The Bigger Picture

Questions like these bombard facility managers every day, as they face increasing pressure to keep buildings operational while meeting sustainability targets, maintaining compliance, and keeping building occupants comfortable and happy.

It is not a lack of data that prevents the questions from being easily answered. Many facilities already contain enormous amounts of operational data, but it is trapped in multiple silos like computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), building automation systems (BAS), Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, spreadsheets, drawings and paperwork.

Each system provides only part of the story, creating a new challenge for facility teams: not only understanding how that information contributes to the bigger picture but also knowing where it exists and how to access it.

The result is hidden costs, duplicated effort and operational blind spots that affect everything from maintenance and compliance to space planning and strategic decision-making.

The cost of poor data trust

For FM teams managing large or complex infrastructure, even routine tasks can become unnecessarily time-consuming when critical information is spread across multiple systems and departments. A study from the International Data Corporation (IDC) found that “data professionals are losing 50 percent of their time every week” with 30 percent searching for, governing and preparing data, plus 20 percent duplicating work.

While FMs are unlikely to describe themselves as data professionals, access to accurate operational data is a defining factor in service performance. This leads to more time spent in the pursuit of it, but making the challenges of siloed data more apparent. With maintenance information in a CMMS, performance data in a BAS, contractor compliance documents stored on SharePoint, and building floor plans filed in a drawer, it can be nearly impossible to make a fast, accurate decision.

Often, it is easier to duplicate the data — manually take the reading, repeat the measurement or conduct the inspection again — rather than waste time and energy trying to get it directly from the source. But this wasted effort affects service levels, and by extension the bottom line and a service provider’s reputation.

Better decisions come from connected data

With tight budgets and extensive responsibilities, time is a luxury that cannot be squandered on long-winded investigations — or worse, making the wrong decision and having to revisit the same problem. Looking at data from individual systems can easily lead FM teams to the wrong conclusion.

A CMMS may show that a particular elevator has required more reactive maintenance than any other on site, while contractor records reveal replacement parts are being ordered more frequently than expected. Viewed in isolation, the obvious conclusion is that the elevator has reached the end of its life.

However, when this information with occupancy sensor data, a more nuanced, accurate picture emerges. For example, the elevator may serve the busiest entrance to the building and carry significantly more passengers than a comparable elevator. Service records could also show faults have increased since a change in maintenance contractor. Rather than replacing the asset, the FM team can then investigate whether maintenance practices, settings or usage patterns are contributing to the problem. No single system identifies the root cause; the insight only emerges when the datasets are connected.

Your data, your answers

Once that information is connected, answers break from their silos, data is no longer at risk of duplication, and technologies such as AI become significantly more powerful. AI allows FM teams to interrogate information conversationally, identify trends, investigate recurring faults and uncover insights that would otherwise remain hidden.

AI takes the heavy lifting out of investigatory work, presenting answers in seconds that would have taken humans a great deal of time and head-scratching.

FM is a cost-sensitive, risk-averse industry. Rather than chasing every new technology innovation, many organizations adopt a wait-and-see approach until its long-term value has been demonstrated.

Still, according to a recent global report from JLL, AI adoption is already underway and transforming the industry. This is not futuristic tech floating on the horizon. Twenty-eight percent of organizations have embedded AI solutions in their FM operations — rising to 46 percent for large organizations (more than 100,000 employees) — with many advancing from initial pilots to scale across multiple function areas and facilities. This suggests those not starting to investigate AI are at risk of being left behind.

Completing the picture with BIM & digital twins

Building information modelling (BIM) is another differentiator on the industry’s radar. After a decade of the preconception that it is a tool for design and construction, FMs see it as a vital way to structure and share information across the building life cycle with any stakeholder. And for those older buildings without BIM data, it is quicker and easier than ever to retrofit a model and data, either by laser scanning the physical building inside and out, or by using floor plans and AI (which can cost significantly less).

BIM also brings a vital graphical element to building data. It allows contractors to visit the site remotely to assess what resources they may need, check any permits required and even verify part serial numbers to check inventory before arriving on site. For large sites such as hospitals or universities, the model can be used for wayfinding, ensuring tight SLAs on P3 or performance-based contracts do not fail because of contractors getting lost.

For operatives dealing with compliance matters, BIM also makes critical information easier to access in context. Fire compartments, escape routes, shut-off valves, asbestos locations and other regulated assets can be visualized directly within the building model alongside supporting documentation. Rather than relying on multiple drawings and document repositories, teams can quickly locate assets and verify the information required to complete inspections, audits or emergency response.

From a BIM model, it is just a short hop via a connected building data platform to creating a full digital twin, the gold standard of data and integration. Twins take the digital building model and combine it with historic operational data (such as a CMMS) with live data feeds such as occupancy sensors, asset sensors and BAS to create a virtual replica of how the building or site operates.

For an air-handling unit serving an operating theatre, for example, a digital twin can show its exact location above the ceiling void and link it to live sensor data, potentially indicating the unit is working harder than comparable assets elsewhere in the hospital. Historical maintenance records reveal an increasing number of reactive callouts, while energy data shows the unit is consuming significantly more electricity than expected.

Instead of simply replacing the asset, FM teams can investigate the bigger picture. The digital twin reveals the operating theatre has an intensive surgical schedule, making access during working hours extremely limited. The BIM model highlights restricted access routes and identifies nearby equipment that must be isolated before maintenance can begin. Armed with this information, the team can schedule work during planned theatre downtime, ensure the correct permits, parts and specialist contractors are available, and address the underlying performance issue before it leads to an unexpected failure. The result is lower energy consumption, fewer reactive repairs and minimal disruption to critical clinical services.

The strategic value of one operational picture

When FM teams are forced to work with disconnected data, they react to issues rather than anticipate them, making decisions based on incomplete information rather than reliable insight.

The good news is creating one connected operational picture does not mean replacing every legacy system. It means bringing existing information together so that data can be trusted, understood and acted upon. Whether through connected platforms, BIM or digital twins, FMs gain the context needed to optimize maintenance, improve energy performance, strengthen compliance and make better-informed investment decisions.

As buildings become smarter and expectations rise, organizations that connect and contextualize their building data will be best placed to demonstrate FM’s strategic value. The greatest competitive advantage will not come from collecting more data, but from being able to see the complete picture.