How is Technology Affecting Facilities Management?

It’s no secret the future is being driven by technology and it’s the same for the facilities management sector!

Technology has become embedded in our daily living, both work and personal, nobody leaves their house without their mobile phone, goes anywhere new without a sat nav or starts the working day without checking their emails. We can access any information, anytime, utilise smart pieces of tech to track our health, location and even get robots to automatically complete tasks for us!

The evolvement of the digital world is moving at an impressive (and scary) pace and is disrupting current procedures. The challenge buildings are faced with, is keeping pace with the technological changes and selecting which trends are worth investing in and can improve activities and a bottom line for the long run – not just a short-term fad.

Here are a few advancements which have been adopted quickly and are really making a difference to the way assets are managed:

Building information modeling (BIM) technology is the process of managing digital models of buildings and the space within. The technology allows Facilities Managers to pre-plan the utilisation of space, energy consumption and deliver the opportunity to have a positive impact (in the office sector particularly) on the wellness of tenants.

Smart buildings will eventually run themselves. A smart building will have an awareness of the environment and provide optimal heating and lighting – reducing waste, environmental impact and the time needed to manage and monitor the condition of buildings.

Digital technology allows buildings to deal with issues in real time, building intelligence monitoring is a great example of how sensors are utilised to deliver live data on what’s going on in a building. This data can deliver a wide range of information from how the building is being utilised to when maintenance is required and how energy is used. This intelligent software will allow Facilities Managers to respond faster, understand exactly how the building is functioning and make changes to ensure peak efficiency is always maintained.

The number of technological products available and being introduced is phenomenal. Businesses will have no choice but to invest in these developments in order to stay ahead and work effectively. The barrier will be budget and risk, investing in new technologies can seem daunting but as these digital developments become more common, prove their ROI and ultimately, more affordable, digital procedures will become the norm.

For more information, check out our other research: Is technology taking over FM?