Football is a game of precision, planning, and execution, and we’re quickly approaching week one of a new season. Teams are narrowing down to their 53-man rosters, and everyone has a fresh slate with a zero in the loss column. High-powered offenses usually steal the spotlights, but as we’ve historically observed, a top-notch defense will trump even the greatest show on turf.

Are you ready for some football?!?!?!

When it comes to commercial real estate, having the right plan and people in place are essential for running a productive, stand-out building. Planning normally begins with budget season in the fall and rolls into the winter months as management and engineers strategize their game plans for the upcoming year.

The handoff to your Preventive Maintenance program begins at the drawing board. Providing building teams with the right set of tools and schedule of tasks can be a game changer. The saying “defense wins championships” could not be any better of a theme in the property management world for managers looking to stay ahead of not only themselves, but their competition when contracts and bids come up. A sound PM program not only provides layers of reporting and health metrics, but also guarantees short-term and long-term building health.

So what do you need for a superior PM program?

• Defined Workflows: A clearly defined workflow is like an option route in football. There are a few choices by the person who wants to complete the task, and the coordinator (QB) and engineer (Receiver) need to be on the same page as to which path to take depending on the given situation. Automated work flows and group-based dispatching ensure communication is clear, and provide the engineers with the flexibility they need to maximize efficiency.
• Property Management Software: A healthy building sees two-thirds of its engineering hours spent performing preventive maintenance related activities. This leaves time for the unexpected tenant requests and occasional equipment issues. Downtime is wasted time. Property management software reduces this downtime by eliminating paperwork and note transferring, providing records on a web based service that can be accessed from anywhere at any time (instead of digging through piles of binders/log-books), and increases the value that your management team is delivering to your owners, partners, and firms that the system coordinates with.
• Mobility: The “Wildcat Offense,” “Mobile Quarterbacks,” and “Versatile Playmakers” dominate the turf on Sundays because the game is always evolving. Similarly, Property Management is evolving and now engineering staffs are taking to their tablets and smartphones to do their jobs instead of the old-fashioned printouts, checklists, and binders. The new workforce can, and should, be able to complete work anywhere, at any time.
• Benchmarks: Holding yourself against your own standards, industry benchmarks, and your tenant’s expectations are all essential foundations to keeping yourself – and your building – ahead of the game. Fourth quarter, Immaculate Reception plays, are the ones we remember, but that’s the exception and we all realize it. No one wants to be down and playing catch-up all year, especially in your own building. Set your style, your metrics, your key performance indicators, and regularly review and tweak processes so you hit your goals.

Maximize your output, find your comfort zone, and hit those targets and goals within the context that you set. Own the deliverables for your clients and owners and you’ll be in the starting line-up when the next bid and renewal comes along…

So be a captain this season and before you know it, your PM program will be intercepting fixes before they are problems, and putting points up on the board from the basement, to your tablets, through to your bottom line.