Thoughts on the evolving role of technology and innovation in the real world of FM. An opinion blog from Mark Hazelwood, Managing Director, IFM, Q3 Services

Ball-gazing

There’s been a trend for some time for the Facilities Management industry to gaze into the crystal ball future of FM, and chatter on about how technology will deliver some magical Nirvana.

Listening to the soothsayers, this change is long overdue, and our industry is ripe for technological disruption. For years now, we have been sold the dream of intelligent workplaces utilising sensors, beacons and swelling data lakes from which AI will create a virtually self-reporting self-managing, self-maintaining facility.

Really? How many examples of this grand utopia do you know of? Let’s be honest, this industry’s history of deploying innovation is often not that great, and more about “talk” than “do”. In fact, there is quite a long history of the latest tech NOT delivering, and unsurprisingly, people have become cynical.

Some years ago, I recall industry articles about the Uber-isation of FM, where a client could employ cleaners, HVAC engineers, or security guards, through an app/algorithm that sourced a quote from the cheapest, local FM supplier on the open market, and billed the service transaction (plus commission), all in one single-swipe. Wow! But is anybody using it? Similarly, we braced ourselves as the flexible, co-working revolution was set to transform the entire workplace model… before Covid initiated its rather sad and premature decline.

Sadly, despite all our best efforts, FM in its current form, is still not seen as either business critical or “sexy,” particularly at board level. And this irks many in FM. So, in a vain attempt to elevate its profile, the industry has focused instead on the future promise which technology and innovation offer in such great abundance. To me, this seems like a strategy doomed to failure from the outset. An automated FM panacea requires a huge leap of faith, but this is at a time when we struggle to see very few fully deployed and utilised CAFM systems, working properly in the UK.

Resistance is futile

Let’s look for a moment at this vision of techno FM, as it is unfolding in the real world, in the space which most of us poor souls currently occupy.

We see semi-comedic LinkedIn videos of robotics deployed in public spaces, gliding endlessly around a very small area, often on an already spotless floor, not really cleaning anything. (Although, I concede they are acting as a great, moving, promotional billboard for the FM company.)

Granted, robots in the right environment can be productive and cost-efficient, but these are few and far between compared to the situations where they can’t work – emptying bins, cleaning desks, changing light bulbs, servicing washrooms and toilets, and so on. Unlike the Daleks, who eventually worked out the art of levitation, robots are still limited to cleaning flat floor surfaces without too many obstacles. So now, we revert to cobotics, where robots and people cooperate on FM tasks to much greater effect.

Then, there’s the familiar automated reception, with a tablet sitting conveniently in front of a receptionist who watches and does nothing, while you struggle to navigate the awful user interface. Why not move the receptionist in front of the desk and proactively greet and assist visitors with the human touch?

And think for a moment about the practical obstacles we have to navigate to achieve the brave new techno world. The assumption is that clients have modern facilities with BMS integration we can plug into, but that is simply not the reality for the vast majority of clients. Or, the challenge of upskilling a basic operative, with language barriers, on a living wage, to become a semi-skilled specialist with a reasonable intellectual understanding of tech for which they are now responsible – it’s not easy.

Even in those modern facilities where we are managing to create data-driven insight it’s only being used to affect the conventional human-based service delivery on the ground.

Achieving a step-change

If we are we are going to be credible as an industry, then we need to use innovation and technology in a way that truly moves FM service models forward, not make workplace experience worse, or introduce solutions that are less efficient and more expensive.

We have visions of technology being a strategic FM game-changer, whereas the reality is that it works best through local, tactical deployment, integrated into the overall workplace strategy for an organisation. Innovation is not a paradigm shift or a cultural change in FM, it’s simply a cherry on the top!

My view is that we should start with a clear view of what an organisation is trying to achieve, in the context of where they are trying to achieve it, and then deploy the appropriate technology. Too often, we start from the wrong end…with a great bit of sexy kit or shiny bit of software, trying to marry a solution to a problem. Instead, we should be clear on the objectives we are trying to achieve and the desired outcomes and create a plan to deliver that. If tech is part of realising that plan, then fine!

Where’s the beef?

Many clients have incredibly diverse property portfolios, so you need to be sure you can measure success from short to long term and have a clear understanding of return on investment (ROI). In the real FM world, ROI inevitably must be short because of the business model we operate in the UK. Tenders are based around the three-year contract, (plus two, if you’re lucky) so it’s difficult to be strategic, and almost impossible to justify investment in tech solutions, that can’t satisfy that timeframe. Is an FD in a client organisation going to fight for extra investment in an unproven FM tech-based solution, or in a project that will improve the value-add of his own organisation’s core activity?

And when we focus on success, we shouldn’t just be thinking purely in terms of ROI monetary return. What about workplace satisfaction, productivity and wellbeing? Assuming we can measure these effectively, are we really achieving them, and what is the impact? Also, there are so many simple things we can do that may be neither innovative nor tech-based but show real return. Such as, aligning the processes of the service provider with that of the client, to prevent duplication!

I can’t believe that the FM industry is so loathed to talk about what it actually does and the real value it creates. Is it too complicated, or are we ashamed? Innovation and technology have slid in like some modern-day Trojan horse, designed to elevate and create false kudos, rather than deliver the concerted step change in FM which clients and outsourced providers crave. I remember presenting to an industry awards panel about how we were delivering FM services brilliantly, but the constant line of questioning was around innovation and technology with a complete disregard for the exceptional achievements on that particular contract.

Perhaps it’s a cultural thing that drives FMs to talk about anything except the very things we do well and are extremely good at. I would love to see a step-change in the industry where we have that confidence and are proud of our profession, rather than trying to create pseudo-science or deploying technology in a cynical tick-box way that adds no real value.

So, instead of a fascination with these shiny things, let’s all puff out our chests and start promoting, highlighting and showcasing the best-in-class services, that can be practically and successfully deployed today.