Cutting Edge Technologies Take Facility Management to a New Level
September 21, 2004
Operating with the most appropriate technology is crucial for every industry, and that is especially true for the increasingly sophisticated business of facility management. There are so many offerings on the market that it is easy to be confused. Before adopting any new product, it is best to do a little homework while keeping in mind the old adage of selecting “the right tool for the right job.”
Events Management
Most managers depend on a PDA, cell phone and laptop computer to help
them get through a busy day, but juggling high-tech tools can make technology
seem like a master instead of a helpmate. Integrating technologies is
an efficient way to lose that feeling and increase productivity, according
to John Platillero, president and CEO of EventBooking.com.
A Knoxville, TN application service provider, EventBooking.com offers several solutions that integrate web-based, land-based and wireless technologies for the benefit of facility professionals. The company's events management tool allows managers to enter information into a single calendar, which then automatically updates all facility calendars, refreshes the facility's web site, and reports the information to key partners, like the local convention and visitors' bureau.
"It links people together and allows managers to make better use of their time," said Platillero. "Because it is a fully web-based system, it doesn't need IT support. You and anyone on your staff can access it from home or on the road, and it doesn't require a large cash outlay."
"We see our tool expanding to incorporate the other aspects of the industry, creating an interface for bringing buyers and sellers together," said Evelyn Ingram, director of customer services. "It will tie together agents, promoters, and venues into an online booking network, giving them the ability to access industry news and share important information of their choosing. It will be a simple, easy and comprehensive way for them to conduct business."
The system interfaces with other EventBooking products, including an e-mail marketing tool designed to enhance customer relationships.
Another events management tool is Event Business Management System (EBMS) from Ungerboeck Systems International (USI). EBMS handles all aspects of venue and event management, thanks to more than 20 integrated modules ranging from event management and scheduling to accounting and credit card processing.
“EBMS can be configured to meet each organization’s business needs,” said Dee Carrell, director of client services at USI’s St. Louis corporate office. “A convention center will use the system differently than an arena or CVB or a performing arts center.
EBMS is multi-organizational and can be shared by venues using separate computer networks, or by a single database to coordinate efforts towards a common goal. Because of EBMS’ web features, you can even give your customers and business partners access to select information in the database.”
EBMS has unique features. It can handle international commerce, such as foreign currency transactions, international taxation and multiple languages. It offers online registration services and features dynamic retrievals in response to the site visitor’s specifications, such as date range, event types and desired levels of detail. It can produce more than 300 standard reports and supports reports customized by users.
“A convention center can do everything from booking events to invoicing to full accounting (with EBMS),” Carrell said. “It’s a comprehensive management system.”
Ticketing
Ticketing is an obvious use for technology in the facilities industry.
Tickets.com has deployed an advanced ProVenue™ Automated Kiosk system
for the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants.
The self-contained kiosk system can be seamlessly deployed across other
sporting and entertainment venues and in particular address game-day box
office issues, namely sales and will call pick-ups.
“We are committed to using advanced technology to develop and deploy the most convenient and scalable ticketing distribution platforms for the industry,” said Carl Thomas, Tickets.com executive vice president marketing & sales.
Similar to the company’s Private Label web site offerings, the kiosks can be customized with a team or client brand. The ProVenue Automated Kiosk works in conjunction with all other company sales channels, including the Internet, integrated voice response (IVR) system and call centers.
Thomas said that the kiosks can be configured to operate in one of four different modes, and the venue then has the ability to control each kiosk individually based on a predetermined schedule or manually.
Paciolan, a technology company with offices in Southern California and Canada, has developed several solutions to help arenas, museums, universities, sports teams and other organizations manage general, reserved and secondary ticketing. “We help arenas maximize ticket revenues, lower their costs and achieve their business objectives,” said Shaw Taylor, director of marketing for Paciolan.
Another key benefit of the technology, according to Taylor, is that the venue then owns its customer data and can manage the customer relationship “from soup to nuts.” By controlling the customer data, the venue is able to brand the event experience, market directly to the customer and grow the relationship through targeted communications and special offers, such as loyalty programs.
Plus, a venue that handles its own ticketing has the ability to handle ticketing for smaller facilities and events. After the University of Nevada at Las Vegas took the school’s ticketing in house using the Paciolan solution, it discovered a new revenue stream. UNLV has since moved into the business of regional ticketing and now handles tickets for 11 casinos, a local arena and the Las Vegas monorail.
Scheduling Resources
The web-based Resource Scheduler version 7.0 from Boston-area Meeting
Maker, Inc. is an advanced time management tool for busy facility managers.
