INVENTORY MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
FINDINGS
Data Collection
¬ DPW is not completely fulfilling its statutory requirement to maintain a complete and current inventory regarding facilities management.
¬ Data collection for a centralized facilities management inventory database has not been a priority within the department.
¬ Inventory information collected by the Facilities Management Unit is limited in the type of information and how it is used for broader planning or management analysis purposes.
¬ Square footage figures for buildings under DPW's care and control cannot be certified as accurate using the building information currently maintained by the facilities management unit
¬ Square footage information tracked by the unit is not based on any systematic program to frequently collect such information for DPW-managed buildings.
¬ Facilities management inventory information presented to committee staff differed among the facilities management and financial management units within DPW, indicating a lack of coordination/communication.
Reporting, Analysis, Planning
¬ Inventory information currently recorded by the facilities unit is insufficient for any meaningful management reporting, analysis, or planning.
¬ The Facilities Management Unit has operated without an administrator for several years; the position was filled this past summer. The void contributed to the overall dearth of analysis, reporting, and planning.
¬ There is no single authoritative source of information on the overall condition of the structural, mechanical, or safety features of properties under DPW's care and control.
¬ The level of preventative maintenance planning and reporting is different for properties managed by private property managers than for DPW-managed properties; DPW lacks a structured preventative maintenance program or any formal plans for its buildings.
¬ Attention is given to individual line item contractor costs for determining if operating costs are proportionate with yearly budgets and costs incurred in previous months, although the facilities unit does not regularly conduct detailed cost analyses for planning purposes.
¬ An attempt to produce a capital improvement/expenditure report was initiated this year, although the process is not formalized. Further, no plan or program exists to fully implement the findings from an extensive 1996 DPW building operations survey.
¬ A facilities management software program purchased by the facilities unit several years ago is not utilized. DPW plans to create a section within the facilities unit to coordinate and develop a management information system, although progress is slow.
Oversight
¬ No formal system exists to oversee performance of contractors hired to manage the 6.7 million square feet (92 percent) of building space under DPW's care and control.
¬ The facilities management oversight process is heavily focused on tracking expenditures, rather than ensuring property management performance and customer satisfaction.
¬ Current personal service agreements not based on performance; DPW formally recognizes need for greater performance oversight, but has not established or implemented a structured oversight program.
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS
1. The Department of Public Works should begin developing a fully automated and integrated facilities management database to use as the foundation of a comprehensive management information system. The facilities unit, in conjunction with upper level management within the department, should decide on the data elements necessary for establishing a complete and current facilities management inventory system. The database should become fully operational by January 1, 2002.
2. Comprehensive inventory information vital to sustain the facilities unit's new inventory management database should be collected and entered at least quarterly. At a minimum, the information should include: 1) comprehensive building assessment data; 2) automated drawings of space configurations within buildings; and 3) health/safety/fire and OSHA reports, maintenance schedules, and repair information.
3. The inventory database information within the Facilities Management Unit should be coordinated with, and communicated to, other relevant divisions within the public works department on a frequent basis.
4. The Facilities Management Unit shall determine the management information and reports it deems appropriate for internal analysis and planning purposes by July 1, 2001. The unit must ensure the information necessary to fulfill its management reporting requirements is captured in a comprehensive facilities management database.
5. The Facilities Management Unit should establish a formal program for obtaining accurate and reliable building assessment information, including square footage measurements, for all properties under its care and control. The assessments should be performed using in-house resources, outsourcing the work, or a combination of the two. The program should be phased in over a five-year period beginning July 1, 2001, and incorporate each property under the department's care and control. Assessment information for properties coming "online" either during or after the initial five-year period should be accounted for immediately.
6. The initial review process for determining capital repairs conducted by the facilities unit this year should be formalized. The facilities unit should also begin developing capital improvement plans based on one, five, and 10-year increments. As part of the planning process, capital projects shall be prioritized for budgeting and resource allocation purposes.
7. The Facilities Management Unit shall establish a structured preventative maintenance program for the DPW properties managed using in-house resources. A component of the program shall include oversight by the unit to ensure preventative maintenance plans for all facilities under the department's care and control are fully implemented.
