CAFM-Blog.de | Things that sound fantastic on paper in construction [today: HOAI]

Things that sound fantastic on paper in construction [Today: HOAI]

Welcome to the next chapter of our popular series "Things that sound fantastic on paper in construction – until they meet operational reality". As a consultant who has been trying to reconcile the worlds of passionate architects, pragmatic civil engineers, IT architects, and calculation-driven facility managers for what feels like an eternity, I can assure you: HOAI (Fee Structure for Architects and Engineers) and a CAFM system share a deep-seated, classic love-hate relationship. For the planner, the

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CAFM-Blog.de | Digitalization in SMEs: End the clipboard chaos in maintenance

Digitalization in SMEs: No more clipboard chaos in maintenance

Do you know that very special reality in the German SME sector? State-of-the-art, highly efficient Industry 4.0 machines stand in the halls – and the corresponding maintenance intervals, lubrication plans, and fault histories are managed with confidence on yellowed clipboards, in the heads of colleagues nearing retirement, or in dreadful Excel spreadsheets (with names like "Asset_List_v12_final_really.xlsx"). As someone who regularly mediates between pragmatic maintenance managers, numbers-focused CEOs, and software-enthusiastic CTOs, I know the drama well enough: you buy an expensive

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CAFM-Blog.de | PMS vs. CAFM: The decision framework for mixed property portfolios

PMS vs. CAFM: The decision framework for mixed real estate portfolios

If you manage a mixed real estate portfolio – for example, commercial units combined with residential areas – you will sooner or later face a fundamental question that regularly causes headaches in board and IT meetings: Property Management System (PMS) or Computer-Aided Facility Management (CAFM)? From numerous consulting projects, I know the typical starting situation: the commercial faction swears by the PMS because contracts, tenant communication, and ancillary cost statements must run smoothly. The technical faction loudly demands a CAFM system because

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CAFM-Blog.de | Why controlling in Facility Management is just colorful poetry without data architecture

Why controlling in facility management without data architecture is just colorful poetry

Congratulations. You are holding another paper that promises to miraculously reduce your operating costs with some "controlling" in facility management. As someone who cleans up the minefields of failed digitalization projects and the ruins of beautiful PowerPoint promises, I tell you: If your controlling consists of comparing an Excel spreadsheet from finance with the janitor's list at the end of the month, you are not doing controlling. You are managing damage control by chance. Anyone who sees FM controlling as just a pretty

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CAFM-Blog.de | Maintenance Software Comparison: Which tool really fits your operation?

Maintenance software comparison: Which tool really fits your operation?

Finding the right software for maintenance is rarely a walk in the park. After years in consulting, I've learned one thing: when maintenance managers and IT managers sit in a room, they usually speak two different languages. Some want a tool that works out there on the pump; others are concerned with ERP interfaces, data models, and the budget. Between cumbersome enterprise suites and lean cloud CMMS solutions, the truth usually doesn't lie in the brochure of the

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CAFM-Blog.de | What does a Facility Manager do? Tasks, responsibilities, and digital tools at a glance

What does a facility manager do? Tasks, responsibilities, and digital tools at a glance

Welcome to the wonderful world of facility management – the place where the term "digitalization" is either hailed as a magic bullet or used as an excuse to dump 90s Excel spreadsheets into a fancy cloud. From the perspective of a consultant who has been trying to marry IT systems and FM processes for years (without either side filing for divorce), here is the truth about CAFM, governance, and the illusion that software can

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CAFM-Blog.de | How to Build a Digital Management Tool from Maintenance Chaos

How to build a digital management tool from maintenance chaos

Welcome to the magical land of Computer-Aided Facility Management – CAFM for short. A term that reliably causes tired eyes in board meetings until the first main water pipe bursts in the server room. This little guide shows you (yeeees!), how to actually keep modern building structures under control with CAFM: from architectural models to integration paths to ERP, BMS, and IoT, to the uncomfortable truth about ROI and change management. 1. The role of CAFM: Why your Excel lists

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CAFM-Blog.de | Why Your New Facility Management Software Without Data Architecture is Just Expensive Digital Junk

Why your new facility management software without data architecture is just expensive digital junk

