The operations of property companies are becoming increasingly digital. With new technology comes new responsibilities for different roles within operations and management, something that companies are now starting to focus on in their recruitment.

"As an operations technician, you must be able to embrace new technology. The digital world is a part of everyday life for a technician," says Lennart Lindkvist, Operations Manager at Örebroporten.

Being an operations technician today looks very different from how it did ten years ago, and the coming decade will bring much change, says Lennart Lindkvist.

"I myself took off my technician's clothes in 2011. Back then, it was almost high-tech that we read electricity meters via phone. Now you carry your smartphone everywhere, it's your lifeline. The industry is developing in line with advancements in technology, so in ten years, the role will have changed radically," he says.

This is something the Operations Manager has in mind when he is looking for a new team member.

"I am looking for a fully-fledged operations technician who is digitally adept. The person does not have to know all systems but should be able to embrace new technology and understand how it works. The school janitor who wears clogs and changes light bulbs no longer exists. We solve many tasks via computer and mobile devices."

Örebroporten has come a long way in its digitalization of assets. Among other things, many properties have been equipped with digital twins to centralize information about spaces, equipment, and tasks.

Expanded digitalization responsibilities are part of the role

Something highlighted in the company's recruitment ad is the expanded digitalization responsibilities that follow from digital development. As an operations technician, you are expected to share your knowledge to help colleagues enhance their digital skills within operational systems, as well as working with digital twins in Vyer.

"Vyer has made it much easier to cover for each other. It is much simpler to grasp the whole picture, both for the buildings and other things. Filter lists, for example, or how many lifts we have, we can extract from Vyer. It is hard to get that information from any other system. This encourages us to input a lot of information there. For the emergency response organization, Vyer is a tool for navigation within the buildings."

Lennart Lindkvist sees many advantages to the existing technology.

"There are many time savings to be had by using technology, and I also see it as a work environment issue. A lot of it is common apps that we could also use at home, but people are somewhat reluctant to use them at work, and I’m not really sure why."

Laying the groundwork for the future

A major challenge is thus to gradually increase digital maturity in the organization to transition to new tools and working methods.

"I must lay the groundwork for the future. I want to hire a person and invest in them; there needs to be a person who can help develop things further. Therefore, I have adjusted the role a bit, says the operations manager and continues;"

"If you look at other large property companies, the development is heading in the same direction; the operations technician is becoming increasingly digitally connected."