FOCUS TECHNOLOGY
TECHTRENDS
FM is undergoing a cultural shift in creating new strategies that balance
technology and trade skills, according to new research carried out by Service
Works Global, FMJ (UK) and FM magazine (Australia). Gary Watkins, CEO at
Service Works Global, presents a preview of the UK results
The survey asked FM professionals
across all industries and levels how
they are using technology in their roles,
the direction of their company’s work
and if they feel tech is supporting them
as much as expected – or if it’s more hype
than helpful. The survey results paint a
picture of a profession that is comfortable
but cautious with expenditure on new
so ware. Almost a third (30 per cent) had
received an increased budget in the last
12 months to facilitate expanded service
delivery, to meeting growing client
expectations, and to enable investment
in technology. With just three per cent of
UK businesses relying on a paper-based
system for managing their facilities, CAFM
so ware is trusted to help schedule jobs,
manage resources and produce reports.
The results showed respondents
32 MAY 2020
continued to use their CAFM systems for FM
fundamentals such as planned maintenance
(84 per cent), reactive maintenance (84
per cent) and asset management (76 per
cent), but also expressed a desire for more
so ware functionality to support them
further. Nearly half (43 per cent) only rated
their so ware as ‘satisfactory’ and a quarter
of decision makers stated they were looking
to change their system because it lacked
the required functionality (48 per cent) or
was out-dated (39 per cent). A third said that
they wanted their solution to integrate with
other systems but were unable.
THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB
With many looking for new so ware, and
some looking to make a first-time purchase,
there was a clear theme in respondents’
comments. “Technology is the future of FM”,
one respondent wrote, “but CAFM products
need to be planned and researched
properly rather than thinking it will be
the saviour of contract services.” With so
many products on the market, it’s essential
to devote the time to understanding what
problems an organisation is having and
what functionality di erent so ware
applications have that can solve these.
There’s no ‘one size fits all’ product as each
company faces a unique set of challenges.
The survey highlights that it’s key to check
that a vendor is continuously developing
and evolving their so ware to prevent it
from becoming outdated. A cultural shi
may be required of any new so ware
implementation, whether its CAFM, sensors
or BIM. This change will be required in
terms of implementation, training and use
of the new systems, and also with regard
to understanding the data generated and
knowing how to manage it. “The focus
needs to be not only on the technology,
but on the analysis of the data, and how to
turn that into useful information to drive
behaviours and operational e iciencies,”
commented another respondent.
REDUCING HUMAN ERROR
With pressure on FM teams to work faster,
work more accurately and save money,
the importance of data has never been
greater. In order to improve data accuracy
and scope, 78 per cent of respondents have
integrated their CAFM with at least one other
system such as finance, BMS or health and
safety so ware. Integration allows systems
to securely communicate and share data,
promoting accuracy as information is only
added once, so the chance of human error,
and the time spent administrating the
systems, is vastly reduced. In fact, of those
who reported that their CAFM had allowed
their company to save money, 83 per cent
were using an integrated system.
Integrating with a BMS, for example,
allows significant time savings for the help
desk, as well as faster response times for
operatives. If the BMS identifies a fault,
it is reported directly to the FM so ware
and raised as a job automatically. It is then
allocated a priority and dispatched to an
operative who has the required skills, works
in the vicinity and has availability in their
schedule. This degree of autonomy in the
system significantly reduces time spent
doing admin, and instead, allows focus on
improving service provision.
Despite the concerns around automation
replacing workers, only four per cent felt
it would have a negative impact on their
role, but none of these respondents were
automating any processes. Those who were,