Last month we talked about the basics of facility databases. We explained that the utility of a database is determined early on—when it is initially set up. We ended on a bit of a negative note, listing four key symptoms to faulty design. To reiterate, those symptoms are:
- Much of what is stored is unnecessary junk.
- What is important is not adequately protected.
- Specific responsibility for updating records is not clearly defined.
- Rights of access to records are not clearly spelled out.
This month, we’ll present some considerations that will help to avoid these symptoms.
One Point of Storage
The old rule about storing data is still a good one: Provide lots of ways for people to find data but, insofar as possible, only one primary place to store them. (This rule is not meant to apply to back-up duplicate tapes but to avoid having more than one place where master data are kept and edited.) If there are multiple places to store the same data, there are multiple opportunities to change it. One person should be designated as primarily responsible for maintaining the official copy for record purposes: for example, a space planner who maintains the space assignment files on CAD or in a manual drawing flat-file cabinet. It is also desirable to designate a backup person who can access the system when the primary person is absent.
Electronic/Hard Copy vs. On-Site/Off-Site Storage
There is no requirement to automate all data. For example, in a department that has a small inventory with a low churn rate, you may decide to keep prints of drawings in a flat file instead of buying a CAD system, or you may decide to let an off-site contractor store the drawings electronically. Electronic data provides the instant strategic advantage of removing the barrier of remote storage and access. As electronic storage becomes cheaper and methods of scanning hard-copy data onto computer disks improve, retaining hard copy becomes more and more costly and more difficult to defend. The issue now is whether data need to be stored in paper form at all. (Note that we are discussing storage of hard-copy data; electronic storage still enables printouts to be made at will.) Among the reasons to retain hard copy as a storage medium are:
The size of the database and/or facility does not warrant automation.
- This position is becoming almost impossible to defend as the cost of hardware and software drops. More likely, the real issue is something else. If the facility or space inventory is this small, very little conscious facility management of any kind is probably needed.
There are legal reasons to retain hard copy, such as the requirement of legal signatures or embossed notarial seals.
- These requirements bear periodic checking, because courts are becoming more willing to admit electronic evidence, such as signatures entered on electronic pads for credit card transactions.
Within corporations, levels of authority to approve contracts, invoices, change orders, and purchases are tightly controlled. Signatures are required in all cases. In order to access many customized software programs, a user ID and a password are generally required. The value of this approach is that current technology can identify the actual user of the software, and compare what the user is trying to do with the level of authority that the user has. If the user attempts to approve beyond his/her authority, the system escalates the request to the next higher authority. The user is then able to elect to proceed or to delete the operation. If the user escalates the approval, the system knows who to send the request to, and does so automatically. Systems keep an electronic record of who has accessed the software, when, and what actions were attempted. This history is important for future reference. Electronic signatures do away with many signatures on physical paper, and hold the us
Some data users cannot access the system via computer.
- As time goes on, this group will become smaller in almost all instances.
Retaining hard-copy records enhances personal productivity.
- Almost everyone can cite instances where it is easier to find data by thumbing through a book than by using a keyboard or a mouse, or where carrying a ten-page report across town in a briefcase is easier than lugging a laptop computer, modem, and cables to hook up at a remote site in order to print a document. At the same time, no one would argue with using the same laptop to retrieve 345 insurance records and collating vital data for a report. Ultimately, hard-copy retention is a matter of discipline that becomes a facility management problem if program managers do not set standards for their staff to follow.It’s interesting to see how far we’ve come in terms of our personal comfort level with technology versus hard-copy information sources. We no longer “lug” laptops, along with cables and modems across town. Technology has improved so much that the laptop of today has infinitely more power and capacity than desktop units of just a few years ago. Modems are built in; cables are not necessary if one has infrared capability; wireless equipment and cards for laptops are commonplace. Most professionals who deal with databases are comfortable dealing with those huge repositories of information, all stored electronically. Facility managers today can manipulate data and insert entire databases into other software formats at the click of a button. Hard-copy use and storage will soon be replaced completely by their electronic counterparts.
It is necessary to show how a document has changed.
- It may be necessary to retain annotated hard copies to show how a document has been altered over time. However, most word processing systems, CAD programs, and spreadsheets enable you to enter electronic annotations and compare different versions of the same file.
The recent explosive growth of the Internet and the development of online services and sophisticated search engines (software that enables easy searching of online databases) have further reduced the need for on-site storage. The quantity of data now accessible from a keyboard is much greater than it was without the Internet. As more facility managers become Internet literate, they will discover an enormous amount of sites with information directly relevant to their work that they can access for merely the cost of a web browser and a small monthly fee for Internet use.
When designing a database of facility data, you need to make sure you track the right kind of information. Next month, we’ll discuss the characteristics of data and how it is generated.
