Navy Federal Credit Union centralizes facilities data to support smarter portfolio decisions

Modernizing facilities management across a coast-to-coast portfolio

In addition to a global network of more than 360 branches, Navy Federal Credit Union maintains a U.S. office portfolio that includes four primary campuses in Virginia, Florida and California. Together, these campuses encompass 15 buildings and more than 3 million square feet of office space. More than 16,000 employees work across the portfolio.

Navy Federal began using facilities management software in the late 2000s. The on-premises platform supported activities including space planning, employee moves, maintenance ticketing and tracking work performed on building equipment.

When the credit union began an organization-wide effort to rationalize its applications, its technology team sought to reduce the burden of maintaining on-premises systems and servers. A cross-functional team evaluated more than 20 potential solutions before choosing to build on its existing platform and transition to the OpenBlue SaaS environment.

“We already knew we had some data in there, and it would just be easier to do it,” explains Jim Salmon, Assistant Vice President, Systems, Data and Special Projects at Navy Federal Credit Union. “There was also an aversion to building something completely out-of-the-box. We didn't know if we had the expertise and bandwidth to do that. And we had a good relationship with our account manager.”

Supporting workplace and facilities transformation

The transition to SaaS coincided with broader changes across Navy Federal’s facilities portfolio. The credit union undertook significant modernization projects at its Virginia headquarters and Florida campus. These projects gave the facilities team an opportunity to refresh its asset information and establish more consistent processes for maintaining that data.

“We basically have hit the reset button,” says Salmon. “We're instilling all the updated asset information and trying to do a better job moving forward of maintaining that stuff.”

OpenBlue also supported Navy Federal’s return-to-office (RTO) planning. As the credit union implemented a requirement for employees to work from the office at least three days a week, its space planners used the platform to evaluate scenarios for accommodating employees across the portfolio.

Navy Federal worked with OpenBlue implementation partner AMS during the transition. The migration presented technical challenges, including issues with security protocols, user access and delays uploading information. Salmon says Johnson Controls and AMS treated those concerns seriously, bringing the necessary teams together to identify the causes and resolve the issues.

“Everyone involved in the whole updating of the systems, from OpenBlue to AMS, has been very professional and patient with us,” Salmon says.

The resulting system is faster and provides a better user experience than Navy Federal’s previous environment. The credit union continues to refine the platform and determine how best to use its capabilities as its facilities processes mature.

“The users of the system now don’t remember what it was like in the past,” says Salmon. “But when you bring it up and have a conversation, it’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, it is a lot better than it used to be.’ Now we’re going to make it even better.”

More confident decisions and a stronger case for investment

For Salmon, one of OpenBlue’s most important benefits is its ability to bring facilities data into a centralized system. Without the platform, information about assets, maintenance activities and spaces could be distributed across multiple locations, making it more difficult to understand facility conditions and support decisions.

Navy Federal is cleaning up its system and ticketing information while introducing dashboards that make data more accessible and engaging for different users. Analysts can retrieve the information they need and determine how best to use it, while dashboards can be adapted to the needs of individual audiences.

“My goal in systems and data is for us to be smarter and more comfortable with the decisions that we’re making,” he says.

Over time, more complete maintenance histories will allow facilities teams to show how long equipment has been in service, how often it has required attention, who performed the work and what repairs involved. The team will also be better positioned to project the cost of delaying a replacement or upgrade.

That evidence is particularly important because facilities teams must compete with other business priorities for funding. Trusted information can help Navy Federal explain not only that an investment is needed, but why acting now may be more cost-effective than continuing to repair aging equipment.

“With a system like this, it enables us to advocate for ourselves more confidently and smartly,” Salmon explains.

Accessible technology and reliable facilities information can also help Navy Federal support workforce continuity, knowledge transfer and the next generation of facilities professionals.

Salmon sees modern, engaging tools as an important part of equipping the next generation while continuing to serve experienced employees.

“It crosses generations,” says Salmon, “and I think that will help push us forward in the future and be able to maintain the facilities the way we're used to.”

Ultimately, Navy Federal views well-maintained, modern facilities as part of the workplace experience it provides its employees.

“A lot of what goes in on our facility side helps with keeping Navy Federal as one of the premier employers in the Fortune 100 survey every year,” Salmon says. “We've been in it for years and we want to keep it that way, and I think modern facilities is one of the keys to achieving that.”

About the customer

Navy Federal Credit Union is a member-owned, not-for-profit organization that provides financial services to active-duty members of the armed forces, veterans, Department of Defense and Coast Guard personnel, and their families. Established in 1933, Navy Federal Credit Union serves more than 15 million members worldwide and is the world’s largest credit union.