A Secret Solution in a Remote World

Deloitte's 2023 Commercial Real Estate Outlook found that only 40 percent of global real estate chief financial officers expected higher revenues in 2022compared to 2021, and 33 percent anticipated having to cut expenses.

Although commercial building occupancy has been stabilizing since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will likely never return to pre-pandemic levels. After seeing a rise in productivity as a result of WFH, businesses in countries around the globe are planning more days of remote work per week.

That means facility managers and building owners have some tough decisions to make in 2023.

How can they maintain aging infrastructure on even less budget than before? How should they pivot their facilities strategy to better align themselves with a more remote workforce? Should they repurpose their existing space? And if so, in what ways?

The stakes are high. Making the wrong choices can put companies out of business. Building owners and FMs require accurate data – and plenty of it – to make smart decisions and drive strategic changes that will protect the long-term viability of the organization.

Yet, many organizations do not have that necessary data. They lack a clear understanding of their facilities’ current condition. Their data is disorganized, disjointed, incomplete or just plain inaccurate.

A better approach to facilities data is needed like never before.

Traditional methods don’t deliver dependable data

Traditional data management can take many forms: Binders stuffed with paper. A disorganized plan room. Spreadsheets passed down from FM to FM since the building’s inception. FM software that was cutting edge 20 years ago but no longer serves the building’s needs. Static facility condition assessments (FCAs) that quickly become obsolete.

Whatever the form, these old-fashioned approaches do not support the level of data integrity necessary for making confident, long-term decisions. Instead, what data FMs do have is:

• Inaccurate: The data is not regularly validated as facilities change. Square footage is one example of this. When a building is constructed, the correct square footage is recorded for the FM team. As the facility evolves over time, the square footage is often not remeasured and as a result, the FM team makes calculations and decisions based on a number that no longer reflects reality. Organizations with already tight budgets run the risk of needlessly over- or underspending.
• Inaccessible: Not everyone on the FM team may be able to find or have the rights to see the information they need to do their jobs effectively. In aging buildings where assets may be more prone to unexpected failures, this can lengthen response times and make it harder to decipher the history of key assets.
• Disconnected: In many organizations, FM data is collected and stored in separate systems that are controlled by different departments. This creates data silos that are not conducive to knowledge sharing. Without a complete picture of an aging facility’s current situation, it is a struggle to plan, budget and respond appropriately.
• Overly broad: Managing a facility comes down to managing the individual assets that make up the facility. However, many buildings are not managed down to the asset level. For example, instead of work orders being associated with a specific asset, they are associated with a specific issue or complaint. When FMs review work order histories, they cannot tell which assets were touched or which asset was the root cause of a problem. Without granular, asset-level data, it is more difficult to spot potential issues with aging assets. it is also harder to determine which assets need replacing and what their remaining useful lives are to inform capital planning.
• Difficult to maintain: Data that is scattered across different systems and departments is a challenge to keep current – especially if there is no standard procedure for updating facilities data. Traditional FCAs are a prime example. Once an FCA is complete, the resulting data becomes stagnant because it is not designed to be updated as the facility changes over time. It is not connected to the facility’s work order system or inspections program, which could infuse it with fresh information and keep it up to date. Thus, FMs are forced to completely redo an FCA every time they want a current snapshot of the building – a costly and time-consuming venture.

These drawbacks have serious consequences for FMs responsible for the upkeep of aging infrastructure.

• Reactive approach: FM teams without complete, accurate data often focus on the latest emergency rather than on the bigger, longer-term picture. Instead of a proactive approach that could prevent unexpected failures, FMs run from one fire to the next.
• Inefficiencies: These can manifest in many ways: Extra time spent entering the same data into multiple documents or programs. Slower response times because necessary information is hard to locate. Key warning signs missed because some data falls through the cracks.
• Inability to make data-driven decisions: When an FM must rely on incomplete data and guesswork, it leads to uncertainty around what issues to prioritize, where to spend limited resources and what changes should be made to improve efficiencies.
• Difficulty securing necessary capital: A budget proposal built on estimates and best guesses is not going to convince the financial decision makers. If FMs can prove why they need every dollar they are asking for, there is a greater likelihood they will receive more budget. Being able to show the data behind every line item in the facilities budget request makes a compelling argument for fully funding the FM department.
• Understaffed teams stretched even further: With many FM teams understaffed due to retirements or difficulty recruiting, current team members are stretched thin. Poor facilities data can compound the problem. Workloads may not be effectively balanced among team members. Operations and maintenance (O&M) manuals, blueprints, inspection routes and other vital information may be time-consuming to find.

