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  • What’s Missing From the Technology Stack of ESCOs and RESCOs?

    What’s Missing From the Technology Stack of ESCOs and RESCOs?

    In an effort to start sustainable growth and implement strategies to achieve net-zero emissions, many countries around the world have recognized energy efficiency as a key component of the plan. By implementing a plan around netzero for enterprise asset management, organizations can achieve their Net Zero targets while also reducing energy costs and improving the efficiency and sustainability of their facilities. For businesses prepared to take on EE initiatives, Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) and Renewable Energy Service Companies (RESCOs) provide appealing possibilities. 

    Without having to oversee how objectives are accomplished, facility management companies can concentrate on the desired results. ESCO adds experience to a project as energy efficiency is its primary focus. However, in some countries, ESCOs are still unable to tap into the possibility and provide energy savings to businesses. It is expected to grow and become more significant, which will need ESCOs and RESCOs to eventually take bolder steps and work on projects other than the usual ones involving energy efficiency.

    Our Founder & CEO, Umesh Bhutoria shares his observations, stating that the Middle East is a prime example of a region where a top-tier FM company acquired the majority stake of a fully-fledged ESCO service provider. Similar instances have occurred in other regions, and a similar situation is taking place in the energy, retail, or utility industries.

    ESCOs and RESCOs Primarily Focus on Two Areas

    A deeper understanding of the role that technology would play throughout the life cycle of the projects that ESCOs and RESCOs ultimately undertake, as well as a better understanding of how your companies’ technology stacks actually look, are necessary to complement the aspirations and growth prospects currently existing in the industry. Now we get to the two areas that ESCOs and RESCOs have conventionally focused on.

    Customer Acquisition

    Over the past few years, ESCOs have been active in their customer acquisition efforts, using appropriate strategies. Better performance and the quest for cost-effective solutions have emerged as key components of an ESCOs and RESCOs business model as competition for both existing and new customers intensifies. And thus, they are clearly focused on measurement and verification once the customer has been acquired and the project is near completion.

    Measurement & Verification (M&V)

    In the context of ‘Measurement and Verification’, risk refers to the apprehension that anticipated savings won’t be achieved. Both ESCOs and customers are usually hesitant to take accountability for variables over which they have no control, and having some criteria defined in the M&V plan can help meet those contractual obligations.

    When the projects become slightly more complex and involve integrating with the operations of several types of facilities, such as manufacturing plants, data centres, or IT parks. It gets impossible to ignore the interconnection between energy, operations, and maintenance.

    Assume for a moment that you are an energy retailer who provides services on a yearly contract basis for a set price. You propose installing and maintaining a solar rooftop panel.

    In this situation, the company would require workforce for solar rooftop operations and maintenance as well as installation. Therefore, they bear the performance risk.

    On the other hand, you are an energy service company (ESCO) suggesting upgrades and improvements in AHU that will result in guaranteed savings. 

    In this situation, ESCO is considering energy-saving investments in AHU and other components.

    As a result, both have a substantial risk of guaranteed performance. And at this point, your technology stack needs to be quite similar to that of a facilities management or an asset management company.

    Need to be Added to the Technology Stack of ESCOs and RESCOs

    In ESCO’s tech stack, there is currently no such process in place that addresses full risk. Your main concern should be selecting solutions that will improve asset performance — while empowering your teams to deliver energy cost savings and carry out measurement and verification tasks to determine the energy savings post the set-up of energy-efficiency projects. 

    1. Adding a data-driven customer success platform and leveraging data points to deliver customer success across the entire life cycle of a project.

    2. Implementing an important process (Operations and maintenance) throughout the life cycle in a standardised manner.

    • Internal teams bring in a suitable digital stack.
    • Vendors or Installers bring their own technology or a services app.

    In order to effectively manage risks, it is necessary to connect the dots from the point at which a customer is acquired to the point at which services are being provided. And you must consider taking a 360* view of an entire asset performance management stack rather than focusing only on measurement and verification.

    What does your Energy service company’s technology stack look like? What do you observe in your country, and are they willing to take on the challenge of upgrading their digital stack? Is there any other strategy to cover the risks? Send us an email at [email protected] with your thoughts.

  • How FM Teams Can Demonstrate the Impact of Every Proactive Measure

    How FM Teams Can Demonstrate the Impact of Every Proactive Measure

    Facility managers are responsible for a diverse range of tasks. They are expected to achieve more with less, meet customer expectations, as well as make a proactive impact.

