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Healthcare Space Planning: Facilitate a Healing Environment

Shot of two healthcare workers walking together

By Devon Maresco
Marketing Coordinator
SpaceIQ

Healthcare environments are incredibly complex spaces to manage. Not only do facilities managers face unexpected levels of demand and varying forms of need, they’re also dealing with mixed spaces. It’s difficult to use an MRI room for anything other than what it’s intended for; meanwhile, a general treatment room can become anything from a triage station to a space for ultrasounds, inoculations, and more. The sheer number of factors in-play make healthcare space planning an arduous, yet necessary task.

How can healthcare facility managers account for the many unpredictable variables present in a hospital, while orchestrating space that’s agile, accessible, and available? It takes no shortage of resources, including healthcare space planning software. Putting the pieces together in a facility that meets the demand of the local population is a full-time job that’s ever-evolving.

The goal of space planning in healthcare facilities? To ensure every patient has access to the medical care they need, when they need it—and that medical professionals can administer that care with as few physical obstacles as possible.

What is healthcare space planning?

Space planning is about purposing space to meet the needs of the people using it. In a hospital, it means allocating space to treat patients, and optimizing that space so physicians can deliver care.

For example, consider a hospital’s oncology wing. How much of the wing does the hospital need to devote to testing facilities? How much to chemotherapy? What percentage of space needs to go to waiting rooms for family and caregivers? Hospitals need to plan for these demands as they orchestrate space. In doing so, they ensure appropriate facilities are always available to the people who need them.

Space planning in healthcare facilities also occurs at the macro level. For example, it might mean putting the radiology department near the orthopedic wing, in order to promote the relationship between these two business units. This also factors into navigability for patients and physicians. The less ground there is to cover between affiliated areas of the hospital, the better.

Even HIPAA compliance and safety factor into space planning. It’s all about controlling the flow of traffic and instituting access points between sensitive areas.

The benefits of healthcare space planning

Bringing healthcare facilities together through thoughtful space planning affords patients and physicians alike numerous benefits. Here’s what good space planning translates into at a practical level:

  • Better availability of facilities to meet the needs of patients
  • Easier navigability for patients, family, and healthcare staff
  • Faster-paced operations that benefit from streamlined layout
  • Physicians have access to facilities that enable better patient care
  • Enhanced safety, security, and privacy in well-orchestrated spaces
  • Fewer overlaps and interruptions in facilities ensure smoother interactions

Space planning effectively makes healthcare facilities accessible. Patients or family visiting will know exactly where to find what they’re looking for, and those relying on the facilities will get the care they need from space orchestrated to support them.

From an administrative standpoint, healthcare space planning makes it easier for facilities managers to optimize space. Hospitals are other healthcare facilities are only so large, which means using precious square footage in the best possible ways. Planning influences execution, which gives managers the baseline they need to govern facilities based on demand.

How does healthcare space planning software help?

Hospitals operate 24 hours a day, with an ebb and flow of need and demand around the clock. Space planning software provides the tools and resources to realize these varying levels of demand in real time. It gives facility managers access to space insights that drive better decision-making, ultimately leading to a better standard of patient care.

Space planning occurs on two levels: proactive and reactive. Proactive planning means recognizing demand for space and tailoring facilities. For example, if the hematology department is overcrowded, it might mean taking over the phlebotomy lab next door and transitioning phlebotomy to a bedside practice. It’s about recognizing the operational demands of facilities and balancing space accordingly.

From a reactive standpoint, space planning is about continuing to meet ongoing demand for space. If the hospital is outsourcing more of its pathology to an off-site lab, the pathology department may become a new dialysis department, to better-support the growing number of patients who require this treatment.

Space planning software enables both proactive and reactive space planning capabilities. Facility managers can use it to sandbox new floor plans, understand space allocation, and contextualize space based on how it’s used. Best of all, software makes space planning agile in hospital environments that are increasingly dynamic.

Enable the highest level of patient care

Well-planned, agile healthcare facilities have rippling effects. Shorter wait times for treatments and tests. Less strain on patients and family as they navigate facilities. Improved safety, accessibility, and HIPAA compliance. It all roots back to how facility managers organize and purpose space, and the governance associated with those spaces.

As demand for healthcare rises and hospitals become more dynamic and agile, even more opportunities for space planning become clear. One space, one purpose still defines some areas of healthcare facilities, but for all others, there are many opportunities to meet patient demand. Planning for agile, multifaceted spaces is the path forward for the future of healthcare.

Keep reading: Healthcare Space Utilization: Caregiving at Capacity

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Healthcare Space Utilization: Caregiving at Capacity

People walking in and out of the hospital - Healthcare concepts

By Devon Maresco
Marketing Coordinator
SpaceIQ

The United States’ healthcare system is a $8.45+ trillion industry—and it’s growing larger by the year. As demand creeps higher for everything from dentistry to oncology, more and more facilities are springing up across the country to meet these needs. In major metropolitan areas with larger populations and around-the-clock need, more facilities aren’t necessarily the solution. Better healthcare space utilization in existing facilities is.

The ability to use existing healthcare facilities better unlocks broad potential for meeting need, without the additional (tremendous) cost of building and staffing new buildings. Tapping into the fullest potential of a hospital or other healthcare facility rests heavily on the ability to orchestrate space around sometimes unpredictable demand. That starts with a fundamental understanding of capability and availability.

