The challenge:

Newly hired, the firms Facility Manager brought years of experience and an appreciation of technology.  To best manage change in an upcoming consolidation, he knew that using Excel, CAD and multiple repositories of information for updates and change would be excruciating, tedious and unmanageable. In turn, he required practical tools to manage complicated moves, merging two (2) office buildings into one (1) company headquarters that required buildout, merging of information from differing sources while overseeing additional locations. Moving offices would require a robust module that does more than just tracking.

The story:

Covid had been around for several months before Accordant was fully operational within the business, although staff was returning to the office on a voluntary basis.  Rather than wholly manage social distancing perimeters with pen and paper, the FM divided available seating in half, restricting desk usage to social distancing parameters. Posted signs designated a station deemed safe for use while maintaining proper distancing.  Alternatively, that meant desk sharing between groups could result in a cross-contamination issue he could not manage with spreadsheets. The mydesk module by Accordant clearly displayed approved (green color means clean) desks, eliminating the immediate health risk of cross contamination. After seeing the mydesk mobile application offered as part of the software package, the FM and his team became actively involved in the Beta testing for new features. The company already had functionality that logged people coming into their buildings via badge swipe. After discussions with the CadM development team on how to incorporate this data with the mydesk booking tools, a new concept was realized: a user could see who had booked a desk and if they entered the building on that day. This would allow facility and space planners to see another robust feature of the system, making certain that desks were not being repeatedly booked with no one utilizing that space. Additionally, the team could coordinate with HR to see who is coming into the building, ensuring that cleaning schedules at reserved desks were maintained. “I am constantly playing with and using the software, reporting back any issues or concerns that are quickly addressed.”  In addition, the FM has made recommendations to the development team for even more improvements. 

The outcome:  

The application allows staff to reserve their own desk while eliminating others to utilize that space. Employees would feel a sense of comfort in a sanitized workstation, taking into consideration one’s personal issues of what is safe.  The mydesk module easily shares information with janitorial teams to know exactly when and where to sanitize. It will be a year in August that this firm has been using Accordant. “The software has been great in overseeing our corporate headquarters, along with five (5) other locations.”  The domestic FM is currently engaged in active discussions with Facility Managers overseas and the Accordant team, anticipating the worldwide portfolio implementing the solution by end of 2021. 

The future:

The global advisory and project management firm is planning for their offices of the future. Like most companies with office space, the FM states “…we don’t yet know what our reopening will look like, but if we eventually choose a hybrid in-office/work-from-home model, Accordant will be very helpful in reporting who is in and when, to plan for new space, even during contract review of space not being used or a need for more space as all space will be under review.”

“I do anticipate Accordant becoming a one stop shop for everyday usage, like the helpdesk ticket going to one place to submit issues and getting resolution, or to find an empty room, or submit calendar requests.”