Technology’s role in the flight to facilities quality

by Martin Read

communicating the culture of their workplace through their brand – something once the exclusive purview of marketing, but which the FM sector is now ideally placed to lead on.

Founder and CEO of Leesman, Tim Oldman, spoke of the FM sector digging its own grave should it fail to react to what his organisation’s data is saying about office occupancy in the years ahead - that, bluntly, 40% of office space will no longer be needed. And what remains of this space will need to be of the highest quality. Unfortunately, said Oldman, “the product you are delivering is not fit for purpose. It’s time to face up to the challenges ahead.”

Oldman’s frustration was palpable as he showed workplace user statistics from 10 years ago detailing how noise in the office was even then seen as detrimental to performance, something routinely mentioned today in discussions about postpandemic offices.

“I told you that in 2013, and you didn’t change anything! I’m surprised that no one here today has faced up to how different tomorrow will be.”

Future office space will need to be of extraordinary quality, and smart buildings can underpin a developer, investor or client’s offering of a ‘premium brand’ office, Davenport had said earlier, referencing how student accommodation has managed to become such a brand in recent times.

Retrofit futures

Of the RIBA Plan of Work and FM’s theoretically crucial involvement at the operation stage, Warrick said it will increase in importance as refurb and retrofit projects – in pursuit of net zero objectives – become more commonplace.

Integral’s Shane Betts, Alan Epps and David Bownass discussed the ‘data-driven’ retrofitting of buildings, confirming the emerging theme of a ‘flight for quality’ and its effect on retrofit projects. A net zero building standard, due this year, will help boost the amount of environmental retrofit work that is, they argued, in need of a boost. “We’re already behind the curve with millions of buildings requiring attention.”

BMS begone?

IoT infrastructure will, suggested Davenport, lead to the death of the traditional building management system (BMS), as Internet of Things (IoT) architecture allows more flexible connections between devices. Epps agreed: no longer do organisations need to rely on a BMS to get the necessary data outputs; sensors, and how they report, give FMs a much wider information canvas

40%

95.5%

Percentage of all data captured about building performance that currently goes unused employee. “We need to adapt to a mobile-first mindset. Every one of us. Every relevant data for employees needs to be available via mobile.”

Ankerstjerne saw a big shift being the ubiquitous smartphone acting as the primary interface between the organisation and its audience members, Leesman’s Tim Oldman, and WSP Group’s Claire Callan alongside Flowscape founder Peter Reigo

Marcus Sontheimer, chief information and digital officer with ISS, spoke about his firm’s growing a range of distinct apps, each for specific requirements. What’s key is how ISS, alongside other FM providers, is now able to communicate through apps directly to frontline personnel, something also being done by SBFM. The firm’s CEO Matt Chapman and product manager Charlotte Coles-Morris spoke about apps making users feel part of their employer’s community, whatever the interface and whatever the user’s role. What’s important is how ‘meaningful insights’ are distributed and acted upon by management and frontline personnel alike.

On the face of it there is much to recommend replacing vans – petrol or electric –with electric cargo bikes to service certain kinds of client sites. Most obvious is a potential reduction of on-site emissions, allowing facilities teams to take a relatively low-cost step. or pedal, towards net zero targets. Then there are more flexible ways in which facilities service functions can be conducted, for example through an increased frequency of service interactions conducted alongside whatever core bike delivery operation is taking place (keeping food deliveries warmer; clearing waste bins faster).

There is also the impact on those who ride the bikes themselves, each of whom will benefit from a slew of wellbeing impacts, both physical and mental. (Most cargo bikes have an electric motor, negating the need for riders to need an especially high fitness level – but the increase in rider exercise is nevertheless significant.)

On the face of it, then, there are many potentially significant sustainability ticks. And there is a compelling Scope 3 emissions argument, too, with FM service provision tending to have its highest emissions through transport. But there is a way to go, and some cultural challenges to overcome, if we’re to see a true revolution in cargo bike use.

Chain reaction

Early 2023 has seen a spate of activities associated with promoting the cargo bike cause, including a day-long conference and exhibition (scheduled for the end of March as we went to press). The cargo bike opportunity for FM is one that first came to wider sectoral awareness during the height of the pandemic in summer 2020, when Facilitate reported on their growing use for couriering activities in city centres. At that time, supermarket chains were also trialling bikes for their ‘last mile’ deliveries. But post-pandemic, it’s fair to say that the delivery landscape is more one of mopeds and electric vans, at least for now. And short-term