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The Worlds of Facility Management and Workplace are, by definition, highly mobile and evolutive.

On these pages, you will find technical articles, news, reports on congresses and conferences in which Spaceonmove took part as well as positions or “mood tickets” which should give you a particular insight into these two fields. Nice readings.

Facility Management (FM) services will be impacted by AI

Posted on by Christian Hadorn | Article

In recent years, Facility Management (FM) has undergone a profound transformation, driven by the emergence of innovative technological solutions. Smart Building Management is now a fully-fledged function in many large companies. Artificial intelligence (AI) will not merely complement this landscape: it will revolutionise it, with a high degree of probability.

AI is a strategic lever for enhancing existing property management tools. Its major advantage lies in its ability to process massive volumes of data in an automated, personalised and continuous manner, potentially replacing one or more human resources dedicated to these tasks.

Many AI experts believe that entire sectors of the tertiary sector — particularly administrative, editorial, translation and legal professions — will be largely automated or even replaced in the coming years.

However, these same experts often point out that secondary professions will be among the most resistant to automation, at least in the next 5 to 10 years. In our opinion, FM will be an exception. Apart from physical interventions (maintenance, repairs, equipment handling), monitoring, planning, diagnosis and optimisation activities will increasingly be driven by AI — or even fully automated.

Companies with internal FM teams must now ask themselves some crucial questions:

• Which activities can be automated in the short and medium term?

• Could outsourcing FM services to specialists be a viable alternative?

• Would it be appropriate to invest in BMS (Building Management System), BIM (Building Information Modelling) or similar solutions — and could this be accompanied by a layer of AI?

• What training should be put in place now to support FM teams?

• Should FM services continue to be internalised, or should a global provider be chosen based on a ‘full service’ model?

There are many questions — and many answers. The challenge is not to choose the ‘right’ solution, but to act. Time is working against organisations that delay their decision-making: sooner or later, they will be forced to act by competition, legal requirements or financial constraints — and these adjustments will be even more costly because they have been delayed.

If ‘to lead is to plan ahead’, AI is certainly an area where anticipation is not an option — it is a necessity. As the Canadian Prime Minister so aptly put it in a speech in Davos in another context: ‘If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.’ ” In the field of AI, this formula already applies — unfortunately.

Surrounding yourself with partners, industry peers, professional associations or specialist consultants may seem like simple — even simplistic — advice. However, it will make all the difference. The window of opportunity is narrow, and those who act first will be best placed to benefit from the transformation.

Facility management remains a fascinating field, rich in strategic, tactical and operational opportunities. But it now requires the ability to adapt quickly — a quality that AI will force us to develop, lest we be left behind.

Take heart. Think carefully — and see you soon.

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