The Challenge
A major facilities department was experiencing a rejection rate of 27 percent on Facility Change Requests. More than one in four submissions was being turned back due to unclear scope, incomplete documentation, or insufficient impact assessment.
Each rejection meant rework, delay, and a consumption of planning and design resources the department could not afford to waste. Without a standardized evaluation process, decisions were inconsistent, and critical implications for building systems, biomedical equipment, and patient safety were sometimes not fully understood until problems emerged downstream.
The Approach
A structured improvement initiative introduced a clear, end-to-end workflow for assessing all FCRs before they reached the approval stage:
- A formal FCR policy was developed to define submission requirements, approval criteria, and documentation standards in unambiguous terms
- Multidisciplinary review was made mandatory, requiring Facilities, Biomedical Engineering, and Planning teams to collaborate on every submission
- Structural, technical, and operational implications were all assessed before any approval decision was made
- Requestors were provided with guidance and templates to complete scoping information accurately, reducing ambiguity at the point of submission
The Outcome
The rejection rate dropped from 27 percent to zero. FCRs moved through the process more predictably, decisions were better informed, and the organization gained confidence that infrastructure changes were being evaluated rigorously and consistently.
The FCR policy established a sustainable governance structure that continues to protect the organization from the operational and safety risks that come with poorly assessed facility changes.