Technology-first solutioneering serves facility operators navigating the transformation of Digital into AI facilities.
Facility Management Transformation
Facility management and maintenance have undergone significant transformations over the past decades, from labor-intensive manual work to automated smart buildings, driven by technological advancements and changing operational needs.
AI and machine learning technologies are poised to accelerate this transformation, putting further pressure on facility operators and facility solution providers to drastically expand their services and deepen their skill set in order to keep physical and digital assets up to date.
The Olden Days
Before the rise of modern technology, facility maintenance was primarily manual, physical labor with rudimentary tools. Devices and equipment were repaired or replaced as they broke down and inventories were kept track of with pen and paper (or on a whiteboard, as below).
As industrialization and urbanization accelerated, the introduction of mechanical and electrical systems revolutionized facility management. HVAC systems, automated elevators, centralized electrical grids, and early security systems were integrated into buildings, requiring more specialized skills to maintain these systems. During this period, computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) began emerging, allowing facilities to track and schedule maintenance more efficiently.
This evolution demanded an initial shift in services offered by facility solutions providers, moving away from providing hands for manual labor to bringing the expertise to operate electrical systems and computers.
The Digital Revolution
With the rise of advanced and connected computing, facility management saw another major shift towards digital solutions. The integration of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, sophisticated CMMS platforms, and building automation systems (BAS) now allowed facility managers to monitor and control multiple building systems remotely.
Energy efficiency became a growing concern, leading to the introduction of energy management systems that optimize heating, cooling, and lighting based on usage patterns. This decision-making forced facility operators to increasingly rely on digital information and data systems, which facility solution providers would develop and maintain for them.
The skills required to manage facilities dramatically shifted from craftsmen to skilled professionals familiar with digital technology stacks. The fundamental shift to technology-first facilities solutions and maintenance laid the foundation for an accelerated path towards smart and connected buildings.
The Internet of Things (IoT) has transformed facility maintenance, making real-time monitoring and predictive analytics an industry standard. IoT sensors collect data on equipment performance, environmental conditions, and occupancy patterns, which in turns enables us to develop maintenance strategies to anticipate equipment failures.
AI Transformation
Facilities are poised to be transformed by the impact of artificial intelligence in the coming decade. Aside from cloud computing, digital twins, and smart energy further enhancing energy efficiency, reducing operational costs and minimizing downtime, on-premise “AI workers” will take over more and more facility floor space as they assist companies to grow and expand more cost-effectively.
These “AI workers” aren’t just robots sitting alongside the production assembly line, but are also security drones monitoring the premise, call center agents solving customer problems, internal sales assistants providing training to sales staff, quality assurance teams ensuring faulty products are caught before shipping out, and so on. This is challenging facility solution providers once again as it requires a new layer of skills to be offered to facility operators.
These new skills include not only assembly and maintenance of AI systems, but also providing AI solutions that ensure the “AI workers” continuously learn from their human counterparts working at the company. To remain competitive, it’s no longer good enough to rely on an off-the-shelf software solution or SaaS; proprietary business processes that provide a competitive edge in the market must be encoded within AI models and reinforced with your team’s best practices, innovative ideas, and lessons learned.
That’s the particular challenge MTS Solutions is tackling on behalf of our customers as we help our customers navigate the exciting transformation of Digital into AI facilities.