Like most professionals, facilities managers have to keep up with developments in their industry. Upgrading their knowledge and expertise ensures that they are best equipped to serve the needs of building owners, tenants and other stakeholders.
Developments in building technology is one factor that affects the work that FMs do. This technology has dramatically changed the role of facilities managers over the years. These days, managing building automation systems is a key competency for all facilities managers.
Here’s a peek behind the curtain to see how FMs manage all of this technology.
Don’t Take FMs for Granted
Facilities management is a crucial function for any organization.
Micky Verdeblanco at Emirates Facilities argues that facilities management is important in the following ways:
- Increasing the cost-efficiency of the business
- Managing health and safety requirements
- Increasing the lifespan of assets
- Monitoring and maintaining compliance
She goes on to say: “One of the key reasons facilities management is so important is that when a business is coordinating people, the health and safety responsibilities require you to be completely ready to tackle any situation. By managing your facility, you can properly coordinate the maintenance of assets and prolong the lifespan of components within your building or facility.”
HVAC. Security. Temperature. Lighting. From the end-user point of view, we take these things for granted when they are functioning well. We do not pay any heed to the behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating and maintaining an optimal environment for us to work, play and live in. Sometimes, all it takes is a push of a button or a scan of our employee ID to activate the systems that are in place to manage our environment.
It’s when things go wrong that we become more aware that facilities management is important. Often, FMs bear the brunt of complaints when malfunctions occur.
Although smart buildings have become the rage in the FM world, we would be remiss to diminish the importance of facilities managers. In fact, it is arguable that without the human element of facilities managers managing automated systems, our lives wouldn’t be half as comfortable or productive.
Here are some ways facilities managers play a role in managing automated systems.
From the Pilot Phase, to Launch, to System Adjustment
Technology is a tool, and it needs expert hands to wield it. FMs, with their specialized knowledge and expertise, are an integral part of the process when introducing automated technology to a building.
Chris Keller, president of Integrated Data Solutions, believes that culture and process change are instrumental and that FMs are important when it comes to this. He puts it this way: “Automating facility management processes is similar to losing weight. Just as purchasing a membership in a health club does not translate into weight loss, investing in technology doesn’t necessarily improve quality and reduce effort. With automation, changes in culture and processes are the most important factors for success.”
Keller identifies seven steps for any facilities management project:
- Identify business objectives
- Conduct a needs analysis
- Define system requirements
- System acquisition
- System implementation
- Process and system evaluation
- Process and system adjustment
Looking at the seven steps, it’s evident how FMs need to be involved every step of the way. According to Keller, “[t]he primary reason that projects fail is human error, not technical failure.”
As the human element, FMs thus have the key job of finding the right technology that meets their needs and designing processes that align.
Even once the technology is rolled out, FMs continue to be the caretakers of the automated systems and may need to periodically adjust the systems in order to achieve optimal performance.
Getting It Right: Optimizing an Existing BAS
When an automated system isn’t working well, a knee-jerk response is often to find a new solution. But sometimes, the right answer isn’t to replace a system but to get it working optimally for you.
Every building automation system has untapped potential, and it takes an FM to maximize its use. Maria Lupo and James Franke at Facilitiesnet note that there is often “low hanging fruit” when it comes to optimizing the functionality and usability of a BAS system. Instead of upgrading the system or switching to a new one, they recommend maximising what the organization has already invested in.
FMs add the much-needed human touch and analysis thanks to their real-life experience and expertise. Smart systems can only do so much; FMs are there to further refine the system to meet the needs of the building owners and tenants.
Reading the Data
HVAC. Security. Temperature. Lighting. These are the common building automation systems that end-users experience in everyday life, and as we mentioned above, when everything functions well, we hardly notice them.
Automated systems don’t only control functionality. They also provide data on usage of resources, energy consumption and performance of the individual parts of the system. But data doesn’t mean anything without analysis, and that’s where FMs come in.
If a malfunction occurs, a BAS system makes it easier for the FM to find the source of the problem. If the system isn’t at peak performance or isn’t sufficient to meet the changing needs of the building and its occupants, it’s the FM who has to make recommendations for changes.
Rita Tatum believes that FMs should take the lead when it comes to recommending BAS integration because FMs are the ones who “know the building and the corporation inside and out.” When FMs are involved in the BAS integration process, they are able to have a say in designing and then implementing the changes. It also puts them in a better position to address any complaints that occur and be better equipped to make system adjustments when needed.
Automated systems give FMs the information they need to analyze how well the systems are working and what else can be done to make those systems more efficient. Instead of just working within the status quo, FMs can take a proactive role by using the data they receive to recommend improvements that can make the building more comfortable and productive for its occupants.
Too Hot, Too Cold or Just Right?
Even with automated systems in play, FMs deal with the little details that can affect your everyday comfort.
For example, a common complaint that FMs get is the temperature of the office space. According to a survey by the International Interior Design Association and the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association, the top complaint from workers was “ability to adjust your workplace temperature," with 46 percent of respondents citing dissatisfaction with that quality.
We’ve previously discussed how temperature can have an effect on productivity and shared three recommendations on how to approach the issue:
- Incorporate technology into the original design.
- Give more control to individuals.
- Allow FMs to monitor facility sectors.
All three recommendations involve FMs working in a behind-the-scenes capacity. In the first two options, FMs have a role in the design stage whereas the third option relates more to ongoing monitoring and adjustments.
Aligning Technology with Workplace Developments
Another change that FMs have to contend with is workplace developments. Depending on the organization, this could relate to the increase in mobile workers, flexible work arrangements or the increasing use of smart technology to do work.
For instance, the rise of the mobile workers can lead to new challenges for FMs. This new type of worker has different needs, which have to be integrated with the needs of the office staff. Remote resource management becomes a priority, and FMs can bridge the gap of time zones and distance through the proper utilization of systems.
Workscape.io believes that FMs can advance the implementation of workplace technology to meet the changing needs of the organization. Technology such as sensors, wireless charging stations and room-booking software are some of the must-haves for an increasingly mobile workforce.
Managing Relationships
Nicholas Burt, CEO of the Facilities Management Association of Australia, sees three ways in which FMs can have a significant impact:
- Providing options for operational models, upgrades and improvements to equipment
- Influencing behaviors of occupants and the decisions of building owners
- Working closely with stakeholders to implement new technologies
This underscores the fact that the heart of facilities management is managing relationships: owners and tenants, owners and suppliers, management and staff. FMs are the intermediaries, and can be key influencers and decision-makers when it comes to using building technology.
The work that FMs do, whether it’s implementing a new system, advocating for an upgraded system or recommending tweaks to an existing one, can have tremendous impact on the wellbeing of the building’s occupants, reduce business costs and lower the building’s environmental impact.
People Are Our Assets
At the end of the day, building technology works only as well as how FMs implement those systems in order to meet the needs of the building’s occupants.
Ken Sinclair of AutomatedBuildings.com acknowledges that the advent of the Internet of Things has disrupted the FM industry. However, he remains steadfast in believing people, not technology, are the real assets:
“We need to focus instead on our only assets, our people, who have all been through several technology shifts in their lives. They have seen hardware evaporate into software and become data in the IoT cloud or processes acted on at the edge.”
Credits:
MichaelGaidapixelcreatures
Skitterphoto
Nappiness