Its centralized database keeps track of facilities, people, conference
rooms, equipment and schedules, according to Jeff Roof, director of product
management.
“The real estate division of Chevron Texaco uses it to manage all of the company’s conference spaces around the globe,” he said. “They have approximately 17,000 users who can go online to reserve the smallest conference room or the biggest auditorium. Real estate is expensive, and this tool generates reports that can tell you which facilities are being utilized and how often. If space is underutilized, it can be turned back for other uses.”
Resource Scheduler serves diverse users. The U.S. government has adopted it as a security tool for tracking individuals coming and going from various facilities, while a Screenshot courtesy of Meeting Maker, Inc. Seattle hauling business finds it efficient for communicating schedules to its fleet of towboats traveling up and down the coastline.
Motorola uses the product to schedule lab equipment and lab test time. The company’s expensive equipment is in constant demand from many departments, often at the same time. By establishing an automated, self-serve, web-based scheduling system, Motorola can schedule equipment to accommodate all departments. Employees save time, and the company saves money by using its resources more efficiently. Additionally, Motorola is able to run utilization metrics to determine how equipment is being used and when additional equipment might need to be purchased.
Resource Scheduler is available fully integrated with Microsoft Outlook/Exchange, which makes it easy for most PC users to adopt.
Workforce Management
A large part of running any business is the cost of labor, and public
assembly buildings are among the most difficult to properly staff. Unlike
manufacturers, retailers and many service businesses, public assembly
buildings don’t have a fixed number of staff members working similar
shifts or a predictable number of events.
Sacramento, CA-headquartered Advanced Business Integrators, Inc. (ABI) tackles workforce management with a technology solution designed to ensure that trained employees are in the right job at the right time. By accurately planning for each event’s staffing needs, the solution accurately budgets labor costs, prevents waste and cuts overhead while maintaining records of non-event and event staff, their individual licenses and training.
The versatile solution can create individual work schedules and communicate them to employees through a touchscreen kiosk at the facility. It also has the ability to manage “incident tracking,” including security issues and accident reports, complete with digital photos. It can operate the facility’s lost and found department, as well as the in-house wardrobe. “This is the non-sexy part of the events industry and is often overlooked even though labor is the single largest controllable expense,” said David Schwartz, president of ABI.
More than 65 facilities have currently adopted the tool, including the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Pepsi Center in Denver, Target Center in Minneapolis and Home Depot Center in Carson, CA.
Point of Sale
Without technology, it would be almost impossible to keep up with the
thousands of items – from hot dog buns to T-shirts – that
are part of the inventory in the 750,000- square-foot Toyota Center in
downtown Houston. That’s where a company like Venue 1 of Wayne,
PA, comes into play. Venue 1 has developed a point-of-sale inventory system
that manages individual units from the issue of the purchase order until
the moment the item is sold.
“Our solution has complete control of the inventory from the time you issue a purchase order for 50 cases of hot dogs, until you bring them into the freezer, ship them to the stands, and ring up the first hot dog on the cash register and deduct it from the inventory,” explained Ken Lapponese, vice president of sales for Venue 1.
The tool can produce more than 200 different reports to keep management up to date on inventory status. At any time, the manager knows how much product is in the warehouse, how much is in the stands and how much cash should be in the register, Lapponese said.
In addition, the tool is smart. It can read loyalty cards and bank points for individual fans each time they make a purchase at the facility.
Expert Predictions
Most of this technology would have been sci-fi material a mere decade
ago. And before anyone gets too comfortable with the special offerings
available today, they need to prepare for the next generation of techno-tools
headed for the marketplace. “In the facilities area, there are a
lot of wireless capabilities,” said Roof. “I see us performing
all of our functions on whatever device we have with us – a cell
phone, a notebook, a laptop. Already, I can click on a couple of web links
on my cell and see what meetings I have and at what location.”
Taylor predicts that the digital ticket is “not that far off.” Recently, some venues have experimented with lanyards that have an embedded cash value to make the purchase of snacks and concessions faster and more convenient.
Lapponese agrees that facilities will soon be using new technologies to serve “the cashless, checkless society. It’s easier for the consumer and everyone doing business.”
When it comes to technology, as well as other areas of the business, Carrell sees a strong need for standardization in the events industry in order to improve the flow of information. “The only way people in the events industry can survive in a global economy is standardization,” she said.
Patricia Pape is a Dallas freelance writer
Article published by:
IAAM.org
© 2002-2004 International Association of Assembly Managers.
Original article posted at here.
