Insight from Louis Tuttle – Sales Director, Azolla
In the ever-evolving world of facilities management, harnessing the power of data has emerged as a game-changer.
The ability to effectively capture and analyse data brings forth a multitude of benefits, empowering facility managers to make informed decisions, streamline operations, boost efficiency, and deliver an exceptional experience for occupants while enhancing the overall performance of their facilities. In this piece, we will explore the key benefits of effective data capture and analysis in facilities management through software.
Enhanced Decision-Making: Data-driven decision-making is fundamental to effective facilities management. By capturing and analysing relevant data, facility managers gain valuable insights into various aspects of their operations, such as energy consumption patterns, maintenance needs, occupancy rates, and resource allocation. This empowers them to make informed decisions based on factual evidence rather than relying on guesswork or intuition. For example, analysing historical data can help identify trends and patterns, enabling managers to anticipate equipment failures and proactively schedule maintenance activities, ultimately minimising downtime and reducing costs.
Increased Operational Efficiency: Facilities management involves numerous complex processes, ranging from cleaning, maintenance and repairs to space utilisation and security. Effective data capture and analysis can streamline these operations and improve efficiency. By monitoring and analysing data related to energy consumption, facility managers can identify areas of inefficiency and implement energy-saving measures to reduce costs and environmental impact. Similarly, data analysis can optimise resource allocation, enabling managers to allocate staff, generate work orders more effectively and much more, resulting in improved productivity and cost savings.
Proactive Maintenance and Asset Management: Facilities management heavily relies on the maintenance and management of assets and equipment. Traditional maintenance approaches, such as reactive or scheduled maintenance, are often costly and inefficient. However, by leveraging data capture and analysis, facility managers can transition to a proactive maintenance approach. By continuously monitoring and analysing data from sensors, IoT devices, and other sources, managers can identify early warning signs of performance degradation. This allows them to schedule maintenance activities precisely when needed, reducing unplanned downtime, extending asset lifespan, and optimising maintenance costs.
Improved Occupant Experience: Facilities management not only involves managing physical infrastructure but also ensuring a positive experience for occupants and users of the facility. By capturing and analysing data related to occupant behaviour, preferences, and satisfaction, facility managers gain insights into how to enhance the overall occupant experience. For instance, analysing data from occupancy sensors can help identify patterns in utilisation, enabling managers to optimise allocation and improve comfort levels. Additionally, data analysis can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of service delivery, allowing for timely improvements and adjustments based on real-time feedback.
Data-Driven Sustainability Initiatives: With growing concerns about environmental sustainability, facilities management plays a crucial role in minimising the environmental footprint of buildings and operations. Effective data capture and analysis enable facility managers to implement data-driven sustainability initiatives. By monitoring and analysing data on energy usage, waste generation, water consumption and number of people in the building for cleaning and catering, managers can identify areas for improvement and implement targeted strategies to reduce resource consumption and waste. This not only contributes to cost savings but also aligns with corporate social responsibility goals and helps organisations meet sustainability targets.
The benefits of effective data capture and analysis in facilities management are undeniable. As technology continues to advance, the role of data in facilities management will become increasingly vital. Therefore, organisations that prioritise data capture and analysis will gain a competitive advantage in managing their facilities and ensuring long-term success.
Companies like Azolla Software are at the forefront of providing comprehensive software solutions that encompass CAFM, IoT, and Asset Management features for effective data capture and analysis in facilities management.
Azolla is an Irish software company consisting of a Web and Mobile App that incorporates CAFM, IoT and Asset Management features. Azolla Software was developed for facilities management by facilities managers using insights and experience gained over 20+ years.
Azolla allows you to implement a Facilities Management system capable of planning your day-to-day operations in real-time. By incorporating your planned maintenance programme with the real-time monitoring capabilities from IOT sensor technology, Azolla allows you to monitor multiple locations in real-time 24/7, alerting key staff as and when required.
The Azolla scheduling module allows you to plan visits to the site, automatically check insurance details, organise permit to work and attach service reports. Reactive work can be routed automatically to nominated staff or contractors based on the type of work or the location of the problem. By integrating sensor technology or data from your Building Management System (BMS), this work can be generated and stored in one place.
Using the Azolla App, staff can access their work on the move, make recommendations and file their paperwork electronically. Where external contractors are used, work can be sent and responded to via email and then Azolla can be updated based on the email response.
Key sectors using Azolla include: Facilities Management, Property Management, Service Delivery, Manufacturing, Retail and Healthcare.
