Technological advancements in the integrated facility management services’ sector
By Deepak Shanbhag, Chief Operating Officer, Property Solutions (India) Pvt. Ltd. (PSIPL), A Kalpataru Group Company Preface The infrastructure sector is the second largest employer after the agriculture sector. With the increasing impetus to develop infrastructure in the country, this sector is highly responsible for propelling India’s overall growth story. The robust demand in infrastructure to have sustainable development and initiatives such as “Housing for All” and “Smart City Mission” has directly impacted the growth of this sector. However, traditionally, infrastructure development is seen as a labor-intensive and engineering-driven project. But the reality is changing, and at a fast pace. A wide array of disruptive, breakthrough technologies are rapidly transforming the way infrastructure is made and operated, reshaping the way the infrastructure industry operates and bringing major implications for each stakeholder. Advent of Tech Over the past decade, the availability of data and the digitization of services have changed the way people use an infrastructure. Indeed, in many sectors, the availability of good data is just as important to building a new asset as the availability of resources. Building infrastructure is the responsibility of the real estate industry and it has emerged as a top factor in driving the real estate industry. However, the main concern lies in how long-term operations and maintenance of infrastructure are resourced. This is where the Facility Management industry plays a major role. Tech in FM Industry With the technological advancements in the Integrated Facility Management Services, it has changed the way an infrastructure operates. The right technology can vastly improve a company’s overall efficiency and performance in the market, as well as improve employee productivity, communication, collaboration, morale, and engagement company-wide. Facility management companies that want to help organizations create human-centred workplaces and drive wellbeing of its employees can benefit from embedded technology not only by helping individual workers and teams but from drawing on the data that’s generated. Facilities managers and real estate professionals can make better decisions about where to focus their efforts if they have a data stream to analyze their infrastructure. With this information, organizations can better understand what’s working and what’s not, so they can make it better. Such technologies become tools for understanding complexity, identifying an opportunity and responding to it swiftly. Essence of FM Growth in the growth of the Facility Management industry is driven by outsourcing, it is important to evaluate the contract and ensure the alignment of goals of the client and FM partner. The FM partner can add value to any business by using various technology tools to improve business performance, strategic planning by using innovative design to manage facilities and using its specialist knowledge and toolbox to manage workspace with an emphasis on performance measurement. Along with this, there has been an enhancement in compliance standards through the use of technology in the FM industry. Through the use of technology, it ensures an increase in efficiency, reduces risk, improved performance and enhances flexibility. FM is a tailored solution and hence, provides its clients' services aligned to the corporate mission, and the competency to address the company’s specific needs. FM Industry Growth in Infra Sector This has led to an overall increase in trust towards FM firms in the Indian infrastructure sector. There has been an ever-growing demand for integrated facilities management services for housekeeping, security, cleaning, electrical, mechanical and civil engineering services due to the boom in the real estate sector. Thus, these technological advancements in the Integrated Facility Management sector help tackle the current challenges of connectivity, costly setups, undocumented knowledge, and compliance standards. With its ability to increase efficiency & performance and enhance the lifecycle of the infrastructure through real-time attendance, checklist, feedbacks, repairs, and maintenance, there has been an increase in its demand making it one of the fastest-growing industries. Infrastructure once built has to last the test of times for which its utmost upkeep & care forms the key lever of its reliable use for its users, owners and maintainers as well. This opens doors of an undeniable critical correlation between the infrastructure players and the FM industry players to jointly own this critical deliverable. The life cycle of an infrastructure needs to balance out between ever increasing maintenance cost and its level of safe usage for over many years. The Way Forward FM players with their subject matter expertise become an undeniable service partner of the Infrastructure firms. Jointly these two ensure that the expected outcome and essence of the infra is delivered beyond its slated time and quality and with 100% uncompromised safety standards.
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