem, since that is half the reason I got rid of it last time.

I do like that with the new version you can "Auto Hide" the sidebar so it isn't always taking up space on your desktop. I also like that you can drag the gadgets out of the sidebar and have them anywhere you want on your desktop. I'm not sure if you could do that with the last version, but I like that I can do it with this one since I really don't want it all on the side of my desktop, I wanted it at the bottom.

I actually used the desktop search feature yesterday because my wife was looking for some pictures we had taken that I knew I had uploaded from the camera to the computer. I just typed in ".jpg" and it pulled up every picture that I had on the computer that was a jpeg. It only took me another couple minutes from there to find the photos she was looking for. I was surprised to find that we have over 1,500 photos on my computer. I think this could be a great little tool to have, if it ever finishes indexing everything on my computer.

I will keep y'all posted as to how this works out for me.

Google Sketchup

So, I gave Google Sketchup a try for the first time today. I used Revit previously, and I think that worked pretty well. I haven't had too many opportunities yet to try and see if you can insert a floor plan into sketchup to build the 3D model off of. I will do some more playing around with it, but it seemed to be quite a bit easier to use than revit, except I haven't figured out how to do the rest of my house yet.

Here is (hopefully) my first attempt.

Steganography

passphrase: blog
password: blog

I don't know if you can download a picture off my blog or not, but if you can you can view my blog post that way with the above information.




And just in case you can't, here is my blog post as well.

I think this is an interesting technology. I think it can definitely be frightening. It is amazing what people can do these days and employers don't even know about it. I had never even heard of this before class last week.

I think that this could be used effectively for a Facility Manager. I think it may be a little difficult, but I could see it being used to transmit confidential information regarding employees or project information. Again, I think it would be difficult to implement at first because most people don't even know about the technology. To be honest, the thing that I find the most
interesting about this and trying to use it in the work place is figuring out how to get people the password and "username". Again, I think the biggest way this could be used is as an extra security measure for confidential information that needs to be shared either within the
organization or from the organization to other parties that are involved.

First VEKTR Experience

Well, it was a little difficult at first to get a work order created because I didn't know that I had to associate resources with the group I created in order to use them when creating a work order. I also didn't know how to associate them, which took a little bit of searching.

Once I got the hand of things, it was actually a very simple program to use, which I really liked. I'll have to do some more playing around with the program to see how it works with actually completing orders and follow-up/updating the work orders.

I didn't like that it was a little difficult to use at first. I wasn't quite sure how to even add a work order. I'll have to see how easy it is to do some other functions in the program.

In testing this product, I'm actually using it as if I were the facility/property manager for the apartment complex that I am currently living in. As a result, I created a group within my group titled apartment 3 (my apartment) and I am creating work orders for things that are actually wrong/need work in my apartment. From my limited experience so far, I can easily see how this could be used to help manage a facility. I think it is really important to have a way to keep track of everything that you are doing for the property. I especially think it is important to keep track of the maintenance issues. Obviously it would be better if you could do preventative maintenance instead of reactive maintenance.

I would, at this point, recommend this product to others. I think I really need more experience with the product, but I like it so far as well as it's possibilities.

And my topic is....

Ok, I think I'm technically a little late getting this posted, but it has taken me some time to decide what I wanted to do. I still don't think I have it nailed down quite as specifically as I need to, but I will be doing my project on property management software that can be used for residential property management and commercial property management. I don't know if there is a program or software that currently crosses over, but I'm hoping to find some and do my project on that.