What is Smart Facilities Management
Smart Facilities Management (FM) refers to the integration of systems, processes, technologies and personnel to enhance the management of a building's facilities. It is about doing better with technology, using it as a means to an end.
It is important to consider the process and people aspect in order to harness the full potential of smart FM and achieve a holistic solution that can support data-driven decisions, create change and improve outcomes.
“Smart FM is about integrating technologies, people and processes to improve communications, lessen response time, reduce costs and manpower and more importantly, raise productivity.”
- Tony Khoo, President, Singapore International Facility Management Association (SIFMA)
Why Adopt Smart FM
In recent years, there is a significant interest from Building Owners to develop smart buildings or estates that cater to varied customers' experiences. As the economy shifts from traditional industry silos to integrated digital ecosystems, businesses that place their customers' experience first, have the ability to continuously create new value, and that build on digital economies of scale, will thrive.
Driving FM Sector Transformation Through Smart FM
A tripartite Facilities Management Implementation Committee (FMIC) was formed in April 2018 to bring together major stakeholders, comprising both public and private building owners, FM service and solution providers, trade associations and chambers (TACs), and unions, to develop detailed action plans to advance the FM sector.
A key strategy under the FMIC to transform the FM industry is to enhance its maintenance capabilities through adoption of smart FM to raise productivity and efficiency, reduce labour intensity and enhance FM service delivery. This can be achieved through data analytics, predictive maintenance and smart technology solutions.
A Smart FM Taskforce, comprising public and private industry stakeholders, was subsequently formed to develop a framework for implementation and formulate strategies for adoption of smart FM by the industry.
Guide to Smart FM
To drive the adoption of smart FM, the Smart FM Taskforce developed a Guide to Smart FM that was launched on 1 October 2019. The Guide aims to provide Building Owners and their FM Managers with an easy-to-use reference to guide them on the key steps to take in their smart FM journey. The Guide is applicable to various building types and FM operating models, while being mindful that most buildings have a diverse range of systems. Building Owners, FM Managers, FM Companies (FMCs) and Service/ Solution Providers can use this Guide and the 5-Step SMART process as follows:
Click the image above to find out more about the 5-Step SMART process.
Since then, there had been greater awareness and adoption of Type 1 and Type 2 Smart FM solutions. As the industry made further progress towards Integrated FM and Aggregated FM (IFM and AFM), the Smart FM Taskforce sought to provide more guidance to encourage the industry to move towards adopting advance Type 3 Smart FM technologies. Launched on 6 September 2022, the Guide to Smart FM was further enhanced with the introduction of the Digitalisation Maturity Map that mapped out the different maturity levels of digital adoption and integration, best practices in data management such as Common Data Environment (CDE) for FM and a list of digital skillsets that supported Type 3 Smart FM processes and technologies.

You can download a copy of the Guide to Smart FM here.
Please click here for more information on the FMIC.