As a building manager, keeping track of your square footage is one of the hallmarks of good facility management. The square footage of your building is an important asset that effects how the rest of your building is run.
From your custodial cleaning plan to capital planning, your assumed square footage has a direct impact on the cost of upkeep. Accuracy is key, but how certain are you that your as-built drawings are providing you with the correct information? Below, are the four critical areas of your operation that may be affected by false square footage data. Take a good look and decide whether you want to run the risk of losing money.
1. Reduce Facility Management Costs
Square footage is one of the major considerations used to set prices on buildings for lease. Whether your recorded square footage is under or over the report, you could face financial repercussions. If you believe you have less square footage than there actually is, you are leaving money on the table by underselling your property to occupants. Meanwhile, those same occupants are getting a steal by paying less than the property is worth and putting your business at risk. On the other hand, if you over report square footage and over charge your tenants, you run the risk of answering to fraudulent charges. Naturally, you do not want to find yourself in either of these situations.
The value of your square footage is of enormous importance. In healthcare facility management, square footage determines billing cost and revenue centers. Without accurate floor plans, it’s impossible to appropriately establish a capital plan. In educational facilities, square footage is used for the purpose of grant allocation. Inaccurate benchmarks create inaccurate financials. The necessity of correct square footage reports cannot be overstated. Do not leave money on the table or accidentally report fraudulent data!
2. Space Management
Square footage, as we all know, measures how much space you have. People in buildings take up space and, thus, you have occupancy limits. This is particularly important for health care facilities that may need to measure the occupancy of surgery or exam rooms. In educational facilities it will determine how many students can occupy a classroom.
Besides general occupancy limits the amount of room per person is a valuable commodity when dealing with businesses. Square footage is a measure taken into account to ensure optimal worker efficiency in office buildings. Most offices aim for 125-225 usable square feet of workspace per person. Inaccurate square footage in your space management software could cost you the business of a company looking to meet a specific number.
3. Custodial Cleaning Plan
Square footage is the single most important measure for creating an accurate custodial cleaning plan. If you don’t have the correct information you will have a false sense of how much your custodians can clean within a specific amount of time. An accurate floor plan report will also ensure that you are not over-hiring or under-hiring for the space with which you are working. Appropriate workload balance will lead to the longevity of your building and efficiency of your custodial staff.
Don’t have a custodial cleaning plan? Get our free Custodial Cleaning Guide to jump start your planning process.
4. Reduce Construction Costs
If you are planning any type of construction or remodeling, knowing your exact square footage will help you determine your costs. Creating a capital plan and estimating your costs relies heavily on knowing what you’re working with. By updating your as-built drawings and space management information you can ensure that your budget is met and your estimates are accurate.