What is healthcare space utilization?

Space utilization is the concept of maximizing the utility of available space. If a hospital has 30 emergency room beds and the average occupancy of those beds is 15, it has a 50% utilization rate. And while this might sound poor, healthcare space utilization differs significantly from other types of utilization metrics. The reason? Much of hospital space is allocated on a contingency basis. The hospital may not use 30 emergency beds, but it needs 30 emergency beds based on the local census.

Healthcare space utilization goes beyond looking at usage as a static figure. To truly understand utilization takes a mind for all the variables that factor into demand. How many emergency room cases were there last quarter? Last year? Over the past five years? What’s the average time per bed occupied? What percentage of total beds are emergency beds? These factors and dozens more form the basis for space allocation, and also inform the standard for utilization.

While space utilization may be a measure of how often usable space is occupied, it’s also a measure of space efficiency in context. To gauge an accurate measure of both is an ongoing, ever-difficult task for healthcare facility managers.

The benefits of healthcare space utilization

Good utilization in hospitals and healthcare facilities comes down to contextualizing use within the parameters of the ecosystem. Facility administrators who can keep space allocation and utilization balanced help unlock significant benefits for everyone seeking or administering healthcare:

  • Better access to spaces designed to support specific healthcare
  • Specific, purposeful space planning and organization
  • Smoother administration as the result of predictable facility usage
  • Improved comfort and convenience for patients receiving treatment
  • Better clinician support from well-equipped and accessible facilities

Ultimately, moderating space utilization comes down to ensuring facilities are available when they’re needed, to the people giving and receiving treatment. Emergency bed utilization may only be 50%, but that means there are several available to housing incoming critical patients from a multiple vehicle accident, for example. Even in non-emergent situations, utilization matters. You don’t want patients sitting for hours waiting on radiology to x-ray their broken arm—they need attention ASAP, from facilities that aren’t constantly at their limit.

How does healthcare space utilization software help?

The biggest unknown variable affecting healthcare facilities is demand. You never know when someone is going to need care—even with appointment scheduling. Utilization software helps account for this unknown by measuring the known variables, to make figuring out a buffer easier.

For example, if there are 10 beds in the chemotherapy wing, each with a utilization rate of 90%, it’s an indicator that more beds may be necessary. Similarly, if the utilization rate of four ultrasound rooms is only 20%, it may be an opportunity to repurpose one or more of them. Utilization software provides these figures to unlock the potential these insights provide.

It’s also important to consider utilization software from the perspective of tracking and monitoring trends, and aligning them with the business goals of a healthcare facility. Do you really need to build a new hemodialysis treatment center? Or, can you establish this environment in current facilities by consolidating underutilized space in the greater hematology wing? In this way, there are cost and treatment benefits rooted in decision-making, made possible by space utilization software insights.

Orchestrate a superior approach to patient care

Healthcare space utilization isn’t just about making use of facilities to avoid the prospect of building and staffing. Above anything else, it’s about being able to deliver superior patient care and a healing experience for the people relying on those facilities. Anticipating demand isn’t always easy, which means the path to better space utilization starts through space governance.

In the modern era, healthcare space utilization software is becoming a must-have, crucial part of the facility management approach. It allows hospitals to be agile with their space and adaptable to the needs of the census. Moreover, it allows hospitals to understand how efficient they’re being, so they can explore new opportunities to provide better caregiving solutions. The result is better use of existing facilities, which helps avoid adding even more costs to an $8.45+ trillion industry that’s already the ire of many.

Keep reading: Healthcare Space Planning: Facilitate a Healing Environment

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Healthcare CMMS Enables Better Patient Care

By Dave Clifton
Content Strategist
SpaceIQ

You’d be hard-pressed to find facilities more technologically equipped than hospitals and other healthcare environments. Today, the practice of caregiving is as much dependent on facilities and assets as it is on the physicians and nurses actually delivering it. To care for patients, hospitals need to also care for facilities. In that sense, an investment in healthcare CMMS is an investment in better patient care.

A healthcare CMMS puts vital upkeep and maintenance at the forefront of broader facilities management. It paves the way for accessibility across facilities by ensuring the amenities within them and the systems that govern them work as-expected for doctors, patients, visitors, and anyone else relying on them. A single-source of maintenance and upkeep also allows in-house maintenance staff to get ahead of potential problems, to prevent trouble from cropping up in much-used areas of facilities.

A healthcare CMMS solution allows hospitals and other facilities to put more of their attention on caregiving and patient care, without worrying about whether facilities will support them.

What is healthcare CMMS used for?

A healthcare CMMS is primarily used to ensure repair and maintenance tasks get their due attention. This can mean everything from schedule upkeep to immediate repairs, starting from the submission of a support ticket to assigning that task and allocating the expense. It’s meant to ensure upkeep and repairs don’t get lost in the ethers, so that healthcare providers can continue to rely on the facilities and amenities around them.

