Bespoke Facilities Management Systems for Multi-Site SMEs

If you’re managing multiple buildings, assets and contractors using spreadsheets, email and old software, a bespoke system can finally bring everything together – work orders, PPM schedules, reactive jobs, inspections, engineers, suppliers and client reporting – in one place.

I build custom .NET and SQL Server systems (often with an Android app for field engineers) designed specifically for facilities management operations – not generic “ticketing” tools that never quite fit.

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Common Problems Facilities Management Teams Face

Most FM teams I work with share a similar set of pain points, regardless of sector:

• Reactive calls coming in by phone, email and WhatsApp with no central log
• PPM schedules maintained in spreadsheets and easily missed
• Work orders printed or emailed with no clear status or audit trail
• Engineers travelling to site without full history or asset information
• Paper-based inspections, risk assessments and permits to work
• Slow, manual reporting to clients on SLAs, KPIs and completed jobs
• No clear picture of asset condition, lifecycle or true maintenance cost

None of this is unusual – but it makes scaling and maintaining service levels much harder than it needs to be.

What a Bespoke FM System Can Do

A custom web app (plus an Android app for engineers where needed) can streamline your facilities operations end to end:

1. Unified Reactive & Planned Maintenance

• Centralised logging of all reactive calls and requests
• PPM schedules driven from the system, not spreadsheets
• Automatic generation of work orders based on asset and site rules
• Clear visibility of overdue, in-progress and completed jobs

2. Work Orders That Don’t Get Lost

• Digitally assigned jobs with full site and asset details
• Mandatory fields for safety checks, notes and follow-up actions
• Photo capture before/after for evidence
• Electronic signatures for client sign-off

3. Asset Registers & Site History

• Structured asset register per site (plant, equipment, systems, etc.)
• Full history of faults, repairs and inspections
• Condition, risk and lifecycle data in one place
• Attachment storage for manuals, drawings and certificates

4. Client Portals & Reporting

• Secure portal for clients to see job status, photos and documents
• Simple views of open, in-progress and closed work orders
• Exportable reports for SLAs, KPIs and asset performance
• Evidence packs for audits and compliance reviews

5. Android Apps for Field Engineers

Many FM businesses benefit from an Android app alongside the web system, so engineers can:

• See today’s jobs, addresses and access instructions
• View asset history and previous work at a glance
• Complete checklists, inspections and risk assessments on-site
• Take photos and capture signatures as proof of completion
• Work offline in plant rooms, basements or remote sites, then sync later

Offline-first capability is critical for FM – many of the worst faults happen in places with no signal. Systems I build are designed with that in mind.

How AI Can Support FM Teams (Without Replacing Them)

AI in FM is most useful when it quietly augments your team rather than making decisions for them. For example:

• Summarising job history on an asset into a quick “at a glance” briefing
• Highlighting patterns of repeat faults on specific equipment or sites
• Helping office staff draft emails, updates and reports more quickly
• Letting managers ask natural questions (“Which sites are most at risk this month?”)

Because I build the underlying .NET and SQL Server systems, AI is layered onto clean, structured data rather than bolted onto a mess of spreadsheets.

Why Bespoke Instead of Generic FM Software?

Off-the-shelf FM systems can work well in simple environments, but many SMEs find they end up wrestling with:

• Features they don’t need, and missing features they do
• Rigid workflows that don’t match their contracts or sites
• High per-user licence fees
• Limited offline support for engineers
• Difficulty integrating with existing systems

A bespoke system is designed specifically around your contracts, sites, teams and reporting needs. You own the system, and we can adapt it as your business grows or your clients’ expectations change.

How I Work With FM Clients

I’ve worked with a range of operational and service-focused SMEs. The process for FM is typically:

1. Discovery: understand your contracts, sites, assets and current tools.
2. Design: map out workflows for reactive jobs, PPM, inspections and reporting.
3. Build: .NET Core web app, SQL Server database and Android app if required.
4. Integrate: connect to your existing accounting, email or reporting systems.
5. Iterate: refine based on real usage and introduce AI where it clearly helps.

My aim is always the same: reduce admin, improve visibility and give you a system that your office staff, engineers and clients are happy to use every day.

Thinking About Improving Your FM Systems?

If your facilities management operations are held together with spreadsheets, email trails and an ageing system, we can usually identify clear, staged improvements that don’t require a risky “big bang” replacement.

I’m happy to have an informal, no-pressure conversation about what you’re using now, what’s causing the most pain and what a realistic bespoke solution might look like.

Email: ab@newma.co.uk
Phone: +44 7967 219288