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Smart Facilities Management (FM)

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

As part of the Real Estate Industry Transformation Map (ITM) launched in February 2018, BCA was tasked to coordinate the development of the FM industry. A tripartite Facilities Management Implementation Committee (FMIC) was formed in April 2018. The FMIC brings 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 implement the strategies identified in the Real Estate ITM.

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:

SMARTClick the image above to find out more about the 5-Step SMART process.

You can download a copy of the Guide to Smart FM here.  

Please click here for more information on the FMIC.


Smart FM Challenge

To encourage more in the industry to come on-board the Smart FM movement, BCA would like to call upon service buyers (developers and building owners) and service providers (FM companies and technology providers to pledge under the Smart FM Challenge and work together to:

  • adopt smart FM technology solutions to improve productivity and enhance service delivery
  • in at least one building or portfolio/ cluster of buildings within the next three years; and
  • for those who have embarked on smart FM, to review the outcome and explore further areas for continuous improvement. 

Note: The above can be done with reference to the 5-step SMART process in the ‘Guide to Smart FM’.

The Challenge has been successfully launched on 1 September 2020, with more than 50 organisations committed to take on the Challenge as pioneers and first movers to transform the FM industry through digitalisation and innovation.

Please refer to the press release here.

Service buyers (developers and building owners) and service providers (FM companies and technology providers) who are keen to participate in the Challenge can sign up here.

Participants to the Challenge will also be updated on other initiative(s) to facilitate the adoption of smart FM in the industry.


Smart FM Proof-of-Concept (POC) Grant

The Smart FM POC Grant aims to promote the adoption of smart FM solutions and kickstart the next phase of industry transformation with integration across various FM services and aggregation across a portfolio or cluster of buildings.

Proof-of-concept projects under the Grant will help showcase the potential benefits and establish business case for integrated and aggregated smart FM solutions that can be scaled up and replicated in other portfolio or cluster of buildings. This will create a paradigm shift in the way FM services are procured through demand aggregation.

Who is eligible

Service buyers (developers and building owners) and service providers (FM companies and technology providers) that meet the following criteria at the point of application may apply for the Grant:

  1. Be a registered business in Singapore, with a portfolio or cluster of buildings under its ownership or management;
  2. Proposed project to be funded must be in Singapore; and
  3. Purchase of equipment, materials, software and other physical or digital components of the proposed technology solution, as well as the subscription of services (if any), must be used in the proposed project in Singapore.

Funding support

Support level

 Local public and private projects can receive up to 70% funding support for the qualifying costs, capped at S$800,000 per project; on the condition that the project delivers more than 20% improvement (e.g. in productivity, cost and manpower savings, customer satisfaction, service delivery, etc).


Note:  Funding support will be made on a reimbursement basis, that is the amount to be received by the projects shall be based on the actual qualifying costs incurred and paid by the Grant recipient during the qualifying period. Applicants are to be in a financially viable position to start and complete the project.
Qualifying costs

The qualifying costs to be supported can include the following:

  1. actual purchase of equipment, materials, software and other physical or digital components of the proposed technology solution;
  2. subscription fees (up to 2 years), costs of services including professional/ consultancy services;
  3. expenditure of manpower; and
  4. other operating expenditure required to implement the proposed technology solution in the awarded project.

It excludes other related administrative fees/ charges, auditor’s fees, bank charges, etc.

Note:  The budget for qualifying costs in all Grant proposals and items for reimbursement will be reviewed by the Grant Secretariat to assess the price reasonableness based on the proposed work packages to implement the smart FM technology solution. Justifications (in the form of quotations or value assessment) will be required from applicants during the application stage and as part of the claim documents for items exceeding S$6,000.
Grant reimbursement (for awarded projects)

Reimbursement under the Grant will be carried out in 2 stages:

  • Stage 1: 70% reimbursement upon implementation of technology solution, and
  • Stage 2: 30% reimbursement upon demonstrating > 20% improvement after implementation and fine-tuning to optimise the integrated and aggregated system.

Note:
1.  For approved grants exceeding S$100,000, external auditor’s certification is required for each claim submission.
2.  Grant recipients may choose to make a single claim on both stages depending on the timeline for completion of works.
3.  All claims must be accompanied with supporting documents such as invoices and receipts, quotations, etc.

How to apply

Application Period

The Grant is open for application from 12 October 2020 (Mon) to 7 December 2020 (Mon).

Application form
Interested applicants are to submit their applications via email (in word and pdf formats) to the Grant Secretariat by 5pm (Singapore time) on 7 December 2020, Monday, using the form below.

The email addresses of the Grant Secretariat are stated at the bottom of this page.

Smart FM POC Application Form 206kb

Evaluation Criteria
All applications are evaluated based on the criteria below. Projects with scalable and replicable solutions that can implemented within twelve (12) months from date of award are preferred.

Evaluation Criteria
 Weightage for Evaluation (%) 
1

Potential for proposed solution to be scaled up and/or replicated in other portfolio/ cluster of buildings

 40
2

Technical feasibility and innovation of proposed solution with integration across multiple FM services and portfolio/ cluster of buildings

 20
3

Level/ Extent of improvement that the proposed solution can achieve
(outcome based KPIs and outcomes e.g. productivity improvement, cost and manpower savings, customer satisfaction, service delivery)

 20
4 Ability of proposal to impact service providers/vendors in their supply chain business model re-engineering

(e.g.  provision of plans to train and upskill vendor/in-house FM staff for better operation and management of proposed solution)

 10
5

Potential to develop smart FM capabilities in Singapore

 10

Format for progress and final report
Grant recipients are required to submit progress reports at half-yearly intervals and a final report within six (6) months from the end of the project Qualifying Period in accordance to the template below:

Format for Progress and Final Report 31.51kb


Frequently Asked Questions

Smart FM POC Grant FAQs 73.66kb

Please contact the Grant secretariats below for any queries or clarifications on the Grant requirements or application:

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