Supporting FM skills and experience with AI interaction

The running of facilities and estates in various locations around the world is being made simpler by the effective use of artificial intelligence

One of the more accepted and regularly used phrases in professional circles around the world is that of “There is no substitute for experience”, which has been proven as entirely accurate on numerous significant occasions.

It is frequently used when a mistake has been made that has led to a particularly negative outcome that is then identified as being the result of a lack of training and expertise for the individuals or teams responsible.

In addition to avoiding errors that can frequently cause considerable levels of inconvenience, expense and even prove damaging to the reputation of organisations, the gaining of experience is often the most effective way to progress and meet career ambitions.

These benefits and more can be seen in the successful outcomes achieved by FMs and managers of estates, as reported to FM Director in conversations held over the last few months.

One particularly notable conversation was held with an experienced FM who has recently returned to full-time working, working for a business that operates on an international basis.

It currently has offices in two different areas of the world and this means that the issue of complying with relevant legislation – always the first aspect every FM focuses on – are widely varying and that can mean spending a great deal of time in finding the details and ensuring that every part is understood and complied with.

One of the developments that may prove surprising to many readers is that the details of the relevant legislation can even change within different areas of the same country. Depending on the size and number of facilities involved, this may mean some companies have to employ FMs to work in each area.

At the time of speaking the FM was responsible for five facilities around the world, three of which were in one country, with the other two in different European countries. Each one had proven subject to different requirements.

The managing of any large facility or estate in one country is often a role that includes challenges on a regular – and event constant – basis, which increases exponentially when additional facilities in other countries are included.

Without fully appreciating all aspects of the requirements and the differences in legislation for each region, it is doubtful whether any of the facilities in question could be managed to an acceptable standard.

Further to this, many FMs are now finding that not only are they required to manage each of their facilities to high levels of compliancy, including each aspect of service delivery, but they are increasingly having further improvements added to their roles, with the aim of ensuring they perform well beyond the targets included within the various types of legislation.

These added requirements can vary to the project management of new construction activities to the highly complicated task of implementing environmental and social governance (ESG) strategies and more. There is, however, more light emerging at the end of this particular tunnel, principally through the interaction with and application of new technologies.

Our contact on this occasion has found that logging onto online artificial intelligence (AI) platforms is proving highly useful to support her work, particularly in learning about the various rules and regulations that each facility is governed by. Speaking to FM Director via an online call proved particularly helpful on this occasion as it allowed the viewing of our contact’s screen for them to demonstrate how they are using AI.

We were able to witness how the FM logged on to the platform of choice, then type in the question about the relevant types of legislation for the running of commercial office buildings in an American state. Within seconds, a detailed overview of both state and national regulations is provided, covering all aspects of fire safety regulations for the area in question.

“This is how I now use AI to support my work and I get someone to check the information it produces to make sure it’s accurate,” our contact continues. “I could have done this without it, but it would probably have taken me three weeks of research and I may also have had to use the services of a consultant to find everything, which may have required more time, as well.”

Having downloaded the response, this is then check by both our contact and one of their trusted consultants with specialised knowledge. These tasks are regarded as essential, as although AI is proving highly useful, it is not infallible and all information should be checked and verified. Despite these additional tasks, however, our contact states that the end result is often achieved much quicker than would otherwise be the case.

Despite the emergency in recent months of alerts and warnings issued about the potential for AI to exceed the boundaries of safe operation, including how this is increasingly likely to see a number of job roles disappear from the market, it seems that more positive developments can also be achieved.

Our contact’s personal view is that AI is helping to enhance their role and also that these benefits could not be enjoyed if the questions asked were unclear or misleading.

“You can you use all your knowledge that you have as a facilities professional to type the prompt and receive the information you need,” says our contact. “This can be applied to anything you need and it only ever takes just a few seconds.”

To illustrate the point further, they type in a search for details of the UK’s Working Time Directive and request the inclusion of references while still sharing their screen during the online call. The information is again delivered within a few seconds, including all references and supporting data.

“It means that we can move so much more quickly, but the critical thing is that you have the right knowledge in the first place to ask the right questions. Once you post the correct prompt, you quickly receive all the information you need and helps you to deliver quicker and move things along,” says our contact.

