How to Keep Critical Building Information from Walking Out the Door
                     Retiring Facility Workers
How to Keep Critical Building Information from 
Walking Out the Door
Retiring Facility Workers : How to Keep Critical Building Information from Walking Out the Door
Introduction
The facilities management talent crisis has escalated to critical status. 
In 2017, an ARC Facilities survey revealed about 40 percent of facilities As more senior members retire, 
managers planned to retire by 2025. facilities teams face a serious 
knowledge deficit. As these valued 
Now, COVID-19 has added a new wrinkle: more Traditional recordkeeping methods create workers move on, critical building 
of these managers are taking early retirement. problems no matter what the employment information is lost. Why?
According to a report conducted by three situation. When staff doesn’t have immediate 
economics professors in April 2020, the number access to critical building information, minor Facility Management recollection 
of people actively looking for work spiked emergencies quickly develop into major and awareness. When emergencies 
less than the unemployment rate at the time. catastrophes. In addition, training new employees strike, professionals rely on personal 
That, combined with more people claiming to be can take months longer than usual, as new- recall to retrieve the correct plans 
retired, led the economists to conclude that many hires scramble to find As-Builts, Closeouts and and shut off valve locations. There 
boomers decided to drop out of the labor force.1 other documents. has never been a reliable, accessible 
system to store and retrieve this info 
efficiently. Even when building plans 
are available digitally, finding relevant 
information takes too much time.
Take action now to ensure 
both veteran and new facilities 
managers have building 
information at their fingertips 
in a format that’s accessible 
to anyone.
Retiring Facility Workers : How to Keep Critical Building Information from Walking Out the Door
The Current Landscape
Building owners and occupants depend 
on facilities managers to ensure The Burton Barr Central Library, 
buildings and their systems remain the main branch of the Phoenix 
safe, comfortable and sustainable. Public Library, in Phoenix, Arizona, 
When something goes wrong, the experienced the unfortunate 
consequences of information 
facilities manager gets a call.
breakdown. In 2017, storm damage 
However, 86% of facilities managers ARC caused a water pipe on the building’s 
surveyed don’t have instant access to emergency fifth floor to burst. The broken pipe 
information. Most of that information exists only poured 50 to 60 gallons of water per 
on paper, tucked away in cramped storerooms. minute down to the lower floors.
The rest of it exists on desktop computers or 
saved to DVDs and thumb drives. It took facilities managers three 
hours to find the water shut-off 
When building information is difficult to access— valve. Because of the delay, the 
either because someone has to search hundreds 
library sustained $10 million in 
of files or because the facilities manager is 
damage. Had facilities managers 
on vacation—building safety and function 
located the shut-off valve within 
become compromised. 
minutes, they likely would have 
A suboptimal building environment affects prevented the loss of thousands 
occupants’ safety, health and productivity. of books and millions of dollars 
When occupants raise these issues, in repairs and revenue.
building owners take notice.
The lesson learned here and in many other emergencies is simple. We 
need instant access to critical building information if we are to avoid 
the escalation of simple accidents into catastrophes.
Retiring Facility Workers : How to Keep Critical Building Information from Walking Out the Door
Plan for Tomorrow Today
Rising retirement rates for facility workers, combined with outdated 
document management systems, creates a perfect storm of business 
disruption. To keep facilities running at peak efficiency, plan for 
tomorrow’s leadership changes today.
Finding qualified workers to replace outgoing The International Facilities Management 
facilities managers takes ingenuity. The Bureau Association (IFMA) predicts between 50,000 
of Labor Statistics (BLS) didn’t recognize to 100,000 facility management jobs will 
facilities management as an occupation until open over the next five to ten years. However, 
2018. As a result, only a small number of colleges the number of skilled workers does not meet 
currently offer facilities management programs. the demand.2
The retirement challenge can easily be addressed by investing in 
technology that will allow you to extract information from building 
documents without human intervention for routine maintenance or in case 
of an emergency. This simple step will both preserve legacy knowledge 
and decrease reliance on employee recollections of building plans.
Retiring Facility Workers : How to Keep Critical Building Information from Walking Out the Door
Digitize (and Organize) All Building Information
Technology plays as much of a role in a facilities succession plan as the 
people it serves. The next generation of facilities managers won’t accept 
outdated “analog” systems.
Building owners have invested in many Critical needs of the industry have been  
technologies to serve the facilities industry, left unaddressed. Building information  An investment in a productivity 
including Smart Building, CMMS and BMS software. including upgrades, code changes and tenant improvement tool is worth the 
improvements are voluminous and complex. 
While these are all important, none address the effort. When you have a solution 
These changes add to the growing problem  
issue of access to critical building information that stores all this information in 
of documentation accumulation. More data  
for regular maintenance and emergencies. one place, in one format, you’ll 
and more time searching amounts to  
Access to this critical information is left to significant operational inefficiency. save up to an hour a day in labor 
human memory which is why building owners costs according to ARC Facilities 
are struggling to address retirement issues. data. You’ll also eliminate endless 
trips to the plan room, as well as 
mindless searching through outdated 
computer files. Staff won’t have to 
call your longtime facilities manager 
at 10 p.m. to find out where a valve 
is. Anyone with a mobile device 
can find the answer with a couple 
of swipes.
