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November 15, 2022 | 6 minute

3 Top Trends for Facilities Management in 2023

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As we reach the end of the year, it’s time to start thinking about the trends that will shape facilities management in 2023. Change has come especially fast in this field, with new solutions now available for old problems.

After nearly three years of pandemic-related disruption, stakeholders in facility management have become used to strong winds of change and we have every reason to expect this to continue in 2023. From sustainability to technology, these are the trends that you need to be aware of.

Table of contents:

Let’s check out the top trends in facilities management in 2023.

1. Sustainability and efficiency

One of the biggest trends in facilities management is sustainability. With an increasing focus on environmental issues, more and more businesses are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint. This means that sustainable practices, such as energy-efficient lighting and better environmental management, will take on higher priorities in facility management.

This approach to how office spaces are organized is obviously motivated in part by energy costs, which were already a major expense for workplaces even before recent developments drove them even higher. But there’s more to it than that. Guiding general principles shaped by environmental concerns are more commonly shared than ever and pursuing goals related to sustainability has become a standard element of corporate social responsibility as well as good business practice.

On top of that, there is much to suggest that putting sustainability at the center of facilities management practices can have an impact on recruiting and retaining employees. In this era of intense competition for the best talent, sustainability can prove to be an unexpected edge in this struggle.

2. Remote work and distributed teams

In our new reality, the old standard of working from Monday to Friday, 8AM to 5PM at your own desk, is already a thing of the past. Among the many changes to the workplace caused by the pandemic, the emergence of remote and hybrid work models are among the most significant.

How is this a challenge for facilities management? There are two main ways.

First, because resources need to be available to accommodate random and unpredictable peaks in attendance at offices and other workspaces. When employees cannot find desks, meeting rooms, collaborative spaces, etc. to use, that means down time and wasted productivity.

The only way around this is data collection and the use of that data to get insights into use patterns and opportunities to rethink how your space is used. This is no easy task but it is essential to the smooth operation of any workplace.

Secondly, while many workers are slowly coming back to the office, whether full-time or part-time, a fundamental shift has taken place that allows millions of workers to work from home permanently. This has obvious implications for the corporate real estate market and downsizing and or right-sizing is now an almost standard issue for facility managers.

It’s easy to understand that you can safely shrink your real estate commitments but quite another to do it in a way that doesn’t disrupt your operations or leave with too little space. Finding the sweet spot between achieving all possible savings and keeping sufficient space to fulfill your mission will continue to be a top challenge.

3. Making room for IoT and data

There are more opportunities than ever before to use technology to improve the efficiency of facility management. IoT-powered solutions are proving themselves.

IoT-powered solutions have a place in the challenges facing facility managers since they can combine tracking capabilities with the ability to collect, store and analyze data. This data is essential because it replaces estimates, guesswork and manual observation with hard numbers that give you an accurate picture of how the space in your facility is really used.

With the increasing availability of data and analytics tools, businesses are now able to make better-informed decisions about their facility management. This data can be used to improve everything from maintenance schedules to energy usage. By making data-driven decisions, businesses will be able to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their facility management.

The same IoT infrastructure that collects and manages data also enables a range of use cases that are relevant to facility management, like being able to automatically monitor room occupancy and environmental conditions. Heating, cooling and lighting can all be managed remotely, limiting use when possible and helping to avoid temperature extremes that need to be corrected through increased energy use.

The same technology can be a great tool for tracking and managing assets, another very useful capability for facility managers. By using asset tracking software, occupants can quickly locate the items they need, track how they’re being used, and when they need to be replaced or repaired. Asset tracking is also relevant to inventory management and avoiding the over-purchasing of assets, which is always a problem for facility managers.

Asset tracking, a fundamental component of IoT deployments, can pay for itself through providing information that allows facility managers to make better decisions regarding their operations and budget.

One of the biggest trends in facilities management for 2023 will be the widespread adoption of emerging IoT-based solutions. The cost savings and efficiencies they make possible means the solutions have become “must-haves” going forward. Data-driven solutions are now essential in dealing with all of the most important issues on the agenda of any facility management team.

This includes everything from building automation and control systems to energy management systems to security systems. With the ever-increasing costs of energy and water, more and more facilities are turning to technology to help them reduce consumption and save money. In addition, technology can also help increase productivity, communication, and safety in the workplace. 

Like so many other business fields, facility management has been disrupted by the events of the last two years, creating unique challenges that no one could have imagined earlier. Now that the post-pandemic business scene is stabilizing, it’s easy to see that many of the challenges faced by facilities management can be addressed with tech solutions that are emerging at just the right time.

To learn more about how you can enhance your own facility management capabilities and provide a better occupant experience, talk to our Sales team today