For facilities teams, managing the ongoing daily requests for Moves, Adds, and Changes can be challenging. On the one hand, facilities teams are tasked with controlling costs; on the other hand, their job is to help address the needs of their co-workers. Careful balance is required, and during times of economic uncertainty, the pressure to deliver results while reducing expense can be higher than ever.

An effective MAC program can empower facilities teams to meet organizational objectives and achieve business goals. But what does an effective MAC program actually look like?

High-Performing MAC Programs at a Glance

We would define a high-performing MAC program according to a few basic parameters. Specifically, really robust MAC programs:

  • Are optimized to seek continuous improvement.
  • Use data and analytics to zero in on areas of opportunity.
  • Rely on strategic partners to share advice, ideas, and best practices.

Typically, making your facility’s MAC program more efficient begins with a detailed understanding of and nature of the requests made and the services provided.

4 Ways to Improve Your MAC Program

Here are a few strategies to improve the performance of your facility’s MAC program.

1) Segment and Analyze User Requests

The most high-performing MAC programs closely track their user requests according to several core metrics:

  • The type of requests, including ergonomic adjustments, deliveries, reconfigurations, moves, and other categories.
  • The costs of each request.
  • The department or user making requests.
  • The number of requests handled by the team per day.

Management reports can give vital insights into the types and frequency of MAC requests, while cost data can help focus on the most expensive services (or the services most frequently requested).

Facility managers can review the data and often identify unnecessary activity or requests of convenience. Ultimately, your service provider should be able to provide reports on these types of data.

2) Use Fewer Vendors to Increase Efficiency

It’s not uncommon for facilities teams to enlist different suppliers for moving, furniture reconfiguration, and IT relocation. This approach can be unnecessary and time-consuming. (Certainly, it involves more phone calls, more emails, more invoices to process, and more time spent coordinating activities.)

This inefficiency is easily resolved by hiring a single supplier who can handle all activities. This reduces management burden, it decreases administrative costs, and it dramatically simplifies the overall MAC workflow.

3) Identify an “Approver”

One problem with many MAC workflows is the absence of a request approval process. Requests make their way from beginning to completion without anyone pausing to ask, “Do we really need to do this?”

If there is no process for charging back departments, the MAC workflow can be like an open checkbook… and it usually falls to the facilities department to pick up the costs.

4) Analyze and Batch Work Requests for Greater Efficiency

Ultimately, the cost per MAC request can be controlled with a little front-end planning and common sense.

Understanding historical data and how many requests can be handled in a day helps oversee this scheduling activity—for example, a two-person team handles 10 to 15 requests or a single person team handles eight to 10 requests.

Scheduling requests by building or department can reduce the time between completing tasks. Alternatively, it might be effective to funnel requests into particular days of the week, or to break out requests requiring two person teams versus those that can be completed by a single person.

Moving and Logistics from Corovan

Ultimately, there are a number of ways to improve MAC workflows, and one of the most critical steps is to find the right supplier. That’s where Corovan comes in. We have decades of experience helping facilities teams with relocation and logistics. To learn more, reach out to Corovan at your convenience.