Retiring Facility Workers : How to Keep Critical Building Information from Walking Out the Door
Take Advantage of Technology
When choosing a facilities management platform, choose with the future 
in mind. The platform should scale as your business grows. It should also 
incorporate advanced technology that all generations of managers will 
easily embrace. 
Forward-thinking technology that improves efficiency includes:
• Artificial Intelligence. • QR codes. 
When Google Maps predicts your commute time QR codes are two-dimensional barcodes that 
during rush hour, that’s artificial intelligence (AI) at help you identify information about the items 
work. When integrated into document management they’re attached to. A smartphone can read 
platforms, AI analyzes all the data so facilities QR codes to expedite repair and maintenance. 
managers can instantly access building information. When attached to an HVAC system, for example, 
a technician can quickly pull up manufacturer 
With the addition of machine learning, 
name, model and serial numbers, and 
information previously only available to facilities 
other information.
and maintenance personnel becomes accessible 
to everyone. Using an app, an office manager, • Mobile-optimized software. 
nurse or other staff person can essentially read a In 2019, more than half (53%) of web traffic 
blueprint. The app not only shows her the location came from smartphones, up from 16% in 2013. 
of a shut-off valve, for example, it will show a As 5G moves closer to reality, expect the amount 
picture of the valve and perhaps a video of how of smartphone use to increase.
to turn off the valve.
To meet the needs of mobile-first users—
• OCR. including your new facilities managers—nearly 
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a every piece of digital information produced 
technology that converts scanned paper must be mobile-optimized. Facilities managers 
documents, PDFs, images and other documents don’t spend much time at a desk. They move 
into searchable, editable text. With OCR search between buildings all day long. Giving them 
capabilities, you can find what you need from mobile access to critical building information 
a 50-page manual in seconds. A scanner only allows them to act immediately to address 
creates an image of a document. OCR software concerns and solve problems, reducing risk 
allows you to search that image. to your building.
Retiring Facility Workers : How to Keep Critical Building Information from Walking Out the Door
Make Building Information Accessible to Everyone
HVAC system failures, water leaks and power outages keep facilities  
managers up at night. If one of these incidents occurs in a building without 
emergency staff, it creates devastating delays and damage. A power outage 
in a hospital puts lives at risk. A leak in an older building could destroy 
equipment and the building itself.
A mobile-optimized, user-friendly software As you transition information into the cloud, 
solution that’s accessible and available to which is where most software solutions store 
everyone helps facilities managers sleep data, identify what information facilities teams 
easily. When all staff have the app on their use most frequently. Typically, the most-used 
phones, anyone—on site or not—can take action information includes:
immediately. No longer does information exist  • Complete set of current as-builts
only in one person’s head. It’s at everyone’s • Shut-off locations and instructions
fingertips to use and to share with each 
• O&Ms
other and with first responders.
• Warranties
An accessible mobile platform also gives new • Emergency plans & procedures
hires the information they need from day one. 
• Compliance documents
The transition from old guard to new becomes 
simple and efficient. Several months of training These documents are familiar to facilities 
gets whittled down to weeks. Instead of spending teams. The right digital solution will make them 
valuable time understanding a disorganized seem familiar to people outside the facilities 
file system on a desktop computer, the new management space. 
facility manager can focus on learning core 
competencies from the retiring manager.
An intuitive user interface and advanced technology will ensure key building 
information is accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Retiring Facility Workers : How to Keep Critical Building Information from Walking Out the Door
The Path Forward
The combination of a retiring workforce and a talent shortage signal 
challenging times ahead for facilities management. The businesses  
that plan strategically to attract and retain new facilities managers,  
as well as use technology to ease the transition, will find themselves  
well positioned for the next five years and beyond.
ARC Facilities provides a mobile-first platform AI allows facilities managers to share and 
designed to assist in all aspects of facilities access information, while powerful OCR search 
management succession planning. With an  and hyperlinking technology capabilities lets 
easy-to-use interface, the ARC Facilities platform them find what they need fast.
lets your team operate from anywhere.
References
1. A rends, Brett. “Opinion: COVID-19 crisis sparks ‘early retirement’ wave.”  
MarketWatch, May 2, 2020.  
www.marketwatch.com/story/covid-19-crisis-sparks-early-retirement-wave-2020-04-30
2.  Hanford, Desiree J. “How FMs are Using Internships, Apprenticeships to Develop Talent.”  
FacilitiesNet, May 15, 2019. 
www.facilitiesnet.com/facilitiesmanagement/article/How-FMs-are-Using-Internships-Apprenticeships-to-Develop-Talent--18383
To find out how ARC Facilities can help you ease the transition to the  
next generation of facilities management, request a demo today.
www.arcfacilities.com/request-demo  
or send an email to  
[email protected].
ARC Facilities I 855-500-0660 I arcfacilities.com
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