Presidential Memorandum to Slash Federal Government Real Estate Costs can be Aided by IWMS Software
Rationalizing Federal Real Estate, Promoting Telework to Save Money and Reduce Carbon Emissions
June 17, 2010 — Boston, MassachusettsThe recently issued memorandum by President Barack Obama to have federal agencies cut $3 billion out of federal real estate costs by 2012 will be made immeasurably easier by the implementation of Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) software, says IFMA Fellow Bruce K. Forbes, president and founder of the world’s leading IWMS software developer ARCHIBUS, Inc. (www.archibus.com).
“After personnel costs, real estate is the second-highest expense for most organizations,” says Forbes. “Facility costs can represent more than 25% of fixed assets on balance sheets and yet many agencies underutilized office space by 50% or more. A whole range of costs, including operations and maintenance, can be reduced 5% to 20% per year by using IWMS software.”
Among its many capabilities, IWMS software can compile centralized, accurate data on space and its allocation so that underutilization of offices and buildings, whether leased or owned, and can be easily identified and consolidated for more economical operations.
"Both taxpayer dollars and energy resources are being wasted to maintain these excess assets," Obama states in a memo described by a June 10 Washington Post article. "In addition, many of the properties that we do need for government work are not operated efficiently, resulting in wasted funds and greenhouse gas pollution."
IWMS software for real estate, energy, environmental sustainability and other areas of facilities management can immediately address those issues.
Billions in Savings, Fast ROI
“As the nation’s largest property owner with 1.2 million buildings, the U.S. Federal government has a lot to gain from using IWMS software to reduce real estate costs, if private sector experience is any indication. In fact, savings for the American taxpayer could reach over 20 times the targeted amount in billions of dollars, if the cited real estate initiatives were expanded to include the facilities and infrastructure aspects of commercial-off-the-shelf IWMS,” says Forbes.
There are hundreds of examples of far greater savings being realized. For example, a multi-national organization, with a presence in 50 countries across five continents and a portfolio of 7,500 buildings, reported that it was able to realize a savings of over $1 billion in less than two years utilizing IWMS. The organization was able to embrace a business transformation that included real estate consolidations, the empowerment of its associates and contractors, more effective space utilization, and tremendous energy and utility savings. With the monies saved, they were able to build a new award-winning, environmentally-friendly headquarters, and productivity sky-rocketed.
Similarly, a state government saved millions in the first year of an IWMS-centered space management and consolidation initiative, allowing it to cancel 50 leases on properties representing 220,000 square feet of office and other space. Projected savings of over $100 million were identified, including energy and utilities costs, and they achieved significant reductions in their carbon footprint.
Government Telework Goals Empowered by Hoteling
In the same Washington Post article, U.S. Government Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Martha Johnson also said that the increased use of telework options – initiatives that let employees work from home or from satellite telework centers closer to where they live – may reduce even further the need for office space and related energy costs. By reducing the commute of thousands of workers, telework contributes to a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and lost productivity.
“IWMS applications also support these telework initiatives that are being adopted by a growing number of government agencies,” Forbes points out. “One federal client’s Workplace of Tomorrow program features telework as a key component in its overall efforts to reduce costs, achieve environmental sustainability objectives, and improve worker satisfaction.
“A common thread that runs throughout many organizations’ telecommuting programs is having employees on-site periodically for meetings. This keeps them integrated with their work teams and corporate culture. To support those temporary visitors, a comprehensive IWMS software platform requires applications such as Hoteling software - a must-have for reservation-based allocation of unassigned desk or office space to occasionally accommodate your telecommuters.”
Said the GSA’s Martha Johnson on the self-evident value of telework, “Why do you bring everybody together in a workplace all the time? It’s almost counterintuitive now.”
Organizational Transformation with IWMS
Benefiting from the rapid deployment of IWMS is a worldwide opportunity. While the initiatives cited are a great beginning, embracing IWMS-based business transformation offers a new realm of operational transparency and efficiency.
A thought-provoking question is posed by Forbes, “Why shouldn’t the American taxpayer and its generations to come benefit from the tremendous cost savings and environmental benefits of IWMS that have been realized in the private sector for over a decade now?”
About ARCHIBUS, Inc.
ARCHIBUS is the #1 global provider of real estate, infrastructure, and facilities management solutions and services with the total annual expenditures for ARCHIBUS-related products and services exceeding $1.7 Billion (USD). Through effective innovation and business transformation, ARCHIBUS users save their organizations over $100 billion annually. With ARCHIBUS, organizations can use a single, comprehensive, integrated solution to make informed strategic decisions that optimize return-on-investment, lower asset lifecycle costs, and increase enterprise-wide productivity and profitability. ARCHIBUS is the world-wide proponent for the creation of ubiquitous environmental sustainability.
ARCHIBUS is the #1 TIFM (Total Infrastructure & Facilities Management) solution in the world. More than 4,000,000 ARCHIBUS enterprise and Web users collectively manage over 5,000,000 properties, with organizations reporting facilities-related cost savings as high as 34%. With over 1,600 ARCHIBUS Business Partners, local and regional support worldwide is available in over 130 countries and in over two dozen languages. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, ARCHIBUS, Inc. has pioneered computer-aided infrastructure and facilities management technologies since 1982. For more information, visit archibus.com.