Guide: Reduce Staff Dependency in Property Management

Property technicians often have a thorough understanding of building maintenance and knowledge of the technical equipment in the property. However, knowledge that depends on specific individuals can become a challenge when staff leave or are absent for an extended period.

By digitalising and making critical information about your properties accessible, you as a property owner can reduce knowledge gaps and make it easier for staff and on-call personnel to quickly get up to speed on what needs to be done.

"When I or any of our technicians or property managers go home for the day, get sick or go on holiday, we take the knowledge of where everything is with us. That's the kind of information we carry in our heads that you want digitally available so someone else can easily take over." — Fredrik Melander, Property Manager and PropTech Coordinator at Heba, one of the driving forces behind the company's digitalisation process.

Digital twins as a collaboration tool

Building digital twins is fundamentally about increasing access to information about your properties and ensuring that the people whose jobs depend on having the right information, at the right time, can easily access it.

The twin consists of web-based drawings combined with collected data about your properties, buildings, spaces, technology and other components, as well as facility management processes and their status. Among other things, you can search for and view:

• How the properties look (floor plans in 2D/3D)

• Detailed information about technical equipment (e.g. location, serial number, installation date, operating instructions)

• How spaces are used and managed, LOA/BOA, A-temp

• Fault reports and actions taken

• Preventive maintenance (rounds, inspections, surveys)

• Who added which information, and when

Step 1: Digitalisation and visualisation of drawings

The process of building a digital twin begins with collecting and digitalising existing drawing documentation. The drawings are visualised in 2D and 3D on a digital platform that allows users in operations and facility management, as well as other stakeholders, to interact with the drawings and the data they contain.

"Just today we received a question from a tenant who didn't know where the recycling room in the building was. I helped them by emailing a 3D image of the property showing both where their apartment is and where the recycling room is. They could then use the drawing to see how to get there. Being able to easily provide tenants with relevant information strengthens our customer relationships." — Fredrik Melander

Step 2: Enlist local experts in data collection

Once the drawings are in place, the next step is to get started and map information about your properties. Begin by identifying which information you want to prioritise.

Staff often hold valuable knowledge about which technical equipment and information (properties, images, documents, operating instructions) is needed to keep operations running as smoothly as possible.

"In the first quarter, we focused on adding information about where the keys to shared spaces are, since both we, our on-call staff and contractors use them. Then we added where the main water shut-off for the entire property is. How to get into the building and how to turn off the water if there's a leak — that was the priority." — Fredrik Melander

By enabling staff to map, document, collaborate and edit building data themselves using a mobile tool, the amount of information for the portfolio can be built up continuously and kept up to date over time.

"We set quarterly targets for our technicians and property managers to work towards so that it doesn't become too much information to add at once. Then we do monthly check-ins and push if needed. It should be enjoyable to work in the tool and you should see some benefit in it. I think you do if you're given reasonable targets." — Fredrik Melander

Step 3: Reduced staff dependency in operations and property management

With access to a shared knowledge base, staff can quickly get an overview of information linked to your properties and processes. Over time, making knowledge accessible benefits both the organisation and the individual in a number of ways:

• Staff can easily cover for each other during sick leave, holiday and parental leave

• Reduced need for time-consuming handovers when key people change jobs or retire

• Duplication of work around gathering information needed for different processes can be avoided

• Less stress and frustration as fewer working hours are spent searching for and validating information

"As people gradually start changing their ways of working and see the possibilities for how and where the digital twins can be used, I think the tool will be used for much more than just collecting information." — Fredrik Melander