Beyond Break/Fix: Reducing Costs and Streamlining Operations with Integrated Facilities Management

(9/6/2024)

Altogether, the measurable impact of a holistic facilities management solution is both significant and sustainable. Hospitals who partner with Medxcel report 10-15% in facilities management savings over the life of the contract. In the past four years, operating expense savings for client facilities exceeded $155 million. 

Imagine directing an orchestra where musicians rehearse independently. String musicians keep to themselves, as do brass players. You run into percussionists now and then in the hallways, but sections pretty much operate in isolation. As you gear up for a high-stakes performance, you hope and pray everyone is in sync and the symphony is a success when it counts most.
 
Though it isn’t a perfect analogy, it’s reflective of how many healthcare facilities operate. Each day, a myriad of components come together to shape your facilities, each affecting the next. From landscaping to life safety, capital planning, compliance and more, many functions build on one another to create comfortable and safe healing environments.
 
As in our metaphorical symphony orchestra, players operate in silos at many facilities. Invariably, that disconnect creates plenty of duplicate efforts, wasteful spending, unreliable forecasting, and limited visibility or understanding of how various competencies impact one another.

Back to basics: how conventional facilities management differs from an integrated approach    

To be clear, integrated facilities management refers to the many competencies that support the functionality and safety of your physical spaces. Those competencies include:

• Facilities maintenance
• Regulatory compliance
• Landscaping
• Grounds maintenance
• Life safety
• Capital planning

 
Historically, each of these categories have been managed by disparate teams or vendors, disconnected from one another. Even worse, a break/fix model waits for problems to occur or equipment to break down before initiating repairs, driving costs related to unplanned downtime, emergency fixes, and accelerated equipment wear, tear, and possibly replacement — not to mention increased safety risks.
 
By contrast, an integrated approach to facilities management brings all competencies under one umbrella, streamlining every facet of your physical environment under a unified team and point of contact. 

Multiplying efficiencies through multiple outcomes    

It’s only by collaborating closely that facilities teams can truly grasp the interdependencies and complexities impacting one another. By replacing multiple vendors with one dedicated facilities management partner, healthcare leaders can discover pockets of waste, sources of friction, and opportunities for savings or efficiencies that would’ve remained hidden otherwise. 
 
Benefits of an integrated approach include:

• Aligned culture and goals
• Focus on preventive maintenance instead of costly break/fix models
• Prioritization of outcomes, not output
• Better cost control and sustained savings
• Improved compliance and survey readiness
• Extended life of assets
• Increased knowledge, skills sharing, and workforce retention
• Greater buying power through vetted suppliers and partners

 
Altogether, the measurable impact of a holistic facilities management solution is both significant and sustainable. Hospitals who partner with Medxcel report 10-15% in facilities management savings over the life of the contract. In the past four years, operating expense savings for client facilities exceeded $155 million.