Revolutionizing Facility Operations

Filling in gaps seems to be a consistent theme in facility management as we encounter knowledge gaps between veteran team members and those getting started, gaps in recruitment and retention, and technology gaps. Everyone agrees that technology in the facilities industry plays an integral role in daily operations.

Encouragingly, one in every four organizations planned to spend 16% to 30% more on facility management software in 2022, according to a Gartner survey. And almost 80% of business leaders surveyed were already using property and facility management software. All signs indicate that the facility management sector is doing much more than converting analog data into digital form.

So why are facilities teams still struggling with maintaining accurate asset databases?

In a webinar entitled, “Elevate Facility Operations Using Smart Building Technology For Real-Time Asset Updates and Field verification, that question (and others) was addressed by Suri Suriyakumar, CEO, ARC Facilities and Jonathan Styrlund, Vice President, Product Development & Field Operations, ARC Facilities.

Suri and Jon discussed the importance of facility condition assessments, the challenges of field verification of assets, and how technology can help streamline and improve/enhance these processes.

Key Webinar Takeaways

Takeaway #1: Leveraging technology in facility operations can significantly reduce the cost and time for field verifying assets

Suri pointed out the frequent need for field verification of assets in building management, particularly in aging buildings.

"Field verification of assets are conducted typically every 1 to 3 years depending on the type of building and is largely driven by accounting and financial requirements. It is also very costly and time-consuming, and disruptive to maintenance teams in facility operations," he said.

To address these challenges, Suri suggested leveraging modern technology to maintain real-time updates of asset information, thereby eliminating the need for regular field verifications.

Jon Styrlund, VP of Product and Field Operations, added, "Being truly mobile means building your technology from the ground up to support mobile devices. It doesn’t mean having a web page that fits on a tiny little screen.”

Takeaway #2: Asset tracking and maintenance planning can significantly benefit from real-time, mobile technology

Suri and Jon highlighted the importance of real-time updates for asset management, maintenance planning, risk mitigation, budget planning, and compliance. Suri emphasized, “Asset management, maintenance planning, risk mitigation, budget planning are all required and critical for other aspects of facility management.”

Jon further explained how technology could improve these processes, “None of this gets updated if somebody must go back to a desk, open up a legacy system on their desktop computer, and enter it. Technicians spend their days out in the field; that's what they do. That's where we should have tools available to them.”

Takeaway #3: Current technology can help maintain accurate asset databases and improve facility operations

The speakers emphasized the importance of maintaining accurate databases of assets in facility operations. Jon pointed out that in many existing systems, about 20-40% of the asset information is inaccurate. "Two to four out of the ten records in your system are likely not accurate. That air handler doesn't exist anymore."

Mobile technology can help maintain accurate asset databases.

Jon explained, "When you've got people who are updating this information on a regular basis, when they're using these tools out in the field, when they have access to them, and they can update them in the field, what you get is a system that looks more like this. It’s complete; it’s correct; it’s filled in. Stuff that doesn't belong is gone, and things that do belong are there."

Suri concluded by emphasizing the value of this technology for facility operations. "You're doing it as you go along without really having to come back to your desk, wait for the end of the day, log on, and try to make sure all the entries are made. That's where the biggest challenges are and that's where we find customers struggling with maintaining a current list of assets."

By addressing the prevalent issue of inaccuracies in existing systems, Suri, and Jon advocate for a system where information is continuously updated in the field, resulting in a complete, correct, and filled-in database. This approach contrasts with the traditional method of relying on desk-bound updates at the end of the day.

Listen to the webinar recording.