Below the surface, healthcare CMMS systems are actually cost-saving budgeting tools that help control the ever-rising cost of healthcare facility maintenance. Especially in larger hospitals and healthcare buildings that see thousands of visitors each day, there needs to be consistent focus on cost control. Healthcare CMMS helps facility maintenance managers review costs, plan for expenses, budget projects, allocate to different cost centers, and optimize the use of man-hours and resources.

At the end of the day, a healthcare CMMS serves as the framework for facilitating maintenance and doing it efficiently. With the cost of healthcare already high and demand even higher, keeping facilities working properly is paramount.

The benefits of healthcare CMMS software

Because it’s the standard for all maintenance actions within the healthcare environment, a CMMS quickly becomes a source of truth and action for those responsible for upkeep. This can include recognizing proactive maintenance opportunities, reducing servicing costs, and ensuring critical amenities get due attention in a timely manner. Here’s a look at the broad benefits that accompany CMMS use:

  • Better budgeting for recurring and routine repairs and maintenance
  • Better cost allocation and expensing to different cost centers
  • Expedited time to repair for support tickets and maintenance requests
  • Improved planning for capital improvements and large projects
  • More organized ticketing and task allocation through a CMMS
  • Archived repair and maintenance tickets for reference in the future
  • Access to prior servicing data and notes, to facilitate better future service
  • Automations to reduce time, cost, and manpower affiliated with repairs

Above all, these benefits translate into facilities that work as-expected, when needed. If a handicap-accessible entrance isn’t functional or the nurse paging system on the second floor is down, it directly impacts patients. Having these issues front and center in a CMMS ensures they’re dealt with and better-understood, so that there are fewer problems like them in the future.

How to implement a healthcare CMMS

Most healthcare facilities already have some sort of digital maintenance software. Unfortunately, legacy systems aren’t always cloud-enabled or broadly compatible with increasingly smart healthcare infrastructure. To capitalize on modern-day CMMS, hospital facility managers need to orchestrate a complete migration.

Migration can occur in many different ways, depending on the scope of data involved in the transfer. In some cases, it may be a simple import-export of data that takes place in stages, to ensure a proper port. In other cases, it may involve an extract, transform, and load (ETL) procedure, where data feeds into a data lake or structured warehouse before flowing into the new CMMS. Sometimes, a direct port is possible. In any case, it’s imperative there’s no data loss and that operations aren’t interrupted during the switch.

For facilities establishing a completely new CMMS, detail-oriented setup is imperative. That means taking the time to orchestrate information about each asset, maintenance and cost center information, and more. Triggers and hierarchy programming should also be a focus, to automate as much of the workflows coming into the CMMS as possible. Integration is also imperative—especially for healthcare facilities with IoT networks and other networked systems that offer relevant data for the CMMS.

Above all, it’s important to build failsafe and redundant systems into the CMMS, to ensure every critical system gets due attention during implementation and beyond.

The bottom line on healthcare CMMS software

As healthcare facilities become more robust, so must the management of these facilities. Moreover, demand for healthcare is at an all-time high and rising, which means facilities will get put to the test as more people seek care. To meet the needs and expectations of patients, healthcare professionals need to be able to rely on the facilities around them.

CMMS software brings facility maintenance, upkeep, and repairs to the forefront of managing a successful healthcare establishment. From urgent care facilities to specialty clinics, hospitals to general care offices, when facilities support caregiving, everyone benefits.

Keep reading: Hospital Facility Management Software and the Patient Experience

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Blog Workplace Thought Leadership

How to Use the American Rescue Plan to Update Your Workplace Management System

By Danielle Moore
Director, Channel Marketing
SpaceIQ

Businesses were hit hard during the pandemic. But with the trials, many businesses have discovered room for improvement and growth. Government agencies, healthcare facilities, and public schools are now in a positive position to rise above and come out stronger thanks to the American Rescue Plan.

What is the American Rescue Plan?

Millions of Americans recently benefited from stimulus checks, tax breaks, and extended unemployment benefits. This economic relief — totaling more than $242 billion — came as a result of the American Rescue Plan signed by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021. In addition to aiding citizens on individual levels, this plan has stepped in to support businesses and organizations — and leave them stronger than ever before.

Government Agencies

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, agencies had to adapt to stay afloat. Government duties were halted as buildings turned into emergency medical facilities. Revenue was lost and employees were laid off. To remedy these issues, the American Rescue Plan set aside $350 billion in emergency funds to help state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments.

We quickly learned how essential technology is to the health and success of businesses during the pandemic. And now, moving forward, technology continues to support and protect organizations. Because of this, the General Services Administration (GSA) now manages two funds geared to strengthen agencies’ digital operations. The $1 billionTechnology Modernization Fund aims to fortifythe federal government’s cybersecurity while developing cutting-edge tools made to adapt to change. Additionally, $150 million from the Federal Citizen Services Fund will bring positive change to the federal technology workforce and bolster systems for better citizen experiences.

Healthcare Facilities

Healthcare workers were stretched to the limit as healthcare facilities became inundated with patients. However, vital lessons were learned, and, as a result,  the healthcare industry has improved. Ushering in further improvement, the U.S. Department  of Health and Human Services (HHS) is offering $7.5 billion to healthcare facilities for information technology assistance, enhancements to information systems and reporting, data sharing, and support of vaccine distribution.

