Building Maintenance Software

Select the right building maintenance software for your property
By Christine Emmick Commercial building maintenance software has a wide variety of building applications. From housing and office applications, to vacation and educational facilities, each needs the right property maintenance software to keep things running right.

Not all building maintenance systems are designed for every application. To get the most from your building maintenance management program, ask your software development agent several questions when you search for the best software for your properties:

1. What kind of building does the building maintenance management system specialize in?
2. What type of preventative maintenance does the building maintenance program include?
3. How many units does the software allow for and does it operate?

Find specialized property maintenance software applications that fit your buildings

If you need to find housing and condominium maintenance software applications, you need to gear your search to housing programs rather than office or industrial software. Pre-designed software packages exists for certain types of industries, but property managers may need to search out a customized solution to meet their needs.
Try:  Weston Data Systems has software packages designed for large multi-building applications as well as small economical packages for one building situations. Their B10 software is economical and allows for maintenance schedules to be developed on a seasonal basis, which is great for those vacation properties. If you need a custom solution, submit a request to Capterra and multiple vendors contact you with a customized solution for your application.

Make sure to include building preventative maintenance software options you need

Not only does your building need general maintenance, such as replacement of light bulbs, cleaning and supply replacement, but specialized building preventative maintenance should be included in your software as well. HVAC filters, pump seals and other preventative items help your equipment last longer and reduce your operation costs.
Try:  Tero Consulting is the leader in manufacturing, health care and educational maintenance software applications. Their Web Work CMMS product is designed so that your team can seamlessly perform maintenance tasks across the network. Link It Software Corporation has created an all in one solution called JobMaster for manufacturing facilities that track production control, maintenance, and virtually all other aspects of manufacturing facilities. Contact them and they will provide a demo version of their software for free.

Select a building maintenance system with an expandable capability

Things change; that is why you need a building maintenance software that changes with your situation. Look for software suppliers willing to work with you to make the most of their product.
Try:  CyberMetrics Corporation's FaciliWorks 7 Desktop is a product that is scalable to allow for growth, while meeting the needs of your current system. They also offer a 30-day free trial to see if FaciliWorks is right for you. Bigfoot, by Smartware Group, also offers a free trial download and a product that meets the needs of all applications, large and small. Smartware Group offers superior service and training to help you make the most of your purchase.

• Some property maintenance software packages come with a bundle of options, such as purchase order, inventory and equipment maintenance modules. These are a great deal if you need these extras, but if you don't it's better that your system isn't cluttered with unnecessary options you don't need and won't use.