FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
THE FM CONSULTANT’S VIEW
BERNARD CROUCH,
ACUMEN FM
‘We are spending too much’ is a common refrain from facilities managers. But reductions are likely to have knock on effects, a less secure building when 24/7 manned guarding is reduced to a working hours presence. Cleaning standards in decline when daytime cleaning is removed, and we know what happens when planned maintenance is replaced by reactive maintenance.
Staffing is a huge concern for the sector. The UK has increasing staffing costs including National Insurance, the National Minimum and National Living Wages. Clients are not always willing to pay more for these increased costs and may expect the service provider to cover these increases.
A possible solution is the introduction of robotics and AI. A robot cleaner cleans the floor while a cleaner carries out other tasks nearby, AI can be used to analyse data from IOT devices located on assets to reduce the cost of maintenance with faults detected and fixed before they become expensive breakdowns.
There is a growing trend to streamline processes in FM reducing the amount of time spent on admin and speeding up helpdesk response times with data available in real time leading to improved service delivery and less staff admin time being spent. Although there is an initial outlay, this is a way to reduce the cost of services.
Our FM workforce is largely aged 50+ the FM sector still doesn’t manage to reach and attract enough young people. One area where we are making headway is with ex-service personnel, over 14,000 ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen become available each year typically with excellent skills. FM companies looking to recruit should consider ex-military personnel as a viable option in various roles.
We can improve staff retention by ensuring that there is clear pay progression, realistic workloads and clear promotion pathways.
Technology is another growing area for FM to navigate. A tender document hits my desk. Something feels ‘off’. What I am reading has clearly been created by some form of AI. Using AI or Chat GPT, saves time, but it needs very precise instructions, then a read through to humanise it and personalise it, you will have saved time whilst also producing something the recipient will want to read! So, use this tech judiciously!
However, a major benefit of using AI in FM is to reduce the amount of ‘firefighting’ that we do and to become much more proactive instead.
Sustainability remains key with increasing pressure to reduce the environmental impact of our buildings. Large organisations with ambitious carbon reduction targets are keen to not only to meet these targets but also to report regular progress in the right direction in their annual reviews.
Using technology is an obvious way that we can reduce the carbon footprint of a building, sensors gather data that is used to optimise the heating cooling and lighting in the building with resultant energy savings.
FM needs to fully align with ESG commitments, we should ensure that we have engaged with all the various stakeholders and especially focus on improving energy efficiency, where we can make significant wins.
