Identifying potential savings through FM analysis

Assessing the Current Situation: Do It Yourself or Not?

If you want to reach a specific goal, you first need to know where you stand. This applies just as much to personal life as it does to business matters. Swiss healthcare institutions, for example, are currently grappling with how to optimize their processes and make them more efficient - because cost pressures are mounting in the industry. For all services outside the core business, the question arises: do it yourself or not?

To make the right decision, the first step is to assess the current situation. ISS offers this through its potential and operational analysis. “You can think of it as a kind of navigation system,” explains Peter Feucht, Senior Business Consultant at IFS Solutions, ISS. “Together, we determine where the client stands. Then we show them possible paths and goals.”

Cost-Saving Potential: Support Processes

The potential and operational analysis is a tool for executives. “We highlight the potential for savings in support processes,” explains Claude Giger, Business Development Manager for Healthcare at ISS, who, together with Feucht, is responsible for conducting the analyses. This potential is often greater than expected. Based on past experience, hospitals and nursing homes could save an average of about 30 percent on support process costs, according to Giger. “That’s a big slice of the pie.” FM costs typically account for about one-fifth of total operating costs.

“Savings can often be achieved simply by adjusting processes and structures, without affecting quality or wages,” says Giger, giving an example: “It makes little sense for well-trained and relatively expensive technicians to mow the lawn just because they aren’t fully occupied with technical maintenance.” The organization of cleaning, on the other hand, is a particularly important issue in healthcare institutions. Most of the cleaning work takes place in the morning, but most cleaning staff work full-time. Finally, in the kitchen, efforts could focus on menu planning. “Why not introduce a monthly rotating menu, given that the average length of stay for patients is three to six days?”

Analysis: Two-Tiered Offering

An assessment with ISS consists of two separate but combinable offerings: In the potential analysis , costs in the support area are first identified and compared to market standards. To this end, ISS has access to a benchmark database based on years of experience in facility management. However, ISS specialists do not merely analyze costs; they also examine the organization, processes, and, where applicable, infrastructure in close collaboration with the client’s management. After about six weeks, ISS provides the client with a roughly 20-page analysis report that includes not only an overview of costs and potential savings but also concrete recommendations for action.

The second service is the operational analysis, which builds on the potential analysis and delves even deeper into the technical details. During three to five site visits, ISS experts assess the situation and ask very specific questions. The result is a final report of about 40 pages, which is typically available after three months. It proposes detailed measures that are discussed with the client during a final meeting. “We are completely transparent in this process and outline measures regardless of who ultimately implements them,” says Feucht.

Expertise and Experience: Realizing Potential

Giger and Feucht are the first points of contact for clients in the healthcare industry who are interested in potential and operational analyses. “We’re asked every now and then whether we’re just using the analysis to sell our FM services,” says Giger. Of course, they’re very pleased when clients are so satisfied that they award ISS a contract after the analysis is complete. But there’s more to it than that.

As a leading provider of facility services, ISS knows exactly how much these services cost on the market. “That’s what makes our analysis particularly credible. We present figures in line with market rates,” says Giger. These figures must hold up, especially if the client ultimately decides to outsource services. “With our experience and expertise, we offer the assurance that the identified potential is achievable. That’s where our strength lies,” emphasizes Feucht.