Digital technologies and data are transforming how we operate buildings, with a focus on reducing costs, increasing predictability, and improving efficiency.
What is CAFM and why does it matter?
CAFM (Computer-Aided Facility Management) has advanced significantly in recent years, transforming Facilities Management (FM) by using data and insights to optimise services and achieve the best possible outcomes for people, places, and the planet.
At its core, CAFM is a detailed database of all assets – boilers, lighting, fire alarms, chillers, and more – organised by their specific location. This system tracks the condition and location of assets and maps the skills and resources, whether in-house or subcontracted, required to manage and maintain them. This ensures that work is intelligently planned, assigning the right person to the right job at the right time.
Serco CAFM: Smarter asset management
At Serco, we have standardised how we capture and classify asset data across our CAFM system, enabling us to unlock its full potential. Our newly implemented platform handles the complexity and scale of our operations, improving the services we deliver and allowing us to:
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Precisely plan maintenance schedules, ensuring compliance and optimal performance
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Effectively allocate resources to minimise downtime and boost efficiency
Smarter, data-driven maintenance
Our CAFM planned maintenance programmes have tailored schedules for each piece of equipment, that adhere to both statutory and technical standards. Tasks, whether planned or reactive, are automatically assigned to the appropriate team, specialist, or subcontractor, ensuring efficiency at every step.
Integrating CAFM with Building Management Systems (BMS) creates an intelligent building platform, providing greater remote control to optimise environments. This integration enables adjustments based on occupancy, ensuring comfort and wellbeing while minimising energy waste.
For example, in Justice and Immigration, our live monitoring approach turns facilities into ‘digital prisons’, where real-time asset monitoring enhances safety and performance.
Empowering engineers with better tools
By integrating CAFM with Building Information Management (BIM), we provide engineers with a 3D, data-rich view of buildings, allowing them to locate assets, access performance data, and view technical documents. This boosts first-time fix rates, streamlines workflows, and eliminates manual paperwork.
We’ve also equipped all engineers with tablets, designed to work both on and offline to ensure connectivity isn’t a barrier. Engineers receive job details, document their work, and close tasks in real time, even in restricted environments like prisons. This system allows us to track productivity, compare task performance across locations, and identify training needs – building a culture of continuous improvement.
Automating spare parts management
CAFM integrates with our SAP finance tool, automating stock management for spares and parts. Low stock levels trigger automatic purchase orders, ensuring essential components are always available.
Streamlining maintenance with a self-service portal
We’ve also developed a self-service portal integrated with CAFM, enabling both Serco employees and clients to easily report faults and raise tasks.
This ensures the right engineer is deployed to the right place, improving user experience, and driving efficiencies.
Real-time insights for smarter investments
Our data-rich CAFM platform offers detailed trend analysis through PowerBI dashboards, and AI-powered predictions enable proactive maintenance. This provides clients with an accurate, transparent view of their assets, allowing us to create forward maintenance capital plans aligned to their objectives. These plans guide strategic investments, based on real industry benchmarks and performance data.
