Winner: KAUST Facilities Management Business Intelligence Dashboards (KFM-BI)

Sponsored by: Rexel

Winning the Product or Service Development category is the Saudi Arabian King Abdullah University of Science and Technology – Facilities Management’s (KAUST FM’s) KFM-BI Dashboards.

KFM-BI provides transparency of FM data by categorising it across the following:

  • IoT systems for better documentation and analysis of data facility performance
  • end user behaviour
  • customer service
  • project management
  • health, safety and environment
  • technical documents and document control.

The dashboards can be shared among FM teams and clients to provide real-time information on the status of facilities work, completed jobs, and resources and work templates.

Document control enhances operational performance by providing full transparency and accessibility of documents and information. An IoT-powered platform called as IKAS – Integrated KAUST Automation System – integrates building systems across 25 campus buildings, 60 community facilities and 3,000 residential units and total of nearly 800,000 I/O points, from a central control room which operates 24/7, serving the KAUST facilities management nerve centres. All of these solutions are integrated into a BIM model that KAUST manages.

The KFM-BI product was established with the support and collaboration of five team members, but the team has since grown to more than 100.

Results gleaned

Implementing KFM-BI has led to:

  • safe use and ventilation control of labs by reviewing end users’ behaviours, with a 65% improvement in ventilation
  • digitising documents approval and control, eliminating 1000+ paper documents and reducing 55% permit approval time
  • reducing energy consumption by 10% compared against the 2015 benchmark by reviewing dashboards of end user consumption and collaborating with clients to optimise the usage of energy
  • creating more than 25 dashboards for facility operations and management monitoring
  • achieving a customer net promoter score of 86 due to improved operational performance.

The product was well received by senior management, which led to greater success and collaboration using KFM-BI, including having the product rolled out for four other divisions.

Best practice learning point

Operational performance in facilities can be improved and optimised through the right kind of technology. The KFM-BI dashboards have facilitated improvements across the university campus, enabling the FM team to enhance its offering. Desiring to share this success with others, KAUST FM presented at the 2022 Operations and Maintenance in the Middle East Conference (OMAINTEC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. What emerged was that many organisations in the Middle East were focused on using tech to enhance FM maintenance but seeing KFM-BI meant they saw the value in integrating multiple features, tools and resources related to FM service delivery and not just maintenance.

Key quote

‘The evolution became a success when our colleagues in other service departments and key clients started to request access to our dashboards.’ – Ahmad Nabulsi, customer service and building engineer at KAUST FM.