Internet of Things (IoT) technology continues to advance our everyday world. Facilities are seeing more advantages on a larger scale—without having to hire more staff members or overspend their budgets. In essence, these technological advancements are helping facilities and their management do more with less by providing these IoT benefits.
IoT Benefits for Facilities
#1: Get a Real-Time Picture of Performance
Tracking equipment performance is vital. It’s how you ensure your facilities are running smoothly. You have to quickly identify which equipment is wearing out or not working properly, and adjust it, replace it, or order maintenance. IoT devices monitor equipment in real-time, so you can always access an up-to-date picture of your equipment’s overall performance.
#2: Control IoT Tools from Afar
IoT tools can go beyond simple tracking. In many cases, you can also control your equipment from the comfort of your office. You can adjust items like thermostats, scent diffusers, and lighting after reviewing their current status. Adjusting your equipment from afar prevents you from having to travel to the equipment and manually manipulate it.
#3: Automate Simple Tasks
With help from advanced IoT software, you can automate simple tasks for your equipment. For example, you can set a heating system to turn on if your thermostat detects temperatures below a certain point. You can also automate scents to release at a given point of time each day, and stop producing scent if the air saturation reaches a certain level. You can even automate customer notifications like GreaseWatch does when restaurants’ grease traps need to be pumped out.
#4: Make Your Resources Go Farther
By knowing exactly how your equipment is performing, your team can perform maintenance and replace or refill equipment right when it needs it. You can also use the exact amount of labor and resources that your facilities need to meet your goals. Ultimately, IoT helps you more efficiently use your resources, helping them go farther than before.
#5: Work on the Go
You don’t need to be office-bound to access powerful IoT technology. Certain providers let you access your IoT platform on the go from a smartphone or tablet app, as well as from a desktop computer or laptop. With this level of access, you can track equipment performance and make changes while you’re working in the field.
#6: Increase Team Efficiency
IoT helps you pinpoint what needs doing, right when you need to be doing it. This in itself helps your team focus on priority projects, saving time you may have spent tracking equipment performance manually or performing unnecessary maintenance. In addition, IoT platforms centralize facility information in a single central hub. Team members can check the portal to access accurate information, ensuring they’re on the same page. Certain IoT platforms offer built-in collaboration tools, too, so teams can use the platform to organize projects and schedules.
#7: Reduce Costs
Accurate performance tracking, precise equipment controls, automated tasks, and precise resource use all help your business reduce facility costs. You won’t find yourself replacing equipment unnecessarily—or frequently paying high fees for emergency repairs because you missed warning signs. For example, GreaseWatch has set their IoT system to automatically dispatch a pumping truck when their IoT grease interceptor notes that it has reached capacity, saving restaurants and commercial kitchens from costly overflow situations.
#8: Enhance the Customer Experience
IoT technology helps you improve the customer experience, too. Your team can automate key communications, such as order or delivery updates, refill alerts, and billing notifications, so customers are never caught unawares. Plus, with your team’s accurate equipment tracking, customers will rarely have to experience lags in service or problems with your facility performance.
#9: Get Insights Into Business Operations
IoT platforms automatically gather critical data about your facilities. They can let you know how much of each resource you use, and even track revenue and costs side by side. Most IoT platforms will present this information in digestible graphs so your team can review and understand it quickly, gaining key insights with ease.
#10: Make Better Business Decisions
The better you understand your facility’s overall operations and performance, the more informed you and other business leaders will be when making critical business decisions. An IoT platform can provide data and insights that help you make well-informed decisions, potentially even boosting your company’s revenue.
Conclusion: IoT and Your Facilities
There’s no doubt that IoT is a powerful tool and a must-have for cutting-edge facility operations. Ultimately, IoT benefits from a powerful platform will skyrocket your facility management proficiency—and your business’s overall success—without requiring you to overwork your teams or overspend your budget.