CAFM tools and voice: reaching the nearest engineer

A CAFM tool (computer-aided facilities management) keeps your work orders, assets, planned maintenance and compliance records in one place, and it is good at that. What it does not do is tell the helpdesk where an engineer is right now or let them speak to the one who is nearest. That gap is filled by a radio network and a map running alongside the CAFM, not by replacing it.

In short: a CAFM tool manages the work; it does not manage the people on the move. Add push-to-talk radios and a control room screen with a map and the helpdesk can see who is closest to an urgent job and talk to them straight away. The work order stays in the CAFM, the live shift runs on the radio.

What a CAFM tool is for

Most facilities contractors run on a CAFM system of some kind. It takes the helpdesk calls, raises work orders, holds the planned maintenance schedule, records which asset was serviced and when, and produces the reports the client's contract asks for. Engineers get their jobs on a phone app and close them with notes and photos. For the paperwork side of a contract there is nothing better, and nothing here suggests changing it.

The system is built around records. A work order is open or closed, assigned or unassigned, within its response time or overdue. That is exactly what a contract manager needs at month end, and it is why the CAFM tool is the source of truth for what was done.

What a CAFM tool leaves out

A record does not know where anyone is. Once an engineer walks out of the helpdesk's line of sight, the work order says the job is assigned, and that is all it says. If something urgent comes in, a leak above a server room or a lift with someone in it, the helpdesk has to work out who is closest and free, and the CAFM cannot answer either question.

So the helpdesk rings mobiles. The first engineer is in a plant room with no signal, the second is driving, the third answers and turns out to be on the other side of the estate. Ten minutes have gone, and the helpdesk has spent them finding people rather than sending them. Multiply that by every urgent call in a week and it is a real cost, in time and in the client's patience.

The engineers feel it too. A job app tells them what is assigned to them; it does not let them ask a colleague a quick question, warn the next shift about a dodgy valve, or tell the helpdesk they are on their way without stopping to type.

Voice and a map alongside the CAFM

The fix is to run two things side by side. The CAFM tool keeps doing the records. A push-to-talk radio network does the live shift: who is where, who is free, and talking to them in a second rather than a phone call.

Each engineer carries a RevoNet Handheld, or runs the RevoNet App on a phone where that suits the role. The helpdesk or duty manager has the RevoNet control room open in a browser: a map with each radio's most recent reported position, the groups for each site or contract, and a job list. When something urgent comes in, the dispatcher can see who is nearest, press to talk to that one engineer or to the whole site group, and give the job out over the radio. Nobody is hunting through contacts.

Because the radios work across the UK over the mobile phone masts, an engineer in a car park in one town and one in a basement in another are on the same network, and so is the duty manager at home.

Keeping the two systems in step

Running two systems is only a problem if people end up doing the work twice. The way round that is simple and it holds up in practice.

The CAFM work order stays the official record. When an urgent job is given out over the radio, the dispatcher creates a RevoNet job with the work order number in its title and assigns it to the engineer. The RevoNet job keeps its own timeline, when it was assigned, acknowledged, and closed, which answers the "where were we at ten past two" questions without anyone opening the CAFM. The engineer closes the work order in the CAFM app as usual, with the notes and photos the contract needs.

Planned maintenance never touches the radio at all. It is scheduled, issued and closed in the CAFM like today. The radio network is for the part of the day the CAFM cannot see: the unplanned, the urgent, and the ordinary back-and-forth that keeps a site running.

Setting it up by site or contract

Groups are what make a radio network feel organised rather than noisy. The pattern that works for facilities contractors is one group per site or per contract, so engineers only hear what concerns them, plus a supervisors' group across all of them. A duty manager joins several groups and can speak to any of them from the control room or from their own handset on a walk round.

A new contract is a new group and a few new users, set up by your own administrator in a few minutes. Radios are approved by an administrator before they can join, so a handset that goes missing is blocked from the control room rather than chased by email. More on that in onboarding radios with admin-approved pairing.

Duty managers who spend the day moving between buildings do not need to go back to a desk. The control room works on a tablet, so they can reassign a job from wherever they are; see tablet dispatch for duty managers. For a worked picture of a three-site contract, read the facilities example deployment.

Where RevoNet fits

RevoNet is a professional push-to-talk radio service with its own handset, vehicle radio and control room, sold on one monthly price per radio. It is built for exactly this job: a team spread across sites, a helpdesk or control room that needs to see them, and a client who expects a quick response and a record of it. The facilities management page sets out how teams start, usually with one site or one contract, and pricing is published, so you can work out the cost for your fleet before you talk to anyone.

Frequently asked questions

Do we have to change our CAFM tool?

No. RevoNet runs alongside whatever you use for work orders, assets and planned maintenance. Your CAFM stays the record of what was done; RevoNet handles the live shift, with voice, positions and urgent jobs on one screen.

What does a CAFM tool not do that a radio network does?

A CAFM tool manages records. It does not show where an engineer is right now, tell you who is free, or let the helpdesk speak to someone in a second. A push-to-talk radio network with a map does those three things.

Should we have a group per building or per contract?

Whichever matches how your engineers really split their time. Most contractors start with one group per site or per contract and a supervisors' group across them, then add groups as new contracts come on.

Can a duty manager reassign a job from a tablet?

Yes. The control room works in a web browser on a desktop, laptop or tablet, so a duty manager can see the map, talk to the group and reassign a job during a walk round.

Is this only for large facilities teams?

No. A supervisor and one engineer on a single site is a good place to start, and the groups and users grow with the contract.

Try it on your own sites

The quickest way to see whether a radio network closes the gap your CAFM tool leaves is to run one on a real contract for a few weeks. Request trial radios or ask for a quote, and we will set up your groups and control room access with you.