A year of introspection on the interior has revealed to occupants the role buildings play in their wellbeing, a concern fueling many building trends now, and presumably into the future. According to a report put out by Honeywell titled “Rethinking Buildings Post-COVID-19,” facility managers across the globe and across industries are reassessing how their facilities operate based on this critical eye being placed on indoor spaces.
In particular, five findings stood out within the United States market.
1. COVID-19 is likely to have long-lasting impact on ways facilities operate.
The pandemic has caused many facility managers to reassess their investments, with many also believing these changes will be kept in place in some form. Sixty two percent of facility managers are now more likely to invest in indoor air quality optimization and other healthy building solutions while 56% are now more willing to invest in occupant experience solutions like contactless building access, smart parking and personalized experiences.
2. COVID-19 remains a source of widespread unease.
Nearly one in four (22%) facility managers mention pandemic-related issues as their top concern.
3. A healthy building is and will remain important.
While most respondents consider a healthy building to be their top focus, what constitutes a healthier facility differs between industries. Healthcare and education facilities, for instance, state indoor air quality as one of the most important aspects of building design. Data centers and commercial real estate, on the other hand, name cleaning procedures as their top priority.
4. Digital transformation of facilities is accelerating.
In response to the need for remote facility management, more than half (54%) of the respondents said they saw an acceleration in technology adoption with 67% indicating a willingness to invest in smart building solutions such as machine learning and AI.
5. Improving the occupant experience sits at the top of priorities.
Many elements of a building have seen a strong uptick of interest, but respondent input shows there’s still a significant gap in adoption. More than half of those surveyed say the buildings they manage do not have air quality solutions (57%), integrated lighting that improves occupant productivity (66%), contactless building entry (67%) or an app that provides real-time information on building health (73%).
The survey was conducted by KRC research in four markets: United States, Germany, China and Saudi Arabia.
To read the full report, visit Rethinking Buildings Post-COVID-19.
