An assistant can find a manual quickly. Your team still needs to know it is the right manual.
Facilities teams deal with asset registers, work orders, service records, handover files and information requests. AI could help people find and organise that material, but the result is only useful if it relates to the actual building and asset.
The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management’s Information Management Hub provides a relevant starting point. Its public explanation of the Five-Layer Model connects People, Processes, Data, Technology and Context, treating information as an asset with a purpose and an owner.
01 / THE FIVE LAYERS
Look beyond the software
A new interface will not resolve an unclear asset owner or a missing service record. Use the five dimensions to examine the process before deciding what technology it needs.
- People
- Who owns the asset information and who checks the assistant’s answer?
- Processes
- How does a query become a reviewed response, correction or work order?
- Data
- Can you connect the asset identifier, location, manual and service history?
- Technology
- Which systems are connected, and what may the assistant read or change?
- Context
- Which service needs, building risks and contractual requirements shape the task?
Model dimensions described by IWFM. The questions are Go Left’s illustrative application to an AI assistant.
For example, if several contractors supply inconsistent asset identifiers, agree a matching and correction process. That may be a more valuable first improvement than adding an AI search function to the existing files.
02 / A DEFINED TASK
Choose one operational task
Start with a recurring information problem in one building or service. A team might investigate an assistant that finds the relevant asset record and supporting documents for a reviewer.
Define the output as a draft response with source links and identified gaps. Decide which questions it should refer to a person rather than attempt to answer.
Keep the first test separate from permissions to control equipment, change maintenance schedules or close work orders. Each of those actions needs its own assessment and authorisation.
Agree the people, records and service boundary before testing. This gives the team a task it can judge against the existing process.
03 / DEPENDABLE RECORDS
Make the records dependable
Check the link between the physical asset and its information. An equipment model name alone may be insufficient if the building contains different configurations or later modifications.
For the chosen task, establish the identifiers, locations, document revisions and owners needed to distinguish current information from superseded records. Make missing information visible.
Set a route for corrections. If a technician discovers that a record is wrong, identify who can verify and update it so the next search benefits from that finding.
Where several suppliers contribute information, agree what they need to provide and how it will be checked. Include the continuing maintenance of records in the service process.
04 / FROM INFORMATION TO ACTION
Connect the answer to a review
An information assistant should help the reviewer reach the right evidence and identify uncertainty. It should be clear when the available records do not support an answer.
Find, verify, then decide
Find the source
Locate the record for the identified asset, with document status and provenance visible.
Check the match
Confirm the asset, revision and relevance. Flag missing or conflicting information.
Decide the next step
The authorised person provides the response or routes the matter through the maintenance process.
The response should preserve the difference between finding information and authorising an operational action.
An illustrative information workflow. The competence, checking and approval needed depend on the asset, task and consequences.
For predictive maintenance, assess a different set of evidence: sensor reliability, false alerts, missed issues and how recommendations are handled. RICS’ commercial property case study highlights data quality, professional judgement and the risk of over-reliance on predictions.
Retain the inspections, maintenance arrangements and escalation routes required for the actual equipment and service.
05 / OPERATIONAL CONTROLS
Protect access and service continuity
Building records may include access arrangements, security information, personal data and commercially sensitive material. Establish what the selected service can receive and who can see its outputs.
Check connected system permissions, retention and processing arrangements. Use the ICO’s resources where personal data is involved.
Where an AI use affects workplace health and safety, include it in the relevant risk assessment and control arrangements. HSE’s AI policy explains its approach in Great Britain; Northern Ireland has a separate health and safety framework.
Plan how the team will obtain necessary information during an outage. A new assistant should fit the service’s continuity arrangements.
06 / MEASURABLE VALUE
Measure a useful improvement
Compare the time taken to produce a correct, reviewed response. Include searching, verification, corrections and unresolved enquiries.
Test awkward cases: a missing identifier, a superseded manual, two similar assets and conflicting service records. Check whether the workflow flags uncertainty and sends the issue to the right person.
Agree success and stop criteria, record the results and appoint an owner for continuing performance. Expand to more buildings or services when the evidence supports it.
Through BUILD™, we connect these information improvements with a business outcome and a controlled path to implementation.