Feature
Changing Faces Post-Covid – How The Global Pandemic Altered The Role Of The Facilities Manager
Everyone is aware of the now permanent changes to daily life introduced by Covid.
Here, Pippa Boothman, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Disruptive Technologies examines the implications for the role of the Facilities Manager in this brave new post-pandemic world.
As people begin to resume their daily life, building occupancy levels are increasing to near normal levels last seen before Covid. For Facilities Managers who have been managing largely empty buildings for the last couple of years, their role is just about to take a dramatic change.
The Changing Role Of The Facilities Manager
Covid has highlighted the role of Facilities Managers, now a key part of the operations team. Where previously Facilities Managers were responsible for building maintenance, general repairs and upkeep and might have been overlooked by other employees, Facilities Managers are now tasked with leading the response to the shift in employees’ needs, like different patterns of building occupancy, increased safety and hygiene protocols, and hybrid working practises. Workplace eco-credentials are also high on the agenda, ensuring that every aspect of building and workplace management is done sustainably. Facilities
Managers need to lead the way with safe working protocols for staff and tenants and sustainable building management.
How Can Tech Help The Facilities Manager Redefine Their Role?
Covid has ushered in new working environments for communal work settings. The Facilities Manager is now responsible for ensuring appropriate employee occupancy levels, comfort and hygiene protocols and is relied upon more than ever to keep buildings sustainable, safe, and efficient. So how can new technology support the role of the Facilities Manager, and what impact will this have on their day to day working practises?
Fitting desks and spaces with tiny sensors – like those provided by Disruptive Technologies – to monitor occupancy will enable Facilities Managers to have a holistic overview of how space is being used, without disrupting the occupants, which can help them make decisions around how to maximise business efficiency and make the most out of the office space available to employees.
Now more than ever, it is vital to know how many people are in a room at any given time so that the correct social distancing measures can be implemented to keep employees safe and adhere to COVID safety regulations. Using occupancy monitoring means that Facilities Managers can check usage of spaces to confirm they adhere to protocol, as well as being able to remotely alter ventilation of rooms without having to be there.
Occupancy monitoring means a Facilities Manager can non- intrusively see exactly which spaces have been used, by how many people and when, which in turn allows for more efficient management of resources and facilities personnel. Sensor data will also enable the Facilities Manager to implement energy saving measures, such as turning off lights or air conditioning in rooms where they are not being used, which saves energy costs and consumption.
Cleaning regimes can align with actual occupancy instead of being fixed and arbitrary, saving time and money. This can be implemented remotely with a system that is instantly responsive and requires less input and supervision from the Facilities Manager. In a post- COVID world, occupancy monitoring means that thorough cleaning can be applied more accurately in rooms that need it most, enabling businesses to keep their employees safe and well.
Smart resource management for heat, air conditioning and lighting using sensor-based technology ensures maximum and effective use of resources reducing both the building’s carbon footprint and operating costs. Responding instantly to real-time conditions ticks the sustainability box and relies less on the physical input of the Facilities Manager, meaning fewer site visits and a level of efficiency that simply could not have been achieved with manual inspections.
Sensor technology can offer predictive building management for repairs and maintenance which keeps Facilities Managers ahead of the curve with automatic problem notification to minimise damage, disruption and cost. This process relies less on actual physical inspections, reducing site visits from the Manager and freeing up time for other tasks.
Tech solutions support the evolving role of the Facilities Manager, helping to keep on top of sustainability and efficiency and providing a safe working environment for the buildings’ occupants. Facilities Managers can offer a real time response that simply isn’t possible with site visits and inspections, promoting building efficiency and saving time to devote to other tasks. It also vastly improves the efficiency of the Facilities Management team as a whole, offering a complete overview of the site to all team members. More than ever, top-quality and easy to use technology is critical. Sensor-based solutions create an environment that keeps occupants happy and safe as well as producing significant cost savings driven by optimal building efficiency, and a sustainability profile offering the best green credentials.
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