The property and real estate sector has traditionally been associated with stacks of paperwork, manual documentation, and physical blueprints. However, all that is changing quickly as the idea of paperless building operations is steadily gaining momentum.
Owing to the rapid advancements in technology and an increased concern around sustainability, transitioning to a paperless system in building management and operations is now an active goal most property managers and real estate management companies are pursuing.
This article explores how paperless building operations and management are beneficial, while also addressing some of the potential challenges:
Benefits of paperless building operations
Cost savings
By reducing paper usage, facility managers and property owners can reduce expenses around storage, printing, and transportation. Moreover, paperless property management can result in major cost savings in the long run, especially for real estate construction companies.
Higher efficiency
When facility managers adopt digital tools and processes via mobile apps, for instance, they can easily streamline day-to-day workflows, reduce unnecessary and often unforeseen project delays due to paper-based management, and eliminate redundancies in the process.
Additionally, the real-time access and sharing of information will promote better communication between all the project stakeholders, thus, leading to higher efficiency.
Improved collaboration
With the introduction of cloud-based platforms and digital collaboration tools, entire property management teams can work together in a seamless and hassle-free way, even if they are working remotely from different locations.
This will undeniably foster a better sense of teamwork as well as decision-making, and lead to improved project outcomes where teams may even be able to deliver ahead of schedule.
Environmental sustainability
The property management industry is one which must carefully assess its environmental impact. Paperless building operations will lead to a significant reduction in emissions and carbon footprint, reducing waste generation, and protecting the environment by saving trees, for instance.
Challenges in adopting paperless building operations
Technical infrastructure
Transitioning to a paperless system for building operations management may, at times, require a robust and reliable technical infrastructure, including the ability for specific devices to integrate seamlessly without compatibility issues and with reasonably good internet connectivity.
Naturally, all stakeholders must have access to the required technology which can sometimes be a significant undertaking although some mobile apps and software make this undertaking very easy where team members can simply log in and start making building inspection reports, as long as they have access to a smartphone and internet connection.
Concerns around data security
Property management operations often involve sensitive information, which means there are going to be security and privacy concerns around data breaches which can hinder the adoption of paperless building management.
However, when facility managers choose the right digital platform for this purpose, they should practically have no concerns around cybersecurity or personal data security.
Resistance to change
This is probably one of the biggest challenges to adopting a paperless building management approach across the entire organisation, as many people in the industry are accustomed to traditional paper-based practices.
TIM (The Inspection Manager) makes it really easy to bring everyone onboard, with a simple interface and easy access for everyone to help you adopt paperless building management. What’s more, it comes with a completely FREE 30-day trial.