Every day facilities management teams produce thousands of data points. If captured and used correctly, this data can be turned into actionable insights, creating a more safe, efficient and productive operation; all while improving the welfare of a company’s employees.
One key hurdle, which must be overcome, is the time-intensive task of manually documenting said data. Recent advancements in the Internet of Things (IoT) sector, coupled with the rollout of 5G, has automated this process, unlocking troves of data to be integrated into your operations.
There are continuous pain points seen in the areas of time, cost, productivity and safety. IoT can help organisations address all of these issues. Many companies struggle to gain insights into their team’s efficiencies, and it has become imperative to leverage technology for real-time visibility.
Establishing a Baseline
The first thing a company must do is establish a baseline for where its performance is currently at. A company might have an idea of this based on monthly reports, or intuitive knowledge gained over years of experience. With IoT devices, managers and planners can gain true, detailed information on a much deeper level. They are better equipped to analyse and compare data across a wide range of potential variables, such as team, location, time, etc.
Through the use of our IoT-enabled platform, one can aggregate all available data into one place, giving a real-time overview of operations and resources. This gives greater insight into which teams might need additional training, which buildings make the most frequent requests, or the locations that require the most of your technicians’ time.
Disjointed Work Sites
Over the years, organisations have increasingly outsourced non-core business functions, including facilities management. While this has created an abundance of opportunity for FM companies, it also means they are routinely asked to service dozens, if not hundreds, of entities around a city.
As a result, technicians spend a lot of time on the road. More time spent on the road means less time for repairs or maintenance work. Some companies were shocked to find their teams are spending more than 50% of their time on the roads! However, with more time to plan, armed with more data from the platform, supervisors are better able to plan the day and make sure people are where they need to be, as quickly as possible.
Timekeeping
Prior to adopting the use of IoT, one of our clients had multiple team members spending more than an hour of their time documenting daily location and attendance; with an additional two to three days for data entry at the end of each month. This was a huge loss of valuable time. Further, supervisors were only able to record total shift hours, without further detail or analysis, due to the large amount of manual calculations this process required.
After adopting the use of our IoT platform, this daily task that once took an hour, or more, was reduced to five minutes. The time saved allowed supervisors to focus on more impactful activities, resulting in more productive planning and execution.
Costs
Typically, when a facilities management company estimates the cost of a contract, that number is a function of: the number of buildings, units and time required. However, that number does not accurately reflect the true cost of servicing a building.
It doesn’t take into account the travel time, frequency of visits, or the true service time required. By adopting the use of IoT, FM companies can accurately estimate the true cost of maintenance for a building and expect to see savings of at least 15-20%.
Agile Operations
When a technician starts his shift, or when a supervisor comes in to plan the day, they might already feel behind. Perhaps there are service order requests that have come in prior to the shift starting, or a backlog of requests that need to be completed. Whatever the issue faced, When a large percentage of your work comes from ad hoc requests, it’s hard to feel proactive when you’re constantly reacting. With technology, that doesn’t have to be the case.
Data allows you to have greater insight into where requests are coming from, the frequency of requests, and how long it takes to fulfil such a request. Combining IoT and empirical data with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and predictive modelling, companies can be ahead of the game, ready for service orders when they come in.
Safety
One cannot forget the importance of safety, especially in uncertain times of Covid-19. Worker welfare is a huge component of safety and productivity. IoT devices can employ the usage of various sensors to enhance the safety environment. How there are devices that can measure whether or not an individual has fallen, and includes an SOS button.
Additionally, the devices can “speak” to each other, to ensure social distancing. Should any of the employees become sick, data from contact tracing can be accessed and analysed to prioritise those who should be tested, preventing the closure of job-sites.
In Conclusion
Like air, data is all around us. But it needs to be captured in order to show its utility. With increased advancements in IoT, and connectivity through the rollout of 5G, that data is more readily available for us to capture, critically analyse and inform better operational decisions, driving our companies forward.