    How do they demonstrate the impact of the measures they take?

    Through measurement and verification, which are absolutely an important component of energy efficiency.

    With a bit of commitment and an understanding of the small yet proactive measures they take to deliver exemplary asset performance, they’ll be proactive in no time.

    So now we’re asking every FM team to press the pause button and dedicate a certain amount of time to being proactive.

    Our Founder & CEO Umesh Bhutoria spoke about the “black box” technique, which he first presented in his early consultancy days, to show how facility managers can cut costs and drive savings while putting the idea more in the context of facility management.

    Here are six steps facility managers can follow to demonstrate the outcomes of the proactive measure they take at the asset level.

    #1 Keep it simple. Every saving matters!

    Often, facility managers encounter several challenges in order to efficiently maintain their facilities, equipment, and infrastructure. If you’re working on a project to add value, it can be a change in the maintenance schedule, putting in place proper operation standards, or performing any energy-efficiency assessment. Keep it simple, as every savings you make matters.

    #2 Define the localised boundary

    The second step, which is actually quite easy, impacts your overall planning. Hence, you must define the localised boundary of your project. Let’s suppose, you are working on Air Handling Unit (AHU) maintenance. At that time, selecting a Fan Coil Unit (FCU) or chiller for the facility should come first. You should not consider it as a component of a huge facility; instead, consider it at the localised level.

    This would be quite beneficial if you do not have downstream flow metering solutions at your availability. Although your chillers would have BTU metres, it’s unlikely that every AHU or FCU would. Therefore, the majority of the facilities we have seen—roughly 70%—fit this description.

    #3 Establish a baseline

    Depending on the type of data available, you could use one of the three methods listed below even in the absence of metered data.

    1. Tick off crucial numbers using operational data from the BMS.
    2. Utilise measured data obtained from clamp-on metres or power analyzers.
    3. If data cannot be measured, refer to manuals or standard operating procedures once more.

    While having metered data is considered to be the best approach, not every FM company has it. And you must consider the other available alternatives that could uphold the engineering principle.

    #4 Time to make a proactive impact

    How can you be certain that you are taking proactive measures? 

    Repeating the process you did in step three will give you the opportunity to make a proactive impact on the current project. By being proactive, you can minimise downtime and maintain the asset for a longer period of time. 

    #5 Evaluate the difference from all perspectives

    Without a doubt, you cannot be proactive if you cannot demonstrate the impact. Here comes our fifth step which is slightly linked to the third and fourth steps. 

    If you do not have metered data employ all three methods so that you have multiple references, not just one which is likely the ideal situation to be in. As a result, it will be easier for you to establish the difference from all perspectives.

    #6 Amplify the process for all proactive measures

    Amplifying is really important in the long run. You just need to access the data you require and accelerate the process across the site. At the end of the day, you will make a significant impact, which is visible to all. And, having a plan and process in place will undoubtedly help you with that.

    The idea is always to add the small numbers up because they will eventually pave the way to creating a huge impact. 

    Let’s do a quick recap of all the steps we discussed above. 

    Whether or not you currently have a set of methods and processes in place to demonstrate the impact of small proactive measures to customers or stakeholders, use this blog as a guide to assist you in taking each small step toward making a big difference.  

    Even if it takes time, the savings you have made will show up. And although proper downstream metering is essential, it shouldn’t be the last thing that prevents your team from making a proactive impact.

  • State of Asset Management in Australia

    State of Asset Management in Australia

    A lot of significant focus has been going around Asset Management. Similar to any other component, technology is playing a vital role in the transformation of asset management enterprises in Australia which are required to control portfolio risk, perform ESG practices, reduce operational costs, and meet net-zero targets on time.

    The widespread technology’s influence on the reduction of maintenance costs and added value for the customer is rapidly gaining traction. The Cost savings factor is a no-brainer – all organisations had to leverage technologies to decrease their operational cost with digital transformation, driving the customer experience.

    Setting up and maintaining short to medium-term goals may appear to be a daunting challenge for new businesses, but it is not entirely impossible. In this article, I’ve outlined the key trends and drivers around enterprise asset management and the built environment from the podcast episode with Umesh Bhutoria and Jeff Sharp.

    Emerging Trends In Asset Management Industry In Australia Compared To Those Worldwide.

    #1 Ageing Workforce 

    In the next seven to eight years, 60% of O&M workers will retire. Without a doubt, the ageing workforce is a major challenge, and there will be a need to replace them with the institutional knowledge.

