5 game-changing technologies to manage biopharma facilities

Revolutionary treatments require exceptional facilities. Facilities management (FM) teams equipped with modern tools help biopharma companies run more smoothly and consistently. They make sure buildings are compliant, keep costs under control and create great work environments for employees—all of which allows these companies to focus on what they do best: developing game-changing medicines and treatments.

As biopharmaceutical companies prep for the next wave of treatments, FM technologies have become key. Advanced tools enable proactive maintenance, reducing disruptions and their associated costs while creating seamless workspaces for employees. Technology-enabled FM services help companies adapt quickly to change, enhancing both operational efficiency and workplace satisfaction. Data and analytics drive smarter decisions that cut costs, grow portfolio value and improve environments where employees can thrive.

Start by creating a technology roadmap that supports your business goals and simplifies your FM systems. With the exploding tech landscape and proliferation of point solutions, a thoughtful technology strategy has never been more urgent. Companies with a history of M&A activity often create unnecessary complexity via redundant systems plus numerous specialised tools. A roadmap streamlines the technology ecosystem and targets your capital investments where they matter most.

By identifying and integrating duplicative systems, reducing unnecessary tools and adding technologies that advance your CRE vision, you can reduce software licencing costs and maintenance needs. This streamlined approach also consolidates data to better inform decisions.

Software automation, preventive maintenance and cutting-edge technologies help FM teams boost efficiency despite budget constraints. The following are the must-have technologies to elevate your FM practices:

Leading biopharma companies are incorporating predictive maintenance strategies for critical equipment to improve uptime and save money. Wireless sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) devices gather equipment vibration, temperature, pressure and other performance data. Then, algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven analytics uncover data anomalies indicating excessive heat, vibration or other emerging performance issues.

With a view of performance trends, FM teams can prevent equipment failure and costly downtime. In addition, improved equipment performance typically increases energy efficiency and extends equipment lifespans, while helping FM personnel avoid potentially dangerous equipment malfunctions. Predictive maintenance also supports more accurate capital planning because FM teams can more closely forecast the end of an asset’s lifespan.

Integration with augmented reality (AR) further increases the power of a mobile platform in predictive maintenance, providing field technicians with real-time insights to identify and address failures proactively. For example, technicians outfitted with AR glasses can look at a chiller unit and see operating anomalies fed from sensor data.

Predictive maintenance is a smart way to take care of expensive machines that are essential for your research or production. But since this approach requires spending money on technology and hiring experts who know what they’re doing, sometimes it makes more financial sense to just fix or replace less critical assets.

Most large biopharmaceutical CRE teams use a computerised maintenance management system (CMMS) or integrated workplace management system (IWMS) for regulated spaces. However, your FM team may be spending too much time on work order management with these systems—while not fully using valuable system features.

The validated platforms are systems designed to manage regulated areas like labs and production facilities. In many cases, these systems can make work orders more complex and potentially costlier due to added compliance requirements. This becomes particularly challenging in hybrid facilities—which are increasingly common—where regulated lab spaces coexist with standard office areas under the same roof.

To improve efficiency and reduce costs, consider a tiered approach where a standard system tracks repairs and manages equipment in non-regulated spaces, while validated systems handle GxP-critical areas. For example, an FM professional today can use a cloud-based mobile app like Corrigo while moving around the building. These apps stream your work by automatically assigning tasks, finding vetted vendors, tracking repairs, managing budgets and more. A comprehensive mobile app can connect to your main CMMS database, giving you instant access to each piece of equipment's repair history, serial numbers, photos and other important information.

Your technology roadmap should include plans for using your data and analytics across your FM operations. Best data management practices provide insights into areas like energy consumption, carbon emissions, space utilisation, maintenance outcomes and more, ultimately reducing costs, improving performance and enhancing the workplace experience.

Your systems may generate a great deal of data that becomes valuable only if you can easily access and analyse it. Create a central data repository with governance procedures to ensure that data is accurate and consistent. With access to comprehensive real-time facilities data, your FM team can use AI-powered analytics tools to make sense of it all. These tools help turn complex data and measurements into clear, practical suggestions that your team can use to make improvements. For example, in a work-order platform, analytics tools can reveal which vendors are providing the highest-quality, most cost-effective services, thereby supporting vendor management decisions.

In the people-centric future of work, smart building and workplace technologies can increase connection and collaboration, improve indoor air quality and comfort, and keep employees happy, engaged and well informed. Beyond enhancing workplace experience through intuitive environments, these technologies create spaces where employees feel supported and productive. For example, workplace experience mobile apps streamline everyday tasks that interfere with productivity, like booking workspaces, accessing secure spaces and locating company updates.

Behind the scenes, an FM team can use insights from smart building technologies and AI-driven analytics to tailor services based on how people actually use the workspace and what they prefer. The same technologies can help save energy and reduce water usage, create less waste and lower carbon emissions. They can also make employees more comfortable with better temperature controls, proper lighting and cleaner air to breathe. The best part: When these smart building systems automatically adjust heating, cooling and other equipment, they can cut your energy costs by as much as 20%.

Smart building infrastructure can also help people find their way around large biopharma campuses. An employee could scan a QR code with their phone to open an interactive map to guide them exactly where they need to go across the property.

Many leading biopharmaceutical companies are trying to reduce their carbon footprint—both because they want to and because they must follow environmental rules in different countries where they do business. A good first step is to use a sustainability data-modelling tool to figure out where to invest your money and what approaches might be best for cutting carbon emissions. Our clients save an average of $4+ million per year on a 25-million-square-foot portfolio by tapping these energy reduction opportunities. By using data, you can create clear, straightforward plans for your CRE portfolio that make both environmental and financial sense.

If you really want to make your CRE portfolio more sustainable, it’s best to look at the whole picture and use tools that make tracking and reporting easier. With a comprehensive analytics, reporting and planning platform, you can keep an eye on your carbon emissions, make smarter decisions and prepare the environmental reports that regulators require—all in one place.

To maximise ROI on your technology purchases, invest time and money on helping your FM team learn how to use them properly. Many of these FM systems have powerful capabilities that go unused simply because they’re too complicated to figure out. The time spent in training will pay off by making operations run more smoothly and helping your employees get more done.

For the complex, diverse CRE portfolios of today’s major biopharmaceutical organisations, FM technologies are essential for keeping everything running smoothly. With the right tools and platforms, your FM operations can benefit from automation and valuable information that ultimately supports your company’s mission of developing new treatments.

Ready to transform your biopharmaceutical facilities with smart technology? Connect with our FM specialists today to create a tailored roadmap that makes your buildings more efficient, helps you meet regulatory requirements and brings impactful solutions to your entire portfolio.