You know those memes that ask what a parent does and give you a super-lengthy list of responsibilities? A facilities manager could knock up something similar to describe their role.

Facilities managers oversee everything from lease management to plumbing, from catering to security. What these duties have in common is the overarching responsibility to keep business facilities safe, functional and sustainable.

It's an essential part of any enterprise – key to optimising space, pushing projects forward and more generally creating a safe, comfortable work environment for staff and visitors.

It's also good for your bottom line. Successful facilities management saves money – one survey found that effective space management alone can save up to 30% of an overall budget.

But even if you're on board with all of the above, you might wonder why we're pushing XR as part of the process.

Well, our mission is to provide hardware for enterprises that are deploying XR solutions in a range of sectors including construction, manufacturing, energy and medicine.

And we believe that digital transformation can help you to smash your facilities management goals and savour some tasty cost savings.

But first, what exactly do we mean by "XR"?

What is XR?

XR, or extended reality, is an umbrella term that covers virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR).

VR is the most mainstream thanks to gaming headsets. You pop on a wearable and enter a virtual world. But its applications stretch far beyond gaming – they're used everywhere from oil rigs to hospitals.

AR, by contrast, is less immersive. You're still looking at the real world, but digital objects are laid over it. A mainstream example is a Snapchat filter, superimposing cat ears on a picture of your face.

But as with VR, AR is useful in a variety of industrial settings. To take one example, you can overlay guidelines or information over equipment – a surefire way of minimising the possibility of human error.

Finally, there's MR, which combines features of VR and AR.

How does XR fit into facilities management?

Facilities managers were early adopters of AR. In 2022, 20% of facilities management professionals used it – and nearly 75% said they would adopt it over the next two years.

XR is an ever-evolving industry, so as hardware and software continue to develop, these numbers are bound to increase.

The big picture has been captured nicely by Emil Alon, CEO and Founder of Resonai – an AI and computer vision firm. He said:

"Augmented reality has come a long way since its first implementations in gaming and entertainment. As buildings become smarter and the digital and physical worlds become one, building owners and facilities managers are turning to AR and AI for everything from improved maintenance to indoor navigation."

What are its uses?

1. Virtual tours

These days, workforces are flexible. Teams are scattered in different locations. But what's the point of all that flexibility if you have to get everyone on-site for a tour?

XR means that you can conduct virtual site tours without redirecting your whole team's energies. It does this with no sacrifice in quality – in fact, it widens the net of people who can be taken on these tours.

So whether you're showing around customers, technicians or stakeholders, virtual tours open up new possibilities.

2. Remote assistance

Here's the situation. A repair needs to be carried out on a facility. You want to get it fixed before the downtime it's created starts losing you money – but you want to do so safely and in an environmentally-friendly way.

XR can speed up the repair cycle through "remote assistance". This is where the frontline worker wears an XR-enhanced headset. They stream what they see to an expert in another location. The frontline member of staff can take and share pics and videos for the remote mentor to annotate.

This streamlines the process in two ways. First, it means that you don't have to divert multiple members of staff to address a problem. And second, it removes the mixed signals that can arise when explaining a problem down the phone or over email.

With XR, the repair can be carried out quickly and your facility can be back up and running in no time.

3. Training

We all agree that training is important – but does it have to be so boring? Not with XR.

XR headsets can provide virtual simulations for trainees to explore and interact with. All they need is a headset to start the learning process.

It's interactive – and interactivity, or "learning through doing", can do wonders for knowledge retention. This saves money in the long run as you don't need to provide endless refresher sessions.

Instead, you can give your staff scalable, customised training scenarios. It's fast, cost-efficient and effective – and your staff can participate from any location at their own pace. What's not to like?

4. Testing "what if?" scenarios

The architect Frank Lloyd Wright once said, "You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledgehammer on the construction site".

But even the best-laid plans don't always translate into reality. Too often, we find ourselves reaching for the sledgehammer anyway.

XR reduces the chances of this happening by providing digital twins – lifelike 3D replicas of facilities on which you can run hypothetical scenarios and be prepared for almost any eventuality.

5. Sustainability

Your sustainability goals are important – but it can be difficult to meet them if you're constantly covering travel costs.

XR reduces this part of your budget and helps you to decarbonise operations. It's a win-win situation.

The bottom line

Good facilities management is integral to your enterprise's upkeep and profitability. An XR solution can save you money, cut your emissions, boost training outcomes and reduce the margin of human error.

Interested in deploying XR technology in your enterprise? Explore our range of state-of-the-art wearables today.