Structure management and blockchain

There was quite a bit of "noise" in property and in FM in the last year about about the "blockchain" and the potential benefits it could have for our industry. At RLB, more customers ask us "what exactly is it, and why do they need to know?

Perhaps the easiest way to think of it in the FM context is related to how we provide assistance and maintenance to our buildings and facilities. Today, most maintenance programs are scheduled or reactive or a combination of both. It is only recently that the industry is starting to investigate the potential benefits of predictive maintenance, where the operating conditions of various critical resources and components are monitored to predict their failure (or lower performance) in the near future, helping to prevent unforeseen downtime.

In order to create targeted predictive maintenance programs (with the ability to include inventory and procurement programs) we should consider integrating an end-to-end "twin-digital" operation that consolidates data from main systems / platforms during the design, construction and management process, for example BIM, CAFM / CMMS and BMS, on a single platform: an approach that few have considered or are attempting. For those who are traveling, the introduction of the blockchain in this "end-to-end" process, from an asset / facility management perspective, will improve transparency and traceability, which can be considered a positive result for # 39; entire built environment, as well as for the asset / facility management sector.

It is important to remember that a blockchain is nothing more than a digital ledger or a sequence of data records, which is accessible and shared by several selected parties. The stored data can be anything from purchase prices of components, specific details of goods or entire contracts. All information stored in a blockchain is encrypted, which means that the data can be detailed in such a way that unauthorized use or tampering is practically impossible. And it is marked in time – it is not possible to alter it, so the blockchain process ensures an indelible recording of something that happens in a precise and unalterable time.

As part of an end-to-end process, the blockchain could indicate to customers and to all those who are part of the supply chain, such as maintenance teams and suppliers, which resources have failed or are about to fail. Work orders can be activated and associated with the spare parts ordered before the interruption. This end-to-end account log is automatically updated using blockchain which demonstrates transparency and removes component ordering doubts and ultimately leads to asset asset uptime, SLA FM, supply chain results , procurement and reduction of inventory spare parts.

Therefore, Blockchain applications will improve the transparency and traceability of the asset and facility management supply chain. Taking the concept further into consideration, it could be used to decode and analyze the entire project, build and use processes – elements of which are currently secretly cloaked or presented as "dark art" by the few in control.

Once the fundamental concepts are understood, it is not difficult to imagine the blockchain process used to acquire certification needs, insurance details and technical compliance. Once again, this will give asset and facility managers greater transparency in contracts that address key aspects of time, cost and quality, ultimately leading to improved performance.

Benefits of integrating FM blockchain and areas such as e-procurement and insurance together with more traditional asset and facility management processes are emphasized when compared to the current status quo – blockchain puts everything on a single trusted platform. Blockchain uses a single source of centralized, shared truth, a secure record for data storage. If compared to the alternative, traditional systems that use databases with more difficult (sometimes impossible) silos to share information, are inefficient, limited in functionality and susceptible to unauthorized data tampering, it seems clear that blockchain has clear advantages that once experimented it will be obvious to adopt and develop.

The introduction of the blockchain can help reduce uncertainty, improve clarity and transparency and provide the basis for further improvements in the way data is understood and managed. Ownership and the FM industry have struggled to exploit the enormous amounts of data available to improve the quality of products and services it provides to the UK economy, and while Blockchain will not solve all these challenges, it has the potential to reset our approach to data management, enabling faster, clearer, lower-risk and more effective decisions.

Karl Redmond

Shareholder

Rider Levett Bucknall

www.rlb.com

Twitter: @RLB_UK

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