Jeff Peterson, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation, offered a glimpse at the near-future of tech in facility services in his FMJ article, Human Comfort and Compliance: The Next Shift in FM Technology.
Jeff discussed the need to regain occupant’s and guests’ trust and confidence in the safety of facilities and examined the ways technologies can help accomplish this goal.
Making Risk Mitigation Visible
People remain on edge even as they feel hopeful and excited about the return to in-person school and work. Scrutiny of facilities’ cleanliness and sanitization practices will be greater than ever. Facility managers must not only ensure the facility is safe but also convey the risk mitigation measures that are in place.
Demonstrating Compliance is Critical
Standards and mandates around disinfection practices are more rigorous than ever. Some industries have developed their own guidelines, and facility managers adopted their own new criteria, from team wellness checks to air quality controls and disinfection reporting. Building visitors, employees and tenants will expect evidence that facilities are complying.
Utilizing Technologies and Best Practices
Facility managers are looking to a range of tech innovations and applying existing technologies in new ways:
- Wellness checks are essential but can be cumbersome and time-consuming. Site managers are getting help with apps, near field communication chips embedded in badges, and self-checks on facial recognition clocks.
- Disinfection tracking is made easier when cleaners can use a smartphone to scan a QR code or tap an NFC chip embedded in their ID badge to verify disinfected areas, and answer required questions in a dropdown menu, to confirm where and when work was performed.
- Sensors attached to walls can help monitor and control indoor air quality. The sensor signals to the building automation system to open dampers and increase fresh air intake when necessary.
- Data collected by sensors can quantify foot traffic and real-time building occupancy. This helps ensure compliance with occupancy level mandates and informs where, when and how often to clean and disinfect surfaces, refill hand sanitizers and remove trash.
The role of technology in this new world of visible compliance extends in every direction. QR code-based applications let tenants initiate work order requests. Robotic vacuums, scrubbers and sweepers are enabling touchless cleaning. Cleaning staff use apps to scan and time stamp locations.
How these technologies are applied will vary. The most important consideration is customer need, which requires a thorough understanding of industry specifics and clear communication between the customer and service provider.