Public Schools

Of the 1.4 million public sector jobs lost during the pandemic, 1 million of those jobs belonged to teachers. Schools underwent rapid changes to respond to the emergence of COVID-19, including the introduction of remote learning for many. Determined to help schools recuperate from the adjustments, the American Rescue Plan issued $122 billion for the U.S. Department of Education to serve K-12 schools and higher education institutions. These funds are intended to help prevent layoffs, provide internet access and devices to students without connectivity, and allow a safe return to in-person learning with resources for social distancing.

Improving technology to repair and thrive

Undoubtedly, the American Rescue Plan has — and will continue to — lift and support businesses that underwent adversity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. But this plan does more than simply help businesses recover; it helps them thrive. The key to this persistent success is technology.

Equipped with technology that improves standard processes, workplace management, and overall organization, organizations become smooth-running machines. This efficiency is what saves resources and protects companies from future disasters. The American Rescue Plan has created a unique opportunity for public sector organizations to update or invest in vital technology, such as an integrated workplace management system (IWMS).

Navigating workplace changes with IWMS software

A company’s facilities and infrastructure comprise 25 to 50 percent of its fixed assets and operating costs. Help your business succeed in a globally competitive market by properly managing these precious resources. This is where SpaceIQ can help. Our Archibus platform has helped companies return to work with innovative features that offer solutions to the many negative impacts of COVID-19.

As people return to work and school, there are many variables in question, such as how to follow social distancing protocols, schedule offices, and classrooms, and track the phases of students and employees coming back to work. The Archibus system has clarified these questions and allowed organizations to function at their full potential.

Take a look at some of the ways that Archibus can simplify your workplace management:

  1. Space Inventory. Assign employees to safe seats that meet social distancing guidelines.
  2. Occupancy. Track and manage which employees are working remotely, in cohorts, or coming back to work in phases.
  3. Hoteling. Let employees select a desk from a pool of pre-approved, socially distanced spaces.
  4. Corrective Work. Automatically schedule room and desk cleanings between reservations to promote a safer work environment for employees.
  5. Reservations. Allow pre-approved room reservations that incorporates time before and after a meeting for proper cleaning.
  6. Workplace. Help employees find resources, book meetings and workspaces, access services, and request moves through a convenient desktop or mobile experience.
  7. Space Planning. Forecast and plan for large space and occupancy changes at all levels, including portfolio, city, site/campus, and building and room levels.
  8. Moves. Streamline your move/add/change processes to support employee safety with minimal organizational disruption.
  9. Preventive Maintenance. Schedule daily or periodic “deep clean” work orders for specific locations.
  10. Health & Safety. Reduce workplace safety incidents and better manage personal protective equipment (PPE), training, medical monitoring, and work restrictions.
  11. Asset Management. Provide an integrated view of where to find key assets such as personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning supplies, and other equipment.
  12. Emergency Preparedness. Implement life-saving and general safety procedures by planning for potential future outbreaks and other disasters.
  13. Waste. Track and manage COVID-19 hazardous waste from point of generation to final disposition to mitigate errors, omissions, and accidents.
  14. Hazard Abatement. Protect employee health and minimize organizational liability by quickly and accurately locating, tracking, and abating hazardous materials.
  15. Compliance. Reduce the chance of virus spread and potential shutdowns that result from inadequate compliance practices.
  16. Condition Assessment. Evaluate the condition of critical assets and buildings, initiating remediation work where needed.
  17. Projects. Provide a central location for employees to manage COVID-related project details, including schedule tracking and budgeting.

Easily access the tools and technology you need

Whether you serve a government agency, healthcare facility, or public school, there are several options available to fund the technology you need to bring efficiency and clarity to today’s changing workplace. The American Rescue Plan has brought relief and security for the future to many organizations who request funding.

If this plan doesn’t cover what your public agency is looking for, there are still several federal and state contract vehicles that can help. Simplify the procurement process by purchasing Archibus through our valued partners found at the following links:

Federal

CIO-CS, HHSN316201500012W

GSA Multiple Award Schedules GS-35F-267DA

Information Technology Enterprise Solutions – Software2 (ITES-SW2), W52P1J-20-D-0047

SEWP V, Group A: NNG15SC07B; Group D: NNG15SC98B

Department of Defense ITAM ESI

State

GSA Multiple Award Schedules GS-35F-267DA

Commonwealth of Kentucky Multi-Vendor Master Agreement, MA758 070000217538

State of California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS), 3-16- 70-1047B

State of Maryland Multi-Vendor COTS IDIQ, 06B02490021

State of New Mexico Multi-Vendor IDIQ, 60-000-16-00075

State of Ohio Multi-Vendor IDIQ, 534042

State of Texas DIR Multi-Vendor Software IDIQ, DIR-TSO-3400

State of Texas DIR Multi-Vendor Software II IDIQ, DIR-TSO-4236

State of Texas DIR, DIR-TSO-4384

TIPS, 180503

TIPS, 200105

TIPS, 200102

The world may still be recuperating from the effects of COVID-19, but your resilient organization is capable of returning to work stronger. Try a demo of SpaceIQ products to learn how you can safely reopen your workplace and boost your organization’s productivity.

Keep reading: What is a Smart IWMS and What are its Features?

