Today Mike Petrusky, the host of the “Workplace Innovator Podcast” & “Asset Champion Podcast”, talks with Rhonda Small, the Director of RSP i_SPACE, about the importance of digitization, data governance, and digital twin technology.
Today Mike Petrusky, the host of the “Workplace Innovator Podcast” & “Asset Champion Podcast”, talks with Rhonda Small, the Director of RSP i_SPACE, about the importance of digitization, data governance, and digital twin technology. When it comes to implementing these technologies, they discuss starting small and being realistic about staffing and budgeting. they also discuss the significance of standardizing data and properly using AI to improve operations.
Rhonda Small: [00:00:00] You got to be realistic and understand what staff do you need? What budget do you need? What do I have? Then you can start to play it. Line up that path of where you're gonna go with that data.
Where are you going to go with this information? Because again, if you go, I want the world, but you can't staff it, your data is not gonna be good. You're not gonna be able to maintain it.
Host: Welcome to Connected FM, a podcast, connecting you to the latest insights, tools, and resources to help you succeed in facility management. This podcast is brought to you by IFMA, the leading professional association for facility managers. If you are ready to grow your network and advance in your career, go to ifma.
org to get started. Today, Mike Petruski, the host of the Workplace Innovator Podcast and Asset Champion Podcast, Talks with Rhonda Small, the director of RSPI Space, about the importance of digitalization, data governance, and digital twin technology. When it comes to [00:01:00] implementing these technologies, they discuss starting small and being realistic about staffing and budgeting.
They also talk about the significance of standardizing data and properly using AI to improve operations. Now, let's get into it.
Mike Petrusky: All right. All right. My name is Mike Petrusky. You may know me as DJ Mike P, the director of podcasts for Eptura. The epicenter of the future at work. But today I am thrilled to be the host of the connected FM podcast, brought to you by IFMA. And I have brought with me today, an IFMA celebrity folks, someone who has been a part of this community longer than I can even say someone I met for the first time and had on my podcast, probably.
Eight years ago, 10 years ago,
Rhonda Small: episode six, I believe episode
Mike Petrusky: six of the FM innovator podcast brought to you from San Diego, right?
Rhonda Small: I don't [00:02:00] even know. I don't know. A while ago,
Mike Petrusky: it was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Any star Wars fans out there? Listen, we're going to talk about FM and asset management and the future of the digitization of our profession.
And we have a new pillar among the things that IFMA is going to be helping you all achieve in your professional development. It's all about digitization and leveraging technology to care for the people and the assets you are in charge of. So we look at things from a holistic viewpoint. Rhonda, I should give you a proper introduction.
You are an expert in this area. R. S. P. I. Space.
Rhonda Small: Yeah. In
Mike Petrusky: Minneapolis. St. Paul. What is it? You do For this wonderful community, past president of the IFMA Minneapolis St. Paul chapter. Yes. But in your professional role, you work with clients and you introduce them to technology solutions, right?
Rhonda Small: Yes, so I work with clients in every industry, crossing every industry, because in the end, data is valuable to each and [00:03:00] every one of you. And so I work to understand what data is going to answer all of your business needs and all of those questions that drive you to success in your career.
So, if you can find a way to make your job easier, I'm there to help you do that.
Mike Petrusky: Excellent. And I'm going to ask you questions about that very topic because, Rhonda, we have been charged with discussing the title of this podcast, if I can remember, Asset Lifecycles, Data Governance and Digital Twin Technology for Facility Management.
Excellent. This is what it's all about folks here as we wrap up 2024 and head into 2025 and beyond digitization, data governance, digital twins. It's all things I've talked about on my asset champion podcast. And we have this incredible opportunity to bridge the gap between design and construction and all the things that go on with, Building models and [00:04:00] then transferring that data over to our operations and maintenance practitioners.
The FM's here today who need that information to help do what they need to do. Caring for the built environment going forward. Is that what data governance and digital twin technology means to you?
Rhonda Small: Oh, we can dive even deeper into that if you want. Okay, we
Mike Petrusky: will.
Rhonda Small: So the importance behind all of this is starting small.
These are all really big words that become very overwhelming in our vocabulary so much. So people just glaze over when you start to say some of this. So I like to bring it back down a level. I
Mike Petrusky: love it. Practical advice for the audience.
Rhonda Small: Yeah, let's get real here. Digital twin, we're not going to go out and build a Tesla.
