There is an endless limit (oxymoron?) to the specific mobile capabilities that you can bring into the building management space. However, you can’t just drop a piece of technology into someones hands, say: “faster, better!” and expect optimal results. A better approach is to consider the role perspectives and how mobility can solve your problems based on the business need and the business function.

The goal of a mobile strategy is to make teams and workers more efficient and effective with their operations, but before you start yelling Kanye’s “Stronger” lyrics at your team, think about how mobility will specifically impact the different areas of business operations or how building operations software may help solve your inefficiencies.

Here are the four places mobile solutions can help improve operations:

1. Tenant Management

A property manager walking the floor may need to answer questions that come to him from a tenant. Instead of having to make a phone call or go back to the office to respond to the tenant, he can go right into his tenant management system from a tablet based application that he carries around with him. Mobile device in hand, he can answer questions about lease details, work orders, building schedules, etc. without having to get back to the tenant later on.

This provides a higher level of service to the tenant and fewer “tied fingers” for the property manager. It leaves an impression on the tenant that management knows what’s going on and has their finger on the pulse (or at least the touch screen).

2. Incident Tracking

The property manager is out on the floor again when there is a slip and fall in the lobby (darn that stylish slipper-mop combination footware!). The property manager can get that recorded and documented in real time using mobile technology. He can also notify the necessary people for that particular incident. The ability to document critical information and notify others wirelessly and through mobile applications enhances the process for addressing the issue and getting resolution quickly.

3. Service Request & Maintenance Management

One of the key areas where you will see the most dollar savings is in service request and maintenance management. Now there is a maintenance worker out on the floor. She can get notified of new emergency situations requiring immediate attention as they come up or get a continuous listing of maintenance service items that need to be completed.

The associated paperwork that comes with service and maintenance records can be completed on a mobile application, reducing the amount of time she needs to spend sitting at a desk at the end of the day, completing forms. In turn, she now can reduce her amount of overtime and sign up for that after-work Jazzercize class she’s been eyeing.

4. Work Distribution

A few years ago, it was very common for maintenance workers to have to walk up to a central location and go to a printer or fax machine to pick up service tickets. Once they picked up that service ticket, they would go to manage whatever needed to be managed about that ticket.

Now, when they’re mobile-enabled, the work can be electronically sent to them, at which point they can decide if they are too busy and reassign the task to someone else or bump it back up to a supervisor to reassign. This allows for work to be put into the hands of someone who can quickly get that work done. As response time decreases and efficiency increases, it helps building management organizations comply with service level agreements that they may have in place on a lease.

See what a mobile strategy can mean for your real estate organization in Building Engines’ free, On-Demand Webinar: Building Operations in Your Pocket.