Configuring SLA/KPI's in a CAFM system

When looking at Facilities Management from an IT perspective the cornerstones of measurement are Service Level Agreements (SLA) and Key Performance Indicators (KPI).

For a commercial service between a supplier and a customer, the Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) configurator must first read the relevant sections of the contract. So, you are looking at what services have been agreed in the contract and for which locations. Whilst common services are likely to be across all locations, not all locations have the same services or may not have the same level of service. 

So, once you have determined which locations have which services and looking at reactive requests first, we need to establish what priorities and target times have been agreed. Now some contracts measure on response time and resolution time and others are measured on resolution time only. So as an example, a Priority 1 call may have been responded to in 1 hour and resolved in 4 hours. Some may have a make safe (respond) job first as one priority and then a fix (resolve) as a second job.

In terms of responding, for me, this has always been for those jobs that need an onsite presence when the technician arrives to start the work. Resolved means the problem has been fixed and the time the last task was done to complete this. If you have a parent and child situation, where the request (parent) is logged and then multiple actions (work orders) are raised, it is when the latest work order has been completed.

The next item to consider on reactive requests is whether there is a fixed priority for the work or a range of priorities with a suggested default. For me, certain issues will always be a Priority 1, such as a lift entrapment, so no other options are available. However, you may have those that require some triage such as loss of power. Initially, you might think this is Priority 1 (highest) but as you drill into the detail you may have a loss of power to the whole building (P1), loss of power to the floor (P2) or even loss of power to the desk (P3). 

So, let’s say we have a P1 resolve in 4 hours and a P2 in 8 hours. The next calculation is based around the working clock. P1s tends to be 24 hours; you don’t want anyone with a lift entrapment at the end of a working day to be carried over to the following day. P2s and below may be different and are likely to be based on the working hours of the business, so if the company works Monday to Friday 8:00 to 17:00, then a P2 call at 16:00 on a Friday will have a target time of 15:00 on Monday. Note: some businesses, like retail, work the opposite and only want technicians onsite for P2 and below when the store is closed. Other considerations for retail are blackout days, usually around new product releases and sales, which mean no maintenance is undertaken other than P1s.

Don't forget to consider public holidays and the regional differences that can occur.

The final one to consider is whether or not the SLA clock can be paused for any reason. This usually depends on the industry, so say for housing, if you attend on-site and you cannot get access then the SLA clock is put on hold until access is gained.

Whilst KPIs are contract specific, common ones are a percentage of the SLA delivery. Such as 95% of all P1s, 100% of statutory maintenance, x number of complaints in a month etc.

So in summary: -

1.      Read the contract and understand the commercials

2.      Understand and configure priorities

3.      Apply the correct timing clock; business hours, 24/7 etc

4.      Apply any pauses to the timings – retail blackout days, housing – customer not present

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