Facility managers often talk about AI’s enormous potential to transform the industry in the future. What they seem to overlook is the considerable impact that AI is already having on the industry. Failing to recognize AI’s immediate role in FM could mean missing out on significant efficiencies, along with cost and energy savings.

Here are a few of the ways that AI is already in use in FM:

Predictive maintenance

According to MRI Software’s recently published Voice of the Facility Manager report, two of the top challenges for FMs are keeping up with preventive maintenance and managing aging equipment or infrastructure. Yet existing AI technologies can help address these challenges.

When expensive assets like commercial HVAC units, elevators and plumbing systems fail, it can result in unexpected business disruptions, unplanned emergency repair costs and lost revenue. By leveraging AI technologies and IoT sensors, FM teams can proactively plan for asset failure and replacement expenses, making costs more predictable and saving time and money. AI can analyze data from sensors on the assets and alert FMs to performance anomalies, some of which could indicate equipment failure, and immediately issue a work order.

AI-enabled visual tools are equally helpful. They can identify or flag leaks or structural damage simply by processing images from security cameras or drones.

By responding to the alerts from any of the AI-enabled systems, facility managers can either repair the problem or create a plan to replace the asset, avoiding expensive breakdowns, which put stress on budgets and often create nuisances for tenants.

AI-enabled systems can also analyze historical data and usage, as well as environmental factors such as weather patterns, to forecast when maintenance will be needed and when the end of an asset’s life cycle will likely occur. Such analyses help FMs optimize maintenance and replacement schedules.

Energy management

The topic of AI in energy management probably brings motion-sensor lighting to mind. Most people are familiar with restrooms where lights turn on and off upon visitor entrances and exits. But energy management software that incorporates AI technology can do much more. Beyond the basic on and off, the software can brighten or darken lighting and even adjust color temperature depending on how a space is used and the preferences of regular occupants.

Then there is heating and cooling. Many tenants find their workplaces either too hot or too cold; and although it is still arguably impossible to please everyone, AI tools can help significantly, by adjusting levels of heating and cooling according to occupancy while accounting for the standardized, saved preferences of individual users. Such services are especially important in the current office environment, as usage patterns are highly variable because of hybrid work arrangements. Imagine a scenario where no one uses a certain space on Fridays (one of the least popular days to go into the office). AI-enabled systems would account for these absences and reduce the amount of heating or cooling serving the space.

If used properly, energy management software with AI components can lead to significant reductions in costs, greater levels of comfort for occupants and progress toward sustainability goals.

Air quality

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the issue of indoor air quality (IAQ) to the fore. To encourage employees to return to their offices and tenants to return to their office buildings, many FMs were tasked with delivering air filtration and ventilation systems that removed viruses from indoor air. Although the virus has since waned, employees and tenants still demand spaces with high IAQ. Fortunately, AI makes it easier to address this demand. HVAC systems that integrate AI can automatically adjust air change rates and filtration levels based on external conditions, such as pollution from nearby wildfires – an all-too frequent occurrence.

Space utilization

The same data that AI gathers from sensors, occupancy trackers and visitor management systems can be used to drive decisions on cost efficiencies and space optimization. Hybrid and flexible work policies have led to variable usage scenarios for office tenants, making it difficult to anticipate how many humans will use a space on a given day. AI technology can analyze new patterns in space usage to help FMs determine optimal office layouts and plan for future requirements of their organization’s footprint.

The strength of AI lies in its ability to analyze large amounts of data from multiple sources and turn it into easy-to-digest insights and recommendations that humans can use to make better decisions. Using data on space utilization along with foot-traffic data provides an even more comprehensive view of a property’s pedestrian activity and usage. FMs and owners can understand whether areas of a building are being used to their full capacity, and whether the areas themselves, or their layouts, should be altered for different purposes. For example, properties might attract more tenants with a collaborative workspace, café or gym instead of conference rooms that are rarely occupied.

In malls and retail hubs, cameras can monitor pedestrian traffic patterns, providing invaluable information for retailers and mall owners. As with office buildings and other facilities, this information can yield major energy savings. But it can also help retailers and mall owners determine staffing needs, find the most effective store layouts, understand capture rates and promote the most appealing special events. Landlords and tenants can also leverage AI to combine and analyze this information with additional data, including demographics, consumer behavior and sales forecasts for a full picture of the performance of a store or mall.

Contract intelligence

Most industry insiders associate AI-based contract intelligence with the ability to find lease clauses easily and quickly. The technology gained visibility during the COVID-19 pandemic, when commercial owners and tenants needed to quickly find force majeure clauses within lengthy lease documents.

At first glance, this ability is better suited to leasing staff than FM teams, but FMs, too, require accurate lease data. For example, by knowing exactly when a lease terminates, FMs can determine the timing of asset replacements. If a lease is terminating soon, it may be more practical and less intrusive to wait until a tenant vacates a space before fixing an ailing, yet functioning, HVAC system.

Data integration

Each AI-enabled IoT system can individually improve efficiencies, enhance occupant satisfaction and reduce costs; but for even better outcomes, FMs can take advantage of AI-enabled data integration. The key is adopting a unified dashboard that compiles data from a variety of sources, such as building management systems and IoT sensors, streamlining disparate data sets into a cohesive whole. It is not always easy to integrate these data sets, but it is well worth the effort. The unified dashboards can replace hours of spreadsheet review and manual data entry, maximizing AI capabilities in the process. For instance, an FM could ask a chatbot on the dashboard for specific data, and the chatbot would immediately pull and present the data in a logical, organized format. That would be more than just a time-saver – AI technology can comb through expansive volumes of data that would be unrealistic for humans to attempt.

Getting started with AI

FMs cannot simply snap their fingers to wish a unified dashboard into existence, however. Those who want to leverage data integration must take a good, hard look at their organization. They must understand what data is available from different teams and determine which use cases would be the most beneficial to their work. If the quality or quantity of the data is insufficient, the AI tools may not perform as well as anticipated. To avoid this scenario, FMs must cultivate a critical eye, clear objectives and cross-functional collaboration. Silos and data integration are mutually exclusive.

If departments do not share information with each other, it can lead to competing priorities. For example, when FM, finance and real estate teams are not working in sync, it can lead to cost inefficiencies, project misalignment and unnecessary spending. With many businesses tightening their belts and budgets being highly scrutinized, it is more important than ever for FMs to justify their expenses, manage contractors effectively and show the value of their expertise to the organization. As data becomes increasingly important for strategic decision-making, FMs will be on the front lines of technology integration – including AI-enabled solutions.

Organizational & industry support

One of the greatest potential obstacles to AI adoption is the fear that AI will take over FM jobs. To combat this misplaced fear, AI champions should showcase straightforward FM use cases that streamline tasks and save on costs. AI alerts about system malfunctions are a clear-cut use case; few could fail to see the benefits of such alerts. Once these tools are adopted, champions can present hard data on cost savings and efficiencies, demonstrating how AI frees up FMs for more strategic activities, making their jobs more enjoyable – rather than nonexistent. Armed with such information, champions can turn naysayers into advocates and, eventually, make a positive impact on FM functions across the industry. The time to start is now.a