Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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Technology will become biggest challenge for facilities managers
A recent webinar, jointly hosted by FM software provider Service Works Group and the Facilities Show and featuring a panel of leading lights from the facilities management profession, opened with the results of an online registration poll which revealed that technology will be the biggest challenge faced by those in the profession in the future.
Of the 500 respondents to the question 'what do you believe will be the most important challenge facing facilities management professionals in 2016?' the majority (27%) considered this to be the use of technology.
The next most pressing issue was meeting new legislation and compliance (at 21%); followed by energy management (16%); professionalisation - standards and qualifications (15%); and building client/provider relationships (15%). How to effectively use data and manage remote working were also mentioned as key issues for the future of FM.
The webinar poll revealed that FMs are continuing to use FM technology for the more standard function of measuring and reporting (nearly 43%), while a substantial number are now using this in a more customer-centric way to measure service delivery (over 31%) and just over 23% are using FM software for customer relationship management and communication.
The experts believed that technology will become increasingly important for lifecycle asset management, driving resources more effectively and for investment decisions; that digital connectivity will deliver improved customer service; and that more technology and analytics experts would be needed in FM to embrace developing technology and to make the industry smarter and more productive.
Johnny Dunford, senior director and head of occupier management at BNP Paribas, Mark Kirkham, director Service Works Group, Deborah Rowland, head of property asset management for the Ministry of Justice and Andrew Wilkinson, Sodexo's strategy and marketing director were joined by an audience of around 250 facilities managers. The FM experts discussed wide-ranging issues, which they believe will have the greatest impact on the future of FM, from the Living Wage to the use of 3D BIM and machine to machine (M2M) technology, agile working, and the potential for growth of global contracts.
The current FM focus on staff productivity and well-being was believed to be high on the agenda by nearly 48% of the participants. And, when asked about the industry push towards formal training, nearly 55% of delegates said that they had no formal FM qualifications. The experts believed that good FM was not purely about training but should be a balance of experience, qualifications and behaviours.
A recording of the webinar is available from:
T: +44 (0)208 877 4080
E: [email protected]
T: +44 (0)20 79218458
E: [email protected]
3rd December 2015