Case Study: Southwest Airlines achieves rapid COVID-19 facilities adaptation and safer workplaces with FM:Systems Workplace

How FM:Systems Workplace Helped Southwest Airlines Quickly Adapt Facilities Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Southwest Airlines, a major North American carrier with about 60,000 employees and more than 8.7 million square feet across 90+ domestic locations, faced immediate facilities challenges when COVID‑19 hit. The company needed to keep employees and customers safe, rapidly scale and standardize cleaning and disinfecting, manage supplies and janitorial contracts, and abandon long-term plans in favor of fast, accurate forecasting to respond to volatile demand.

Using FM:Systems Workplace (in place since 2014) to digitize space and asset inventories and feed Tableau reports, the facilities analytics team calculated disinfectant needs, tracked chemicals, tools and procedures by location and square foot, and forecasted pandemic‑driven costs and system demand on a quarterly basis. The system enabled data‑driven supply replenishment, consistent janitorial practices, occupancy controls for phased returns, and faster operational decisions — improving safety, reducing manual effort, and positioning the airline for a hybrid workplace future.

Southwest Airlines

Hugo Hernandez

Senior Manager for Product Solutions and Analytics