Kickstart your campus’s own AI efforts with these examples.
Increasing cost pressures. Increased competition for students. Higher demand for donors. Elevated expectations for the campus experience.
Higher education is under a lot of pressure. And conversations around artificial intelligence are adding to that pressure.
As Jim Larkin, UG2’s Associate Vice President of Operations for the Tri-State region, explains in a Facilities Manager Magazine article, “Facility managers bring a wealth of experience, institutional knowledge, and interpersonal skills that cannot simply be replicated by algorithms.”
What AI can do, Jim stresses, is multiply the impact of your facility management team. From automating routine work, to pulling insights from complex data, to providing predictive capabilities, AI can help facilities managers realize operational efficiencies, cost savings, and campus enhancements.
Here are a few ways Jim sees this happening on campuses across the country.
Actionable Data
Your campus already generates unbelievable amounts of data. AI enables you to extract meaningful insights from it.
What this looks like on campus:
- AI reveals that one dormitory consumes more energy than other comparable buildings, leading you to investigate insulation, HVAC performance, and occupancy behaviors.
- Foot traffic analysis identifies underused spaces, helping inform renovation and resource prioritization.
Proactive Campus Operations
As AI is integrated into facilities management equipment, the data it produces not only provides actionable insights but also the ability to better predict failures before they occur, reducing downtime and costs associated with emergencies. Predictive capabilities can also help with staff scheduling and resource allocation.
What this looks like on campus:
- An HVAC system approaching operational thresholds triggers an alert, allowing you to proactively repair it.
- AI analysis of building occupancy, foot traffic, product usage, and event schedules helps you recommend or even automate staffing adjustments for cleaning crews, security personnel, and maintenance teams.
Smarter Budgeting
As maintenance and energy costs become more predictable, facilities managers can make a financial-backed case for sustainability and modernization projects.
What this looks like on campus:
- Incorporating weather forecasts and building traffic patterns into HVAC analysis allows your systems to adjust HVAC settings, lowering your utility bills.
Better Resource Management
Using AI to track purchasing patterns, identify cost-effective suppliers, and predict shortages or future price fluctuations allows you to negotiate better contracts, reduce waste, and optimize spending.
What this looks like on campus:
- AI recommends sourcing cleaning supplies from your vendor that consistently delivers products faster and at a lower cost than others.
- AI analyzes subcontractor response times, callbacks, and overtime charges so you can negotiate contracts and choose the contractors that serve your campus best.
Improved Campus Security
With the ability to categorize and prioritize work orders, AI can help facility managers keep your campus clean, functional, and safe.
What this looks like on campus:
- AI routes a dorm kitchen appliance repair to the maintenance team specializing in appliances.
- Monitoring air quality, climate, and lighting, AI can make automatic adjustments for comfort, energy efficiency, and peak occupancy.
- Safety monitoring tools alert you to wet floors and malfunctioning equipment so you can intervene before accidents occur.
While Jim predicts that the next 20 years will see facilities professionals evolve from “caretakers of the built environment to orchestrators of intelligent ecosystems,” the change is already underway.
“Those who begin to embrace this amplifier now—by investing in data, training, and innovation partnerships—will define the future of campus operations,” he says.
You can read more of Jim’s insights in APPA’s Facilities Manager Magazine.