Key Takeaways:
In our field, reactivity tends to take over. Most of us are good at keeping track of our decisions. The schedule changed, the vendor was approved and the chiller got replaced. What I believe tends to go away fast is the reasoning behind those decisions and what we considered, what we turned down and what would have made us choose differently.
That reasoning is the part that actually helps the next person. If someone inherits a rule without its logic, they either follow it blindly or throw it out. Both can cost you. I have seen a practice dropped because it looked unnecessary, only to have the same problem return a year later, because the original constraint was a code requirement nobody remembered.
I have come to think that decision reasoning is its own kind of operational knowledge. It has a shape you can preserve. It allows you to create a dynamic standard of operations manual that stays dynamic and up to date.
I start by capturing the decision at the moment you make it, not weeks later when the details have blurred. You do not have to create a long report. Record the date, the problem, the decision, the options you looked at and why the one you decided on won. Then, perhaps, add what would make us reverse this decision and when we will review it. The reflection and review process are key for continuous improvement.
If the budget changes or the equipment fails earlier than expected, the team knows the call was built on specific conditions and can reopen it without anyone feeling embarrassed.
Setting a review date works too. Six or twelve months later, sit down and ask whether the decision worked, what we missed and what we would do differently. These reviews are often where the best learning happens, and they can be short. Thirty minutes is usually enough.
Involve your team in this process. When technicians and coordinators explain their reasoning out loud, they are building judgment, not just following instructions. A good habit is to ask, "Why did you pick that approach?" even when the answer looks obvious to you. You will often hear a constraint you had not considered, and the person learns to think through tradeoffs on their own.
Leadership transitions are where this matters most. When a manager leaves or a role changes hands, the new person needs to know which rules are firm and which were temporary workarounds. A short decision log, kept current, gives them that map. It also protects the organization from losing years of hard-won judgment in one resignation.
As our campuses grow, the number of decisions grows with them, and so does the risk that the reasoning gets scattered across emails, memories and side conversations. A shared log helps, even if it is a simple spreadsheet to start. Once a proper maintenance platform is available, the decision record should live inside it. Until then, a shared log beats nothing.
None of this takes special software or a big budget. It takes a habit of asking why and writing down the answer. The outcome of a decision fades quickly, but the reasoning stays useful for years if we bother to record and review it.
What we decided is useful. Why we decided it is what helps the next person.
Maria Ruiz, CFM is the executive director of facilities management and planning at Monroe University, overseeing operations across the Bronx, New Rochelle, St. Lucia and online programs. With 20 years of cross-sector experience in nonprofits, international development and higher education, she brings disciplined methodology and strategic thinking to complex facilities challenges. Maria is an advocate for repositioning facilities management as a strategic partner rather than a cost center, advising on people, process, technology and the built environment.