We're going to start with the tires. Let's let's get down there. So I actually get to speak on this topic because I'm working with one of my clients right now with Columbus regional health. So we are talking about how even in the healthcare industry, we got to really bring all of this data together.
How do you do that? And it's starting small. It's really understanding what data you have and what data you need to [00:05:00] really start bringing solutions to the table, results. And so I've been working with him to help define what data is critical to start with. And that's what's important here. Start small. So many people think digital twin and they want the absolute, the world.
Mike Petrusky: They want to give it all to me now.
Rhonda Small: Yes, you can't, you're going to fail. You're going to get overwhelmed. You want to see anxiety at the next level, ask for the world. You're going to have some high anxiety. So let's bring it down and start basic. And that's what I really try to do with my clients. And that's what we're going to be talking about is how do you start small?
How do you realistically get something up and running? And then what's the next step?
Mike Petrusky: Okay. All right. This sounds really good because I talk on my shows about the process. There's a way to do things and there's a way not to do things. And you discussed the flashy terminology and the new shimmering Technology toy on the shelf.
We have this incredible expo hall [00:06:00] here at world workplace, and it's tempting for our practitioners, our FM professional community to walk by and say, Ooh, that looks good. That new shiny object. But you're saying, no, don't look at it that way. Start with your need. Really do a deep dive analysis of where
Rhonda Small: can you start?
Mike Petrusky: Maybe if I can throw out a motivational quote, start with the end in mind.
Rhonda Small: Yes.
Mike Petrusky: And then. Do work towards it. Yeah,
Rhonda Small: work towards that. But you got to be realistic and understand what staff do you need? What budget do you need? What do I have? Then you can start to play it. Line up that path of where you're gonna go with that data.
Where are you going to go with this information? Because again, if you go, I want the world, but you can't staff it, your data is not gonna be good. You're not gonna be able to maintain it. So one of the things we did with Columbus Regional Health was they knew they needed that staff person that's gonna own this digital twin That's really gonna own this data
Mike Petrusky: a champion for the project.
Rhonda Small: Yes [00:07:00] get into the nuts and bolts of it But then go back and go. Okay. How do we start even with that? What do we have and then build on it with the end in mind going I want this in the future But I know that's the future. Let's start back here at square one. Get all of our data accurate, clean, standardized.
There you go. Get that, get that ready to feed into the system. And then the system can do a lot of that work for you. And that leads into AI.
Mike Petrusky: Yes. A
Rhonda Small: lot of people are talking about AI.
Mike Petrusky: What do you know about AI, Rhonda? What can it do for FMs?
Rhonda Small: I think there's a lot. I don't want to know about AI, it's scary.
Mike Petrusky: Are you a fan of the Terminator movie series or the Matrix?
Rhonda Small: Uh, no. They scare me.
Mike Petrusky: Okay. Okay. Yeah. Don't be scared. It's a tool, everybody. It's something that will hopefully not go off on its own, but when used in the proper context and with the right goals in mind, it's very powerful. I use it on my show. I actually use it to help me, [00:08:00] you know, sift through a ton of information, audio files, data about the show, and then give me some out, give me some insight into what's going on here faster than the human brain.
At least my Simple human brain could do and that could be used in your job as well. I think
Rhonda Small: AI is going to help everybody. It's going to make your job easier. But again, AI doesn't work if you don't put good information into it. So again, it still comes back to starting with good data. Once you get the good data and you get it into that AI, It's going to start to do the work for you longterm.
So again, got to bring it back to those basics. You can't start with nothing. Let's get you going with what you got. Build off of that. Standardize it, throw it into that AI terminator matrix thing.
Mike Petrusky: I'll be back.
Rhonda Small: And don't let it scare you. It'll work wonders. It's a great
Mike Petrusky: point. And you mentioned it garbage in garbage out.
So what could we do in a practical way to make sure the naming [00:09:00] conventions for our assets and all of the different. Elements of our facilities. We're trying to track, we're trying to maintain, we're trying to see where we can find efficiencies. The naming, often on a big campus, you've got multiple names for the same item, the same room.
Is that something you've come across and how do you deal with that?
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Rhonda Small: Yes. I always try to tell people to start with a standard that's out there. Don't reinvent the wheel. If you're part of higher education, you usually have [00:10:00] Ficom or he just things that you can align with their healthcare has their own codes.
