Facilities Management in Manufacturing: how providers can reduce downtime

Growing competition, tighter regulation and ongoing supply shocks are creating challenges for manufacturers everywhere. Our Continental Europe CEO Ulf Wretskog explains how FM is evolving to drive greater efficiencies and keep production lines running.

Manufacturing facilities management enables performance

I’m an engineer by education, and I’ve had the privilege to work in or for companies that innovate complex spaces. I’ve seen firsthand that productivity improvements are delivered through careful planning and adherence to strict protocols, and it’s an approach that’s mirrored by the sector’s FM partners.

In pharmaceutical cleanrooms or car assembly plants, the way FM professionals prepare, maintain, fix and optimize critical environments has evolved to keep production lines moving. It must evolve again to embrace AI, finding more efficient ways to not just reduce downtime in manufacturing but also to anticipate and prevent it.

When it comes to robots, we’ll use them where they add value safely and efficiently. But it’s not big data that will finalise that decision, it’s collaboration with our clients and attention to the smallest detail.

Listening closely is what keeps things moving

In busy factories, the best FM is often hidden. The results should be obvious – seamless operations and spotless environments – but the process can’t get in the way. Robot vacuums, for example, can work for long corridors and 9-5 shift patterns; they may not suit busy spaces that run 24/7.

What’s key is that plant managers trust their FM colleagues to work towards their objectives. In my experience, that trust is built with a visible presence. It’s why our site managers attend the daily on-floor meetings where they can. If they hear that today’s output has to be higher to make up for a previous day’s shortfall, they will move tasks and reassign people to keep that day distraction free.