Many organizations are grappling with the dilemma of facilities that are unused, underused or too decrepit to continue performing maintenance. In such situations, organizations must decide whether the most prudent move is to sell, tear down or repurpose the facilities. The U.S. government is facing the same situation, according to a recent report, and one element of the solution could be more effective use of predictive analytics.
The federal government faces a unique opportunity in the hybrid work era to get rid of office space it does not need and invest more in the buildings it keeps. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently told Congress that agencies could save millions of dollars by making better use of federal buildings, according to Federal News Network.
In its latest report on overlapping and duplicative federal programs, the GAO says agencies could save about $100 million by using predictive models to make smarter decisions about deferred maintenance and repairs. The watchdog office says the government could save even more by setting federal building utilization benchmarks and addressing underutilized office space.
Comptroller General Gene Dodaro told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that predictive analytics could help agencies address a growing maintenance backlog. The watchdog agency says the departments of Health and Human Services, Energy and Interior could save $100 million by using these predictive analytics.
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.
