Some alarming contradictions to the FM industry’s approach to technology have been revealed in a survey carried out by property services specialist, DMA Group.
Whilst the findings show more than two-thirds (68%) of facilities management professionals said they felt confident knowing where smart tech could save money, time, and improve service delivery quality, only over a quarter (27%) reported that their organisation’s FM/property teams are unlocking the full advantages of smart technology in business process automation.
Additionally, over three quarters (77%) agreed that the FM industry is ‘behind the curve’ when it comes to adopting ‘smart’ technology.
The survey asked both in-house and outsourced FMs about their knowledge of and experience with ‘smart building’ systems. Respondents were also asked about the extent to which such systems are understood and in use within their organisations.
These findings suggest that whilst the majority of facilities managers may understand its benefits, many of their companies are not yet taking advantage of the opportunities that smart technology can offer.
Steve McGregor, Group MD of the DMA Group, commented: “FM suppliers have a real opportunity to seize technology to drive transformational efficiency gains whilst also delivering great customer service. This is achieved through ‘digitalisation’ and leveraging digital information to re-engineer and automate their business processes.
“The challenges in the industry are as complex as they have ever been, and digital transformation can connect the dots between the vast quantities of data across the built environment. Leveraging the full value of that knowledge, digitalisation will provide customers with real-time performance management, from simple dashboards and key performance indicator reporting, to the potentially more complex initiation of automated remedial responses.
“Post-COVID, it is the agile well-run suppliers with a strong technology strategy and an unrelenting focus upon technology-enabled change for the benefit of their customers that will prosper. However, an organisation must decide on the scope of its own digital transformation.”
