Pushing The Right Buttons

Google is reinventing its approach to facilities management — not just as a service provider but also as a client

Google has played a huge part in our lives — from classroom tools to those in the workplace — it’s hard to separate ourselves from the brand. The Californian tech giant is now entering the real estate space as well, and its director of facilities Darrell Smith was in Dubai to discuss how Google is beginning to influence the facilities management (FM) sector.

“We are surrounded by a plethora of data and it’s now up to the FM world to use that data and make it actionable, and that was the foundation of our effort,” Smith asserts.

FM professionals remain cautiously optimistic about the uptake of technology in the sector as there is an impending fear that automation would result in redundancies. However, Smith points out that technology is an enabler and mobility is the ideal use of technology working for the betterment of mankind. “Technology is a tool and a few years ago, they [different FM functions] were in silos, today we are merely putting them in a common platform to allow speedy execution. This is all made possible by the use of data and that’s where technologies such as BIM, automated building systems do things faster.” He adds, “One thing that we do well in the US is fuse technology with process — the ability to get the occupants and the FM teams to use technology. If you have not conquered that [synergy] you are wasting your money.”

Smith, who is based in Google’s headquarters in California, asked FM operators to properly grasp and leverage the importance of technology especially with the emergence of IoT. “We are going to be left behind [if we do not embrace new innovations]. The biggest risk isn’t other technology providers in the sector, it’s the lack of decision,” he says.