    The realities of the future of the workforce cannot be avoided, but there are several ways to prepare, among which is through upskilling and leveraging data, and many asset management organisations in Australia have already begun to use more and more data to enable them to make better decisions.

    #2 Use of Technology

    If you’ve ever wondered, “How can you use asset data to make a difference in this industry?” or “Can asset management companies leverage this data to deliver better solutions?” Then, Keep on scrolling!

    During the Podcast session, Jeff Sharp of EY shared how he is working with his team in Australia and they’re integrating data to make real change. 

    Organisations now collect an incredible amount of data sets from multiple sources and have access to more data than ever before. In Australia, it is becoming more common to combine multiple data sources to create a single source of truth while layering one data source over another to generate better solutions.

    Key Drivers Influencing Change In The Enterprise Asset Management Markets In Australia

    #1 Cost Savings

    Asset management companies often underestimate the amount of cost reduction measures which are available. Identifying the highest expenditures related to operations & maintenance is the easiest way to uncover cost-saving options. Determining what and where are you spending the most on and considering these expenditures from both costs and a value perspective.

    The possibilities of reduction in operational costs, the introduction of newer technologies, and leveraging data into this industry have made room to extend asset life – span.

    #2 Sustainability

    When it comes to the environment, the decisions we take now have a long-term impact later. Sustainability and Net Zero is no longer a “trending topic,” but rather, there is an immediate need to reduce the pace of the changing climate. 

    Various sectors have started ESG practices and taking steps towards transitioning to a net-zero emissions future because of the impact it has on tenants and the entire contract. And in that sector, asset performance management has a significant role to play.

    Watch the video to discover more about how we assist O&M teams in being cost-effective and meeting customers’ ESG goals —>

    The Real Estate Or Built Environment’s Playbook To View Enterprise Asset Management In A New Light.

    There is a real divide between design and construction versus operations and maintenance which must be bridged. Organisations must have a pipeline in place so that data from the design and construction phase can move to the operational phase. 

    In order to maximise value and avoid losing information during the process, it is, therefore, necessary to utilise existing data from the development stage from which sensitive information, such as pictures, etc., can reach the operations & maintenance side.

    Despite the fact that some players are ahead in the market. Other organisations can take their time and focus on finding one solution at a time. Then can begin to work on data structures for the entire facility, allowing them to leverage existing data and do away with data silos. A data foundation should be built gradually, so try not to rush.

    Our blog provides succinct summaries of the key trends, and drivers influencing Asset Management Industry in Australia. To learn more, listen to our podcast episode!

    According to us, the sectors with the most potential for transformation are mining, utilities, and real estate. Which sectors, in your opinion, have begun their transformation journey? 

    To share your thoughts, Get in touch with Umesh Bhutoria or Jeff Sharp via LinkedIn. 

  • State of Facilities Management in the UK

    State of Facilities Management in the UK

    In today’s world of global competition, facilities management in the UK is under growing pressure from clients to maintain facility portfolios with uncompromising targets for value, energy savings and environmental impact.

    During cop26 last year, sustainability in Facilities Management as an approach gained a lot of attention, with very clear goals established for energy efficiency, resource usage, and carbon emissions. Since most of these objectives are within the traditional scope of FM services, shifting from a cost-centric to a people-centric approach is not as challenging, and the UK market is positive of transformation. 

    There is only one action left to take. Acting on these trends is something that FM leaders in the UK should focus on, particularly common trends and major sectors which would see massive movements.

    Umesh Bhutoria, the founder and CEO of Xempla, seized the chance to delve deep into the movements that will take place over the next 24 months. He walks you through the current situation of facilities management in the UK in a 10-minute podcast, starting with the context of digital transformation, data movements, and asset performance management. 

    For a more detailed explanation listen to the podcast at the end of this blog to keep up on all the action.

    Let’s get started!

    The facility management market in the United Kingdom is extremely diversified due to the existence of multiple competitors of all sizes in a fiercely competitive environment. In addition, this market in the UK has three major talking points in terms of what is going on in the FM space, digital transformation, and hard services.

    Common Trends in the UK
    1. Reliability 

    Predictive technology or analytics are not only the sole topics of conversation. FM companies are also considering reliability-centred maintenance as a highly focused end result. This distinguishes the end job that must be completed from the technology that the company wishes to invest in. 