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Where to Get a Healthcare Facility Management Degree

Moving To New Office With Cardboard Boxes, Office Chairs, Ladder And Empty Desks.

How to Become a Facility ManagerBy Dave Clifton
Content Strategist
SpaceIQ

Healthcare is a booming industry for a number of reasons—an aging population, health epidemics, and the rising cost of healthcare administration among them. With rising demand comes an increasing need for optimization, specifically when it comes to facilities management. This, in turn, pushes demand for qualified professionals with a healthcare facility management degree.

What is healthcare facility management?

Healthcare facility management differs from general facilities management in numerous ways. While space allocation, optimization, and efficiency are at the core of the practice, there’s a much larger dynamic at-play. It’s important that, when they seek healthcare, people are able to get it with as few obstacles as possible—and that their experience is as positive as possible. Much of this experience comes from the availability and navigability of healthcare facilities.

For those who want to pursue a healthcare facility management program, there are plenty of options. Here’s a look at six of the top healthcare facilities management schools in the country and the programs they offer specific to healthcare-focused professionals.

1. Cornell University

One of the eight prestigious Ivy League schools, it’s not surprising that Cornell University offers a healthcare facility management degree. The certificate program is available through the college’s virtual learning program, which makes it highly accessible to anyone who wants to explore this modality while attending a top-rated school. Cornell’s healthcare facilities management program consists of four core courses and four electives, of which students need to select and pass two. It’s an affordable option that carries the prestige of the Cornell name with certification.

2. Brigham Young University – Provo

The Brigham Young University – Provo healthcare facilities management degree isn’t a standalone degree—rather, enrollees will end with certification as a Facility and Property Management (FPM) specialist. That said, healthcare facility administration is a core focus of the program. It’s a program that has won several national awards and it ties into key areas of the college, instead of teaching concepts in isolation. Participants need to be on-campus to participate at this time.

3. Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

The Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University healthcare facilities management degree is an offshoot of its broader healthcare administration track. Those pursuing a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration will study facility management intensively, to understand the relationship between facilities and patients, medical staff and visitors. This is one of the more robust programs on this list, as it’s a full 120-hour bachelor’s degree and not just a certificate.

4. Temple University

Temple University offers a full bachelor’s program for its facility management degree, and enrollees have the option to choose a specialty within the degree. Many choose Temple’s program because of the healthcare facilities management track, which leaves them with an opportunity to gain one of three designations upon graduation: Facilities Management Professional (FMP), Sustainability Facility Professional (SFP), or Certified Facility Manager (CFM).

5. Missouri State University – Springfield

Healthcare facilities management at Missouri State University – Springfield falls under its Hospitality Leadership degree program. This track offers broad-ranging insights that lend themselves to someone seeking a future in facilities management at a large healthcare facility, such as a major hospital or research facility. This bachelor’s program is one of the most well-rounded for those looking to immerse themselves in the prevailing concepts of healthcare facilities management—everything from clinical staff management to hospital IT and security.

6. Wentworth Institute of Technology

The Wentworth Institute of Technology offers both undergraduate certificate and masters’ programs for facility management. For those in pursuit of a career specific to healthcare facilities, the undergraduate track is more focused in this area (the masters’ program trends toward manufacturing facilities management). Graduates will find themselves with IFMA accreditation and the education they need to affect real change in healthcare facilities of the future.

Choose a program focused on healthcare

Facility management isn’t a one-size-fits-all concept—especially when it comes to healthcare. Each of the above schools offers a program designed to prepare graduates for the nuances of facilities management within the healthcare industry. More important, graduation from any of these programs will land you as a Certified Healthcare Facility Manager (CHFM)—a professional recognized by the American Hospital Association (AHA).

Is it possible for someone with a facility management degree or experience to transition into the realm of healthcare facilities management? Absolutely. That said, it requires no small commitment. For those looking ahead and considering healthcare facilities management, the smart option is to pursue a degree-specific program and graduate as a CHFM. Look into any of the programs above to get started.

Keep reading: How to Become a Facility Manager

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Digital Twin Use Cases

Female hand using smartphone while working at desk in office

By Devon Maresco
Marketing Coordinator
SpaceIQ

Digital twins are an exciting piece of technology that’s becoming ubiquitous across industries. It’s easy to see why as they take their place alongside proliferating IoT and other tech such as machine learning. There are a bevy of digital twin use cases out there to showcase the power of digital asset monitoring. The interesting thing is that despite the same technological framework, almost every industry has found new and exciting ways to utilize digital twin technology.

What are digital twins used for? That depends on the industry. Let’s take a look at some of the most prevalent functions and features of digital twins across a diverse array of industries and applications.

Energy

Energy production and management are a huge market for digital twins. They’re already established technologies in the oil and gas sector, utilized by multinational companies such as British Petroleum (BP) and Shell. The reason? Digital twins aggregate the abundance of data that comes with downhole drilling operations—everything from visualizing well production to condition monitoring for the equipment extracting resources.

Fossil fuel producers aren’t the only ones using digital twins. Solar and wind farms also rely heavily on digital twins to monitor the performance of critical generators: solar panels and wind turbines. Smart technologies make it easy to monitor equipment off site and get real-time insights that enable proactive service. And, of course, digital twins make it easier to visualize the flow of power into a traditional grid.

