In facility management, digital change is not a luxury, but a must and the global facility ecology must be prepared to respond to shifting dynamics while maintaining efficiency and agility
The evolution of technology extends beyond the new gadgets. It is heavily incorporated into industries such as facility management (FM). As we traverse this digital era, facilities worldwide are becoming hubs of technological innovation. Understanding the complexities of these changes and relying on internationally recognised best practices can help in the proper solutions and techniques.
To remain competitive in any industry, adaptation and foresight is required. In facility management, digital change is not a luxury, but a must. The global facility ecology must be prepared to respond to shifting dynamics while maintaining efficiency and agility.
Technology also helps in maintaining or streamlining operations with and smaller workforce. Vice President – Housekeeping of PVR INOX Cinemas, Asha Pathania said that we were compelled to think about digitisation during Covid-19.
“During the pandemic, we were short of skilled and semi-skilled workers because they went home at that time but we used the technology to clean the cinema halls in shortage of manpower,” Pathania added.
Head of Administration and Procurement, Khaitan, Tarun Kapoor also believes that digital transformation is necessary which includes automation, artificial intelligence, communication and most importantly data. You can’t deliver the end product without proper data in place, Kapoor said.
Prabhat Sharma, Administration and Facilities Head of Statkraft India, said that there are hundreds of ways in which, digital transformation including AI and machine learning can help us in facility management by reducing redundancy.
Sharma also said that we should also integrate these things with the IT sector. For both IT and facility management sectors, employees are real customers.
Vice President and Head of Corporate Travel, Aviation and Facility Management, Larsen and Toubro, Dr Sanjay Pai gives an example of his company and said that in my current organisation, we have a homegrown system called Pragyan which takes care of air quality, cafeteria and also management of waste and do whatever organisation policy is.
Recently, we have converted the energy output which was going out 79 per cent is coming in from green or brown energy so substantial saving plus taking green certificate is also which is adding to the parent companies carbon credit at the organisational level, Pai added.
Within the FM sector, digital transformation extends beyond basic digitalisation, ushering in a wave of tools and systems meant to improve operational efficiency and sustainability.
A 2020 Gartner analysis highlights the magnitude of the shift: 70 per cent of facility managers worldwide have elevated digital transformation to a critical strategic position which emphasises the sector’s urgent need to improve and develop.
