Haag provides a range of technical support, resources, and analyses to assist clients in the forensic, insurance, oil & gas, and architecture, engineering, and construction sectors. Services include Matterport 3D visualizations, Geographic Information System (GIS), laser scanning, small unmanned aerial systems, and more. Geographic Information System (GIS) is a powerful tool that allows companies to combine large amounts of data from different sources, order them into layers, and visualize the relationships between the datasets. GIS’ has a wide range of applications, including facilities management.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Facility Management
By Matthew Young, GIS Analyst
What is Facility Management?
Facility Management (FM) involves monitoring all facets of the day-to-day operations for an organization’s physical environment. This includes the tools and services that support the functionality, safety, and sustainability of buildings, grounds, infrastructure, and real estate. The assets could include multiple buildings across a college campus, a factory that builds cars, a commercial property that contains multiple businesses, or a downtown skyscraper that consists of multiple floors to name a few. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global facility management market size was $1,260,000,000 in 2022, and is expected to grow to $1,846,000,00 by 2029–a staggering 5.7%. Due to this tremendous increase in capital, facility management processes and plans are going to be at the forefront of these increasing demands.
GIS Role in Facility Management
Facility Management staff need have real-time data at their fingertips, whether on desktop or mobile devices. Multiple software applications exist for this but are typically limited to the interiors of structures. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) fills this need by providing real-time map-based data helping meet the demands of facilities managers and their teams. Field software like ESRI’s ArcGIS Survey123 or ArcGIS Field Maps can help facility management teams collect and organize data using a simple form driven by mobile technology in the field. These applications allow workers to capture and edit data, find pivotal asset information, report critical issues, and monitor equipment and operations from their mobile or desktop devices. Managers now have access to critical, real-time information and can easily make data-driven decisions.
Haag Facility Management Geoportal
Haag developed its Facility Management Geoportal (FM Geoportal) to meet the need of facilities managers. Haag’s FM Geoportal utilizes location-based data to assist in guiding operations with GIS workflows and streamlined tools for data collection and management. Haag used both desktop and mobile data collection apps to help a local church map all the AC units on its campus and collect attributes associated with each AC unit and its location. Using Survey123 on a smartphone app, members of the church’s facilities department collected the AC unit locations and completed a simple form with relevant information about each unit such as overall condition, freon type, model number, serial number, and more. The collected units immediately appeared on the FM Geoportal map symbolized as red points to indicate that they needed to be reviewed. Once the facilities manager had reviewed a unit’s attributes, he updated the status to “reviewed” via the FM Geoportal editing tool which changed the point color to green. This workflow made it easy for the entire facilities department to collaborate and efficiently collect, visualize, and update information in real time.
Now that the data has been collected, multiple users have access to the information in a map-based platform which helps the team determine which AC units need to be budgeted for repair or replacement in the coming year. This same process could be used in the future to map out a sprinkler system by collecting valves and sprinkler head locations, then connecting the sprinkler heads with lines. Knowing where the lines are located would help prevent any line strikes during future construction projects.
GIS Based Client Customized Facilities Management
Organizations rely upon their facilities management tools to ensure that their day-to-day operations remain intact. Using GIS and collection software like Survey123 or ArcGIS Field Maps provides users with an efficient, scalable, and easy-to-use platform that allows stakeholders to monitor key assets. The Haag FM Geoportal is a powerful, user-friendly tool that gives users agency over their own data with accessibility and reliability at the forefront. It is also customizable to user needs and can grow with them. If you would like to learn more, please contact Matthew Young for more information.
Author
Matthew Young, GIS Analyst
Any opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Haag Technical Services, Haag Engineering Co., Haag Education, or parent company, Haag Global, Inc.