“Hey, what do you mean? My clients are already using the FCAs we build them!” Of course they are. But now that we have your attention, it’s time for a truth bomb. Today’s FCAs are static snapshots of a facility at one moment in time. They’re outdated as soon as they’re published because the facility continues to change after the data collection is completed. Building owners use them once and then shelve them until it’s time to do another one.
What if, instead, you could provide a living FCA? One that you can keep adding data to over time? An assessment that brings value to a building owner year after year?
Talk about a game changer. Suddenly you’re no longer competing against the FCAs from other AEC firms. You have something unique and innovative to offer. And that can mean more business for your firm and stronger, longer-term relationships with your clients.
Whether you call it a deferred maintenance study, a capital need assessment, a backlog study, or a facility condition assessment, one thing is clear: everyone is doing them pretty much the same way and delivering roughly the same results. By leveraging new technologies to create more accurate and effective FCAs, you can stand out in a competitive market.
Stop Competing, Start Dominating With a Better Deliverable
You’re preparing to pitch an FCA to a client. You’ve got your Gantt chart. You’ve got your project schedule. You’ve got all the pieces of the industry standard FCA presentation ready to go – exactly like the 6 other firms competing for this same FCA business.
Put yourself in the building owner’s shoes. They don’t deal with FCAs every day like you do. They only spend time with one maybe once every 5 to 7 years. To them, all the pitches they have to sit through look the same.
While your firm’s FCA offering may differ somewhat from that of other firms, when it comes down to it, AEC firms use basically the same processes to deliver the same results. Know what happens when a client has to choose between 6 different versions of the same thing? They buy based on price – the cheapest option that provides what they need wins.
In a world where every FCA is done the same way, presented the same way, and looks the same to building owners, there’s definitely an opportunity to stand out.
But how? We’re so glad you asked.
Differentiating yourself from the competition requires a fresh approach that addresses the inherent problems in the standard FCA.
The Standard FCA’s Shortcomings
While today’s FCAs are helpful in determining major maintenance needs and allocating capital, there’s room for improvement.
- One-time-use: It’s created based on data collected at one specific time. Meanwhile, the facility itself keeps evolving. Once the facility changes too much, the FCA becomes obsolete.
- Wasteful: Hours, days, weeks of work go into building an FCA that’s only helpful in the short-term. Then it collects dust and is eventually tossed out and completely redone in a few years.
- Not additive: Once the FCA is done, there’s no easy way to keep it updated and add new information to it.
- No comparative analysis: It’s a snapshot followed by another snapshot in 5 years. Plus, each FCA might be completed by a different firm. That makes it very challenging to understand how a facility’s data has changed over time.
Breaking away from the standard template can seem a little scary, but it’s obvious the FCA could be better. Thankfully, better technology tools are here to help. At AkitaBox, we’ve spent years focusing on how to improve every aspect of the FCA – from data capture and floor plan mapping to reporting and capital budgeting. Leveraging these FCA tools can help you overhaul your process to save time, deliver more meaningful results, and bring in more repeat business.
Build a Better FCA With FCA Software
There used to be two main tool sets for creating an FCA:
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Use a combination of clipboards, Excel spreadsheets, and PDFs
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Build your own legacy FCA tool
The FCA has historically been an area with very little innovation. Until now. Technology providers like AkitaBox are focusing on this overlooked area, creating tools specifically designed to improve the FCA process for firms and improve FCA results for building owners.
AkitaBox FCA software makes living FCAs a reality:
- Collect more accurate data as a baseline: Take photos, add manufacturer specs, and include condition status for every asset as you go, using a single system.
- Keep data up-to-date over time: Add more data at any time, building on the baseline. The FCA remains a valuable resource year after year.
- Asset mapping: Pin every asset’s location and corresponding data to an accurate floor plan.
- Intelligent results: Dependable asset and condition data rolls up into better reporting and more definitive recommendations.
Now THAT’s how you deliver a transformed FCA that’ll turn heads.
And maybe the best part? AkitaBox FCA isn’t hard to implement at your firm. In the past, being an innovator and doing things differently often equaled more work. Not in this case. Our solution is a turnkey application that’s ready to go – no painful implementation period and weeks of training.
Get Off the Hamster Wheel
The traditional way of doing FCAs is like a hamster wheel. You put certain data in, and you get certain data out – over and over and over. If you want to build your FCA business and impress clients, you need to be different.
If you’re ready to learn more about how AkitaBox FCA software can streamline your FCA process and provide greater value to your customers, let’s talk!