Healthcare

Hospitals and healthcare facilities are filled with critical assets. In this sector, digital twins serve the role of integrated asset management and life cycle maintenance. From ultrasound machines to radiography equipment, these are investments totaling between tens of thousands and millions of dollars. Facility managers and maintenance professionals need to know where they are, what condition they’re in, their service records, and more to ensure they remain fully operational.

Healthcare facilities are also increasingly intelligent environments. Everything from access control, to networked devices, to patient wearables, and more all generate data—and that data needs to go somewhere. Digital twins embrace and route data from these many signals to help coordinate care within the cloud, at a digital level. Moreover, they provide relevant data to stakeholders that need it most: the individuals responsible for orchestrating a healing environment.

Manufacturing

Digital twins were born in the world of manufacturing. They’re used for everything from asset maintenance and monitoring, to predictive maintenance and shop floor improvements. They tie into many Lean manufacturing initiatives because the focus is on using data to drive solutions. Manufacturers rely on digital twins to show them where bottlenecks are in their production lines or what machinery is due for preventive maintenance based on real-time performance.

The growing Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has made digital twins even more robust. Manufacturing is inching closer and closer to an era of dark factories, where off-site monitoring and a skeleton crew are all it takes to keep major production lines running. With digital twins serving as the backdrop for production insights and a strong IIoT to support it, factories will soon run in the cloud.

Retail

Retail is a fast-paced environment that requires no small amount of coordination. From feature displays and fixtures to stockroom management and inventory, digital twins have a role in retail. Where they really shine is in efforts to improve customer experience—especially in the post-COVID-19 world. Digital twins are also instrumental in coordinating inventories during the rise of omni-channel fulfillment. As businesses pivot to meet changing shopper habits, digital twins serve as a constant to support new operations.

Commercial

This list of digital twin use-cases wouldn’t be complete without a mention of commercial office buildings. In an age where remote work, flex work, and distributed teams are the new norm, digital twins help businesses reevaluate the physical workplace and understand its capacity for change. Digital twins serve as the great integrator for intelligent sensors and beacons, and interface with critical IWMS software to provide meaningful insights to decision-makers. Roll in asset management and digital twins become a must-have tool for businesses striving to make the most of their overhead.

Digital twins are becoming must-have tech

Digital twin industry use is on the rise, and it’s easy to see why. From energy to healthcare, manufacturing to retail and commercial applications, this tech offers critical support for operational excellence. And it’ll only continue to get better. As the IoT expands and more integrations come online, businesses will find digital twins instrumental in maximizing their efforts.

The beauty of digital twins is that they’re a transcendent technology. No matter the industry, no matter the application, so long as they’re configured and maintained accordingly they provide value.

Keep reading: Digital Twins – A Revolution in Workplace Management

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Five Important Hospital Facility Reporting Metrics

Outpatient Sign over a Hospital Outpatient Services Entrance

By Dave Clifton
Content Strategist
SpaceIQ

Modern hospitals are a living ecosystem of data exchange. From medical devices to manual input, real-time data is crucial to deliver the best level of patient care. It’s also important for coordinating facilities, to enable that care. Hospital FMs work behind the scenes to ensure facilities support the caregivers and patients relying on them. They’re looking at a bevy of hospital facility reporting metrics to make sure they’re hitting targets.

With so much data streaming around hospitals, it’s important for facility managers to pare down the most vital metrics and focus on those. This isn’t to say that all data doesn’t play a role in better facilities management—some metrics are just more timely, succinct, and insightful than others. Here’s a look at five of them, what they mean, and how to learn from them.

1. Bed availability and utilization

A hospital has a finite capacity for treatment, usually measured in beds. Hospital facilities reporting at the local, state, and federal levels focus on available beds as a way to measure their real-time capacity for caregiving. Typically, it’s a one-to-one ratio, one bed to one patient. This makes it the base measurement for hospital space utilization.

Knowing how many available beds a hospital currently has provides a baseline for establishing everything from admittance procedure to resource allocation. This was especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, when hospitals reached critical mass. It’s vital for facility managers to establish this metric and use it to inform space-related decisions in real-time.

2. Floor staffing and float

Not everyone comes to the hospital for the same thing, which makes staffing levels important to consider. How many nurses are in first-floor urgent care vs. third floor oncology? Where are the ultrasound machines within the context of facilities? What’s the bed utilization rate on floor five vs. floor six, and what resources are in proximity?

How you staff floors and allocate equipment depends on the real-time demands of facilities. If your nurse-to-patient ratio is 1:5 in one area and 3:5 in another, you need to know so you can adjust. The same goes for equipment allocation. If something is idle on one floor and in demand on another, it’s critical to adjust. This is often why hospitals operate a float pool. Good facilities management helps staff utilize that float better.

3. Asset uptime and utilization

Hospital facility reporting software with features to track assets can make a huge difference for hospitals. Why has echocardiogram machine 01 performed three times more scans than any other unit in the fleet? When is the CAT scan machine due for calibration? What’s the average time for each x-ray appointment? These asset-related questions and countless others need data-backed answers. Tracking asset uptime and utilization metrics provides necessary insight.

