CAFM, or Computer Aided Facilities Management, is the term for technology designed to help users manage the various assets, tools and processes that affect business continuity. CAFM was developed to streamline facilities management and maintenance, driving greater efficiency, boosting business performance and generally making life easier for FMs, employees and wider building users.
Before CAFM systems became available, facilities managers were forced to compile the huge volumes of information they had about their buildings in lengthy paper trails. Spreadsheets, blueprints, layout documents, folders all of which needed to be kept up-to-date with the latest details relating to asset maintenance, space management, property information and much, much more.
This approach was time-consuming, resource-demanding and more open to human error. The introduction of CAFM was to alleviate these problems and provide much-needed support to FM professionals, as well as support data-driven decision-making across the facilities the system is responsible for.
Among the various types of facilities management software, CAFM is primarily focused on the physical workplace and everything within it. As well discuss in further detail in this article, this can cover everything from tracking asset lifecycles and scheduling maintenance tasks, to managing room reservations and use of space throughout the office.
In addition, CAFM tools are recognized for their incorporation of CAD (Computer Aided Design) and BIM (Building Information Modelling) functionality. This visual realization can offer significant benefits in understanding the layout of a building, plotting maintenance routes and optimizing the use of space in a structure.
