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Why Facility Management should be at the heart of your IoT strategy

You know what they say – if you want to know what’s really going on in an organisation, you should talk to the people in the mailroom. But, we think there’s someone who may know even more: the facility manager.

A great facility manager will know what’s happening across every square inch of space they manage in their real estate portfolio. They’ll know what’s working, what’s suboptimal, and what needs to be repaired right now – and they probably already have a prioritised improvement project wishlist. That means they have the best intel around building performance to help organisations implement new projects to cut costs, optimise processes, and boost productivity within their building portfolio.

But, as with all things, there’s a catch. That rich, depth of knowledge around building performance has often been off-the-cuff stuff, gathered by an attentive person walking around monitoring things for facilities departments that are operating without the right technologies. But, what if your FM team could have eyes on the ground everywhere all at once – with all the information they need available in one place?

The truth is – you can! IoT and sensor technology is enabling FM teams around the world to have eyes in all the places that matter. In the past, that meant setting up lots of new connections, testing out many new vendors and sensor technologies that may not do everything you want. Or, even worse, just when you start to get the hang of it, you find out the technology you are using is limited in the functionality you needed.


That complexity is what we’ve solved with Planon IoT. Every great IoT strategy begins with defining what it is you are trying to improve and, of course, which building assets are involved. Our IoT platform allows you to define what to monitor. And you can seamlessly connect and combine any brand of sensor technology, any device, or any established IoT project all into one place. With Planon IoT, you are also integrated by design to our integrated workplace management system (IWMS), which allows you to intelligently link all your IoT projects to your ongoing processes around maintenance, space, and real estate management. This allows for exciting, new combinations of actionable insights to improve how your building is performing.

Why FM should be part of your IoT strategy

FM’s number one priority is to meet the needs of the people who inhabit or work inside each building they manage, keeping the environment in suitable working condition – from keeping the lights on to keeping the buildings secure.

With this surge of new technologies – especially around IoT and sensor technology – FM teams have access to even more options that will allow them to continue to raise the bar on delivering the best possible experiences to their building occupants.

Every good decision that FM makes, can help save the company money and ensure occupants are having the best experience every time they enter the building. That’s why facility managers are a perfect ally for your IoT strategy team when implementing new IoT projects.

With an IoT-enabled IWMS platform, facility managers have even more control of their building portfolio. Once it’s decided what building assets need to be monitored and what processes or services you are aiming to improve, an IoT-enabled IWMS platform can provide you with up-to-the-minute accurate dashboards and alerts covering the whole building – enabling you to make better strategic decisions based on real performance data. Once your sensors are connected, your team can set rules around when, how, and why you receive automated alerts – or even work orders – when defined incidents occur around your assets, workspace, and facilities. And you control the scope – no matter how many projects or whatever the size: whether it’s within a single building, multiple buildings on an estate, or buildings in completely different locations around the world.

But efficient management is just the start. When you’ve got high-quality, real-time data about your systems—how many people swiped in today, the temperature difference between floors 4 and 6, $10,000 of equipment in a room nobody uses—you can reconfigure for improvement. Not just managing for the status quo, but managing for positive transformation.

So how can you get started?

Organisations must define what it is they are trying to achieve. Are they trying to reduce costs? Are they trying to improve air quality? Are they trying to eliminate the need for last minute repairs? This is where your FM team can really shine. They have all the information on the scenarios that need the most attention, or areas where you can make the most impact. Once your organisation has defined its main goal, you can start by testing an IoT project within a single floor or building to deliver the proof of ROI.

Want to get started? Learn more about Planon IoT here or contact us to set up a consultation today.