    2. Energy

    Energy has been a subject of growing interest. Businesses in the UK experienced a cost increase of 54% since April, and they can anticipate seeing another one later in the year. Therefore, FM firms are putting a lot of emphasis on how their clients may cut costs, and there is a strong connection between operations, maintenance, and energy.

    3. Sustainability

    The majority of commercial real estate has made sustainability a top priority, but in industries like data centres and healthcare, sustainability and net zero was not the primary objective of using a lot of technology.

    Key Discussion Points

    Performance Based Contracts

    Contractually, FM agreements haven’t progressed to the point where they might consider performance-based contracts, but there’s a lot of discussion going on about being proactive versus reactive, which is mostly linked to risk or reputation management.

    It would be wise for FM companies to start preparing now so they can be ready for performance-based contracts over the following 12 to 24 months. This is a good time for businesses to start planning. Additionally, FM businesses are thinking about focusing on two aspects.

    1. Winning Rebids
    2. Avoid getting Market Tested
    Beyond Discovery, the UK

    There are very few FM companies still in the discovery stage in the UK market. Most of the FM companies in the UK have an approximate 40–50% understanding of what their end state will entail and have a long term-focus, which is a great spot to be in. One great difference between the UAE and UK is that UAE is still looking at the discovery phase.

    Build Vs Buy

    Most facility management companies, aside from the usual larger ones that operate on decentralised facilities like retail, are more inclined to build their own suite of application platforms, but those that manage huge facilities like hospitals, data centres, or airports clearly have a roadmap. They are focused on building the data lake and then selecting a suite of applications that are best in the market.

    They are therefore using a combination build plus buy, however the buy is really strategic as they are basically partnering rather than taking over a vendor-driven approach.

    Sectors that will experience massive movement

    Healthcare, data centres, and infrastructure facilities are the sectors that will experience massive movements. In these sectors, the shift from a reactive to a proactive approach is essential since maintenance aspects and cost factors are significantly more critical. The commercial real estate market will undoubtedly experience tremendous movements, but the above sectors will outgrow them.

    What is going to happen over the next 24 months?

    Everyone has likely heard the word ‘R’, Recession. Even if the world had to enter a recession, there would still be a huge opportunity since use of technology in the FM space would only experience a 10X boost in macroeconomic levels.

    FM companies in the UK will be prepared with a parallel business model far earlier than in some other regions. Therefore, there is a strong anticipation of a parallel business model versus a business usual scenario. 

    As far as asset performance management, operations, and maintenance are concerned, the UK will be more than prepared to transition into a data-first environment.

    Which sectors, in your opinion, would see significant changes? If you’ve been paying close attention to the markets and you have a slightly different perspective, do share it with us.

  • 5 Things to Remember Before Starting with Remote Asset Monitoring

    5 Things to Remember Before Starting with Remote Asset Monitoring

    This solo micro-podcast episode by Umesh Bhutoria, Founder & CEO, Xempla, lists 5 things you need to know before getting started with Remote Monitoring at your facilities. Even if you’ve already started, it would be a good checklist to go through to evaluate your current strategy. 

    We now live in a world where IoT-enabled remote monitoring is the “new normal,” and data technologies aid in better decision-making and asset optimization. Remote asset management has gained a lot of importance in the engineering and hard services space in facilities management, and its value in asset intensive industries is only growing. 

    Setting up a remote monitoring system is also one of the first steps to take if you’re looking at augmenting your current process of doing maintenance or running energy management services across the built environment. Remote asset monitoring brings in aspects like the Internet of Things (IoT), data collection devices (sensors) and enables gathering of real-time asset information from remote or off site locations. Thus, it has helped shoulder the rise of proactive facilities management methods like predictive maintenance of building assets. 

    But simply installing high-tech sensors and remote monitoring software is not enough to get results. You may have an idea of what features you want in a remote monitoring system, but putting one in place is challenging. To help you out, here are five things to remember before getting started with remote monitoring or to evaluate your existing strategy if you’ve already started:

    #1 Plan carefully before you start

    The first step, obviously, is to plan carefully before you start. What’s the end objective you want to achieve with remote asset monitoring? And what are those two to three key aspects that would help you lay down your assumptions and validate them? These can be hypothetical points that you are considering ticking off if the strategy were to become successful. Also, it will be wise to connect your remote monitoring strategy to the business value you’re looking to drive out of it.

