A Blueprint for Facility Managers
The AI landscape is rapidly changing — in facility services, and everywhere. UG2 is operating at the leading edge of these innovations, investigating their benefits while exploring how to best integrate new technologies with proven practices.
As Samar Kawar, Chief Information Officer at UG2, recently wrote in Facility Executive: “Most FM organizations are eager to take advantage of AI’s promised improvements in efficiency, monetary savings, decision-making, and services. But because AI is moving so fast and its implications are so significant, they’re unsure of how and when to pull the trigger.”
For those trying to strike the right balance, Samar’s article goes on to lay out the essentials of an AI-ready tech stack. These insights serve as a key complement to a framework outlined by UG2’s Matt Deehan on positioning your team for AI success.
Following are the six technology building blocks Samar identifies for maximizing business value:
1. Define what AI needs, platform by platform.
Samar addresses the complexities introduced by the wide range of systems at play, from Building Automation (BAS) and Computerized Maintenance Management (CMMS) to Integrated Workplace Management (IWMS) and Internet of Things (IoT).
As each platform creates a different type of context, she says, it is important to determine which systems hold the information needed for a particular task.
2. Map data flows to the use case.
Once required inputs are identified, Samar advises, you must determine how information must move to support selected use cases.
Predictive maintenance might require BAS runtimes and IoT sensor readings, for example, while capital planning decisions might draw on CMMS repair frequency and IoT condition data.
3. Decide where AI should live.
It is essential that you determine whether the required AI functionality is already available through existing BAS, CMMS, energy, or workplace technology vendors—or whether a use case requires a new centralized analytics platform.
Samar notes that adding a new vendor can expand capabilities, but it can also introduce another interface, integration, and data repository to manage. She suggests you aim to strike a balance between accessing necessary intelligence and adding avoidable complexity.
4. Prioritize integrations before adding AI.
Fragmented systems result in siloed information and inaccurate decision-making. But that doesn’t mean FM teams have to integrate their entire portfolio before piloting AI. Instead, Samar prescribes a focus on connections that are required for selected use cases. And start with integrations that eliminate manual work, improve data quality, and accelerate response.
It’s also critical to make sure underlying processes work before automating them. For instance, if a BAS produces thousands of nuisance alarms, converting all of them into work orders will overwhelm technicians. Review thresholds, remove duplicates, and decide which conditions require action first.
5. Develop a phased roadmap.
Intentionality is essential, and AI readiness should progress in manageable, logical phases, such as inventorying systems and gaps, connecting and standardizing, establishing governance, and preparing the workflow.
6. Pilot, measure, and scale.
Samar suggests you begin with a focused use case tied to a visible operational problem. A hospital could test predictive maintenance on critical air handlers. A university might use occupancy data to adjust classroom HVAC schedules. Quantifiable measures could include categories like fewer emergency repairs, lower energy consumption, faster diagnoses, fewer repeat work orders, reduced overtime, better occupant comfort, and longer asset life
Samar advises decisionmakers to remember that the best AI for FM isn’t necessarily the most advanced. What’s important is that the AI solutions we choose are helping us reduce problems, respond faster, save money, and do our jobs better.
For more advice on building an AI-ready tech stack, read the full article in Facility Executive. And get in touch with UG2 if you’d like to discuss how best to adapt these building blocks to your specific needs.