These metrics are important not only from a cost standpoint, but from an operational one, as well. When you know where assets are, how they’re used, and what condition they’re in, it’s easy to adopt a preventive and proactive maintenance approach, instead of a reactive one.

4. Mean time to repair

Better known in the world of manufacturing, mean time to repair (MTTR) is really an asset efficiency metric. If you’re using CMMS reporting software for hospitals, it’s an easy metric to find and one that’s worth looking into regularly. Hospitals can’t afford downtime for critical equipment. Monitoring MTTR helps facilitate a better maintenance approach.

When you consider the cost and importance of imaging machines, radiography equipment, laboratory equipment, and countless other devices, MTTR becomes a very important metric. How quickly you’re able to resolve problems and address the maintenance needs of equipment has a direct impact on everything from patient care to patient experience.

5. Utilization efficiency

Utilization efficiency metrics apply to every asset, resource, room, and person within the hospital environment. Where are you operating at critical capacity on a consistent basis? What resources go underutilized? How often are there conflicts over spaces and equipment? Examine utilization efficiency metrics to spot where adjustments could improve the efficiency of hospital operations. Then, build in new best practices, processes, and governance philosophies to bring balance to facilities.

All metrics matter in a hospital environment

Why these five metrics over others? Because they represent some of the simplest, most valuable data about hospital facilities. Without bed availability and room utilization stats, you can’t know whether you’re treating patients efficiently. Without access to staffing and float data, it’s difficult to manage medical personnel. Asset metrics and MTTR cover the many important pieces of equipment that make the hospital environment go round. Above all, utilization efficiency helps you make sure you’re helping people in whatever way they need it.

Hospital FMs need to track a broad scope of facilities data. At the core are these five metrics, and they have the power to drive significant, positive improvements in the way hospitals operate.

Keep reading: Hospital Facility Management Software and the Patient Experience

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Nine Tips for Better Healthcare Space Management

By Devon Maresco
Marketing Coordinator
SpaceIQ

Healthcare establishments have some of the most stringent and specific space demands of any commercial facilities. Between patients, staff, visitors, assets, and the facilities themselves, it’s no surprise that healthcare space management is one of the most complex facilities management modalities. There are also the many verticals to consider: everything from dentistry and optometry to critical care and oncology facilities. Facilities Managers have their work cut out for them.

While many conventional best practices can help optimize healthcare facilities, best practices aren’t always enough. These complex environments need more. Effective space management for the healthcare industry means going the extra mile to consider not just the needs of space, but also its context within the continuum of care. To that end, here’s a look at nine hospital space management tips to optimize space accessibility, utilization and effectiveness.

  1. Separate space and function. Identify static vs. dynamic spaces in the facility and coordinate around these parameters. You can use an urgent care room as a triage point in an emergency situation. You can’t repurpose the MRI room for anything other than imaging. Define and understand these parameters to get a clearer picture of space.
  2. Inpatient vs. outpatient. In the same manner as identifying static vs. dynamic space in facilities, distinguish between inpatient and outpatient. These two designations both have an impact on space utilization. They allow you to plan for quick, flexible space vs. extended occupation and more rigid governance. Both play vital roles in governing facilities, but require a different mindset to optimize utilization.
  3. Adopt agility. Ever wonder why general equipment is on casters? Mobility is vital. Healthcare happens in real-time, which means adopting agility and contingencies as demands change. FMs need multiple readymade plans for different segments of facilities, as part of scenario planning.
  4. Correlate processes. There’s not always time for a level-set when situations change. Strong processes for facility utilization are key in controlling how, when, and what space looks like at any given moment. FMs need to create processes with checks and balances that govern how space adapts to need.
  5. Standardize, but stay flexible. A strong baseline will pave the way for better flexibility in healthcare environments. Symposium Room B might be a vaccination clinic today and a PT environment on Thursday, but its core purpose is to host lectures. Establishing the baseline enables adaptability and extrapolates the opportunities of a given space.
  6. Consider visitors. Between security checkpoints and restricted access areas, larger healthcare facilities can feel like a maze to visitors and even float nurses who’ve worked there for years. Wayfinding is paramount. Make clear labeling and wayfinding installations part of the core premise of inclusive facilities management.
  7. Think about cost centers. In large healthcare facilities like hospitals, facility managers need to consider the different lines of business and how they coexist within a shared space. Stack planning is a great way to visualize specific cost centers and their prevalence within a floor plan. For example, if radiology takes up 22% of available space and is a static occupant within facilities—but only generates 12% revenue as a value-add service—does it make sense to keep it? High-level decision-making like this is imperative to keep facilities accessible and profitable.
  8. Make minor improvements. Small facility improvements go a long way in improving patient experience. Automated door mechanisms. Motion sensitive lights. Motorized curtains. These small amenities enhance the appeal of facilities and improve interaction with them. They have the power to contribute to a better patient experience, or even assist in delivering a higher standard of care.
  9. Emphasize CMMS. There’s a wealth of high-value equipment in healthcare facilities. It’s imperative that equipment remains functional and accessible, which means having a system to prioritize repairs and maintenance. FMs need to coordinate with on-site and vendor maintenance to maximize equipment uptime. A CMMS system is the best way to coordinate this, and to manage assets from a cost standpoint.