Data (or lack thereof) impacts every action taken in FM. Without it, guesswork reigns and poor decisions pile up, creating even more challenges on top of the already difficult task of maintaining aging facilities.

Better facilities data is the key to maintaining aging infrastructure

Attempting to make wise asset management decisions without complete, transparent, defensible data can feel like trying to navigate a cave without a flashlight.

Data can spotlight where time and money should be spent based on available resources. Does it make more sense to replace the failing water heater or repair some large cracks in the drywall? Should a section of the building be torn down and rebuilt or should more money be put into it? FMs face hundreds of these kinds of decisions every day. Data can help them make the most strategically and fiscally responsible choices.

In many cases, buildings with lower occupancy may require more preventive maintenance (PM) than usual. Case in point: a building with large bathroom facilities and high-flow water pipes that is underutilized could become a breeding ground for waterborne diseases. The FM may need to add a PM routine of regularly running the water in those bathrooms to prevent stagnation. Good data management helps ensure additional PM tasks are communicated to the maintenance team and can be tracked.

Another situation in which data comes into play is in the growing competition for Class A space. As the owners of Class A buildings reduce prices to attract more tenants and achieve full occupancy, those who could not afford Class A space pre-pandemic are now able to move in.

However, even with the draw of reduced rent, many Class A spaces are still not fully occupied. The U.S. national vacancy rate is up to 16.6 percent. The overall commercial vacancy rate in Europe stood at 7.4 percent at the end of 2022, but more outlying office districts are seeing higher vacancy rates. Office vacancy rates across the Asia Pacific region are also expanding.

Despite lower rental income, Class A buildings cannot let up on their maintenance and allow their facilities to become less desirable than competing spaces. What is an FM to do? Comprehensive data on condition and remaining useful life can help reconcile maintenance needs with a tighter budget.

The bottom line: When budgets are tight, every maintenance decision can have outsized consequences. Dependable data makes it easier to:

• Determine where to focus limited resources
• Understand the pros and cons of each decision
• Make the right choice for both the short and long term
• Defend actions to building leadership

Improving data management: where to start

Before beginning to collect and organize data for effective decision making, it is necessary to know what data is needed and why.

What are the organization’s goals? Is it to reduce energy consumption? Reorganize existing space into smaller sections more appropriate for hybrid work?

From a facilities standpoint, what matters most to the organization? For example, a recreation center would want adequate outdoor lighting to ensure patron safety. On the other hand, a hotel would be concerned about maintaining a certain level of style so they can charge a higher price.

What data will enable the FM team to work toward achieving those goals? Every piece of data collected costs money, so it is important to only track what is necessary. Collecting extraneous data adds needless complexity and takes additional time to gather.

Once it is determined what data is needed and why, the next step is to collect the data in a way that can be easily maintained over time. A database structure – ideally a location-based database structure – allows this.

A database is designed to ensure data integrity, allow an unlimited volume of data and enables multiple users to collaborate within the system in real time, among other advantages.

Within a database, information (be it photos, replacement cost, work order history or other data points) can be assigned to individual assets. This information can then be easily accessed and updated.

A database brings two key advantages to facilities data collection and management, specifically. First, it provides data that is fully transparent, defensible and connected. For every asset, an FM can call up all the information associated with it – from where it is located in the facility to when it was last assessed. In addition, audit trails let an FM know when a piece of information is updated.

Second, a database makes it easier to uncover the insights the facilities data can provide. An FM can view the entire facilities portfolio or drill down to a single room or set of assets, enjoying a high level of visibility into areas of excellent or poor performance. Armed with this information, an FM can prioritize limited money, parts and labor to the areas that make the most sense.

Be prepared for the road ahead

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic radically changed the FM world. Although life has begun to normalize since then, the next big change could be right over the horizon. FMs with solid data management will have the information and insights to respond effectively to whatever the future holds.