Here’s how it happened.
One of the 20 largest school districts in all of North Carolina, Iredell-Statesville Schools teach more than 20,000 students across a spread of urban, suburban, and rural neighborhoods. While their student performance ranks among the top 25% of school districts in the state, Iredell-Statesville found themselves in serious need of a comprehensive facilities management system to help improve efficiency and enable better financial planning.
So, when Tim stepped into the role of Chief Technology and Facilities Officer, he knew they needed to look hard at their schools and invest in big changes to see their district thrive. That’s where FMX’s Facility Condition Assessment came in.
Challenges
When Tim Ivey was first put in charge of his school’s maintenance department, he knew the existing work order system simply wouldn’t cut it– he needed something with accountability, something that could provide detailed reports, and track their district’s goals.
Their existing system was confusing, not everyone on staff was using it, and work orders would be lost in what they referred to as an infamous black hole.
According to him, staff didn’t trust their existing work order system to carry the request through to the maintenance department, and the maintenance department knew not all of their requests were landing in the right hands. This meant fewer requesters utilized the system, and maintenance workers weren’t able to get a full picture of the school’s needs.
As a result, school and district management didn’t have an accurate picture of their team’s workload, spending, or general way forward.They knew they needed something comprehensive, something trustworthy, traceable, and easy to use.
Once he took a look at FMX, and learned about our Facility Condition Assessments, he knew he found a solution.
FMX: The Solution
Tim found out about FMX through a Google search, and then heard from a neighboring district about their positive experience using FMX for their own management systems. Moving swiftly, Tim got in touch with our team and signed up.
According to Tim, “Your product is sophisticated but easy to use. That’s really what I was looking for.” We offered the work order capabilities they needed, along with several other key features. Most notable, however, was our easy of use.
Iredell-Statesville was able to transfer their information quickly and transition the entire team in a quick, painless maneuver.
“We were really looking for something that will allow us to have real-time data on work orders. It gave the customer, meaning the person who put in the work order, some sense of acknowledgment that the work order was done. There’s no way for it to just disappear once it’s created without some kind of trail so everyone is notified. They also love the ability to reopen the work order if it is not completed correctly.”
As beneficial as the transition to FMX was, they still had another need– a facility condition assessment.
Their district didn’t have any clear picture of their school’s needs, past maintenance, necessary repairs, future financial plans, or justification for big spending. Tim knew what they needed– a full-scale assessment of their schools to create a clear picture of their building conditions, equipment statuses, and other facility needs.
FMX’s Facility Condition Assessment
FMX offers a Facility Condition Assessment service where we travel to your facility, assess the buildings and equipment, and create a comprehensive report for your use. For Iredell-Statesville Schools, we did just that.
Our team of experts went out to Tim’s district a created a Facility Condition Assessment that went directly into their system in FMX. With that report, they gained invaluable insight regarding each school within the district. The FCA assessed buildings, roofs, HVAC equipment, boilers, and more. Each component has a corresponding report, and each report contains a picture, condition report, and estimated cost for repair or date of replacement, if necessary.
“There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t go into the FCA and drill down. I used it to make a 10-year spending plan – what I was able to do was take the information from the FCA and put money in the appropriate pots. The FCA allows me to look each year and make that budget so that I know where funding is going and I’ve got a very accurate amount.”
Results and Benefits
Switching to FMX, and investing in a Facility Condition Assessment, not only set Iredell-Statesville up for success, it also gave Tim and his team credibility within their district and with their Board.
“Every time I go to ask for something I can show, ‘this was identified on our FCA’ and they’ll say okay and they’ll approve it. So it really gave us a lot of credibility.”
Now, work orders are traceable, maintenance teams have a clear picture of their school’s condition and their scope of work, and requesters on staff know their work requests are in good hands. Moreover, they have a plan to move forward with future investments.
The FCA gave them a clear picture of their current conditions, and the information they need to create a plan to improve their schools year over year.
