Top 5 Facility Management Trends To Be Followed in 2021

 Facility Management Trends

Here are five main themes and innovations from Arc Facilities that the facilities management sector will see in 2021 and beyond to usher in the New Year.

Most of us would conclude that 2020 was unlike any other year, especially for facility management. The outlook for the coming years has dramatically improved, thanks to revised COVID-19 safety protocols and goals. Fortunately, 2020 has prepared facilities professionals to remain focused, think on their feet, and develop innovative solutions to new problems, so we're looking forward to seeing how the sector evolves in the future.

Here are five main themes and innovations that the facilities management sector will see in 2021 and beyond to usher in the new year.

1)    The first trend is for facilities teams and their jobs to become more apparent within their organizations.

Facilities management team members have always operated in the dark, taking special precautions to ensure that workers, visitors, tenants, and other building inhabitants continue to run smoothly without interfering in what is going on. Although outstanding customer experience is nothing new to facility managers, COVID-19 has pushed it to the top of many businesses' priority lists.

Many facilities employees have become used to working without delay, but they will need to become more visible within their organizations in the future. They'll need to be accessible to consider what their customers want, whether they're washing, disinfecting, or merely establishing relationships with tenants.

2)    COVID-19 safety protocols would become an expectation of occupants.

It might be tempting to get ahead of ourselves and attend a massive mask-burning group while the COVID-19 vaccine is being carried out. However, it is also unclear whether the majority of the population will be vaccinated. The majority of inhabitants of certain professions, such as higher education, could be last on the list to receive a vaccine.

In 2021 and beyond, it's best to be unnecessarily careful about budgets and protocols when planning. COVID-19 protocols and procedures will almost certainly be needed for the entire year of 2021. Many of the COVID-19-related processes become irreversible due to occupant and consumer demands even after the vaccine is widely spread.

Take the time to learn what the tenants and clients expect and need in the future. The simplest way to do this is to put out a survey, conduct interviews, or have town hall meetings.

3)    The growing demand for IoT, AI, and connected devices could result in increased security risks.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has recently become a hot subject. Facility management platforms have been using this device for years, as revolutionary as it sounds. In reality, you're still using IoT if your building has any equipment sensors that attach to a software monitoring device. Many people are also unsure if this system will operate in their buildings in 2021 and beyond.

The use of connected devices is growing, especially among forward-thinking businesses and industries. Facilities managers can run buildings with limited human interaction, thanks to connected sensors and remote tracking and control. On the other hand, more connected devices can mean more digital "entry points" into your company's records. Even gaining access to a room sensor may give you access to your personal, medical, or financial information.

Buildings that have been reluctant to embrace IoT could be forced to speed up their adoption in the new year. To ensure all internet-connected equipment's reliability, facilities teams may need to work more closely with IT agencies.

4)     Determining deferred maintenance requirements would be the first step in managing an accurate capital budget.

Although 2020 was undoubtedly a year of creativity and growth, it was also a year in which COVID-19 and market changes wreaked havoc on many sectors and organizations. Budgets for maintenance and administration cannot be reduced significantly, but capital budgets can.

Capital budgeting season is a daunting and difficult time for facilities teams, who are frequently expected to make informed guesses about future maintenance requirements based on obsolete facility condition evaluations. While monitoring and prioritizing these upcoming costs can be daunting for some facility teams, it is now more crucial than ever to reliably forecast these costs.

Not just to know what's coming up but also to make a compelling argument to a CFO or budget holders, facilities teams need more data to more reliably determine what infrastructure investments need to happen and what can be postponed. Understanding your deferred maintenance is the first step in planning capital budgets and making them perform for your company in 2021 and beyond.

5)     CMMS solutions will become obsolete.

For a long time, CMMS solutions have provided cost-effective solutions for handling repair operations in hospitals. However, they are often restricted outside of the maintenance approach, necessitating additional tools to address the many obstacles that facilities teams encounter as their roles expand. Many CMMS providers still have antiquated tech architecture, making integration with other networks impossible.

Across sectors, data-driven decision management is now a necessity for facilities teams. To be competitive, facilities teams will need to prepare themselves with the right data to cope with the demands of 2021. Facilities managers, in particular, will need tools that can not only handle their maintenance but also assist them in resolving other issues — both under one roof and in a system that can communicate with BMS, BAS, and other building systems.

What will the facilities maintenance market look like in the future?

Change may be frightening, but we're looking forward to seeing what the facility management sector has to do with new technologies and trends. How has the company dealt with COVID-19 and other issues? In 2021, what are you looking forward to?

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