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Thanks to good international links, the organisers of the 2012 London Olympics stand to gain from the experience of 2000's host city, Sydney and from advances in technology – the FM profession will also be a winner.

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Facilities management software specialist Service Works Global has confirmed that its involvement at this year's Facilities Show will focus on the integration of Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) with other technologies and on the changing role of software, particularly in the way it is increasingly delivered as an online service rather than as a full, licensed application. There will also be an opportunity for visitors to discuss how these emerging and linked technologies can help them to meet their own environmental policies and objectives and also learn more about how changes in the way software is delivered will affect the FM market.

"Typically software providers have focussed on the features of products at the expense of how they are actually used," comments Service Works Global's managing director Gary Watkins. "Our approach this year will be to look at how those features are applied in practice, how CAFM can integrate with other systems and to explain the benefits that can be enjoyed by organisations that see such products as strategic facilities management tools. In addition we will also look at how the global move towards delivering software online as a service will affect the market for FM software. Both issues are not only topical but are two of the most important contemporary opportunities for facilities managers."

Exhibiting on stand E44 at the show, which takes place at London Olympia on 10th and 11th October, Service Works Global will be demonstrating the full scope of modern applications.

Service Works Global, one of the world's leading facilities and property management software companies, has confirmed that its involvement at this year's Facilities Show will focus on the integration of Integrated Workplace Management software with other pioneering technologies. In particular, it will address the links between building management systems (BMS) and Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM), combining best in breed technology with operational process. There will also be an opportunity for visitors to discuss how these emerging and linked technologies can help them to meet their own environmental policies and objectives.

"Typically software providers have focussed on the features of products at the expense of how they are actually used," comments Service Works Global's managing director Gary Watkins. "Our approach this year will be to look at how those features are applied in practice, how CAFM can integrate with other complimentary systems to provide Facilities Managers with ultimate control for performance, service and delivery. We will be demonstrating the benefits that can be enjoyed by organisations that see such products as strategic facilities management tools, providing enterprise-wide visibility of critical performance information." In addition to exploring how CAFM can integrate with building management systems, Service Works Global will also be looking at how integrated systems can work to meet the broader environmental objectives of facilities managers.

Exhibiting on stand C8 at the show which takes place at the NEC Birmingham from 22 to 24 May, Service Works Global will be demonstrating the full scope of modern applications. Please see attached notes for more information.

"Our goal is to make the products come to life," explains Gary Watkins. "We can achieve that by discussing real life applications with visitors. And two of the biggest real life challenges currently facing facilities managers are how they display joined up thinking between the different tools they use and also how they can work to protect the environment."

Leading FM Service Provider, Robertson FM, who recently won the prestigious BIFM Award for Best Practice in PFI / PPP (Private Finance Initiative / Public Private Partnership) for its service delivery at Chester-Le-Street Hospital in County Durham, has partnered with FM software provider Service Works Global to monitor and manage delivery of hard and soft services across its client contracts.

Sean Hunter, Bids Manager for Robertson FM comments, "We have utilised Facilities Management software for a number of years to proactively manage our service delivery. We recently made a conscious decision to review the market in search of a software provider that could match our PFI / PPP expertise and share our partnership values. After a thorough investigation, we chose Service Works Global – one of the largest providers of FM software in the UK. Service Works Global's extensive worldwide PFI / PPP experience and their focussed approach to software development and support have all been key factors in selecting them as our preferred partner."

Service Works Global's flagship software application, QFM, will initially be utilised to manage hard and soft services, performance management and in some instances room bookings, across a number of Robertson FM's clients. Contracts include 7 PFI healthcare, 5 PFI education and several other non-PFI healthcare contracts.

What do newborn babies, laptops and Marks and Spencer suits have in common? Answer: they are all being individually tagged by radio-frequency identification (RFID). It has been used to protect stock in our high-street stores for several years now, but these have always been relatively simple devices. It was when tags could be programmed with individual numbers and each tag positively identified that the possibilities really started to open up.

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Based on the successful PFI model, Addenbrooke’s Hospital has implemented Service Works Global’s performance management software, QFM, to monitor and manage performance of hard and soft service contractors. Utilising QFM, contractors are managed on their performance and their monthly payment is calculated based on a combination of timescale and quality of service delivery.

Located on a 40 acre site, Addenbrooke’s, part of Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, services half a million people locally with 1,100 beds and over 6,000 staff. It’s the teaching hospital for the University of Cambridge, a centre for cancer services, organ transplants, neurosciences and genetics and a leader in research and development.

Read more of PFM Magazine - Cure for Service Failure