A Technology-Based Facility Management (FM) Approach: Adressing the Challenges of Future FM

Background and aim – Facility management (FM) entails multidisciplinary technical, infrastructural, and commercial activities that ensure the functionality of the built environment by integrating people, places, and technologies. Despite emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) or Building Information Modeling (BIM), the execution of FM services requires human labor. The current and future skills shortage poses challenges for FM in two ways: 1) carrying out necessary activities to ensure operator responsibility in a timely and appropriate manner; and 2) coordinating and arranging activities that increase customers’ and employees’ satisfaction. In this context, this paper provides a digital FM approach that makes FM more efficient by using the concept of gamification. Therefore, new technologies (NT) such as artificial intelligence, IoT, and BIM are analyzed to identify methods for enabling the efficient management of buildings while taking employees’ needs into account.
Methods/Methodology – This research comprises an analysis of the challenges faced in the effective fulfillment of operative FM tasks: the skilled worker shortage, digital NT, and gamification. A systematic literature review forms the basis for developing a game-based concept. Moreover, motivating factors for employee satisfaction are identified and linked to NT using the concept of gamification.
Results – A conceptual approach is developed in which people, NT, and data are interrelated to ensure the fulfillment of facility services. This is the first draft, and it accounts for employee motivation in a game-based context.
Practical or social implications – This approach presents possible methods for counteracting the skills shortage in FM that is set to worsen in the future by acting early in the critical areas. The developed framework shows future actions that both researchers and organizations must consider in greater depth to ensure employee satisfaction and optimal service delivery in FM.