From challenges to success with Planima
Challenge
Financial challenges set the conditions
Kalmarhem is a municipal housing company that manages more than 5,000 apartments, making it the largest property owner in its county. But the road to efficient property management has not always been easy. For a long time, Kalmarhem struggled with financial challenges, which resulted in deferred maintenance. “Between 2007 and 2014, Kalmarhem had a pretty tough period where it was more about getting the finances in order than working with maintenance,” says Per Stephani, CEO of Kalmarhem. During this period, Kalmarhem didn’t work much with planned maintenance. Instead, work was done based on whatever financial conditions existed at the time. About once a year, a visual inspection of the portfolio was carried out, after which individual measures were put in place. The money didn’t stretch further than that, which was of course a problem the organization was aware of.
Solution
A shift from new construction to maintenance
The turning point came when Kalmarhem realized the need for a systematic, long-term strategy for managing its portfolio. When Per took over as CEO in 2017, the focus was on upgrading Kalmarhem’s brand to be seen as an attractive landlord. During this period, there was a requirement to get new construction going, but that would also mean that maintenance of the existing portfolio would remain deferred. That didn’t hold up, and they decided to completely shift focus – new construction had to give way to maintenance of the existing facilities.
For a few years now, there’s no one at Kalmarhem who doesn’t work with our planned maintenance
Per Stephani, CEO, Kalmarhem
“For a few years now, there’s no one at Kalmarhem who doesn’t work with our planned maintenance,” explains Stephani. “It’s a very big and high-priority issue for us.” The change wasn’t obvious to everyone. There was resistance, but here Planima played a role in clarifying what had to happen. Maintenance manager Anders Rydberg carried out an inventory together with a colleague and entered it into Planima. That allowed them to convince the management team, because it became clear how deferred the maintenance was. “We got the figures into Planima and could show what it looked like in reality. Of course we had a rough idea, but here we could show in black and white how bad it was. We could also show how easily we could solve it with planning, coordination, and being front-loaded in procurements,” says Anders. Both highlight how important the clarity in Planima has been in getting everyone in the organization on board the journey toward change. “It’s very clear, and even an infrequent user – which I become in front of the board or the management team – can show and understand the essence with simple means,” says Per. Anders continues: “Here you can’t dodge either the figures or the measures the system shows. Both when it comes to yourself, but also when you need to show others that this is what we need to invest in.” In fact, Per wasn’t at all convinced about Planima at first. He says he uttered the words “over my dead body” when the proposal was first put forward. “I thought we had a property system and said they had to prove me wrong.” It obviously went well, because today he is an ambassador with a very positive view of Planima.
Results
With the goal in sight for 2035
The results of Kalmarhem’s investment in planned maintenance and its use of Planima are tangible. The organization has not only managed to structure and prioritize its maintenance needs but also to create strong internal engagement.
It’s much easier when everyone has the same view of maintenance…Collaboration between departments becomes easier if everyone sees the needs we have.
Anders Rydberg, maintenance manager, Kalmarhem
With a clear vision ahead, where the goal is to have maintenance in balance by 2035, Kalmarhem continues to work toward sustainable and efficient property management. “We definitely have a target picture, and we need to work on money and the organization already now, strengthening it to be able to get closer to that target picture,” concludes Per.