Remember when facility management was an infinite paper-driven world, days were consumed with reactive firefighting, and decisions were largely based on anecdotal information? Did it seem impossible to stay on top of work orders and accurately project and meet labor, energy consumption, capital improvement, and building equipment and supply needs?

Those days were not too long ago, and for many organizations, many of these challenges still plague their reality. However, in the wake of data-driven technology advancements and new innovations, these challenges are receding fast. With new IoT, sensor, artificial intelligence (AI), mobility, satellite and cloud-based technologies, FMs can easily gather more accurate, comprehensive data on just about anything. The challenge today and moving forward is to make sure the right business data is collected – and to prevent being so inundated with data that FMs can’t strategically leverage it for business decision-making.

First things first: Business goals

FMs wear many hats, have seemingly endless responsibilities, and work with multiple internal and external stakeholders. The job, at times, can seem overwhelming.

Having the right data can make a huge difference for facility services organizations. The more they can use data to drive decisions, the more control they can have, and the more proactive and efficient they can be in planning, budgeting, managing, setting strategy and delivering quality facility services.

To get the most value from data, the first thing to do is identify clear and quantifiable business goals. For instance, is the objective to drive efficiencies in energy management? If so, gather data that helps decide appropriate levels of lighting in outdoor and indoor spaces, how much and when to trigger cooling and heating and the like. If improving asset management while minimizing expenditures is the goal, then getting a handle on asset usage and lifecycles and determining when to run-to-fail makes sense.

And then there is COVID-19. For now and the foreseeable future, FMs must focus on minimizing the risk of novel coronavirus and other contagious infections. This means determining the best utilization of space, and how often, where, and when to clean and disinfect surfaces, refill soap, hand sanitizer,and paper towel dispensers, remove trash, change HVAC system filters and more. Getting all of this right is critical to giving occupants, employees, and business owners the confidence needed to return to offices, schools, retail, hospitality and entertainment establishments.

Next: Data types, frequency & sharing

After solidifying business goals, it is time to determine the types of data needed to make informed decisions.

Consider, for example, space management. Until now, the trend has been to use open spaces to foster collaboration, and recreation and foodservice areas to build culture, attract employees, and keep them on-site. The number and location of building occupants were relatively stable. Changes in space allocation did not happen often and were primarily driven by major moves and headcount additions. Now, however, with physical distancing mandates and the number of people working from home or the office on any given day in flux, space management is more complex and crucial. It requires real-time, highly accurate occupancy and traffic data. More frequent data gathering and analysis is a must.

This same data also impacts a wide variety of other engineering and janitorial services, all of which will require constant monitoring and tuning. Everything from trash and recycling removal, to asset maintenance and replacement plans, to lighting, cleaning and disinfecting, is affected.

Costs are also impacted. Data-driven FMs have a significant advantage when it comes to planning and managing budgets. This is especially true in today’s environment. Having real-time data enables better planning for different occupancy and traffic scenarios and the services and supplies impacted by them. For instance, in the past, using MERV 8 filters in HVAC systems may have been sufficient. With potentially contaminated air streams, moving to more costly MERV 13 or even MERV 18 for more stringent filtration should be considered. Additionally, more advanced technology may be required, such as ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) or bipolar ionization.

FMs must also look more closely than ever at labor requirements—both internal and outsourced. By tapping into accurate asset management data and integrating information about training, administrative, and vacation hours, they can perform comprehensive labor needs analyses for various scenarios, determine respective costs, and adjust priorities or build business cases, as appropriate.

These days, most FMs rely on outsourced providers because they do not have the time or internal resources to effectively handle everything. If service providers are part of an organization’s strategy, it is imperative to be mindful of how proprietary data is shared. Service providers need access to their client’s enterprise asset management, real estate, occupancy, traffic, safety and other data in order to plan and deliver quality services. FMs should take care to work with trusted service providers whose culture and goals are aligned with theirs. It is important to feel confident that the providers can secure and protect any data they access and will use it prudently.

Lastly: Technology

Many people are surprised that technology is last on the list. This is not because it is not important. Technology is the glue that holds the data-driven world together. Using the right technologies will make or break the ability to gather meaningful data and draw valuable insights. It will also influence whether stakeholders leverage the technologies for decision-making purposes. Without first defining what to accomplish and which types of data to collect and analyze, trying to choose best-fit technologies can be an exercise in futility.

Some FMs are concerned that adopting new technologies will complicate their work because of the changes required and the knowledge that they need to gain. However, when applied correctly, data-enabling technology will make the FM’s job easier and improve their teams’ service quality.

Best practice is to collaborate with their service providers in driving a technology roadmap and data management strategy that meet the company’s business strategies, cost management parameters, and long-term performance metrics.

FMs must consider several data-driven technologies:

  • Sensors are the main tool for gathering data on occupancy, traffic, environmental conditions, and supply usage. Because they are no longer expensive, they can be installed in many places; their data can be used for a wide range of purposes, such as operating automated window shades, tracking refill points for soap and hand sanitizer dispensers, adjusting lighting levels in rooms, hallways and garages, determining how much tonnage to run in HVAC systems, where assets are in their life cycles and the type and frequency of janitorial services needed.

  • Mobility technologies make it easy to efficiently collect and leverage electronic data for tasks such as work order management. Technicians can obtain electric, gas, and water meter readings by scanning asset QR codes with smartphones during their rounds. By pulling that plant log data into an analytic platform, managers can see usage levels, anticipate when repairs may be needed and take steps to proactively prevent equipment breakdowns.

  • Data management tools help filter through the deluge of data generated and identify which data is needed to manage performance and metrics. These tools immediately alert appropriate stakeholders to urgent issues and instances where KPIs are not being met. Some solutions such as provide simple data visualization dashboards that make it easy to share and report on facility services performance.

  • Cloud-based solutions are replacing paper. With asset management, work orders, and data from facial recognition clocks and other sources stored in the cloud instead of file cabinets, information is much more accessible and useable. It is also much easier to integrate with other systems and much less prone to the errors inherent with paperwork. Whichever cloud solution vendors facility managers choose, it is critical that the facility — and not the vendors — owns the data. The use of cloud-based solutions mitigates the risk of lost data and the need to manually reenter data.

  • AI systems involve applying the right business rules, exceptions, and trend management for predictive data analysis. When used in conjunction with sensors, AI enables FMS and their service providers to gain the insights needed to make critical decisions. The information generated from AI feeds the data management and reporting solutions that stakeholders use to optimize services and contain costs.

Facility management is changing fast. To be successful in this often-unpredictable industry, FMs must be as data-driven as possible. When they have the right data at their fingertips and know how to use it, managers can deliver high-quality facility services with greater efficiency and within budget. They can stay ahead of the curve by more accurately predicting and meeting business needs, better managing vendors and more easily scaling, course correcting, justifying and evolving facility services practices.