Commercial Estates Group, better known as CEG, is a leader in the world of property management. Since its founding in 1989, CEG has grown to become a titan of industry with a portfolio covering 6 million square ft, valued at £800 million.

With such a large property portfolio, streamlining facilities management is crucial. So, after experiencing problems with their previous processes, CEG decided that investing in a CAFM system was the only viable solution.

But how did CEG end up working with Elogs?

This case study gives an in-depth overview of how CEG improved compliance management, implemented PPM and simplified building management with Elogs.

Download the full Case Study, CEG's Journey with Elogs CAFM

There are lots of other CAFM systems out there, but in terms of the integrated Service Desk, Elogs is one-of-a-kind.

Paul Greenhalgh

FM Quality and Procurement Manager, CEG

Spotlight on Paul Greenhalgh

Paul Greenhalgh has been working alongside CEG for over ten years. Having started out as a facilities manager working for a different provider, Paul was responsible for managing CEG’s vast portfolio. Five years ago, Paul moved over to CEG, stepping into a role as a project co-ordinator before recently moving into his current position as Procurement and Quality Manager. Day-to-day, Paul is heavily involved in procuring contractors, monitoring quality, and keeping track of documentation.

Before we used a CAFM system, document compliance was all managed through paperwork and kept in folders. There was no structured system in place—as you might expect, this wasn’t the best way of doing things.

Paul Greenhalgh

Procurement & Quality Manager, CEG

What Problem did CEG need to solve?

Prior to investing in CAFM software, CEG were reliant on manual processes, particularly in terms of document management and reporting. As you can imagine, the abundance of paperwork and folders made life very difficult for the facilities managers at CEG.

The lack of organisation took up a lot of unnecessary time and manpower, especially when it came to managing compliance. Ultimately, the systems they had in place did not allow for efficient and effective facilities management.

Another clear issue was that PPM was all carried out manually. When it came to planned maintenance, CEG used to be reliant on their contractors to have an organised PPM schedule in place.

They simply had to hope that the contractors were carrying out PPM to the correct schedule and effectively managing and monitoring assets.

But there was no way to chase this up or confirm that preventative maintenance was being conducted.

Revolutionising Property Management - CEG's Story with Elogs CAFM

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Why was it important to overcome these problems?

Without a comprehensive system in place, CEG struggled to effectively manage compliance and share important documentation with key stakeholders. Overcoming this problem was essential because they wanted to make data and documentation accessible to the people who needed it, such as the head of health and safety, the safety advisor, and the national facilities manager.

CEG were looking for a solution to:

Increase the visibility of the supply chain.
Schedule maintenance activities.
Enhance service delivery across the board.

These positive changes would be instrumental in boosting stakeholder satisfaction and ensuring compliance across the organisation.

In the world of facilities management, document management is everything. Without the right piece of paper, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve done the work or not if you’ve got no record of it.

Revolutionising Property Management - CEG's Story with Elogs CAFM

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Why did CEG approach Elogs?

With a clear idea of the solutions they needed to implement, the next step was finding the right provider. So, the question is—why Elogs?

Elogs was a brand that came highly recommended by Peter Carr, head of Facilities Management (FM) at CEG. Peter had previously worked with Elogs, particularly when he was head of FM at JLL, who are now another one of our major clients.

According to Carr, Elogs was the best one-stop- shop on the market for all things CAFM. The 24/7 integrated Service Desk was especially important as there were not many CAFM providers who offered this unique package.

CEG needed a service desk integrated with a CAFM system rather than an outsourced approach. This is because any problems that may be raised with the service desk would automatically be logged and recorded on the CAFM, ensuring everyone stays in the loop.

On a day-to-day basis, Elogs CAFM+ Service Desk has transformed CEG’s approach to reactive and preventative maintenance, improving cost-effectiveness and streamlining facilities management. The CAFM system has been a game changer for CEG; the whole company has just completely changed for the better.

Paul Greenhalgh

Procurement & Quality Manager, CEG

Who uses the CAFM on a day-to-day basis at CEG?

Elogs CAFM is now a core part of CEG, primarily used by the building managers, facilities managers, and CEG contractors. However, there are multiple stakeholders across the organisation who use the CAFM system on a regular basis—it’s become an integral part of the business.

Any reactive maintenance jobs which arise are now logged through the CAFM system or via the Service Desk. This is then sent across to the contractors who can accept the job. This process makes managing reactive maintenance simple and straightforward for CEG.

What Solutions did Elogs Provide?

Compliance and document management

Arguably, one of the most important solutions that Elogs CAFM provided for CEG was advanced document management. Keeping track of and organising important documentation was extremely important to CEG in terms of managing compliance effectively.

