How to control the risk of low data quality
While data can be a big boon to facilities operations in terms of creating efficiencies, data can also be a big boondoggle if the systems and expertise aren’t in place to use the data and analytics effectively. One key finding in a new study from Veolia, Getting Value From Investment in Facilities Technology: How To Overcome the Barriers, reports that 80 percent of facility managers can’t get different data systems to talk to each other and, as a result, are losing out on the value of collecting this data.
"This lack of interoperability in a building management system results in data bottlenecks and blind spots, which in turn can lead to erroneous strategic decisions."
If key processes are slow, if it is challenging to make critical, real-time information available for reporting, or if internal stakeholders are constantly tied up in accessing data, rather than managing data-flows, it means the company is most definitely not getting the full benefits from their building.Unsurprisingly, the main issue shared today by building managers concerns the difficulties in accessing, structuring and analyzing data to support real-time, smart decision-making processes. Siloed data is not only costly but risky, since it leads to partially informed or misinformed decisions. Data silos were cited as the No. 1 barrier for facility managers when implementing the technology. This results in data feeling insufficient, according to the report and, especially in the case of energy data, facility managers aren’t able to understand the full context of the data, leading to “unjustified conclusions.”
Data Integration is key
Building management environments are often complex, comprised of multiple disconnected core systems as well as peripheral databases and spreadsheets. These are not well integrated (if at all), and legacy systems are not decommissioned when new ones are introduced. This confluence of factors creates many problems for building management professionals when it comes to understanding what data is held, where it is, the quality of it, and what value can be gained from it.
"The only way to achieve a complete view of the building’s actual performance is by integrating all of the siloed data sources into a single digital hub."
Building managers are twice as likely to use an integrated workplace management system if they can reliably access all of the data they need to perform their work and not have to use multiple systems and services, according to the 2018 Facility Management Benchmark Survey. By integrating everything into a single dashboard for all your building management processes, your building managers will spend less time searching for data, making them more efficient and more effective.Utilizing a single dashboard to give the right people the right access to the right information, building managers, executives and management personnel will be able to observe real-time building data that is relevant to their role and areas of responsibility and make informed decisions to support your building’s operation. No longer would executives and managers need to request data from various departments and reporting systems. This is one of the key benefits offered by the BuildingMinds platform.