    #2 Keep it simple

    Overcomplexity will dampen your efforts to set up a remote monitoring program, and it’s probably going to kill the entire thing even before it starts. Take our word for it. Focus on getting to a limited outcome over looking to get multiple outcomes, and you’re going to be far more successful. Seeking to resolve all your pain points at once is not a good strategy, especially when you’re just starting out with the program.

    #3 Choose your asset mix wisely

    Most of your engineers or on-ground maintenance staff would know this –  not all assets are suited for remote monitoring. Choose a diverse mix of assets, the ones which are critical, along with the ones that are large in number, depending on the size and type of your facilities. For the critical ones, even if you become successful with your assumptions, you would still probably be a long way off in trying to move from your current scheduled regime to a more optimized regime.

    The optimization would happen first for noncritical assets, and for critical assets, it would take a longer journey of learning and evaluation. We highly recommend that you pick a mix of non-critical assets, which are usually larger in number, and the critical ones to help you with the next step, which is determining success factors.

    #4 Determine success factors

    Put a good amount of effort into thinking about how all of this is going to augment or change your current process of monitoring assets. Suppose you look at a chart showing how you do things currently. And if you are to be successful with, let’s say, putting up those sensors or looking at building management system (BMS) data in a better way. How is it going to help your process become better, not just from the overall process perspective, but also from the perspective of all the steps involved. 

    Some potential examples could be – 

    1. Under the current method, the team takes almost 30 minutes to look into BMS data as in when they need to. Can it be brought down? 
    2. Teams do not typically look at any data from BMS or from any other data sources while evaluating or conducting maintenance procedures. Does this help them augment or improve maintenance procedures?

    The idea is always to look for small gains, because they will eventually pave the way for bigger gains.

    #5 Have the big picture in mind

    Having the big picture in mind is really important for your remote monitoring program to be successful. At the end of the day, you are doing this not just to prove a concept, but to prove a value. This means you need to consider changes at the portfolio level, not just individual sites. 

    While it’s important to think about what scale could and would look like, you’re better off not evaluating this exercise with that perspective. Keep it at the back of your mind. Look at what’s working. Look at what’s not working. And then eventually make a call. 

    Remember these 5 things before getting started with remote asset monitoring: 

    Final Words 

    Given what’s happening around the world across the built environment, with a focus on sustainability and cost reduction, everyone has been thinking of getting started with remote monitoring. That’s the first step that you could take to enhance your asset performance management – even make facilities self-reliant.

    If there’s anything else that you think should be kept in mind, or you’ve done something which has turned out to be very successful, we would love to know what it is!

    Listen to the latest episodes from our FM Times Podcast series here.

  • Five High Priority Industries that Benefit from Predictive Maintenance

    Five High Priority Industries that Benefit from Predictive Maintenance

    This article is the 2nd instalment of a 4-part series on predictive maintenance.

    An ideal world would be one where we would need to carry out the least amount of maintenance to maximise asset performance and uptime. But how can we know when it’s time to execute that maintenance?

    Predictive maintenance provides an answer. Predictive maintenance isn’t new, but with technologies such as real-time condition monitoring, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), analytics, and cloud platforms, there’s a lot more advancement and accuracy in predictions of asset failure and providing recommendations for corrective actions. Predictive maintenance software for asset management has shown outstanding results.

    When it comes to verifying the value of a maintenance or asset management program, learning from industry examples is the next best thing to conducting your own proof of value trial. Predictive maintenance can drive big gains in a variety of industry sectors. Companies in every industry are striving to increase reliability at their facilities by testing and investing in novel approaches to optimise their assets. Listed below are five high priority industries that benefit from predictive maintenance, including real-world examples: 

    Five Industries that benefit from predictive maintenance
    1. Manufacturing

    The most prominent industry tied to predictive maintenance is the manufacturing industry. Manufacturing operations almost exclusively rely on heavy assets and machinery, and the scope of malfunctions is enormous. Big manufacturers can lose an average of $22k every minute when operations become paralyzed due to asset failure. 

    With the rise of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and other technologies of Industry 4.0, asset maintenance in manufacturing is becoming more predictive and automated. The industry has cut substantial costs by eliminating avoidable reactive maintenance and improving asset performance. 

    Predictive maintenance examples in the manufacturing industry:

    Using predictive maintenance, Canadian pulp and paper manufacturer Mercer Celgar achieved a striking reduction in equipment failures from 50 per year to 5 per year. In addition, they reduced their pump replacements from 123 in 2007 to 15 in 2018. 

