FM:Systems today announced a new integration of its workplace management solution, FMS:Workplace, with parent company Johnson Controls’ Metasys building automation system.
The integration will enable Metasys to automatically create work order tickets in the FMS: Workplace Facility Maintenance Module based on configured preferences of alarm types and priority level. Tickets will then be dispatched to the most appropriate service center for technician assignment, “taking into account the location and type of maintenance work needed,” FM:Systems says.
The move will enable rapid response to equipment alarms, which FM:Systems says will help to minimize wasted effort, improve maintenance resource utilization and enhance tenant satisfaction and retention, according to thea Tuesday release.
Work order tickets created through the integration in the FMS:Workplace solution will include all details necessary to efficiently address issues, reducing the amount of total trips and time needed to fix problems and the likelihood of errors from manual data entry, FM:Systems says.
The system will provide “run time” values to minimize unnecessary preventative maintenance and advance notice to reduce downtime, with the integration also consolidating maintenance history and other critical details in one system, helping users make better buy or repair decisions, per the release.
“When an issue occurs, the longer a fault or failure goes unaddressed, the greater the potential for operational disruptions,” Brian Haines, chief strategy officer at FM:Systems, said in a statement. “We are streamlining the process by eliminating the extra step for operator intervention. This added moment of automation ultimately empowers our facility team customers to minimize costs, reduce disruptions, maximizing uptime and extending asset life.”
Following its acquisition of FM:Systems in 2023, Johnson Controls stated plans to useleverage the workplace insights its software provides to boost efficiencies in buildings through automated controls and operations management.
“We’ve solved the utilization problem, or we’re one of the best in the industry [in doing so]. We are now applying that data to other operations, like all other facility operations, to optimize them based upon how people were using the building,” Haines told Facilities Dive at the time. “Integrating that data with the building control systems, we really believe that autonomous building controls are the future and that buildings will be able to greatly exceed performance that had recently been managed by people.”
The companies created the first integration between their systems in October, pulling data from the Johnson Controls smart building platform OpenBlue’s Net Zero Advisor into the FMS:Insights platform. The move enables users to combine office utilization and energy consumption data to optimize energy use, reduce costs and support sustainability goals, FM:Systems said at the time.
“That's just the taste of what's to come. But we're super excited about the opportunities and the value that comes when you start to combine real core building, system and subsystem data with higher level occupancy, space planning and floor planning,” Julius Marchwicki, vice president of digital product management at Johnson Controls, said in an interview. “You know much more about people in space versus equipment and how it performs.”