8. The facilities unit shall fully implement a system to regularly analyze property management costs on a regular basis for all properties under DPW's care and control.
9. The Facilities Management Unit shall develop a structured program for ensuring the performance of property management services for its entire inventory of buildings. The program shall be designed around measurable goals and objectives developed by DPW for each building on an annual basis. The program shall include random spot checks by the facilities unit of the properties under its care and control at least annually to ensure property management performance. The unit should also require property managers to submit for review by the facilities unit annual reports detailing at a minimum: 1) the major property management accomplishments for each building managed; 2) outstanding projects; and 3) complaint information. Performance measures should be developed by July 1, 2001, and regularly monitored.
10. The Facilities Management Unit should have discretionary authority to require performance surety bonds from property managers at the beginning of each contract cycle. The bonds would be used by the state to ensure contractor performance on a yearly basis. If vendor performance does not meet agreed upon goals and objectives predetermined by the facilities unit and contractor, DPW would have the option of withholding a specified amount of the bond.
ASSET ANALYSIS: TOTAL SPACE MANAGED
FINDINGS
¬ The amount of space under DPW's care and control has increased 249 percent between FYs 95-00 - from 2.1 million gross square feet to just under 7.4 million.
¬ DPW has been steadily implementing a program of outsourcing management of facilities under its care and control.
¬ Private management companies managed 92 percent of the space under DPW's care and control at the end of FY 00 - up from 37 percent in FY 95.
¬ Surplus property under DPW's care and control increased 1,326 percent between FYs 95-00 -- from 217,600 square feet to 3.1 million. Non-surplus property increased 126 percent -- from 1.9 million square feet to 4.3 million.
¬ Surplus property accounted for 10 percent of the total space under DPW's care and control in FY 95 and 42 percent in FY 00.
¬ Private contractors managed all 3.1 million square feet of DPW's surplus property at the end of FY 00.
ASSET ANALYSIS: COST
FINDINGS
¬ Net expenditures for managing facilities under DPW's care and control increased 128 percent between FYs 95-00 - from $8.8 million to $20.1 million.
¬ Expenditures for facilities directly managed by DPW decreased by one-third, from $6 million in FY 95 to the current five-year low of $4 million in FY 00.
¬ DPW spent just over $2.8 million on outside property management contractors in FY 95 and $16.2 million in FY 00 - an increase of nearly 470 percent. This is further confirmation DPW is increasing its use of private management companies to manage facilities under the department's care and control.
¬ Between FYs 95-00, private managers hired by DPW performed facilities management services less expensively than the department, except for FYs 98-99 (Committee staff believes, however, these are aberrations based on several factors highlighted above.)
¬ DPW's square footage costs were lower than those of private managers in FYs 95-97 when surplus property was excluded from the analysis. Costs per square foot for DPW have since increased beyond those of the department's private contractors.
¬ Compared with private sector buildings, and using selected facilities management services, total operating cost for DPW buildings is $4.80 a square foot, while the average cost for private sector buildings is $6.66 - or 39 percent greater.
¬ DPW shows lower costs than private sector buildings in all facilities management service categories except roads/grounds. (Lower costs do not necessarily equate to comparable quality or level of service, which is not accounted for in this analysis.)
BUILDING OPERATIONS SURVEY: FINDINGS
¬ Overall, there is a general acceptance among tenant representatives surveyed custodial services and building maintenance are considered either "good" or "excellent."
¬ Custodial services needing improvement include window cleaning, wall cleaning, and cleaning/shampooing carpets.
¬ The overall condition of flooring and carpeting needs attention. A low satisfaction level exists among respondents with the outcomes of maintenance service when conducted within their buildings. Only a third of the respondents indicated a comfortable interior temperature was maintained.
¬ Interior and exterior security protecting people and property was mostly considered "good" or "excellent."
¬ DPW conducted its own extensive survey of building representatives in 1996, yet no formal plan or follow-up program was ever implemented.