Digital Overwhelm vs
Digital Transformation
Facility managers often face a complex maze of digital apps and tools that promise efficiency but deliver confusion. This proliferation of technologies has led to unproductive facility and site environments due to the ongoing nature of disconnected systems. Where once we were promised digital transformation, we are now faced with the reality of digital overwhelm.
In today’s environment, it is accepted that facility managers, contractors, and technicians need a large number of digital tools and applications to carry out their day-to-day work. But what if there was a better alternative to achieving site safety, security, and compliance?
The Challenges & Complexity in Modern Workflows
The growth of isolated apps and systems has led to site environments that are difficult to manage and highly inefficient. Digital tools lacking interconnectivity are now mazes of complexity and they are costing facility managers significant time, effort, and financial resources on a daily basis. Today’s typical workplace environment by the numbers reveals:
- App Overload: On average there are 22 apps on a technician’s device.
- Minimal Usage: Only 20% of digital app features are ever used on site.
- Project Failure: There is a consistently high 70% failure rate of digital transformation projects.
This unchecked growth of isolated systems and technologies is perpetuating the everyday challenges of facility managers.
The Reality of Today’s Facility Management – A Real-World Case Study
Consider the typical workflow for a contractor, technician, and facility manager at a site. The process starts with preloading company licenses and insurances, followed by completing pre-attendance inductions. These inductions include health and safety requirements, security protocols, and permits. The contractor retrieves the work order from the client’s system, allocates the technician, and schedules attendance. The technician signs in onsite, completes the work order, records the time and date, and uploads the service report. For the facility manager back at the office, everything is checked and rechecked, and invoices are generated.
Each of these steps involves multiple systems, disconnected data, and layers of administrative complexity and inaccuracy. Inefficient system integrations mean multiple systems working in complete isolation.
Facility managers are required to replicate this complex workflow for multiple sites, multiple jobs, and multiple parties. The administrative burden, risk of inaccuracy, and resource requirements are evident. This widely accepted yet fragmented approach continues to slow down operations, increasing errors and site inefficiencies with no end in sight.
An Integrated Approach Via Built for Purpose Technology
The good news is there is a way to unify disparate systems into a coherent whole. An integrated systems approach using purpose-built technology can drastically reduce complexity and inefficiency. By offering simple and consistent workflows and a connected ecosystem, fragmented site management processes can be significantly improved.
This approach consolidates multiple functions into a single platform, making it easier for facility managers to oversee operations. This consolidation not only reduces administrative burdens but also allows for better strategic decision-making through simplicity, security, and a single source of truth. Through a new approach, facility managers are eliminating the complexity of managing multiple systems, enhancing collaboration, and achieving significant cost savings. By addressing digital overwhelm with integrated systems, you can streamline your workflows, reduce administrative burdens, and improve overall efficiency.