Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, employers in Great Britain must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of their employees at work. The duty sits with the employer, but facilities teams, or the contractors they manage, often handle much of the day-to-day work that supports it: the inspections, the repairs and the records. Many use software to manage that work, such as computer-aided facilities management (CAFM) systems, and HR has a stake in how well it works.
This guide explains what to ask your facilities colleagues, then introduces six platforms. The list is informational, not a ranking: the numbering is for ease of reading, and the descriptions are based on what each vendor says in its own published materials. Confirm current features, data handling and pricing directly with each supplier.
Four questions HR and facilities should answer together
1. How do staff report a problem, and can they see what happened next? A fault reported in a corridor conversation is easy to lose. A request logged in a system can be assigned, tracked and closed.
2. Can we show that checks happen? If an inspector or an insurer asks when something was last inspected, who did it and what they found, the answer should come from a record, not from memory.
3. Who coordinates the contractors? Many offices rely on several external providers. One shared record is easier to manage than a stack of email threads.
4. Do we know how space is actually used? Hybrid working changes which desks, rooms and floors matter. Decisions about the office are better when they rest on data.
Six platforms to know
1. Infraspeak
Infraspeak describes its product as a cloud-based CAFM platform that connects people, assets and data so facility management teams can manage growing demands. It brings together preventive maintenance, asset management, stock management, analytics and reporting, and compliance management in one system.
For HR, two points stand out. Its office-focused page says maintenance managers, technicians, staff and even building users can communicate directly, that Infraspeak Direct™ streamlines communication with internal or contracted maintenance teams, and that several service providers can be coordinated in one place.
Its compliance tools let teams customise planned maintenance, SLAs and inspections, with audit trails and certificates kept in one place. Infraspeak also publishes a side-by-side comparison of CAFM options.
2. Eptura (Archibus)
Eptura describes Archibus as an integrated workplace management system (IWMS), and its Archibus Workplace product is the part most relevant to HR. Eptura says employees can book meeting rooms and desks, including hoteling and team bookings, and send requests to facilities or IT and track their progress from one dashboard.
It also describes attendance tracking and usage reporting to help managers plan space, reservations that sync with Outlook and Exchange, and security options including multi-factor authentication and single sign-on.
3. Expansive FM
Expansive FM describes its product as cloud-based facilities management software, a mobile-first CAFM designed to simplify maintenance, compliance and asset management. Its walkthroughs cover work orders, asset management, contractor management through a contractor and engineer portal, parts and inventory, and document management for compliance records.
It also describes structured quote approval workflows intended to help control spend, and a billing workflow for managing contractor invoices and approvals. For HR, the compliance document management and contractor controls are the most relevant parts.
4. Brightly Asset Essentials
Brightly, part of Siemens, offers Asset Essentials, which its UK G-Cloud listing describes as computerised maintenance management and CAFM software that lets asset owners and operations teams manage assets collaboratively.
The listing says users can create reactive, corrective, predictive and preventative work orders, and carry out asset condition surveys and safety inspections using mobile working. Siemens' product page describes Asset Essentials as a CMMS with streamlined work order management and automated preventive maintenance workflows. For HR, the mobile safety inspections are the most relevant feature.
5. Accruent Maintenance Connection
Accruent describes Maintenance Connection as a comprehensive computerised maintenance management system (CMMS) for planning, managing and optimising assets, available as cloud-based or on-premises software for facility and asset maintenance.
Its pages highlight service requests and work orders, preventive maintenance and configurable maintenance reporting, including maintenance logs for audit preparedness. For HR, the audit-preparedness logging is the most relevant feature.
6. IBM Maximo Application Suite
IBM describes Maximo Application Suite as a unified asset and facilities management solution that brings maintenance, inspections and reliability together in one place for critical equipment and infrastructure, using AI to help improve asset uptime, performance and value.
Its page also describes a real estate and facilities solution that connects space utilisation, lease administration, capital planning and maintenance, and a health, safety and environment use case intended to help track incidents, assess risks, support compliance and streamline audits. For HR, the health, safety and environment use case is the most relevant.
Matching the platform to the situation
● Office-based organisation where staff reporting and contractor coordination are the main pain points: Infraspeak and Expansive FM each describe work order management alongside contractor or supplier coordination.
● Employer that wants staff to book desks and rooms and raise requests from one place: Eptura's Archibus Workplace describes desk and room booking, hoteling, service requests and attendance tracking.
● Estate where compliance evidence and audit preparation matter most: Infraspeak describes audit trails and certificates kept in one place, Expansive FM describes document management for compliance records, and Accruent highlights maintenance logs for audit preparedness.
● Organisation that wants mobile safety inspections alongside work orders: Brightly's UK G-Cloud listing lists asset condition surveys and safety inspections using mobile working.
● Employer with critical plant or infrastructure: IBM describes Maximo as bringing maintenance, inspections and reliability together for critical equipment and infrastructure.
Questions HR should add to any vendor conversation
● What employee or occupant data does the system hold, where is it stored and who can see it?
● How do staff without a facilities role log in or submit a request, and is the process accessible?
● What training will line managers and reception teams need?
● Can we produce a clear record of inspections and fixes if we are audited?
● How are contractors given access, and how is that access removed when a contract ends?
Key takeaways
● Duty of care extends to the building: facilities software can help problems get logged, tracked and fixed, and leave a record of what happened.
● Compliance records are only useful if they are complete, current and easy to retrieve, and the system that holds them plays a part in that.
● HR should have a say when a platform is chosen, particularly where it handles staff data, staff requests or hybrid working.