    Alumina manufacturer Noranda Alumina LLC, Los Angeles, United States realized a 60% decline in bearing replacements since implementing a predictive maintenance program in 2019. This saved the company approximately $900,000 in bearing purchases and costly downtime.

    1. Food & beverage 

    The market for food and beverage processing equipment was valued at USD 58.3 billion in 2021, and it’s expected to touch USD 76 billion in 2026. As the demand for healthy functional foods and beverages grows, the industry will require more advanced processing and storage equipment. Food and drink storage facilities also have to tackle stringent regulatory standards and maintenance challenges related to safety and hygiene.  

    Enter predictive maintenance technology. With proper monitoring of critical equipment such as refrigeration, air handling and purifying units, it could analyse the temperature and vibration to alert the staff when maintenance would be needed. Any potential issue would be addressed before it caused downtime, lost supplies, or, most critically, a threat to customer health and safety.

    Predictive maintenance example in the food and beverage industry:

    Food and beverage company Frito-Lay reduced planned downtime to 0.75% and unplanned downtime to 2.88% by introducing a robust program of predictive maintenance technologies. The technology assisted in preventing the failure of a PC combustion blower motor, which could have resulted in the indefinite shutdown of the entire potato chip department.

    1. Power & energy

    Another industry where predictive maintenance delivers big gains is power and energy. What makes predictive maintenance in this industry so crucial is the fact that its continuous functioning powers entire cities and nations, and any equipment failure can halt economic activity at a very large scale. 

    Detecting problems and fixing them ahead of time lowers inspection costs, protects the energy sector from huge expenses on repairing/replacing assets, and strengthens worker safety by improving equipment reliability. 

    Predictive maintenance examples in the power and energy industry:

    According to GlobalData’s research, Duke Energy, a large power provider in the United States, used predictive maintenance and asset optimization to deal with cost overruns involving wind turbines and other equipment.

    European electric utility company E.ON leveraged technology that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to notify potential failures prior to their occurrence.

    The same research pointed out that predictive maintenance is instrumental in alleviating serious issues such as leading-edge erosion (LEE) of wind turbines that can decrease annual energy production by upto 5%.

    1. IT & Digital Infrastructure

    Almost every service we use today is dependent on computer hardware, from government agencies and hospitals to data centres that run the financial sector and IT technology that controls navigation and telecommunications. It’s easy to see how a protracted period of service outage or data loss may result in a massive disaster affecting millions of people. Fortunately, predictive maintenance is one of the methods for lowering the chances of this ever occurring.

    The financial consequences of data centre outages are enormous. For every hour of downtime, businesses lose an average of $138,000 in revenue. To put this in context, every second Amazon.com goes down, Amazon stands to lose $1,104! 

    Predictive maintenance example in the IT industry: 

    A project at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Grid data centre currently placed at the INFN-CNAF research institute in Bologna, Italy is incorporating predictive maintenance technology to keep computing systems optimal, increase operational efficiency and reduce costs.

    1. Buildings

    Buildings can benefit greatly from the implementation of predictive maintenance software. Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) is an excellent candidate for predictive maintenance inside a building as equipment failure can cause severe problems and costs. Condition-based monitoring of critical components such as compressors, fans and motors in real time can detect anomalies and maintenance can be performed before a problem occurs.

    Predictive maintenance examples in the buildings industry: 

    Commercial real estate maintenance company Enertiv said predictive maintenance reduced costs by an estimated 25%, with a 50% reduction in major equipment failures and extension of equipment life from 20% to 36%.

    According to Knight Frank, a predictive maintenance program was conducted at a 29-storied office building in Australia that incurred routine maintenance costs between $95,000 and $190,000 a year. An extra $50,000 to $120,000 were spent on building repairs. The program involved just the building’s HVAC system, but it resulted in savings of $16,742 in operating costs and $32,300 in repair costs per year.

    Read the first article in this series to see why predictive maintenance is gaining popularity among building and facility managers. 

    Do you belong to any of the five industries we mentioned above? Have you employed predictive maintenance at your facilities yet? There are many more industries where asset management initiatives like predictive maintenance can drive cost savings for your business. Schedule a call with us to learn more.  

  • What Digital Twin Means for the Facility Management Space

    What Digital Twin Means for the Facility Management Space

    Facility management companies have so many things to handle at the same time when it comes to maintaining workspaces with ever-changing challenges and rising expectations. Digital twin is the next step in building information modelling (BIM) in terms of data-gathering and service-enhancement functionality. 

