Top Trends Reshaping the Facility Management Landscape in 2022

It is remarkable to consider how far the facilities management (FM) industry and automation in FM has progressed just in the past few years. The COVID-19 pandemic has also had a striking impact and continues to discourage a full return-to-office due to the emergence of new variants.  Approaches to on-site working shifted dramatically, and the FM sector needed to adapt accordingly. Technology and techniques have had to become increasingly mobile and flexible, and there is a heightened expectation from today’s workforce about their wellbeing at work. At the same time, facilities managers are still adapting to challenges of the hybrid workplace such as dealing with supply-chain disruptions and material and labour shortages.

Every year the boundaries of the facilities management industry noticeably shift. As new technologies emerge, expectations change, and working practices develop, this industry must react to successfully meet these. These new technologies are opening new vistas for facility maintenance management software solution providers. We live in an era where innovative technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, and Machine Learning (ML) have become a critical part of our life.

Companies operating in the FM sector are moving towards a customer-centric approach with several digital transformations disrupting it now and then. This is among the driving forces for G4S to become a single point solutions destination for all hard and soft facility services. Our integrated solution-based approach demonstrates an in-depth understanding of customers’ needs and requirements, helping to dominate in the industry.

Reliable reports cite that the facility management market size is expected to exceed USD 65.5 billion by 2025. 

Key facilities management trends for 2022

• Last Mile delivery is pivotal: The retail industry is rapidly changing, and retailers are getting smarter about their last-mile solutions to compete with the biggest players. Last mile delivery is an integral component of the order fulfillment process but is often the most difficult to coordinate for a number of reasons. With smart technology like GPS and RFID tags to track the movement of shipments in real time to embedding IoT-enabled sensors in packages in order to monitor their temperature and humidity, smart technology has enabled retailers to provide their customer base with the transparency and traceability they want. We understand that the last mile delivery experience can have an impact on the retailer’s reputation, so at G4S we can help devise solutions for customers that make the right efforts to winnow down your last mile delivery window in order to meet rising customer expectations.
• The hybrid workplace is replacing the conventional office: The hybrid workplace is a mix of office and remote work made possible by technologies and services that support working from anywhere. A recent industry survey reported that 53% of employees currently working full time from home want to return to the office at least for a few days per week for community, connection, and collaboration.
• IoT will continue to grow in importance: IoT or the Internet of Things will be seen to generate performance data alerting FMs to potential breakdowns. FMs can monitor and control the devices from anywhere. G4S technology solutions like SmartFM can lead to improvement in overall facility performance, efficiency of assets, cost and energy savings and increased productivity.
• Mobile apps will accelerate productivity: Real-time information from the mobile app, especially approvals for quotes and completed jobs, accelerates work-order resolutions.
• Data and insights: Data and insights will be raising industry expectations and expanding the positive outcomes of FM operations. It is easier now to define reordering levels, replacing assets and reducing pilferages.
• Employee Health & Safety: Maintaining health and safety requirements with practices like social distancing, sanitation, and contact tracing are more important than ever and can supervise health and safety in their offices and proactively prepare for new health regulations and situations.
• Sustainability and building efficiency: Utilizing smart building sensors to only switch on lighting, heating, and other climate control systems when spaces are occupied and introducing energy management systems to track energy usage in real-time and identify opportunities to reduce consumption will be instrumental.
• Growing Demand for Outsourcing Facilities Management: Going forward, companies will seek out outsourcing as an effective way of managing facility management more effectively as such a model offers maximum value creation.  

Challenges seen

One of the biggest challenges faced by the industry today is the availability of manpower. The FM industry requires professionals, semi-skilled and unskilled manpower. The supply of professionals that are able to handle large scale infrastructure projects is still relatively low (especially when it comes to technical services) in India, and hence keeping pace with the rapid growth the industry has to offer is a big challenge as even today the majority of the professionals require comprehensive training and time to understand their role. On the other hand, although there is an abundance of unskilled manpower in the country, there are still two underlying problems that FM companies face. The first problem is training the unskilled manpower to adapt to systems and processes to run a professional FM service, and the second problem is the retention of manpower as the unskilled staff is highly prone to switching jobs. 

 The other challenge in India today is the market perception and acceptance of unorganised players. Today, there are thousands of unorganised players in the FM industry that enter the market with a focus on only 1 or 2 services such as housekeeping or pest control. The majority of the market is still willing to accept a less professional and organized service for a lower cost. This also creates a hindrance in the organizational aspect of the sector as most of the small players do not comply with statutory compliances and insurances which means they are able to offer services at a lower cost as compared to the organized players. Although this does help in introducing FM services to clients that may have been otherwise hesitant to venture into this space, in the long run though this would not benefit the industry progress that is aiming towards a more professional approach.

Road Ahead

With each passing day, the facility maintenance management landscape is moving towards a new approach. FM trends for 2022 will include both pandemic-related responses and technology innovation, resulting in improved performance. FM stakeholders will continue to focus on hybrid workplaces. At the same time, FM technologies will continue to advance, despite the pandemic. The importance of technology in assuring your spaces are safe, useful, and engaging for your employees and occupants is paramount to facilities managers moving forward. As hybrid and remote work continues to shift how employees interact onsite, facilities managers will see new trends and technologies emerge to support their initiatives to maximize the usage of space and produce great experiences for their employees. 

Efficiently managed work-spaces are critical to the success of any business. Seamless and integrated management of your facilities and infrastructure is the key to helping your organisation achieve its objectives. G4S assures you of a hassle free, hygienic and happy work environment, which meets both - every statutory compliance and every specific business demand.