Digitalisation technologies in real estate and facility management
Abstract
Digitalisation is not just about the application of technology, but also about business transformation enabled by digital technologies. In terms of digital transformation, there is still a significant backlog in real estate management (REM) and facility management (FM) that must be addressed. Digitalisation is changing not only the format in which information is held and processed, but also business processes and working methods. This gives rise to new concepts and methodologies, commonly referred to as digital transformation. REM and FM managers need to be aware of and understand the relevant digitalisation technologies that play an important role in the REM and FM sectors in order to take advantage of them. This paper aims to increase stakeholders’ digital awareness by explaining key digitalisation technologies in the context of their use in business. It does so by first providing an overview of the selected technologies and showing how they relate to each other, resulting in a technology matrix that categorises the business uses with regard to REM and FM managers, building users and operators. These digitalisation technologies are then explained and discussed in detail. This paper concludes by structuring the technologies, identified benefits and key implementation challenges within a digitalisation framework. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
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Author's Biography
Michael May was a Professor of IT and facility management (FM) at the University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Berlin from 1994 to 2020. He currently works as a research manager at the Society for the Promotion of Applied Computer Science (GFaI). He holds a PhD in mathematics and a Habilitation in computer science from the Berlin Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on digitalisation, building information modelling (BIM), computer-aided FM (CAFM) and integrated workplace management systems (CAFM/IWMSs), game-based learning, layout automation, augmented reality (AR) and sustainability. He is the editor and author of several books, including ‘The FM’s Guide to Information Technology’, ‘CAFM Handbook’ and ‘BIM in Real Estate Operations’. He founded and chaired the Special Interest Group (SIG) of the German Facility Management Association (GEFMA) on digitalisation for more than 20 years and was the GEFMA’s Director of Digitalisation for more than 18 years. He is the GEFMA ambassador for international relations, a member of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and IFMA’s Information Technology Community (ITC) and the EuroFM ambassador to Germany.
Markus Krämer has been a Professor of information and communication technology in facility management (FM) at the University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Berlin since 2006. He studied mechanical engineering at TU Berlin and received a PhD from the University of Stuttgart in the field of information modelling in maintenance management. His teaching focuses on computer-aided FM (CAFM), building information modelling (BIM) and business process and IT management. His current research focuses on digital transformation, BIM and linked data. Prior to becoming a professor, he worked at the Fraunhofer Institute for Work Economics and Organisation (IAO) and later as managing partner of the IAO spin-off ProActa in the field of IT consulting. He is the co-founder of the BIM Competence Centre at HTW Berlin, the co-editor of the book ‘BIM in Real Estate Operations’, author of numerous specialist publications and adviser for process management and the implementation of IT systems.