    However, the question is, how does it play an important role, and how will it boost the FM and real estate sector which needs to shift towards digital twin? Facilities management and sustainability also depends on it and needs attention.

    Concept of Digital Twin 

    In this conversation Umesh Bhutoria and Balazs Szappanyos talks about the digital twin backbone of one of the leading providers of real-time building data in building and industrial operations. Here the concept of operational BIM, arose from the realisation that the real estate industry is falling behind. 

    The company is Orthograph operational BIM having a strong foundation for the digital world. As a technology provider, they are in the PropTech and FM tech fields. During the deployment phase of CAFM solutions, it was discovered that, while providing building owners and operators with reliable software to track all operations, people still lacked real-world building data.

    The original concept behind OrthoGraph was to forge ahead and provide tools for building owners and operators to truly view up-to-date 3D graphical and inventory data both on-site and in the office.

    To whom do these leading companies provide digital twin solutions?

    The focus is mostly on FM companies, FM service providers, and building operators since FM spend the most time in buildings, acquire data, and visit the site every day, whereas other stakeholders operate from their offices. Someone must physically visit the buildings in order to maintain any form of building documentation. As a result, selecting people who can simultaneously manage the physical structure and the digital twin.

    An ideal way for FM firms to address the entire digital twin terminology!

    First and foremost, a well-functioning digital twin should be reliable, simple to use and integrate. For instance, When analysing the twin analogy, the twin evolves in the same way that the building does through time. Updating building models is a vital part that people must incorporate. The approach is to implement building information modelling (BIM), but the question of who will manage BIM and at what cost, whether building surveyors or external stakeholders, is a challenging one.

    Addressing the Christmas Tree Analogy with use cases relevant to FM companies! 

    We’re going to approach the Digital Twin as if it is a Christmas tree without decoration. It enables users to digitise their building and have an always-up-to-date model, which they can then customise with other software solutions they want to add, but the backbone which is the tree, will never become obsolete.  If people look after the twin data the same way they maintain the building. So, people get to choose to put whatever they want on their Christmas tree.

    Facility management companies benefit from having this model that gives them the inside structure of the facility and allows them to rearrange their daily flows using digital twins. 

    Check out our most recent episode to learn about the digital twin concept and much more.

    Do the blue-collar or white collar workforce use visual representation and data integration?

    According to Balazs, the initial reaction is a sigh of satisfaction for real-world data they can see rather than old paperwork. Since digital twin generate calculated reports not just representation, the workforce can engage with the data more efficiently. They can obtain reports on the cleaning department, the rental department, and other areas. As a result, the building owners and engineers have a clear perspective of their structures, which is an impressive achievement itself. 

    Advantages of Selecting a Reliable Digital Twin

    FM Markets or buildings with zero documentation can benefit from a great solution that allows them to move from zero to digital twin backbone in a matter of weeks. As a result, anyone who wishes to begin their digital journey can do so.

    When considering whether or not to invest in a digital twin solution, consider how quickly a digital twin solution can be adjusted to the way buildings change over time.

    Listen to our podcast episode to discover more about the Christmas tree analogy and zero documentation!

    Let us know what you think are some more benefits of having a solid digital twin backbone.

  • The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Great Facilities Manager

    The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Great Facilities Manager

    The facility management discipline is growing more dynamic and cost-conscious by the day, and facilities managers need to master a few essentials to be on top of the game. A facility manager’s responsibilities are typically vast and varied, ranging from providing exceptional customer service to ensuring that the entire building is in good working condition. If you’re thinking about improving your role as facility manager, this article addresses five important areas that you should be focusing on and offers cost cutting tips to steer your career towards success.

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    Five important things to focus on to become a great facilities manager

    Just like with any job, the most valuable and exceptional employees are the ones who not only fulfill their individual responsibilities on time, but also work towards making the company as a whole more successful. Here are five ways facility managers can improve their performance while helping their company grow:

    1. Aligning your work with organizational goals and values

    For facility managers, having a strong grasp of the organization’s goals and values helps to perform all their responsibilities with greater drive and passion. Aligning facility efforts with big picture stuff involves recognizing the best interests of not only the top level management, but also people working at various levels throughout the organization. From minimizing operational expenses to ensuring a safe and productive environment for work, there are a number of ways facility managers should be reflecting the company culture in their maintenance and workspace management programs. 

