5 Opportunities for Facility Managers

Making a true difference as a facility manager involves adding value, optimizing the day to day of your facility for productivity and efficiency, and bringing new ideas to the table for cost savings, time management and more. It also involves thinking holistically across all functions of your environment’s expectations versus what you really can accomplish. Where should you begin looking for these opportunities? Here are a handful of top-level ideas to get you thinking:

1. Long-Term Solutions

Creating a more efficient facility means taking both big and small actions. But the one question you should ask about any fix is this: Are your purchases and solutions forward looking? Strategic facility management involves planning for tomorrow as well as today. Simply put, every decision you make has lasting effects, and each should be viewed as an investment in the future of your company.

2. The Optimized Workspace

Your facility is complex, and today’s global landscape is probably making your complexity problem even worse. That’s why now is the best time to consider optimizing your workspaces. With many people working from home, inspect all areas for ways to increase productivity. Are you applying the same strategies to each space, or do you have individualized plans to best suit those areas’ unique needs? These options range from simple ergonomics (think cushioned mats where line workers may remain stationary on their feet for hours at a time) to major facility infrastructure improvements. Take a look at one of the multiple energy management applications to match your specific needs.

3. Sustainability

Energy efficiency in industrial facilities can sometimes be viewed as a burden for facility manager. Don’t think this way. Look at sustainability as an opportunity for cutting costs while furthering company sustainability goals. You can recoup costs from the improved energy efficiency of your facility and get major savings on energy bills, or from potential federal energy rebates and incentives. What opportunities exist in your region? What can you take advantage of?

4. Harness Data

It’s probably something you’ve heard of in both your professional and personal life, and there’s no escaping it—big data is all around us. IoT is everywhere, whether you like it or not. And part of optimizing your industrial facility for productivity and efficiency is about accepting the data and learning to use it. Modern industry is undergoing great transformation, and that’s in no small part due to the availability and prevalence of big data and the Internet of Things.

5. Get Smart

Intelligent controls are becoming ubiquitous, and the average industrial facility is ripe with opportunity to implement these advanced solutions. From simple lighting controls to complete integration of all operational building systems, it is worth investigating the possibilities at your facility.

For more information, read our Insider's Guide to Reaching New Heights in Building Efficiency” by clicking here. Or, contact Current to learn how our holistic solutions can help you add value.