Facility Management 4.0 with IoT

Better be digital: Facility Management - for a long time, the term stood for classic analog activities, for inspection tours and manual operations, among other things. This definition no longer applies: the future of facility management is digital. The Internet of Things with its innovative technologies enables optimized, intelligent building management in many different areas. Read in this blog post how and where IoT is taking facility management to a new level.

Acting instead of reacting: The Facility Management of the future

IoT-based digital technologies offer a wide range of added value for facility managers: they ensure an optimal indoor climate, the best possible security and a functioning technical infrastructure. New areas of application are emerging, familiar areas are being digitalized: Heating and cooling, air quality, water supply, access control and cooperation with external building service providers are still on the agenda, but are increasingly being controlled via radio-controlled sensors and cloud platforms. This allows facility managers to keep an eye on facilities without having to be directly on site. Algorithms continuously evaluate the measurement data, and faults are transmitted directly to the responsible recipients. Via the Internet or mobile phone technology, thermostats can then be operated remotely, for example. Monitoring the measurement data not only simplifies control, it also fulfills another long-term purpose. The collected data enables conclusions to be drawn from the overall building use and thus identifies the exact need for optimization. Digitization not only saves costs in the short term, but also develops building management in a targeted manner. 

Examples of use: How IoT makes facility management smart

Smart Maintenance: Smart Maintenance is the basis for the intelligent digital monitoring of production facilities and building technology. The data generated by sensors and subsequently evaluated enables a more efficient alignment of the maintenance strategy. Smart Maintenance avoids downtimes, increases plant availability and minimizes maintenance costs and administrative work.  

Digitalized building cleaning: IoT technology offers great potential for optimizing cleaning processes: soap dispensers, waste garbage cans and paper towel containers are equipped with sensors. In the toilet area, sensors record the frequencies of people using the toilets. The data and messages on the respective fill levels are transmitted directly to the cleaning staff's device. This reduces idle time because the software automatically creates dynamic cleaning plans and also indicates, for example, in which rooms there is an increased need for cleaning. The use of cleaning robots and drones is also a growing trend in this area: robots are used for hospital disinfection and for cleaning shafts and ducts that are difficult to access. Drones control the contamination of surfaces as well as roofs, are used for safety inspection corridors and assist in cleaning facades and glass.

More quality of life with Ambient Assisted Living: Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) is a technology for ambient assisted living, which is intended to enable elderly or disabled persons in particular to cope with everyday life independently. Sensors and trackers monitor movements, evaluate them and trigger an alarm if necessary. Carpets fitted with sensors collect data and communicate simultaneously with the lighting control system to automatically illuminate rooms at night. This lighting system helps people with dementia in particular to find their way around and offers them a greater sense of security. However, AAL is not limited to emergency call systems and motion monitoring; it also covers health, care, household and communication. Ambient Assisted Living improves medical care in nursing homes and hospitals, increases the comfort of residents and enhances safety.

Smart Building: The term Smart Building stands for the automation and central operation of technical equipment in, for example, office buildings, airports, shopping centers or production halls. A central point is energy optimization: The smart building of the future is able to act with foresight by means of intelligent analysis of previously collected data. It anticipates instead of just reacting. An indispensable basis for the smart home is the intelligent analysis of data from the connected sensors and the monitoring of the technical systems. Smart, IoT-based control and sensor technologies, for example, reduce energy consumption even in older properties: Existing radiators and air conditioning units are made "smart" by radio-controlled thermostats and external test sensors. Radio sensors seamlessly monitor room temperature, humidity and CO2 content and ensure optimal air quality.

Smart access control: Particularly in spacious properties, many access points must often be controlled. Here, suitable wireless sensors monitor whether doors and windows are closed or open. Digital locking systems also provide a smart security concept.

Digital room planning via smart sensors: In the future, facility management will also include smart concepts for the intelligent use of sensors in virtually every room. The so-called digital floor plan of a property offers an optimal overview of all integrated smart home applications. 

 

New job profiles: From Facility Manager to Data Manager

The use of innovative IoT technologies automates processes in facility management and thus enables a more efficient use of resources. A development that also decisively changes the content of the tasks associated with the term Facility Management: The processing of relevant data is essential for the planning and management of smart buildings. This means that the degree of technology and digitalization of real estate will increase massively - especially in the case of new buildings. This in turn means that the IT affinity of facility managers will become increasingly important. Facility managers must be able to collect, evaluate and interpret data. Every person working in this field will have to deal with these new technologies. This is because the regular, important exchange of information between users, operators, managers and owners of real estate will increasingly take place digitally.

 

Conclusion: Facility Management 4.0 - smart and digital

The Internet of Things opens up new, diverse, flexible, intelligent and efficient digital application areas for the entire facility management industry. Facility management is getting smart: Processes are becoming leaner, and sound data analyses enable significant and long-term cost advantages. Digitalization is already in full swing, characterized by ubiquitous terms such as Big Data, Building Information Modeling (BIM), Computer Aided Facility Management (CAFM) or Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) - technologies that not only save costs but also improve the quality of life of users and ensure greater security. The potential of this development has been exhausted for a long time and will decisively change the entire industry in the near future and help shape our everyday lives.