The Importance of Intelligent Platforms in Sustainable Facility Management
The co-founder and executive director of Sysserve, Owoeye Johnson, has emphasized the need for companies to fully adopt intelligent platforms that support sustainable facility management. His call came during a presentation at a recent conference hosted by the International Facility Management Association Global Africa. This event aimed to bring together professionals in the field to connect, learn, and develop innovative strategies for the industry.
Owoeye highlighted that the Facility Management application developed by his organization has supported numerous organizations across various industries over the past 13 years. It has helped these organizations achieve their digital transformation goals at different stages of digitization, from those just starting out to those with highly mature systems.
He outlined five stages of digitization, noting that companies operate at different levels, ranging from those with no centralized system to those with intelligent systems. These stages include:
- Non-existent: Organizations without a central record-keeping system, often relying on manual processes and data silos.
- Nascent: Companies with a system in place but underutilized, primarily used as a record-keeping tool.
- Emerging: Organizations that use their facility management system to power operations, but still depend heavily on human input.
- Connected: Companies investing in IoT sensors for real-time data capture and integration with other enterprise applications.
- Intelligent: Organizations where AI is embedded at every level, enabling autonomous operations through generative AI and big data analytics.
Owoeye shared the Digital Maturity Model developed by Deloitte and McKinsey, which provides tools for organizations to evaluate their level of digital maturity and build a roadmap to full maturity. He explained that companies in the non-existent category often lack a centralized system for record-keeping, leading to slow decision-making based on guesswork rather than data. These organizations need to first implement a central record-keeping system to begin their digitization journey.
In the nascent stage, companies have a system in place but do not utilize it effectively. They rely on manual processes for many operations, despite having a system. For emerging organizations, while they use their facility management system to power operations, their processes remain heavily dependent on human input, leading to errors and delays.
At the connected level, organizations invest in IoT sensors that automatically collect real-time data, integrating with other enterprise applications for automated vendor payments and financial reporting. This level generates vast amounts of data, which can be challenging to convert into actionable insights for decision-making and sustainability.
The highest level, intelligent systems, features AI embedded at every layer of facility management operations. These systems use generative AI and big data analytics to support planning, budget forecasting, and resource allocation. Operations at this level are described as autonomous, controlled by IoT sensors and AI.
Femi Kareem, a manager at a facility management company in Abuja, emphasized the importance of intelligent platforms. He described them as integrated digital solutions that collect, analyze, and act on data from various sources to optimize operations. These platforms focus on resource efficiency, reducing emissions, cutting waste, lowering costs, and providing AI-driven solutions.
Owoeye concluded that building an intelligent FM system that drives sustainability is a gradual process requiring strategic planning, continuous improvement, and sustained investment. He urged companies to take the first step now, as each advancement brings them closer to a smarter, greener, and more sustainable future.