IoT in Facility Management: Benefits and Use Cases

by Tech Geekk writer

The market has lately witnessed a rapidly growing demand for technologies and solutions that can help ease the process of managing facilities. You would agree running a facility is a task that encompasses a wide range of day-to-day responsibilities, be it hospitality, healthcare, or a different industry. It is while keeping track of documentation while ensuring a high level of customer satisfaction and safety, all while generating profit, is challenging.

While staying competitive, facility managers embrace technology to delegate tasks, increase the productivity of the workforce, and improve customer satisfaction. The Internet of Things, among other technologies, is helping to build an all-in-one environment for tracking all aspects of facility management — finance, paperwork, customer service, etc. And, among the many solutions that have thus emerged, it is nothing compared to what Internet of Things that is helping several facility managers to address some of their most persistent challenges on the job. How?

IoT comprises of connected sensor networks and computing embedded in physical objects linked through a wireless network. IoT has a role to play in facility management currently via smart sensors, safety systems, embedded beacons, data storage, and so on

Here are some benefits to show you:

Cost savings: IoT can also be used to collate data about the usage of resources, quickly adapt to changes, identify patterns, etc. Such tools can also be used to determine reduced demand for resources, such as heat, and then use this information to cut down energy consumption. This is how IoT helps cut down costs associated with facility management.
Enhanced efficiency: Keeping a facility running can be rather frustrating but the Internet of Things can be used to address this particular concern as well. Sensors can help monitor factors such as occupancy, temperature, humidity, etc. to ensure automatic maintenance of optimal levels. This, in turn, helps facility management teams accelerate processes and spend more time on crucial aspects of the facility’s operations.

Let us also take a quick look at some of the key use cases of IoT in facilities management:

Track cleaning schedules: There is no denying that cleaning facilities is a Herculean task owing to the complexity associated with managing schedules, etc. IoT can help facility managers avoid the inefficiency as well as the high costs associated with facilities’ cleaning management. How? Well, one can easily leverage IoT sensors to track occupancy, traffic, toilet usage, etc. This data can then be used to empower cleaning teams that can be dispatched precisely where and when the service is required.
Monitor occupancy: Keeping a track of the occupancy of various parts of any given facility is easier said than done, especially when doing it manually. Yet, monitoring occupancy has become a crucial part of ensuring health and safety, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. IoT can help in this context too: sensors can be used by facility managers to get a real-time view of occupancy across a variety of conference rooms, meeting halls, and other such spaces in buildings.
Automate maintenance checks: Yet another highly sought-after use case for IoT in facilities management is regarding maintenance. IoT solutions can be used to ease the process of maintenance checks through automation enabled via sensors to help preemptively identify and address maintenance issues, enhance 100 percent productivity of facilities, avoid downtime, etc.

Unlike what a whole lot of people may believe, buildings too are a source of humongous amounts of data. As we embrace an increasingly digital existence, it only makes sense that facility management too put these new technologies and solutions to work for the sector. Now, as the above discussion demonstrates, advanced tools, especially such as the ones driven by the Internet of Things (IoT), can come in rather handy when it comes to ensuring the seamless management of facilities.

In addition to the aforementioned benefits, IoT-based tools can also help ensure facilities are much safer and more efficient than ever before. So, what are you waiting for? Go and start looking for a trusted provider for IoT development services and get started on integrating this technology into your facility management operations right away!