A STUDY OF SMART FACILITIES MANAGEMENT FOR INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY

Abstract

The advancement of technology in recent years have significant positive and negative impacts on humans. One of the most discernible constructive effects of technology is the simplification of lives by improving efficiency and productivity. In 2014, Singapore launched the Smart Nation initiative with the aim to enable citizens to lead meaningful lives. Professionals in the Facility Management industry in Singapore have collectively voiced out the problems experienced, of which included a reduction in manpower to perform the burgeoning inspection requirements, as well as the inability to monitor the manpower responsible for these inspections. Alongside the sophisticated technologies available in the market today, coupled with the Smart Nation initiative, the Facility Management industry has seen a gradual increase in the adoption of technology in its operations to enhance efficiency. Six different technologies, namely the drone (external), internal UAV, body-worn camera, smartwatch, QR code and RFID tracker, were examined for their potential to value add to the Facility Management industry. This study hypothesises that the benefits attainable with the utilisation of these technologies include time, cost and manpower savings, facilitating the tracking of assets, as well as heightened capacity to monitor manpower on sites. Information of technologies examined in this study is obtained through literature reviews and case studies. Interviews with various professionals in the Facility Management industry were also conducted to gain deeper insights of the use of these technologies in the industry currently. Data analysis was performed to consolidate the benefits brought about by these technologies to the industry. Presently, the low adoption rate of most of the technologies investigated in this study poses a limitation in the data-collection process. This is attributed to the high upfront implementation cost of technologies deterring contractors from investing in them. Further studies are thus necessary to concretely establish the benefits of technologies to encourage investments and adoption of technologies.