Roy C. Allen, director of Administration, Finance, and Information Systems for the center's Facilities Management Division, says the plan shows how technology can increase productivity, enhance efficiency, and lower operating costs. Having a road map to follow is important for an organization that is spread out over a 140‑mile radius with patient care and research buildings located in Houston, Smithville, and Bastrop, Texas.

The expansion includes construction of a decentralized clinical building and two additional research facilities, increasing the Center's total space from 5.3 million to 7.5 million sf.

"As we get into these more complex facilities, everything we deal with becomes more complicated," says Allen. "Regardless of the systems that we are considering, there is a lot of new technology, such as the Web, that is hitting us in a hurry."

Mind‑Boggling Complexity

Designing a strategic plan to address the FM needs was not an easy task for Allen's division, especially since it turned out to be a pioneering effort. After searching in vain for two months to find a model to follow, the FM team began more than a year of old‑fashioned, painstaking research, comprehensive training, and industry analysis.

A multidisciplinary team, comprised of systems analysts (including a representative from the CIO's office), operations managers, and project directors from various departments, assembled to determine how the Center could achieve its long‑range FM goals. Before the team members could begin drafting the plan, however, they had to understand the complexity of the systems already deployed to address specific FM needs, such as space management, maintenance management, building monitoring, and security systems. They spent three months in a concentrated learning program, with technical experts from the FM staff and outside vendors demonstrating the 13 systems currently in place.

"It's absolutely mind‑boggling when you look at the size, complexity, and number of systems we deal with in this field," says Allen. "Once we were happy that everyone was conversant with the systems we have in place, we began to assess what type of technology is being used in the industry today and compared how it would fit."

Clues to developing the strategic plan included surveying the various departments' current technologies and their desired future plans both in Facilities Management and throughout the institution. For example, Human Resources wanted to automate all of its functions into one system, and Finance and Procurement services are in the process of replacing their existing systems. This was important because all of the systems would ultimately be sharing information.

Another result of the study was M.D. Anderson's decision on the issue of configuration versus customization.

"We are not going to buy custom systems," explains Allen. "We are going to configure our operations so systems meet 80 percent or more of our needs."

Using the Industry as a Gauge

The team's analysis of the industry shows that interoperability, the ability to share information between systems, is becoming an increasingly common approach. Interoperability is achieved by using Web technology and open architecture, allowing computer systems to communicate with each other to eliminate duplication of information.

"The goal of open architecture is to enable an organization to record information one time and then all systems will be able to access the data from one central source," says Allen. "It will take us five years to integrate open architecture so that all of our systems are sharing information."

The open architecture, which saves time and money in actual labor hours by automating an organization, is useful in addressing potential problems at M.D. Anderson. Six months ago, the center began using Web‑based technology to simultaneously monitor utilities in 18 buildings. Regulatory agencies require the Center to monitor and control the quality of the space surrounding its medical research experiments in a very precise manner.

"Our building systems are going to start sharing information seamlessly among themselves so that they will be able to do some limited decision making," notes Allen. "All new software in M.D. Anderson facilities will be compatible with the open architecture design. The automation will be especially useful since we monitor 80,000 condition points, such as temperature and humidity, from one control room."

As technology evolves and companies become more automated, application service providers (ASPs) are emerging to manage software services from a central point. ASPs offer the potential for savings by reducing the need to have major computing power at each user's desktop. The result is thin client desktops, or computers that do not require as much computing capability and are thus less expensive. Allen expects to begin investigating the use of ASPs next year.

"We are trying to simplify everything using Web‑based technology to improve productivity and efficiency," he says.

Staying Current with Technology

M.D. Anderson has already made numerous technological upgrades to its computing systems, committed to funding continual staff education, and set standards to ensure all IT employees receive the same level of training so they are able to work in any part of the organization. This provides various departments with a tremendous talent pool of IT professionals who can move easily from one project to another.

As the FM needs change, new information systems are being implemented to make the buildings smarter. Electronic equipment is now in place to manage all buildings, and technicians will use handheld computers by the end of this year to make their work easier, less time‑consuming, and more efficient.

For example, suppose an alarm sounds with an alert that an ultra‑low freezer is outside the proper temperature range. According to Allen, a signal would automatically be sent to a dispatch system that communicates with the portable devices carried by the technicians. They in turn could quickly correct the problem by entering a code on the handheld.

"Handheld technology is going to be the name of the game. We have our first trial project under way right now to give our field techs handhelds to carry all of their maintenance information," says Allen. "Handheld technology helps an organization start to see an increase in productivity, efficiency, and power of its systems‑‑all of which translates to less costly operations and lets us do our jobs faster and better."

Web‑enabled technology is also becoming more widespread. Through its contractors, M.D. Anderson is currently using Web‑based project management software (Bricsnet and eRoom) to monitor the construction of its new patient care facility and research labs. This type of project management is planned for all the new buildings, but the organization must first determine how to standardize the system with one vendor, Allen points out.

A major challenge is keeping all of the team players focused on a common vision with everyone working toward the same goals.

"One of the hardest things we had to do was convince people to think outside of the box," he recalls. "We had to be flexible because there were times when we had questions about projects that no one had ever done before."

Outlining Project Goals

The FM Division used what it learned from studying the industry and reviewing internal operations to identify the following goals for its strategic plan:

• Provide easy desktop access to space, cost, and operations data for high‑level managers.
• Assure interoperability between FM and enterprise systems.
• Introduce innovative technologies.
• Improve institutional and divisional productivity and efficiency.
• Lower operating costs.

All technological upgrades must go through a rigorous review process, known as the System Development Methodology (SDM), to make sure the return on investment warrants the expense. Developed two years ago as a way to justify IT projects throughout the institution, SDM calls for a rigorous review to determine whether the project is cost‑effective. Then, it measures the proposal against a set of standards that are used to structure and monitor system installations and upgrades.

Lessons Learned

Although a national study conducted by the Gartner Group, a technology‑focused research and advisory firm based in Stamford, Conn., shows that 66 percent of all IT projects fail to meet their outlined objectives, Allen is confident SDM will ensure success at M.D. Anderson.

"It's a tremendous efficiency tool from a management standpoint because it forces us to adhere to a standards program, and ensures a high degree of success because of the rigorous tests proposals are put through before a department can proceed," he says.

In addition to careful financial analysis, several other elements are required to ensure a successful strategic plan. Allotting sufficient time to complete the necessary research before drafting the plan is critical. The FM division had scheduled a full 12 months of preparation time, while it actually took 13.

Constant communication between departments and with organization decision‑makers is important to properly reflect their respective IT needs. Once everyone's goals are clarified, it's easier to create a vision for what the strategic plan should accomplish.

"If you undertake a strategic plan of this magnitude, you need to be out there in the front setting examples, and you can't take shortcuts," advises Allen. "This is our road map for the next five years. It's been valuable in dealing with vendors because they know we've thoroughly shaken out their industry, and we know what we're looking for."

By Tracy Carbasho

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