Digital transformation dominates the Facilities Management sector. When it comes to improving quality, production, and the lifespan of physical assets, digital transformation is an ongoing revolution that will continue to unfold.
In this blog, we discuss the top 5 Facility Management technology trends that you need to know about to be prepared for the next big wave of digital transformation.
This is one of the top tech tools on our radar in 2019. BIM presents a significant opportunity to enhance collaboration and communication for facility managers.
Traditionally used by contractors and architects, Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a tool for developing and scaling virtual models of building projects. While BIM is not a new technology, it is increasingly becoming commonplace in the facility management sector.
Listen to Intellis CEO Steven Warshaw talk about bringing all these new technologies together in a meaningful way on the FM Innovator Podcast.
BIM provides Facility Managers with the most comprehensive visual model of facilities, assets, and infrastructure. Facility professionals are harnessing the power of these tools for project management, delivery, and data accessibility. When integrated with existing work order programs or facility maintenance software, facility teams realize an improved ability to retrieve accurate asset information and insights.
Drone technology is rapidly advancing. It is becoming more efficient and less expensive. Imagine performing roof inspections without wasting time or money on scaffolding—this is one of the significant benefits that drones offer to facility and infrastructure owners and operators.
We predict that owners and operators of buildings and infrastructure will begin to integrate drones for aerial surveillance of buildings and outdoor spaces in the years to come. This will allow security personnel to monitor large areas more effectively.
While commercial-use drone technology is still emerging, and there are many safety considerations that must be addressed, there have been successful examples of drones surveying historical sites in NYC, which bodes a promising future for using drones to perform complex condition assessments.
Drones will bring unprecedented opportunities for improved efficiency in facility management. One of the most significant benefits of implementing drones during facility condition assessments is the increased safety and automation offered. While drone use may not be widespread across the industry, we expect a surge in popularity from CRE executives in the years to come.
The rise of mobile technology frees Facilities Managers from their desks, allowing managers to gain greater diversity in their work environments by overseeing multiple locations from a single location.
Read more about how technology can make capital planning stress-free.
Organizations have been transitioning to paperless systems since the late 1990s, and tablets and smartphones have rendered printed work orders and paper records obsolete in the job history. Instead, facility professionals can easily access all the information they need on an asset, including how to perform a repair, through their browser-based facility management system (FMS).
Transitioning to a digital workflow is more efficient because work orders, asset locations, and maintenance updates are easily accessed, shared, and updated, which eliminates downtime playing phone tag and commuting to multiple sites to check on repairs.
Facility Optimization has evolved far beyond simply managing energy consumption as a tactic to improve the bottom line. It has been revolutionized by innovative tech and software platforms that also focus on enhanced asset performance, connected buildings, and preventive maintenance management.
Internet-connected devices are generating datasets for buildings that have never existed before, and can now be leveraged through machine learning. Building owners, managers, and engineers will use machine learning to sift through data and unlock insights into market trends, building performance optimization, and other big-data applications.
The benefits of automation are boundless. Rather than relying on tenants or facility team members to constantly monitor temperature levels, manage work orders, or switch off the lights, a centralized Building Automation System (BAS) will seamlessly and automatically monitor these key facility functions.
Furthermore, because these systems continually collect data, you will be able to optimize your physical assets based on real-time insights. This enables your facilities management team to analyze usage patterns, which in turn empowers you to develop strategies for saving money and enhancing efficiency across your entire asset portfolio.
In 2019, we predict that the Facility Management industry will spend significantly less time manually collecting data and more time moving towards optimization goals with the help of IoT, Building Automation, and Machine Learning.
Recently, there has been considerable buzz about the benefits of Blockchain for the facilities management sector. The use of Blockchain, a ledger technology that tracks activities and actions within a system, is becoming an increasingly important part of the technology used in facilities management.
Read more about the benefits of Blockchain for facilities managers.
Blockchain has the power to revolutionize contract management, work order processing, payment processing, tracking of facilities management and maintenance needs, and increase overall facility transparency.
Data stored in a Blockchain has the potential to be quickly and easily reviewed, even when maintained by separate departments. It provides fast and accurate data analysis. Furthermore, highly confidential or proprietary data is significantly more secure due to Blockchain's single source of shared truth.
An advantage of BloBlockchain is that it streamlines processes and lowers costs by reducing or eliminating manual operations. This approach can be adapted to nearly any process, including preventive maintenance, work orders, environmental health and safety planning, and space management.
While the widespread implementation of BloBlockchain is still a long way off, it is a good idea to invest time and energy in evaluating and researching how this exciting new technology can be implemented. At Intellis, we believe that it is never too early to start identifying areas where new developments can improve technology.
Central to our mission is the commitment to implementing the latest technological advancements in our enterprise solutions, such as FOUNDATION, so that we can provide our clients with the best software solutions that ensure healthy building and infrastructure operations while also reducing costs, improving productivity, and enhancing sustainability.
Software solutions like FOUNDATION help businesses better organize their facility management departments, leading to reduced unplanned downtime, increased productivity, and improved overall business performance. When facility managers transition from organizing inspections and maintenance with paper, pens, and clipboards to implementing software solutions such as FOUNDATION, customers can reduce costs by seven to nine times.
The FOUNDATION software platform is part of this revolution, and these exciting new developments will change the facility management industry. With FOUNDATION, you will be well-equipped to be at the forefront of this wave of digital transformation.
Ready to learn more about how technology can make facilities management and capital planning stress-free?
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