Hörmann

Hörmann (UK) Ltd.’s Journey to Professionalising Their Facilities Management Services

Hörmann, one of Europe’s leading suppliers of garage doors, front doors, and operators, turned to TOPdesk in 2018 to professionalise their facilities management (FM) services.

We spoke to Eliot Buckby Facilities & Maintenance Manager to understand how the organisation came to implement TOPdesk as a Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) tool and what effect it’s had on their business.

From chaos to CAFM

Chaotic workload. Spiralling problems. Disjointed communication. When there are too many plates spinning at once and no CAFM tool in place, facilities management becomes an increasingly difficult task.

This is something Hörmann (UK) recognised and proved to be the main driving force in their demand for a CAFM solution. They searched the market and TOPdesk seemed a perfect fit. A tool that we could personalise to their needs and get to the buy-in of all their employees.

“Before we implemented TOPdesk, the workload could be quite overwhelming. We needed something so that there’s traceability and accountability for all,” says Eliot.

Within a week of seeing a TOPdesk demonstration, Hörmann made the decision to purchase the tool and begin their journey to improve their processes and procedures.

The intricacies of FM

Operations management has helped technicians to manage their time, schedule, and prioritise tasks. The ability to report on each of these aspects has been invaluable when analysing the achievements of each operator in performance reviews.

The Self-Service Portal (SSP) empowers staff with flows and forms, offering information and assistance. Through the portal, staff can follow their call and track its progress.

“If a staff member calls the team, we send them straight to the TOPdesk SSP – meaning no TOPdesk, no ticket! This has promoted users to have a look on the SSP before calling in and often getting the answer for themselves. A big help towards increasing our productivity.”

FM isn’t a desk job. Eliot and his team utilise TOPdesk mobile to track and resolve problems while they’re on the move. This highlights the importance of equipping staff with customised forms.

Forklifts and waste: cutting out the middleman

Hörmann have set up several processes to cut out the middleman when it comes to working with suppliers. Some examples of this are repairs to forklifts, direct booking of extra services and waste management.

“Rather than contacting suppliers ourselves we created a form for staff which sends requests directly to the supplier. Our service providers are automatically informed when we need their services and a generated response is sent to all stakeholders.”

“We’ve set up multiple flows for two different suppliers when reporting damage to forklifts. Asset management means the system can identify and alert the supplier exactly which machine needs repair. The process is so smooth that an engineer often arrives the same day – making it simpler for everyone. This also allows for out of hours calls to be logged without the need for phone calls.”

“These forms allow us to manage time a lot better and gives staff the confidence to report problems knowing it will be resolved in a timely manner and having full transparency throughout the process.”

Transforming with TOPdesk

As TOPdesk is Hörmann’s first CAFM tool, consultancy was crucial in enabling them to perfect their processes: “Initially, the project seemed daunting, but the step-by-step implementation made it manageable. Without TOPdesk’s involvement we wouldn’t have been able to make the same progress.”

Having honed the basics, the team now has the confidence to improve their environment and look at the bigger picture. For example, improving on key performance indicators and enhancing knowledge of plan boards and dashboards.

“We aspire to integrate TOPdesk within the whole business and for it to become the main information guru for all Hörmann employees.”