Manukau Institute of Technology: Part 2

About the client

Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) is one of New Zealand’s leading providers of vocational and tertiary education. MIT began working with the FMI Works team in 2017. The original implementation included the Sapphire Lifecycle Management solution as an advanced strategic asset management tool, as well as the Pulse Facilities Management solution for day-to-day facilities management.

In 2021, MIT was looking to expand the use of Pulse within their facilities and became aware of our cloud solution, FMI Works.  As an on-premise system, Pulse’s mobility options were limited. But FMI Works, a mobile-responsive cloud solution, allows users to access the system from any device.

Asset and Contracts Manager Kim Smith, who was tasked with the original implementation of Pulse stated: “We have always strived for best practice, to achieve that, we have to look at what the industry is doing, not just tertiary, but the asset and property industries.”

The decision to migrate to FMI Works from Pulse is a result of MIT’s orientation to continuous improvement, finding better ways of doing things.

The challenge

MIT’s vision is to keep improving the quality and accessibility of information for stakeholders. The current lag time on asset data updates was identified as the next area for improvement.  

For MIT, knowing what’s happened in the past was a start, but they wanted to move from lag to lead. This meant making decisions based on real time insights to plan ahead effectively.

“You’re able to see what is going to happen before it does, so you can change your path if you need” said Kim.

The journey

MIT became aware of FMI Works during conversations with our success team about expanding their use of Pulse. The goal was to gain visibility over work orders throughout MIT’s facilities in real time. The mobile capabilities of the FMI Works cloud solution made it an attractive option.

MIT’s existing relationship with the FMI Works team made the move from Pulse to FMI Works a no-brainer.

“I didn’t have to go to market, just had to upgrade my existing contract, which saved a huge amount of time and paperwork” says Kim.

For MIT, relationships where robust conversations can be had without judgement is key to achieving true progress for the organisation. These conversations over the years have fostered a relationship of trust. That trust in turn, gave MIT confidence that their migration risk was significantly lowered by working with an existing long-term partner.

While the new engagement with our success team for the FMI Works transition has just begun, Kim is confident in the team’s approach. “I’ve implemented multiple systems, over multiple businesses, and there are always going to be issues that come up” she stated. “But I know that the team is taking these issues and running with them, ensuring a solution is found.”

Kim has already flagged to the success team that change management will be an important consideration for the move to FMI Works. As a mobile solution, FMI Works will be accessible to many more users than before. A much larger user base means Kim and team will be paying close attention, ensuring the system works as intended before it is released into the wild.

Looking to the future

The mobile capabilities of FMI Works are exactly what MIT is after, to make facilities management more accessible than ever.

Previously, contractors and team members have had to return to their desktop to update asset information and report issues. With FMI Works, stakeholders can update this information in real-time while still in the field.

Over time, familiarity with the system, and an understanding of the information it can provide, will improve stakeholder engagement throughout MIT.

“By giving people ownership of the data, they feel like it is theirs, not just our system, so we want them to take pride in it. Over time as people adopt it more and use the system better, confidence grows, and the value of the system grows.”

Being able to use the same partner for both facilities management and asset lifecycle management is helping MIT to unlock the true potential within both systems.

The ability to create a planned maintenance schedule in FMI Works, based off information provided by Sapphire, will improve visibility and create savings in operational expenditure. Additionally, shifting towards planned maintenance mitigates the risk of unexpected asset failure, representing an overall reduction in operational, financial, and reputational risk.

“Complete visibility will allow us to identify any gaps, and importantly will ensure that everyone is accountable” said Kim. “We’ll be able to see what work has been done, and what is still outstanding, allowing us to identify any gaps and inefficiencies”.

In both Sapphire and FMI Works, data is able to be presented in a visual, digestible format. These visualisations create a higher level of comprehension, and allow for more valuable communication with stakeholders across the business.

“People generally are expecting information to be at their fingertips. Not sitting on drives or requiring someone to interpret. It needs to be accessible, readable, and be there in a timely manner. The expectation is increasingly straight away” says Kim.

Having partnered with MIT for a number of years, we know that this team will always be working on ways to improve. Under the meticulous leadership of Kim, the team is setting a new standard for excellence when it comes to asset management.