Javeria Aijaz, managing director of HITEK, a UAE-based technology services company providing smart FM solutions, delivered a keynote address at the Middle East FM Association (MEFMA) two-day conference at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, yesterday, 16 October 2023.
During her presentation entitled ‘AI-Powered Transformation: Revolutionising FM and Energy Management’ Aijaz, addressed prominent Saudi and regional facilities management (FM) professionals about the key issues in FM as the industry moves towards new more advanced Internet of Things (IoT) enabled assets with built in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
These smart assets communicate not only when they need to be repaired, but also when maintenance is required, including which technical resources, tools and materials will be needed. Aijaz placed particular emphasis on how technological advances using AI can connect people, assets and spaces, to make FM more efficient and sustainable.
“The shift to using AI led predictive maintenance using futuristic technologies including IoT enabled Building Management Systems (BMS) helps FM professionals to improve cost and operational efficiency and sustainability. Travelling time to check and diagnose issues can be reduced, the required materials and tools are ordered in advance and any issues resolved by deploying a smart and capable maintenance team,” said Aijaz.
“Delivering these cost-efficient benefits to building owners and managers and providing an enhanced experience for their staff and tenants, will be critical to retaining a competitive edge,” added Aijaz.
The opening ceremony of the event took place in the presence of H.E. Ihab Hashani – Vice Minister, Ministry of Municipal Rural Affairs and Housing in Saudi Arabia with opening remarks from Jamal Lootah MEFMA President.
Welcome addresses were delivered by Abdullah Saud Al-Hammad – CEO, Real Estate General Authority, Saudi Arabia; Mohammed Bin Abdullah Almarshad – First Vice Chairman of Board of Directors, Riyadh Chamber & Chairman National Real Estate Commission, Federation of Saudi Chambers and Ahmed Balkheyour – Executive Director (Engineering & Contracts Support) and Expenditure and Projects Efficiency Authority (EXPRO) in Saudi Arabia.
Part of the Farnek Group, HITEK’s digital solution connects people, assets and spaces from multiple remote sites, using intelligent analytical platforms, for cleaning, security and maintenance. They are centrally managed and monitored by utilising the Internet of Things (IoT), Building Management Systems (BMS), Cloud, Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) based technologies.
The solutions support operational efficiencies, staff welfare, and sustainability while saving clients significant amounts of money by reducing manpower costs by up to 17% by transferring from traditional FM operational management to HITEK’s smart management.
HITEK’s 24/7 command and control room or ‘nerve centre’, is located at Farnek’s state-of-the-art staff accommodation centre in Jebel Ali. Being 5G and Wi-Fi 6 enabled, HITEK can take advantage of increased bandwidth, ultra-low latency and enhanced security.