Welcome to the colorful brochure garden of software providers. If you, as a decision-maker, are currently faced with the task of selecting facility management software, you have probably already seen dozens of presentations. All of them promise you the AI-driven, cloud-native miracle weapon 🤮 that revolutionizes your building management at the push of a button. As someone who has been sweeping up the debris of failed software implementations for two decades, I tell you: the software is rarely the problem. The problem usually sits in the meeting room and believes that a

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CAFM-Blog.de | Why Your Maintenance Manual Without Digitization is Just Expensive Old Paper

Why your maintenance manual without digitalization is just expensive waste paper

Congratulations, once again! You have another strategy paper in front of you that promises to save your operational safety with a "well-maintained maintenance manual." As someone who has had the pleasure of spending the last twenty years picking up the pieces of failed maintenance projects, I tell you: a maintenance manual is nothing at first. It's either a dust collector in the supervisor's office or data garbage on drive Z. However, if you want to tackle the topic seriously – meaning, like,

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CAFM-Blog.de | Selecting CAFM: Modules, Integration, and ROI

Selecting CAFM: Modules, Integration, and ROI

I am writing this guide for decision-makers and IT managers who are looking for a CAFM solution. And who are as tired of the endless feature bingo of providers as I am. This is not about colorful dashboards. It's about how modern CAFM platforms really work. I'll show which modules are absolutely necessary. And why integration with ERP, ITSM, and IoT fails spectacularly without ruthless data governance. In the end, you will know how

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CAFM-Blog.de | CAFM Software Comparison (At Least a Small Attempt)

CAFM Software Comparison (at least a small attempt)

No more dry consultant prose. After all, those who manage facilities don't fight with "synthetic synergy potentials" in everyday life, but with broken elevators, lost rental agreements, and Excel spreadsheets from hell. Here is the unvarnished reality check for 8 arbitrarily ;-) selected CAFM tools – including the question of who really delivers and where you are just buying expensive frustration software. Archibus: The safe for large corporations Archibus is not a chic crayon tool for medium-sized businesses, but a ton-heavy enterprise behemoth.

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CAFM-Blog.de | Cloud Services in Facility Management: How to Choose Secure, Scalable Solutions

Cloud Services in Facility Management: How to Choose Secure, Scalable Solutions

It's 2026 and we're still discussing the cloud in facility management as if it were an experimental research project. The fact is: cloud services are rapidly gaining relevance because they simply reduce costs, finally enable real scalability, and democratize chronically complicated data access in FM. The question is no longer whether, but how you migrate your CAFM systems to the cloud in such a way that you don't end up with just a more expensive, but

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CAFM-Blog.de | BIM in Facility Management: Why Colorful 3D Models Won't Save Operations

BIM in Facility Management: Why colorful 3D models don't save operations

Anyone talking about BIM in facility management today quickly ends up with shiny 3D models that look fantastic in the planning phase but fail miserably in operational use. This article brings the topic back down to earth: I want to briefly show how BIM processes really work in FM, why ruthless data architecture (CDE) is essential, and how you prevent your BIM data from rotting away in isolation from CAFM, sensor technology, and IoT.

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CAFM-Blog.de | The Reality of Operating Software in Facility Management

The reality of operating software in facility management

CAFM presentations promise seamless integration, BIM handovers, and IoT solutions (my new favorite word of the month) – operational reality shows half-maintained master data, Excel islands, and systems that exist but are not really used. There are two CAFM worlds: the one from presentations – perfect, integrated, digitized down to the last screw – and the one we actually work in. In PowerPoint, everything is the "single source of truth," BIM delivers flawless data, and IoT transforms buildings into

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CAFM-Blog.de | Selecting BIM Software: Features, Integrations, and Use Cases for FM

Selecting BIM Software: Functions, Integrations, and Use Cases for FM

BIM-supported processes are noticeably gaining importance in German small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations. However, in my consulting practice, I repeatedly see that finding the right BIM software for Facility Management is significantly more challenging than the glossy presentations of many providers suggest. Those who rely solely on feature lists often end up with one thing: a long list and even more unanswered questions. Instead, I recommend a robust, vendor-neutral evaluation framework. Crucial are

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