The FM workforce is currently under strain at both ends of the spectrum. Many senior leaders are nearing retirement, while feweryoung professionals are gaining the skills to enter the sector.
Does AI have a role to play in addressing workforce-related issues in industries like FM? While opinions may vary, insights from ourown business show that it can make a real difference. AI-powered maintenance management platforms equipped with ultra-high levels of process automation can reduce manual administrative burden, minimise human error by standardising best-practiceworkflows, and create scalability without compromising quality or customer service.
Overall, the result is a more productive workforce – one with more time and energy to dedicate towards training, creative thinking,human connection and practical tasks that can’t be performed by AI.
Setting the scene: workforce issues affecting FM and other industries
FM’s struggles have become increasingly alarming in recent years. In 2023, the average age of an FM professional was 50, with the International Facility Management Association revealing that almost 40 per cent of managers were set to retire in the next eight years.
The situation is also concerning at recruitment level. Core engineering skills are crucial for carrying out hard FM services, such as electrical, heating and ventilation maintenance. However, CBRE reports that the UK is currently short by 59,000 of the 124,000 engineers and technicians required annually. Too few people are pursuing the necessary pathways to even consider a career in FM.
Statistics indicate that many UK industries are facing similar issues – and that they are going unaddressed. Skills England and the Department for Education recently reported that, despite 27 per cent of current British job vacancies being skills-related, the nation’s overall expenditure on training and development has decreased by 18.5 per cent since 2011.
AI as an untapped solution
AI isn’t typically seen as the go-to solution for recruitment challenges like these. When mentioned in staffing-related conversations, it is more often perceived as a ‘threat’; AI is a ‘threat’ to our jobs, a ‘threat’ to human connection and a ‘threat’ to creativity.
This is true in part. The World Economic Forum forecasted a net loss of 14 million jobs occurring between 2023-2027 due to global shifts and rapid technological change. Statista has also shared that some job responsibilities – notably legal, administrative and support tasks – could be automated by nearly 50 per cent in the coming years.
In manual labour-intensive industries like FM, a tech takeover to this extent is unlikely to occur any time soon. The meticulous hands-on work required to repair a faulty heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) unit or retrofit a lighting system with new sensors is not something AI can currently imitate. In fact, that same Statista report highlights that only 4 per cent of installation and maintenance tasks will soon be lost to automation – a figure well below the average of 25 per cent for other industries.
Overall, first-world birth rates are declining, adding to future skills shortage concerns. A recent McKinsey report found that many countries will need to at least double their productivity to maintain historic growth rates; one could argue, therefore, that AI has come at just the right moment. As with most things, the situation is nuanced. By solely focusing on the threats of AI, we cloud ourjudgement and overlook the potential opportunities that it may bring.
AI can maximise productivity and human interaction, but only when implemented correctly
Building management systems (BMS) and computer-aided facilities management (CAFM) software have been widely used for over 30 years, however these systems have perennially fallen short in fully addressing the needs of FM professionals. Information is often disjointed, lacking the comprehensive oversight that tracks the interplay between different functions and the people responsible for operational certainty and efficiency.
AI-driven platforms are undoubtedly enhancing the capabilities of existing BMS and CAFM tools. Recent research has revealed that AI-optimised facilities are outperforming those with conventional operations by 20-30 per cent. Yet despite these promising statistics, only 10 per cent of FM organisations currently use AI-driven analytics.
To encourage greater take-up and ensure early adopters have a good experience, it’s crucial that digital transformation happens the ‘right’ way. By feeding these platforms incomplete or inaccurate data for example, not fully understanding the problems that need solving, attempting to integrate with incompatible legacy systems and underestimating the need for cultural change, there is a risk that this digital transformation will fall flat, cost too much and potentially do more harm than good.
When implemented correctly, the benefits are significant:
- Streamlining workflow and optimising logistics – by organising specific jobs by task type and location, they can beautomatically matched with the most suitable engineers with the right qualifications and tools. This reduces the risk of wasted visits and saves unnecessary miles on the road, dramatically improving ‘right first time’ works.
- Predictive maintenance – AI-driven platforms can better support a more predictive approach to maintenance, with intervention only occurring when necessary based on real need. Trends can be identified to improve operations holistically, extending asset life while facilitating leaner working practices.
- Automated reporting and administration – rather than spending hours manually building data reports, senior FMs can becomemore available for strategic thinking and free up time to pass on knowledge to others in the business.
Engineers can also become more productive. Without the burden of personally filling out timesheets and compliance certificates, for example, they can focus on the practical tasks that contribute directly to improved building operations, happy customers and ultimately bottom lines. Within our own business, the adoption of this approach has saved 14,000 hours annually and supported 430% underlying profit growth. It’s worth noting that we have employed more staff during this period too, rather than AI ‘taking jobs’.
Lessons from the FM industry
Overall, the potential of AI for industries like FM highlights how powerful new technologies can be when it comes to addressing workforce-related issues, essentially giving skilled operatives the freedom to do much more with their time. Rather than viewingthis world-changing tool as a threat, business managers must ask themselves what could be achieved with the headspace it freesup?
