Data. Technology. Software.
If you are long-tenured in facility management leadership, it’s possible these three words were mere afterthoughts when you entered the discipline. But now? Each, data, technology, and software, is a component of a facility professional’s daily existence.
In our latest High Reliability podcast, Nick Derr, Project Development Leader for Facility Optimization Solutions (FOS), a subsidiary of CannonDesign, talks about data, technology, and software as critical facility management components.
Though the conversation veers into multiple topic areas, Nick offers the following specific to the role of data in decision-making:
1) Present precise, defensible data. Senior leadership requires accurate data, provide conclusions and recommendations based on actual data.
Pilot projects can help in data collection. If you want to assess power generation capabilities, conduct testing in multiple locations, such as an administration building, a clinic, and a bed tower. Make sure before testing, you clearly define what you are measuring. Do so in a collaborative, team environment so that members are invested and knowledgeable.
2) Visualization is critical. Show equipment rates of decay, investment curves, or faulty equipment (if possible). Be concrete, not abstract, if you want the audience to understand data better.
3) Utilize soft skills. Focus and understand the motivation of your audience and know their hot buttons. Each audience member absorbs information differently, so be prepared to connect to different styles in your communication. Be clear, and…
4) Don’t get lost in the detail weeds. Stay mission-focused on the data you are using to persuade or move to action.
5) Don’t use I. Data presentation is about advancing more significant needs, the collective organization. Use we rather than I when presenting.
6) There is no shortcut to data collection. It takes time and discipline. Organizations can be over-reliant on third-party modeling or benchmarking to make broad-brushed facility decisions that do not consider the unique characteristics of the hospital’s physical environment.
Download and listen to more of Nick Derr and High Reliability
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