Um, we've got Oscar out there creating codes as well for some standard space types. Starting with something that's already been built. You can redefine it a little bit. Absolutely. But. I'd say find a standard that's out there that works in your industry and then build off of that.
Mike Petrusky: Okay. And there are different verticals, different markets and everybody, you're in healthcare, you're talking about that.
That's, they've got some of this stuff established, right?
Rhonda Small: Yes, they do. Okay.
Mike Petrusky: And there's a lot of obviously regulations and you have to be mindful of those. So as your role is evolving here, Rhonda, and I'm not here for a long time. As we're heading to a new year and into the future, and you're seeing all this new technology, what gets you most excited?
What is out there that is besides AI? We covered that a little bit, but some of the tools that will really be useful to your clients and help them achieve these goals we're trying to achieve. You don't have to name names. This [00:11:00] isn't a commercial for anybody because we have so many different brands represented, but it's about these platforms.
And is it helpful to have. A unifying platform, a unified platform that does a lot of different things, or you should go with point solutions or does it depend on the scenario?
Rhonda Small: Depends. It always
Mike Petrusky: depends.
Rhonda Small: You know, I hear people talk about wanting. Do you have one single source of truth and sometimes that can work for you?
Sometimes it can't. A lot of these technologies right now do talk to each other again, as long as they are standardized. So I always say people want to understand, utilization occupancy. You get that information from your HR feed, whatever software you're using for HR, feed that in, put a butt in a seat, and now you're starting to understand some of that type back to badging.
That's typically not going to be lumped into any software out there. Let IT own that. But, you bring all of that stuff together, and bring it into something you can report on, and [00:12:00] you'll get the statistics you need. You will get the, the story you need to tell to get what you need out of that C suite. It's about pulling the data together in a pretty picture, tell that great story in the way that that C suite's going to listen to you, You'll get what you need.
Mike Petrusky: I love that. Rhonda, that's so well said. Telling stories. It's human beings at the other end of that information. Whether it's your CEO or your CFO, whoever you're trying to share this story with, the people that occupy your places and spaces, we're all just human beings trying to do our best to make it through this very complicated world.
And you, as an FM professional, have this opportunity to tell the story and Share the vision. What are we doing this for? What's the purpose behind the technology? What's the purpose behind this strategy? And we can go forward into the future successfully together. Right? Talk about that a little bit. The human experience side of things.
People are people, right?
Rhonda Small: People are people. I'm not going to sing. Depeche [00:13:00] mode.
Mike Petrusky: Depeche mode. Said it best. You're going to get me there.
Rhonda Small: I almost did.
Mike Petrusky: Duh, duh, duh, duh, duh. Everybody. People are people, so why should it be? You and I should get along so awfully. Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum. Rhonda.
Rhonda Small: Okay.
Mike Petrusky: Before I let you go, comment on that. Human experience. Yeah.
Rhonda Small: Human experience is critical in this. We are all human and the human factor plays a part in everything you guys do. One of the great things someone told me this morning is to get the C suite to understand what they do, they walk them through their job.
That human experience, again, you can't take that back. Please bring it back into your job, your role, and walk people through what you do. That is the one thing you can do to show people what you do, and how, how facilities work. So
Mike Petrusky: I love it. That's so well said. Think about it. What's in it for me. We all have that perspective.
We're all a little bit selfish [00:14:00] by nature, but if we can tell that story and communicate the value of what we're trying to do here, as I mentioned earlier, change is hard. But people overestimate the value of what they currently know or what they're currently doing or what technology they're currently using and they underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up and going on to this thing.
So that's our job, right? Is FM's change management is the term of the future for this industry and digitization. Any final thoughts, Rhonda, before we wrap up?
Rhonda Small: Have a conversation. Make connections. Get out there, you guys. Share your stories.
Mike Petrusky: Perfect. That's what world workplace is all about. Thrilled to be here in San Antonio.
Thank you for joining us today. And I hope in some small way here on the connected FM podcast, we encouraged and inspired you to be innovators and FM innovator, a workplace innovator, and an asset champion, Rhonda small. You're the best. Don't you know, go get them. Peace [00:15:00] out everybody.
Host: Thanks for tuning into the Connected FM podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, please take a moment to rate and review the show because it really helps us reach more listeners just like you. And don't forget to hit the subscribe button so you never miss an episode. See you next time.