Congratulations! Your AEC firm just won a bid to conduct a facility condition assessment (FCA). But there’s a catch. The FCA results must be delivered not in a three-ring binder or PDF, but using FCA software.
Now you’re scrambling. You don’t currently have FCA software – and the clock is ticking. You’ve only got ten weeks to deliver this FCA. You need to get out in the field collecting data ASAP. So you need an FCA software tool yesterday.
Over the last two years (2021 & 2022), we’ve seen a definite trend of more RFPs requiring the use of software to gather, deliver, and enable ongoing use of the FCA.
Why this push from building owners for more technology? Put simply, they want their FCA data turned over in a way that lets them keep using and adding to it on an ongoing basis. They’re moving away from static FCA results in favor of living FCA data.
Every week, we’re having conversations with AEC firms of all sizes who need software to fulfill one of these RFPs. Here’s why many of them choose to partner with AkitaBox to deliver living FCAs to their clients.
Fulfill Your FCA Bids with AkitaBox Software
Easy to Learn and Use
Most AEC firms don’t have the luxury of spending days training their engineers on new FCA software. You need a tool your team can pick up quickly, take out in the field, and start using.
AkitaBox’s visual, intuitive interface is simple, straightforward, and easy to learn. We train your key personnel and empower them to train others in your firm. It’s like having your own home-grown, in-house “AkitaBox experts” who can quickly train up more team members whenever needed.
A recent customer was using our FCA software in the field within a week of licensing the software. It’s that intuitive and easy to use!
Configured to Your Needs
When an AEC firm approaches us for help with an FCA, we meet with them to determine the scope of the bid they need to deliver. How complex or simplistic will the FCA be? What data do you have to collect?
Once we know what you need the software to do, we train you on how to set up the necessary data fields so your engineers can hit the ground running when they get onsite. It’s also easy for you to add data fields and make other changes if needed while you’re out in the field.
Efficient Onsite Data Capture
You won’t find any other FCA software with such a robust, built-in ability to capture facilities data. This AkitaBox feature is known as the Capture App. It makes collecting FCA data fast, efficient, and painless.
- Tag asset locations on the client’s digital floor plan
- Add photos, manufacturer information, current condition, and other data for each asset
- Click on an asset’s location pin to immediately call up all available data for that asset
- Gather accurate information for FCA reporting and sort data easily
- Learn its simple interface in minutes
- Do it all from a smartphone or tablet
Here’s a short overview of what it looks like and how it works.
FCA Data Your Client Can Use Long-Term
Turn over the finished FCA in a format your customer can use forever. Using AkitaBox, you capture accurate facilities data and input it to a core platform where it retains its value year after year. Both you and your client can continue using the data long after the official FCA is complete.
That FCA data now lives in a facilities data platform where your client can add to it as the building is maintained. The condition data can inform maintenance decisions, and each maintenance activity can also inform the building’s condition.
Your firm can also go back to that data when you return to the facility for the next assessment. The client’s floor plans are already in the software, as are asset locations and their last known condition. So instead of re-doing an entirely new FCA from the ground up, you can conduct an incremental assessment to determine how things have changed since the last FCA.
The FCA you provide is no longer a one-time transactional delivery. Now it’s the basis of an ongoing relationship with your client.
Read More: Give Your Clients an FCA They’ll Actually Keep Using
Software that Connects the AEC Industry with Facility Owner/Operators
AkitaBox FCA software is purpose-built software designed for the FCA that’s also part of a larger platform (called AkitaBox Pulse) that does facilities management, capital planning, and inspections.
It’s a powerful tool to support your FCA process that lets you deliver the data in a platform where the client can maintain and optimize their facility long-term. It’s impossible to really optimize a building’s operations without using technology to capture facilities data – not just during the FCA, but all the time – and tie it all together in one place.
Bringing this approach and this technology to your FCA clients sets you apart from competitors. You’re no longer just one of many firms offering FCAs. Now you’re the firm who brings their clients the tools for bigger-picture, long-term facilities management and building lifecycle management.
This positions you as a partner, putting you ahead of transactionally-oriented vendors offering only basic FCA services.
Deliver the FCAs Your Clients Want with AkitaBox Software
When you bid for FCA jobs, you want to bring the best people, the best processes, and the best technology to the table.
Your firm no doubt already employs great people. And you’ve spent years refining the special sauce that makes your FCA offering competitive. But chances are you don’t currently have the best technology. That’s why we want to partner with you.
So take a closer look at AkitaBox FCA software. Want to see it in action? Request a demo. And download this free ebook to discover how it can transform your FCA deliverable.
