Jen Nastu
Despite rapid advancements in technology that helps facilities improve efficiency and energy use, the majority of facility managers that have adopted such technology are struggling to see the return on their investments, according to Veolia North America.
Veolia, which recently released findings from a survey of 100 facilities and energy executives in the US, says that facility managers face a number of challenges in successfully reaching a positive ROI on their technological deployments - but that those challenges are mainly organizational and not technological.
Primary Challenges
Key findings of the survey indicate that 70% of facilities have not fully reaped the anticipated benefits of technology investments. Challenges facility managers face include:
- Lack of a strategic approach: few have documented strategies for utilizing technology;
- Data silos: many portfolio owners (80%) can’t get different systems to talk to each other so they never really see the full picture;
- User adoption: many are hampered by a lack of in-house expertise and/or difficulties changing behavior from "the way we've always done it" (e.g. use of paper forms);
- Risk of technology churn: some owners are concerned about investing in a solution that may quickly become obsolete in such a fast-moving market.
Overcoming the Frustrations
Facility managers that are having the most success at gaining the full extend of the benefits of technology investments have a number of things in common.
Veolia suggests that firms follow the following steps to insure success:
- Build confidence in the finance team by deploying technology that consistently deliver proven results rather than always reaching for the most cutting-edge solutions.
- Explore “as-a-service” models to make facility improvements without any capital investments.
- Run targeted software integration projects that enable a more complete view into facilities data.
- Unlock cash for the ambitious facility upgrade projects by making a link to broader business benefits.
