Getting Started Guide, Section 3 of 3
Cost Module: Remaining Data Fields

After you have input the Required , Super QuickStart , and QuickStart fields, you will note that there are other fields without an indicator. These fields will help you obtain the maximum value from FM BENCHMARKING, so you should take the time to complete them, based on which data fields may be most relevant for your facility and those data that you are able to obtain. Examples are provided below, to help you understand which of these fields may be most appropriate for you to input for the way your facility is used and operates.

On the Demographics input screen there are only a few fields that are not Required or associated with QuickStart, including:

• D16 Number of Parking Spaces (Covered):
• D17 Number of Parking Spaces (Open):
  
  These both can be used as filters in data comparisons for your facility but if you don't think you would every want to use these as filters, then you don't need to input them.

On the Utilities input screen there are some cost and consumption fields that don't have a graphic.

• Sewer and water.
  If data are available to input your sewer and water costs separately, you should be able to make better comparisons that could reduce costs.
  • Example
    One participant determined that their sewer costs were disproportionately high. After further evaluation they learned the high cost was due to the way their city billed for the service. They were able to show that most of their water use was for landscaping and reduced their sewer charges by 80 percent.

For the Janitorial input screen, if you are able to differentiate between janitorial costs spent by in-house staff versus in-house contractors, you will be able to compare your costs to those of others who break their costs down similarly, thus learning the value, if any, of outsourcing the janitorial function.

For the Maintenance input screen you should consider breaking the expenses down by as many of the trades as you can. By doing this, you will be able to better analyze where you are spending more money than others.

For the Security input screen you should consider provide additional input in other areas that can be used as filters to allow comparisons with sites having similar security profiles:

• Percent of costs spent on Perimeter and Visitor Security
• Number of Staffed Entry Points
• Number of Card/Badge Readers and Controlled Access Points
• Annual Visitor Count

Through this type of analysis, you will be able to determine whether the reason that your security costs may be higher than those of others is because you have staffed entry points, while others do not. Then, by adding that filter, you may find that your security costs are more in line with other similar facilities.

Benchmarking Strategies for Your Organization...

Many participants benchmark to obtain a scorecard showing how they are doing compared with others. That is a useful process... it is easy to do... and it is important to know how you compare with your peers.

But if you stop with just the benchmarking comparisons all you have is a report. You will have missed out on the most valuable piece of benchmarking—the use of benchmarking to identify strategies and best practices that others have used to improve their service.

FM BENCHMARKING is an ideal tool for both comparing your performance and identifying which course of action to take to improve performance:

• You will be able to see where you stand so you will have a scorecard.
  
  
• You can use the benchmarking data to see what practices others have implemented that have lower costs than yours. This is the real value of benchmarking because you already know the best practices work — others have done them — and you can see the results of those best practices on their operating costs.