As facility managers face growing workloads, shrinking budgets and fewer skilled workers, many are turning to technology to fill the gaps. From automation software to predictive maintenance and artificial intelligence (AI), digital tools are increasingly seen as critical to managing modern buildings efficiently.

JLL’s latest State of Facilities Management Technology report outlines how facility leaders are seeking greater visibility, data-driven insights and streamlined operations across an expanding range of properties. Among the nearly 300 professionals surveyed, most said they need clearer understanding of completed work and more actionable data to guide decisions. At the same time, they are navigating heightened risks, compliance demands and an uncertain economy that continues to disrupt workplaces.

“There is so much more we need to do and we are all being forced to do that with less,” said Tim Bernardez, global head of workplace management technologies at JLL.

A workforce under pressure

FMs say pressure is most acute for day-to-day operations. Jason Noorian, vice president of asset management at Brinker International, said turnover during the pandemic left teams with fewer experienced managers and a harder time creating what he called an “operations ownership mindset.”

“It has also been tricky obtaining good vendors who are often overworked,” he said. “Sourcing new equipment also takes longer, so being proactive to reduce operational disruption is key.”

The consequences reach into routine decision-making. “We need to be experts in the facilities so we can train and ensure our operators know about the equipment,” Noorian said. “Some of them have anxiety about touching a piece of equipment or changing a filter—things that maybe in the past were common knowledge are not there and the fear of breaking something keeps them more paralyzed.”

Automation powering efficiency

As budgets tighten, automation is becoming essential. “You need to have a growth mindset and think about facilities as a profit generator not only a cost to the business,” Noorian said. “We have over 6000 preventative maintenance tickets that go out every three months. Having someone do that by themselves would take an army of people. Because we have a system that is automated we can put the scope and detail on there with one person clicking a button and getting that out to everyone.”

Automation, he added, also provides visibility into vendor performance.

Max Serrao, owner and chief operating officer of CFM Associates Inc., said sourcing both service providers and in-house technicians has become more difficult, but digital tools have helped make jobs more manageable. Automatic notifications for reactive and preventive work orders, for example, help prioritize projects by urgency.

According to JLL’s report, facility professionals said the most valuable outcomes from automation software include eliminating repetitive tasks, improving analytics and compliance, and providing technicians with powerful mobile tools to complete work efficiently. The top areas identified for automation were work order tracking, invoice and payment approvals, and reporting.

Noorian noted that data captured through computerized maintenance systems has become essential for financial decisions, particularly when weighing whether to repair or replace equipment. “With my current system, I am able to see the repair history, its asset life and if the equipment is under warranty to prevent wasteful spending,” he said.

Asset tagging

Another emerging trend is asset tagging — the digital labeling of equipment to track maintenance, history and performance in real time. While some clients have been hesitant to adopt it, Serrao believes it is inevitable. “I think it’s something we’re going to ultimately adopt and everyone will,” he said.

Noorian said the approach has already improved decision-making. “Our desire is to have a holistic view of our asset management strategy and to do that we need to have assets tagged.”

He added that tagging eliminates inefficiencies that stem from traditional communication between vendors and managers. “Sometimes it might take three back-and-forths between a vendor and a manager to get the right serial number and model number, to take pictures they can actually see so the tradesperson can have the right equipment or part to help repair,” he said. “Asset tagging takes all that out of the question. We also want to make sure we are being better with repair versus replace decisions. The tag has all the history where the manager, in real time, can understand the best route to take.”

Bernardez said asset tagging is most effective when tied to a clear strategy. “There are some really cool technologies that can augment the data you collect from asset tagging where you can begin to use AI to pull back manuals and all sorts of relevant information to help those who are working on the asset be more proficient [and] have more knowledge,” he said.

Artificial intelligence driving insights

Many facility managers expressed interest in exploring artificial intelligence (AI), though most have yet to implement it. According to the JLL survey, about 59 per cent of respondents said they have no AI strategy but are eager to learn more. Sixteen per cent said they were skeptical about its maturity, while roughly 10 percent already use AI regularly.

Scott Boekweg, product management lead at JLL, said AI is beginning to automate key processes in facility management, particularly in predictive maintenance and scheduling.

“With AI power-driven predictive maintenance you can anticipate when equipment failures are going to happen,” he said. “This not only reduces the downtime but it also prevents the overspending on unnecessary maintenance.”

At least one global elevator company is already using AI-powered predictive maintenance systems. “They are collecting and analyzing data from their sensors and predicting failures before they occur,” he said. “It’s actually reduced their elevator downtime by up to 50 per cent and extended the lifespan of those elevator components.”

Scheduling systems that use AI can intelligently assign work orders based on urgency, the verbiage in the work order, the specialty, the technician’s skill level and availability, and the geography for route optimization. “It’s like having a super efficient dispatcher working 24/7,” said Boekweg, pointing to a university campus that has reduced its response times by 20 per cent with the system, while improving its operations and maintenance.

Another up-and-coming technology is AI vision systems.“Basically, its able to analyze video and pictures and be able to see the assets that sit within them. You can take these images and video feeds and in seconds pull down the specific equipment. Boekweg has seen early applications that can be used for tagging equipment virtually using a smartphone. Technicians can also use that same app to find the equipment they need by simply tapping on it.

“We’ve seen this really take flight in some adjacent industries such as warehousing where they’re using computer vision AI to identify and categorize millions of items rather quickly instead of having to barcode and do manual data entry,” he noted. “I suspect we’ll see more of that as we continue to leverage AI.”

AI Chatbots and AI Analysis and also help FMs optimize resources and improve operational efficiency. Boekweg explained how AI Chatbots are the frontlines of solving complex problems and inquiries and understand FM jargon. “It really helps FMs to interact with their asset management system, to analyze real-time sensor data, maintenance records, and equipment specifications to provide the insights on the asset help and also look at vendor performance.

While AI clearly leads to opportunities, he doesn’t foresee it replacing the important role facility managers hold; rather, learning specific AI tools will create more efficiency in the FM field. “It will help them do more with less, but there’s still the critical human skills—you need to be able to talk to customers and those doing work orders, and also do some complex problem solving. AI is not perfect, so you still need to know what is really going on in the facility.”