What is healthcare space management within the context of a care environment? For doctors, nurses and specialists, it’s the ability to access and utilize critical resources. For patients, it’s comfort and support as they navigate recovery. For visitors and family, it’s convenience and navigability in an unfamiliar place. Great space management enables all of this, and more.

Facility managers operating within the healthcare environment should heed the tips above as they assess facilities. Alongside FM best practices, they provide the mindset needed to think about space from every perspective, and make sure it meets all expectations.

Keep reading: Hospital Facility Management Software and the Patient Experience

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Healthcare Facilities Management Improves Patient Experience

By Devon Maresco
Marketing Coordinator
SpaceIQ

Hospitals and healthcare facilities are scary, unfamiliar places—or at least, that’s the way we see them when we’re admitted. It’s one of the biggest challenges in the healthcare industry to make a hospital or clinic seem like a warm, welcoming, relaxing place. It’s tough, but not impossible. An above-and-beyond approach to healthcare facilities management has a powerful impact on patient experience—and even recovery prospects.

The concept behind healthcare facility management isn’t much different from any other commercial space management. The building and everything in it need to support the actions and activities of the people using them. With an experiential focus, there’s opportunity to transform the hospital environment from a confusing, daunting place, to an environment conducive to comfort.

What is healthcare facility management?

Healthcare facilities management focuses on coordinating facilities, assets, and people to concentrate on delivering the highest standard of patient care. In the healthcare setting, there are also layers of compliance, security, and emergency planning involved. It all adds up to a functioning healthcare environment that’s enabling to medical professionals and comfortable for the people they’re treating.

Healthcare facility management needs to be agile, dynamic, and careful. These facilities move very quickly—whether it’s a one-hour outpatient appointment or a marathon inpatient procedure. That means coordinating space, people, assets, and resources with steadfast precision, to avoid delays that could be critical to a person’s health. There’s a lot of pressure—but at the same time, healthcare facilities are some of the best-run in the world.

What is the function of healthcare facilities management?

Whether it’s a hospital with 1,000 beds or a small urgent care clinic with five rooms, the core premise of healthcare facilities management is the same: to empower the highest standards of care. Whether they need a diagnosis or are in for a complex surgery, healthcare professionals need complete support from facilities to treat patients.

The function of facilities management is to enable caregiving in all forms, at the highest level. Other functions of healthcare facilities management include:

  • Facilitate a safe environment with minimal cross-exposure
  • Maintain patient privacy, comfort, and accessibility during their stay
  • Protect people and property, including records, controlled substances, and equipment
  • Simplify navigation for professionals, patients, and visitors
  • Coordinate the use of shared equipment and resources, to ensure timely care
  • Control costs associated with complex business lines

All of these distill down into an equally important benefit alongside the enablement of care: patient experience.

Factors that affect patient experience

Patient experience in the hospital environment hinges on so many factors. And while these factors vary from facility to facility, situation to situation, they’re all rooted in facilities management. Some common contributors from a facility standpoint include:

  • Time to wait, including for appointments, diagnoses, testing, and procedures
  • Comfort in facilities, including for inpatient stays or while navigating
  • Atmosphere, such as access to natural light, fresh air, and privacy
  • Transparency, or the ability to understand where they are and what’s happening

Numerous other factors contribute to patient experience, including their interactions with staff and their prognosis. Even these variables have roots in facilities. For example, well-coordinated floors can reduce the runaround for nurses, who in-turn have more time to spend with patients and who can be more personable since they’re not rushed.

The smoother the patient’s transition through healthcare facilities, the better the experience. The same goes for doctors, nurses, and specialists. When facilities aren’t a hindrance, they become an enabler of great patient care and a superior patient experience.

Tenants of good healthcare facility management

Good healthcare facility management comes down to two main factors: agility and control. You can’t have one without the other in a healthcare setting.

Say, for example, there’s a surgery scheduled at 2pm but a triage case comes in at 1:45pm. This situation doesn’t have time to develop—there’s a life on the line. Good facility management has contingencies to facilitate this shift from scheduled to emergent, and to do it quickly. Moreover, it needs to happen in a way that doesn’t compromise the health, wellbeing, privacy, safety, or integrity of either party.

This example and countless other real-world, everyday situations prove the need for agility and control as the two tandem variables governing healthcare facilities. Even in non-emergent situations—such as appointment clinics—a practice’s ability to deliver the highest caliber of patient care (and remain profitable doing it), stems from agility and control.

The powerful impact of facility management

A curious thing happens in well-managed healthcare facilities: people get better, quicker. Several studies show a strong correlation between a comfortable, stress-reduced physical environment and the healing prospects of patients. One study from 2012 titled, A Healing Environment, notes the myriad of ways in which well-orchestrated facility management positively impacts patients—from indoor air quality, to room orientation, to amenity comforts, and a dozen other factors.

For patients, their families, and the healthcare staff tending them, facilities management is imperative. It improves the patient experience, which folds into the primary objective of modern facilities: to heal with compassion. Whether it’s supporting healthcare staff as they administer care or enhancing the quality of life for those recovering, facility management is an imperative focus in the modern age of healthcare administration.

Keep reading: 9 Tips for Better Healthcare Space Management