    1. Understanding contract requirements and laws that affect the facility 

    One of the first things for facility managers to focus on is understanding the contract requirements, starting with the service level agreement (SLA). Facility managers must pay special attention to the contract’s scope of services and take note of any consequences for non-performance or violations. They’ll need to know the service delivery standards, as well as the key performance indicators (KPIs) that must be met and how performance will be monitored. 

    It is also important to conduct a facility condition assessment (FCA) to check the current state of the physical structure(s) and the performance of various systems. In addition, facility managers must have in-depth knowledge of the local, state and national laws and regulations that affect facility operations and maintenance processes.These can range from building restrictions, local zoning laws, security codes regarding occupancy levels, and fire safety measures, to maintenance standards and renovation rules among others. 

    1. Practicing Sustainability 

    While getting the job done is extremely important, it’s even more rewarding to get it done in ‘sustainable’ fashion! Companies are looking for sustainable alternatives to current ways of functioning of assets and procedures in their buildings due to the escalating environmental crisis. When it comes to job applications, more than 70% of people choose to work for a green company over a non-green one.   

    A large portion of the responsibility to bring about this green shift falls on the facility manager. They’re expected to minimize the company’s environmental impact by cutting down consumption and waste of resources and lowering emissions through energy efficiency, optimization of asset performance, running conservation programs, etc. 

    1. Identifying avenues to implement the latest trends and technologies in facilities management

    Until very recently, facility management has been a practice without much innovation. Given that technology has an impact on not only how we work but also where we work, facility managers must develop methods to respond proactively to emerging workplace concepts such as virtual workplaces, shared workspaces, home offices, and so on. 

    Facility managers who want to excel keep up with the latest technological trends and software tools in the market which can be employed in their facilities. And they also set an example as leaders by having a thorough understanding of all these innovations, so they can effectively train members of their staff.

    This brings us to perhaps the most important role that a facility manager should focus on…

    1. People management, communication and team leadership

    Facility management is all about creating happier and healthier spaces, conducive for meaningful work and interactions between people. A facility manager’s job is about understanding and addressing the needs of all the employees, as well as the various stakeholders, end users and visitors, instead of just making the property look good on paper. It’s also imperative for them to show a strong sense of compassion and excellent managerial skills to coordinate with different departments on a daily basis. 

    Another crucial aspect of a facility manager’s job is leading their team by communicating effectively, assigning tasks based on each individual’s ability, and encouraging them to strive for growth in their career. Facility managers should take the time to conduct workforce upskilling programs to improve technical skill and environmental awareness and develop a forward-thinking mindset in the entire facilities department. 

    How can facility managers maintain the facility in top condition while keeping a firm grip on finances? 

    One of the most decisive responsibilities of a facility manager is to find cost-effective solutions to ensure that facilities run smoothly, without compromising on quality. Here are some best practices to help you cut costs and increase efficiency:

    1. Follow a proactive maintenance plan 

    Top-notch facility managers know that the cost of fixing an asset at the last minute is significantly higher than the cost to maintain its continuous operation. Many maintenance teams are using proactive approaches like preventive maintenance, and a growing number are also utilizing some level of predictive maintenance. Depending on the criticality of equipment and available funding, the decision of which maintenance method to adopt will vary. However, every maintenance strategy’s return on investment improves when it’s proactive instead of reactive.

    1. Deploy CapEx to reduce OpEx

    Facility managers can wisely dedicate capital investments for equipment upgrades, staff training and asset management technology to lower the facility’s operating costs. Some examples include:

    • Replacing aging assets with newer, more efficient ones before the end of asset lifespan
    • Upgrading to more efficient models of chillers or boilers to reduce energy consumption
    • Using asset management software to optimize asset performance, reduce maintenance costs
    • Leveraging technology to automate, digitalize and control operations remotely
    • Hiring maintenance experts or training in-house staff can help save time and money in the long run
    1. Track and measure performance with data analytics

    Thanks to sensors, IoT, and digital twin technology, facility managers can have complete visibility into all aspects of facility operations, helping them to establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and plan well for the future. Plus, with an asset performance analytics application, facility managers can make data-driven decisions that have shown to deliver a strong return on investment (ROI), ultimately improving the company’s overall bottom line.

    Here’s a quick recap of all that we learnt in this article

    Be a great facilities manager today!

    Rather than reinventing the wheel, facility managers should simply focus on the fundamentals that have shown to bring consistent and lasting results. Practice the points we have mentioned in this guide to become a great facilities manager in no time!