Understanding Data Ownership For Complete
Site Visibility
Facility and site data ownership extends well beyond legal entitlements. It shapes the foundation of your team’s day-to-day operations and your business’ strategic direction. But do you truly own all your data? And can you reliably access it when it matters most?
TL:DR – Key Takeaways
- Understanding Data Ownership: Know where your operational data is stored, who controls it, and whether your business truly owns it.
- The Risk of Non-Ownership: When third parties control your data, you risk compliance failures, vendor lock-in, and costly operational disruptions.
- Securing Your Site Data: The right systems, contracts, and partners ensure continuous access, stronger compliance, and full operational control.
Why Data Ownership Matters
When it comes to building compliance data, owners are required by law to keep accurate maintenance data for ongoing safety measures. Many businesses and facility management teams, however, do not realise that they do not own their records, do not know where they are held, and are not able to easily retrieve them. In the case of a commercial risk event (such as a fire on site or a security violation), this can lead to significant compliance and legal risks, security vulnerabilities, and third-party related costs to rectify the situation.
Key Questions to Assess Your Data Ownership
The Australian Privacy Principles define data ownership as an organisation’s collection, management, and disclosure of personal data, which includes business data generated and collected during standard business operations. With this in mind, Facility Managers must consider the following questions in the context of data ownership:
| Data Risk | Key Questions |
|---|---|
| 1. What data is being captured? | What critical contractor, visitor and site data is currently being captured and not captured? Is it accurate? |
| 2. Where does it live? | Where is this data stored, and who controls the system that holds it? |
| 3. Do we legally own it? | What procurement policies and contract clauses ensure your organisation retains full ownership of the data? |
| 4. Who else can use it? | Are third parties able to access or use this data as required? |
| 5. Are you commercially locked in? | Does your current commercial model ensure you can access and transfer your data if providers change? |
Guaranteeing Contractual Data Ownership
Effective data management is critical to the success of your business. The inability to access critical information when you require it most can put your people and business at risk. Furthermore, not owning your data also means less control over security measures protecting it. This significantly increases the risk of data breaches, unauthorised access, and other security incidents that can lead to financial loss and long-term data reputational damage of your business and brand.
A Case Study in Data Ownership
The true cost of data ownership is best illustrated via a recent market example. An ASX-listed Australian company engaged a contractor to generate evacuation drawings for 1,000 cross jurisdictional sites. The contractor successfully navigated the complex legislative and policy compliance requirements which differed from state to state, compiling critical data for the business.
A year later, after the time came to revalidate the evacuation drawings for WHS compliance purposes, the company sought the digital drawings from the contractor. Their request was declined, and they were notified that they did not have the rights to the drawings they paid to have created.
The company had limited options and no choice but to use the existing contractor for required changes, as engaging another company to start from scratch would result in significant financial investment. The company was forced into paying a premium for the changes, a result of the lack of data ownership of their evacuation diagram data.
When engaging contractors to provide business data and documentation, be sure to check contractual clauses. Many software vendors have specific contract clauses in fine print that stipulate they can use the data for any purpose at their own discretion. This also applies to your contractors and their systems.
Verified’s client contracts stipulate that your data is yours, and yours only, giving you confidence and complete control. Ensuring appropriate contractual protections are in place is the simplest way to guarantee your organisation retains full ownership and control of its data.
Learn More – Contact Us to Take Control of Your Data
Verified offers a leading-edge solution that puts you in complete control of your data. Our cutting-edge platform gives you peace of mind when it comes to you retaining your data ownership. You get complete 24/7 access to all your confidential documents and records in a secure environment, all contained safely in Australia.
Partnering with Verified ensures your data is safeguarded, accessible and working for you, not against you. For further information on how you can take charge of your business data, call 1300 133 950 or send us an email.