How Smart Office Furnishings Deliver Management Decision Data

Large or small, any business decision requires good data. The Internet of Things (IoT) pools data from numerous “smart” sources and delivers actionable data across your enterprise – operations managers, facilities managers, HR, marketing. Real-time data adds agility and flexibility to your operations.

And the more data, the better. RFID has proven its value as an asset management system, tracking inventory, furnishings, process components, even paper documents. Building on that information technology, smart devices are providing a wealth of data to the IoT.

So how can office furnishings generate digital data for better management decisions? Take the example of smart lockers in a hybrid office. Flex-schedule staffers without assigned workspaces use day-use lockers to store their personal items while they are in the office. Additionally, they can securely retrieve packages (documents or electronic devices for off-site work, for instance) at any time, without scheduling a face-to-face hand-off.

Data from these networked smart lockers produces two kinds of management insights: (1) a snapshot of current usage, and (2) a detailed picture of historical usage over time. Paired with touchless technology that lets users open lockers with an RFID personnel badge or a mobile phone app, managers can learn:

• How many lockers are in use on a given day
• Which group of lockers is overused or underused
• Which locker an individual used, and for how long
• When, or whether, a package was picked up

With this abundance of data, managers can make decisions about:

• Occupancy density
• Space utilization
• Workflow
• Personnel flow

For example, if lockers are fully utilized on a particular day of the week, predictive software in the facility’s IoT alerts management to okay a climate control adjustment for that day. If a laptop is placed in a locker for a staffer, an automated notification is alerts the staffer to pick up a package, and a second notification tells a manager when the laptop is picked up. If a particular bank of lockers is underutilized, a space-utilization alert tells the facility manager to consider a more user-friendly location.

And when management decisions need up-the-line approvals, hard data from accurate sources gives credibility to any request. Make the most of smart technology, and make data-driven decisions. Your bottom line will thank you.

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