CAFM & IT
ADAPTING WITHDATA
Data gives us the power to make a difference and the opportunity to make informed decisions about how best to adapt to changing circumstances. In the world of FM services, it is now a critical tool, explains Mark Whittaker, MD of Kier Places.
The pandemic presented us all with a challenge like we’d never experienced before. It forced us all to adapt almost overnight, and quickly find new ways to maintain newly empty estates and support our home-working colleagues.
While the challenges were significant, it’s certainly fair to say that the FM sector has improved for the better and since become a more agile and flexible industry, thanks to how we all adapted and began using technology in different ways.
When it comes to the sustainability agenda, this is particularly true. From the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme to the Net Zero Strategy to ‘build back greener’, the goal is to be net zero by 2050, so we can expect this to dominate the FM agenda.
With direct emissions from public sector buildings accounting for 2% of UK greenhouse gas emissions, ensuring that our public sector buildings are operating at maximum efficiency is key and a growing focus for both central and local government.
The quick and easy facilities management fixes to this challenge, such as LED lighting, have been well explored but the real opportunity lies with how we can use digitisation and the Internet of Things to drive out carbon at every stage of the building’s lifecycle and, ultimately, at its disposal.
Smarter buildings In the future, upfront investment in equipment sensors and systems that facilitate greater connectivity throughout a building, will be invaluable. Linking these sensors to a building management or Wi-Fi system, allows an equipment or maintenance issue to be flagged up in real- time and quickly addressed. The potential to positively impact both carbon emissions and operating costs in this way is significant. Put simply, energy usage is at its lowest when a building operates at its optimum.
Of course, a smart-building approach is only one tool as we aim for reduced carbon and the need for accurate maintenance records, and the use of day-to-
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day equipment performance data to inform lifecycle replacement programmes, remains. The approach should be one of anticipating and predicting problems before they become an issue and, in that vein, it’s critical that the FM sector works together with its public sector partners to review essential plant and assets now and understand their current condition and anticipated lifecycle to avoid future issues and costs.
Connect to collaborate No matter what the future holds, digitally and environmentally, the need for collaboration between client and FM service provider remains. Do I believe that great connectivity and automation of equipment and systems threatens this? Absolutely not. Better access to intelligent data can only serve to enhance relationships, improve dialogue, and ensure that the end user really understands the environment in which it is operating.
FM providers must also look within and ensure that they invest wisely in their teams and the skills that will be needed in future. There is no doubt that the very definition of FM is changing, and anyone working in this industry needs to be technology-literate and able to adapt to a plug and play and multi-skilled approach. There will also be an increased requirement for building owners and their FM providers to think about how the environment they provide contributes to the wellbeing of building users.
Ultimately, adaptability is the solution to surviving any future challenges, no matter how big or small, and the FM sector is well equipped to respond – with the right tools available. Technology plays a big part in this, as it can be used to anticipate and predict problems before they become an issue, and provide greater insight into how our buildings are performing or where efficiencies can be made. FM teams need to embrace data and recognise how it can help us to provide smarter, more agile facilities services. Without it, it will be harder to adapt to the future challenges that will inevitably come our way.
https://www.kier.co.uk/places twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
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