MAKE THE SMART CHOICE

Smart building technology highlights FM's strategic value, says Gordon Mitchell.

The rise of the smart building enhances FM’s value proposition to the C-Suite through cost savings, efficiencies, green initiatives and improved employee health and wellbeing.  

• Energy and utilities: The drive for sustainable energy requires FM to deliver smart technologies, microgrids and energy-saving measures. The FM’s role will be to align the business’s energy consumption needs, energy strategy and company objectives.  
• Security: Delivering on the needs of digital trust and operational streamlining, the full integration and peace of mind afforded across this space will enable the interaction of the facility experience to increase through to supply chain optimisation.  
• IoT sensors:  The explosion of low-cost devices for sensing and monitoring a facility’s performance data provides FMs with greater understanding. FM is becoming more analytical and advisory, using real-time data to make more decisions.   

“The softer side of FM will be empowered to deliver an enhanced experience”

• Augmenting tools: Augmenting data using tools such as data models, BIM, 3D digital twins, augmented and virtual reality bring the facility to life in multiple dimensions. These tools create new value by enabling a better understanding of the facility and its operations – even see through walls.  
• Insights/ML/AI:  FMs can use tools such as actionable insights and machine learning to make better decisions faster. These techniques super-charge an FM’s ability to deliver value to their demand organisation by predicting breakages or maintenance tasks, providing deeper insights into root causes and potential solutions, enhancing FM’s reach and value across multiple facilities and boosting productivity.  
• Big data: It’s only the beginning of our ability to contextualise building data and use it to deliver better spaces and experiences. This will not only become the process of analytical understanding; the softer side of FM will also be empowered to deliver a much more catered and enhanced experience.

Gordon Mitchell is deputy chair of the IWFM Technology Special Interest Group