Another positive aspect of AI is how it can be used to improve communications with colleagues, clients and facilities users, they continue. “FM is all about communicating with everyone and you usually have to send multiple emails and messages to let them know about an issue and what that means for them, perhaps letting them know the lifts won’t be working tomorrow, for example.

“As a human being, you can’t help being affected by your most recent experience of something, which might include water gushing out of a ceiling and making you feel a little bit fretful. Having dealt with that and turning to the task of sending the emails, try as you might, it’s very likely that the tone of your message will be affected by that experience.”

Rather than firing off emails that reflect their current mood, our contact provides another live demonstration of how they copy the text of a message into an AI online service and ask it to rewrite in the tone most appropriate. They provide two examples of accepting an estimate and asking a service provider to proceed with a project, followed by a request for the platform to create a more light-hearted message informing facilities users that their lifts will be out of action.

Both of these requests again receive responses in seconds. “It makes the job far easier, with less pressure. I’ve even used the service to create reports and you can also use it to record meetings, take notes and highlight the actions agreed at the end.”

They further explain that knowing how things used to work before AI allows more mature users to appreciate the advantages it provides and apply it in the most effective way. “Most people in my office are under 35 years of age, but I’m the most prolific user of AI because I’ve adapted to it much quicker, to the point where they often come to ask me how to use it.

“If we can adopt it more widely in the best way, it will improve efficiency across all lines of business and we’ll start moving faster. That may be a little precarious for those not used to moving quickly, but it will help to reduce cost in a number of ways,” she says.

The reduction of cost is a common topic in FM, as most readers will know from personal experience, but this is being achieved through the correct application and interaction with AI.

Rather than the dramatic warnings of swathes of jobs being lost, it seems that applying it in the best way can help those requiring assistance with any aspects of their working lives and work-related targets.

Using herself as an example, our contact states that running facilities in four different areas of the world would be considerably more difficult without AI. “It’s likely that this will become more common when AI is used to take some of the heavy lifting out of jobs, and you can keep having the contract meetings and building relationships to make sure you keep the human side.”

Project management

Another common issue that affects many FMs is discussed during our call, which is that of project handling and completion. While these can be highly satisfying when everything goes according to plan, it can easily prove to be the opposite when just one or two elements prove more problematic.

“There’s often a lot of pressure in FM and construction and it’s frequently like plate-spinning, with lots of things happening at once, and then you introduce the extra work that goes with a project and it can quickly become very stressful.

Depending on the type of project involved, it can be better for everyone if these are kept separate from the daily tasks, with dedicated people and teams employed to focus on them and give them the attention they need.”

It is a well known fact that roles can differ between the running of facilities based in different areas of the world, as well as the number and types of legislation that need to be complied with. These can result in dramatic differences when some areas of the world are not governed by complex legislation, compared with others that may have much more involved requirements, but may also benefit from clear regulatory frameworks.

“For example, one of our offices in America has lighting wires that are just held by cable ties and everyone is fine with that, whereas EU regulations state that any electrical installation has to be insulated and installed in a particular way.

They use a lower voltage for lighting in America, so it’s probably not a serious issue, but I don’t feel comfortable with the cable ties and I’m looking to get some insulation around them,” says our contact.

The different requirements and standards applied to managing facilities around the world brings the conversation back to the topic of AI and our contact finds that although the regulations may differ, they find that contractors will still work to the required standards, although they may not be in the habit of documenting this.

“I’ve even produced risk assessments and sent them to the contractors as an example of what I’d like to see and often find that AI helps with this, as well,” they continue. “We then get the quote for the work, ensuring it will be completed safely, and that will determine the budget for the project.”

Perhaps one of the most encouraging topics within our wideranging conversation was that it is essential for those using AI for particular purposes have the necessary level of expertise. This will allow them to ask the most relevant questions and receive more accurate information as a result, providing further reassurance that personal learning and development will remain essential in all work environments.

Without the necessary levels of skills and knowledge, it is much more likely that the more general warnings posted within national media outlets in particular in recent months will become more relevant.

It has become increasingly the case that individuals with high levels of skills and expertise are in great demand at present and this is likely to become even more prevalent in the future.

Our contact remains convinced that the use of AI will increase throughout the FM sector and continue to provide higher levels of advantages as a result, including support for individuals that will help them to achieve their desired levels of wellbeing and remain productive at all times.