The engineer and architect speak a language that is foreign to many at the C-Level. Instead of focusing on a compelling business plan and the change effort to sustain the initiative, presentations for commissioning are usually based on architectural LEED certification requirements or engineering efficiencies. To ensure improved outcomes in the competition for scarce capital, the healthcare facilities professional needs better tools that use the language spoken at C-Level.

Specific business acumen can be taught to the facilities professional to address the language barrier and improve their competiveness for scarce resources. The three areas of focus include developing a compelling business plan, a strategic plan that supports the business model and the marketing plan to ensure the customer and the C-Level support the process and approve the necessary funds.

The request for capital is hard fought with scarce resources generally prioritized for the mission departments in the facility. A commissioning project has the potential for a short payback and a significant ROI, creating a favorable net present value (NPV) for the project. To improve the C-Levels selection of a commissioning project for funding the facilities professional should develop a standard business plan that supports the request. The plan will identify the full value of the initiative and the change necessary to sustain the projected savings.

To enhance the funding campaign, the business plan should be supported by a strategic plan that identifies the resources required for success. The strategic plan should include the projects support of the institutions mission, a SWOT analysis, goal, strategy and program formulation along with specifics of the implementation and controls to achieve desired outcomes.

The marketing plan is paramount to ensure that customer and C-Level outcomes are well defined and prioritized in the project. Many facilities projects are poorly marketed and do not have the customers interests as project goals. To better understand their needs, basic marketing tools can be used to ensure customer and C-Level interests are properly identified and prioritized and included in the measures of success. (MOS)

The approach should be simple and concise to reduce the barriers and challenges to use these business tools. A how to approach can be used to develop each tool and simple collaterals provided to attendees that can reduce the fear of learning these new professional techniques. As with any new process, adaption will be based on the attendees ability to produce, so the collaterals must be straightforward and the examples must be relevant.

Engineers and Architects are quick learners and want to bring value to the mission departments. This method will allow them to frame their arguments and documentation in a format that is readily recognized by the C-Level and will improve their success rate. One important concept that will be delivered in the training is sunk cost and how the gap between facilities understanding of their history and the business concept of history differ. Much like Italian racing, to the C-Level what is behind them is no longer important. The concepts of sunk cost and net present value must be developed in commissioning campaigns to improve the opportunity for success and funding.

There is a great opportunity to improve C-Level support and funding for commissioning projects through greater business acumen in facilities. The use of specific business tools, combined with the high science and engineering metrics developed by the commissioning team will ensure the ROI is captured and brought back to the institution.