The Benefits of Robust Data Analytics for Facilities Management

For decades, facilities management existed in the realm of clipboards and paperwork, handwritten boiler pressure readouts and analog processes. Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) technology has since changed the way facilities operate, making them lean, mean, data-analyzing and optimizing machines.

If you’re used to old-school FM, you might be wondering what data has to do with boilers and chillers, janitorial work, and other associated duties and equipment.

The benefits are nearly endless. Here’s a brief explainer on why you should have a robust data analytics system in place for your facilities management.

Maximize One of your top 10 expenses by Never missing a work order again.

With the right IFM software, you can assign work orders, track pre-set KPIs and metrics—including work order management and completion—and find high-level patterns across your FM capabilities. Who is completing their work in a timely manner? How effective are your janitorial contractors at completing their tasks? Are there any ongoing problems that crop up at certain times in certain locations?

Avoid repetitive, unnecessary repairs and breakdowns.

With the right data analytics program in place, you can catch worrying patterns in equipment health, work order completion, and other areas of operation before they become a problem. 

Say your boiler pressure has been slowly but steadily rising. With a clipboard-and-paper system, you’d need to rely on a team member noticing the pattern. Generally speaking, unless someone was paying close attention to weekly pressure readout differentials, nobody would notice a problem until one of the valves was damaged and the heating system stopped working. 

With an IFM platform, that data will automatically be flagged, so team members can find and fix the issue before a failure, disruption, or expensive part replacement.

Make more strategic decisions by switching to a cost-saving, preventive maintenance program.

You can elevate breakdown prevention to the next level with a robust IFM platform that performs high-level data analytics and implements a preventive and predictive maintenance program.

Using predictive analytics, the best IFM platforms utilize data from tasks spanning multiple areas to streamline and maximize workflows, and assign work orders based on impending needs. In other words: smart IFM platforms use historical data to predict future outcomes, thus bypassing the necessity of a traditional preventive maintenance schedule. 

For example, say you perform preventive maintenance on your chiller every week, keeping tubes clean, treating condenser water, and more. By logging all the metrics from your maintenance—say, tracking how often you have to change out refrigerant—the right IFM platform will analyze corresponding data and automatically assign a task, such as “Change Refrigerant.” 

This will prevent any details from being overlooked, and clear your team members’ plates for more important tasks.

Improve your processes in ways you might not have thought.

One of the most exciting and important benefits of leveraging data analytics in your FM strategy is the X factor of process optimization. When you work with an IFM partner whose platform leverages the power of a robust data analytics program, you can improve your processes and increase efficiencies in ways you may never have even considered, such as with Service Verification. 

NEST IFM partners with organizations across industries to improve efficiencies in your facilities operations. Contact us today to learn more about leveraging the power of data to create a whole new FM world.