AI Transforms the Workplace

Everyone is talking about the Intelligence Revolution. Artificial intelligence (AI) language models such as ChatGPT, Bard, and Bing are dominating the headlines daily, building momentum toward a new era in information technology. These emerging AI models, from chatbots to robotics, allow computer systems to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, and they are already revolutionizing our workplaces—and the world.

For companies, the impact of the Intelligence Revolution—and whether they embrace it—will be pivotal to their success. All industries are evolving rapidly, and innovation and change are becoming the new norm. Businesses that aren’t willing to harness the power of AI will likely struggle to compete in future marketplaces.???

So, what does this mean for the facilities management industry? To provide insight about technology evolution in our industry, as well as how SBM plans to employ AI to elevate the experience for our employees and clients, SBM is launching a series of articles about the Intelligence Revolution.

To kick off the series, we spoke with Chris White, SBM’s Chief Information Officer, about the big picture, including emerging technologies and how they’ll impact the facilities management industry.

Do you believe artificial intelligence will play an integral role in the future of facilities management?

The expectations and lore of artificial intelligence (AI) reaching enterprise use has been building for years, with great reason. In recent months, game-changing innovations in AI from market leaders such as Microsoft and Google have spawned an ecosystem ripe to disrupt historic norms of many industries, facilities management included.

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What emerging technologies are you currently exploring?

AI-guided insights and predictive analytics are culminating in a watershed moment for the facilities industry. The ability to empower and inform frontline employees and managers completely resets the service notion of reacting or responding to a problem that requires attention. Instead, employees are prepared and always ready. Emerging technologies such as Al and machine learning models allow progressive organizations in the facilities industry to take control of costs, the user experience, and sustainability in a single approach—in near real time—that was previously manual and “we think”-based knowledge.??

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What technologies do you see having the biggest impact on the industry?

Without question, the advancements in predictive analytics, workforce optimization, as well as fact-based, purpose-built digital platforms such as 4insite are a critical digital ingredient to being best-in-class for today’s facility managers. The empowered workforce and the technical capabilities to align a facility manager’s desired KPIs with actual results—and have those fully documented and auditable in 100% of the cases—is only achievable through technology that is built for scale and experience.

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How do you see technology changing the landscape of facilities management?

The rapid rise in analytics and automation presents a secular reset moment for our industry. Through the advent of an empowered and informed frontline mobile workforce, to predictive analytics guiding optimized supply consumption and economies of scale for our end customers, and all the way to maximizing ESG opportunities through optically guided sorting of recyclables and composting, the future of a digitized facilities experience is at our fingertips.?