Leading the way on smart buildings: a call-to-action for members 

News

The concept of smart buildings as ‘ecosystems’ of interdependent technologies sharing data and working together to meet the needs and goals of building inhabitants and managers has been around for some time. Indeed, as many in our sector can attest, they are often discussed and proposed as a key driver for automating and supporting maintenance and security, improving workplace and customer experiences, and delivering sustainability outcomes – all areas that directly concern the responsibilities of workplace and facilities professionals. 

And yet, despite the incredible advances we have seen in technologies and their applications in daily life in recent times, experts agree that smart buildings and their ecosystems are still in the very early stages of development, and that the concept lacks a clear definition and an underpinning specification. 

This presents another huge opportunity for our profession and serves as a booming call-to-action for members to assert their influence in the embryonic stages of smart building planning to help shape, and perhaps even drive, the development of smart ecosystems. 

‘A booming call-to-action for members’ 

This was among the findings from our report ‘The smart places ecosystem – unlocking the full potential of the smart building’, which IWFM developed in partnership with Microsoft. The report shares the fruits of a deeply interesting roundtable discussion on the urban-transforming potential of ecosystems, and how our profession can best contribute to realising it. Providing the insights were senior FM practitioners, academics, and technologists, and members can access the report for free now by clicking here. 

Some professionals may fear that increasing automation and other outcomes relating to technological advancement could limit or even replace their roles; they may also feel that smart buildings exemplify that threat; however, there is a crucial human element to all of this that should never be ignored. 

Smart buildings and ecosystems are an orchestra that demand a human conductor to direct, manage and maintain the complex interaction of software and hardware. And as smart buildings become more commonplace, they will expand and evolve into smart communities and cities – all requiring that crucial human element to feed into and set goals, support and manage the delivery of outcomes, and respond to shifting requirements and priorities. 

Download the report 

Our previous work with Microsoft, ‘Bridging facilities management’s digital divide’, highlighted the lack of digital skills in the sector and recommended that FMs build digital partnerships to fill the gap. That message is echoed in this new report, but it’s also clear that wider adoption of smart ecosystems depends on overcoming an age-old issue within the sector: successfully arguing for value over cost. 

The solution is proffered in the document, and we will aim to demonstrate it in the next steps of our research as we work with Microsoft on developing laboratory studies of potential smart ecosystems that unlock the future of the workplace. 

Download ‘The smart places ecosystem – unlocking the full potential of the smart building’ today and find out how you can help shape the future of smart buildings.