Thankfully, the CAFM system made this process easy because it could store all CEG’s documentation and certificates in one, easy-to-access location. Prior to Elogs, CEG had contractors who would upload certificates without a name, making it near impossible to find.

Planned preventative maintenance

Before Elogs, another area that CEG was keen to enhance was planned preventative maintenance (PPM). Since PPM maintenance used to be carried out manually, it was time-consuming and largely ineffective.

However, the CAFM system allowed CEG to create an organised maintenance schedule using the PPM planner and features. With the support of the service desk and the ability to log all the planned maintenance jobs, PPM has now become an integrated part of CEG’s maintenance strategy.

Visibility of the supply chain and contractors

When you manage as many properties as CEG, having visibility of your contractors and supply chain operations is essential. The CAFM system allowed CEG to have full transparency regarding jobs, maintenance work, compliance, and suppliers and contractors. Elogs CAFM gave CEG a centralised platform for real-time tracking, communication, and collaboration.

This comprehensive insight enables CEG to effortlessly monitor ongoing tasks, assess contractor performance, manage professional relationships, and foster a proactive approach to potential challenges.

Environmental, Social, and Governance

Environmental, Social, and Governance, or ESG, has become an important consideration in the world of property management. So, CEG was determined to improve their ESG practices and boost energy efficiency across their buildings. But they were unsure of the best way to track and measure ESG goals effectively.

Now, CEG have all their meters logged on the Elogs CAFM and readings are updated each month to monitor the efficiency of all buildings and equipment. This helps them to collect and analyse data on energy consumption and usage across their property portfolio. Ultimately, the CAFM system has helped CEG to better optimise their operations with a focus on sustainability and ESG best practice.

Revolutionising Property Management - CEG's Story with Elogs CAFM

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What is the ultimate impact of implementing Elogs CAFM+ Service Desk?

Before Elogs, CEG relied on fire risk assessments as well as other general risk assessments. The problem was that if anything was missed from these assessments, it wasn’t recorded anywhere. This put them at risk of becoming non-compliant and facing extreme penalties.

With the CAFM keeping track of all CEG’s documents, they can be fully confident that they’re compliant and they have all the proof and evidence to back it up.

How did the integration with Meridian come about?

While CEG use Elogs CAFM to manage maintenance, view the supply chain, and document compliance, they also wanted to use Meridian to support their compliance activities even further. Elogs CAFM is fully integrated with Meridian which means users can push information from one platform to the other. Meridian gives CEG a snapshot of compliance across all their properties, but the CAFM remains as the primary tool for managing maintenance tasks and organising important documentation.

How CEG would describe the relationship with Elogs?

At the end of the day, it’s a strong, mutually beneficial partnership. The development they’ve done for us has been outstanding and the CAFM system is perfectly suited to our needs. The Elogs team are always on hand to answer questions or work through any problems that may arise. Our account manager, Darren McCall, has been and continues to be fantastic, supporting us in every possible way.
Paul Greenhalgh
Procurement & Quality Manager, CEG

Have you experienced similar problems to CEG? Are you looking for a better and more efficient property management solution?

If you’re ready to start your journey to becoming a leader of industry, start with Elogs CAFM.

Revolutionising Property Management - CEG's Story with Elogs CAFM

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CAFM+ Service Desk

24/7 365 Service Desk

Asset Management

Supplier Performance Monitoring

Planned Preventative Maintenance

Facilities Services

33 Point Audit

Approved Contractors

24/7 365 Service Desk

Keeping it Simple

Occupier Portal

Improved Communication

Track Issues

Keys

Single Interface System

CEG Case Study

Paul Greenhalgh

Spotlight on Paul Greenhalgh

Paul Greenhalgh

What Problem did CEG need to solve?

Revolutionising Property Management - CEG's Story with Elogs CAFM

Why was it important to overcome these problems?

Revolutionising Property Management - CEG's Story with Elogs CAFM

Why did CEG approach Elogs?

Paul Greenhalgh

Who uses the CAFM on a day-to-day basis at CEG?

What Solutions did Elogs Provide?

Compliance and document management

Planned preventative maintenance

Visibility of the supply chain and contractors

Environmental, Social, and Governance

Revolutionising Property Management - CEG's Story with Elogs CAFM

What is the ultimate impact of implementing Elogs CAFM+ Service Desk?

How did the integration with Meridian come about?

How CEG would describe the relationship with Elogs?

Paul Greenhalgh

Have you experienced similar problems to CEG? Are you looking for a better and more efficient property management solution?

If you’re ready to start your journey to becoming a leader of industry, start with Elogs CAFM.

Revolutionising Property Management - CEG's Story with Elogs CAFM

Talk to a member of the Elogs team today