Benefits and challenges of IoT and automation in facilities management

While IoT and automation present many advantages and are opening doors to many new possibilities, facilities managers should also be cognizant of specific barriers and challenges that tag along as well.

The facilities management (FM) sector has been quick to embrace new technologies and tools that have led to better and more precise delivery of FM services. A key factor in the use of such technologies has been to automate the entire system so there is a continuous sharing of data and information between various units as well as more rapid mobilisation of resources.

Stephen Gill, the academic head of the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences at Heriot-Watt University, explores the benefits and challenges of IoT and automation in facilities management.

BENEFITS

• Leveraging data: Data is everything. Buildings integrated with building automation systems (BAS) that control the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, for example, can leverage smart analytics solutions to provide actionable insights to facilities managers based on data generated by buildings.A smart analytics platform can determine the exact nature of the issue, diagnose the issue, and offer proper recommendations to resolve the issue. For instance, BAS can determine when an equipment is deviating from operational efficiency through power metering and other techniques. This means facilities managers can quantify which equipment is utilising more energy than expected due to wear and tear or other factors.With analytics, facilities managers can be truly data driven and perform actions based on derived insights. As a result, facilities managers are more efficient and at the same time able to increase the comfort levels of the occupants of the building.