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| SMART conference from 27th April, 2016, will cover topics including smart energy, asset management, facilities security management & more |
The third edition of SMART Facilities Management Solutions Expo and Conference 2016 opens on 26th April, 2016 at the Sands Convention and Exhibition Centre Singapore, with a stellar lineup showcasing the latest Facilities Management (FM) solutions, emerging technologies and best practices.
Organised by Sphere Exhibits, a subsidiary of Singapore Press Holdings, with the support of key industry players across the region, the trade show runs from 26 to 28 April, and is co-located with a two-day Facilities Management Conference as well as a one-day academic focus group session.
Catering to the exponential growth in demand for FM services across Asia, SMART Facilities Management Solutions Expo is expected to draw over 1,500 attendees over three days. The much anticipated two-day Conference opens its doors on 27 April with over 20 local and international industry leaders to share ideas, best practices, and exchange expert knowledge on areas covering sustainability, manpower, smart energy and asset management, as well as the management of social, leisure, productivity and security management of facilities. Some 150 delegates are expected to attend the conference.
Key areas in SMART Technology
SMART Facilities Management Solutions Expo and Conference 2016 is officially opened on 26 April morning by representatives of IFMA Singapore Chapter, Malaysia Association of Facilities Management, Singapore Institute of Building Limited and Thailand Facilities Management Association.
Present at the event are trade and business associations, industry leaders, and exhibiting companies from more than 10 countries around the world, including Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Singapore, United Kingdom and the United States. The event highlights areas in SMART Technology which are of key importance to the industry - such as ensuring operational continuity, managing the increasing complexity of buildings, merging legacy buildings and their systems with facilities expansions, energy management systems, maintaining aging infrastructure, and improving reporting and compliance in an integrated FM environment.
Mr. Chua Wee Phong, Chairman of Sphere Exhibits Pte Ltd, said: “SMART Facilities Management Solutions Expo and Conference has become increasingly more relevant today, especially considering that the global FM sector is soaring to new heights and is set to reach US$50 billion by 2020, according to analysis by research firm MarketsandMarkets.
“The sector is expected to experience high growth in Asia Pacific and MEA (Middle East and Africa) regions. This will create vast opportunities for both organisations and industry professionals to tap into. We are also seeing new trends emerge as the industry transforms itself through the effective and productive use of resources and smart innovation."
The market report by MarketsandMarkets also found that the global facility management market is estimated to show a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.7 percent over the next five years.
Additionally, the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) brings about opportunities in the form of a huge market worth over US$2.5 trillion. Collectively, the region is the seventh largest economy in the world and, with a population of over 622 million people, represents the third largest market base in the world, behind only China and India.
Mr. Chua said: “In Singapore, the Smart Nation initiative adopts a people-centric approach by rallying citizens, industries, research institutions, and the government to co-create innovative solutions through the facilitation of sound infrastructure, policies, ecosystem and capabilities.”
“We are seeing a rise in FM software and solutions which help to optimise the use of resources and assets, which in turn leads to reduced operational costs and enhanced competitiveness and profitability for companies. Solutions such as maintenance management, asset management, and real estate portfolio management have also become the top growing solutions in this market. The advent of the AEC translates to providing vast and exciting opportunities for professionals in the sector to explore the tremendous growth potential in this burgeoning industry in Southeast Asia.”
Exhibition highlights
Tapping into the tremendous growth of the global FM market in recent years, the trade show features a focused exhibitor profile of leading international and regional companies who are offering products, services and solutions from four key sectors: Mission Critical facilities, Leisure and Tourism facilities, Transport and Public facilities, and Infrastructure facilities.
Exhibition highlights include Urbanise, which is showcasing a low cost cloud-based asset monitoring solution for buildings and distributed asset portfolios. Wireless smart sensors are attached to key assets to deliver real time visibility via the Urbanise Platform, reducing the need to deploy preventative and cyclical maintenance teams – and thereby reducing onsite manpower by up to 40 percent and creating savings of up to 30 percent in labour costs.
Also being profiled at the show is the eFACiLiTY® Enterprise Facility Management Software, the globally recognised flagship software solution from SIERRA ODC (S) Pte Ltd which covers the entire FM and asset management requirements of large and medium facilities. eFACiLiTY® simplifies the operation of facilities and building systems, and links them to the enterprise management systems allowing enterprise-wide connectivity, monitoring and reporting of vital operational information in an intelligent and efficient way.
Mr. Giridhar JG, CEO and Managing Director, SIERRA ODC (S) Pte Ltd, said: “The increasing adoption of broadband Internet, growth in online businesses and widespread use of smartphones are driving and transforming the global FM sector. This bodes well for countries in Asia such as Singapore, which aims to become the world’s first smart nation, who are rapidly harnessing the use of technology to develop solutions that, address FM needs, overcome urban challenges, and ultimately enhance peoples’ quality of life. We are pleased to exhibit solutions that contribute to this transformation at SMART Facilities Management Solutions Expo and Conference 2016.”
Other exhibition highlights include the ProCar Elite Electric Buggies and the T3 Motion Patroller Vision electric vehicles, on display at Agricultural Tractors Spares Pte Ltd booth. Anewtech Systems Pte Ltd displays the I-ICECARE-10W, the first tablet PC to be certified by Microsoft Azure for the Internet of Things (IoT), ensuring customers get IoT solutions up and running quickly with hardware and software pre-tested and verified to work with Microsoft Azure IoT services.
Facilities Management Conference and Regional Focus Group Session
The second edition of the highly anticipated Facilities Management Conference will take place from 27 to 28 April. The conference will focus on the most current topics relevant to industry professionals, such as Workplace Safety & Health for Facility Managers, Advancing Responsible Business Practices in Land, Construction, Real Estate Use and Investment, Innovative Energy Management, Using IoT to Generate Real Building Savings, A Look at Sustainable Energy in South East Asia, Energy Management: Smart Data Centres and Green Energy, among others. The two key panel sessions – focusing on Facilities Management in AEC (ASEAN Economic Community), Challenges & Opportunities in Facilities Management in South East Asia and Innovative Energy Management – for expert panellists from international bodies to debate key issues centreing around the tremendous growth potential of this burgeoning industry in SEA.
Mr. Peter Chua, President of Singapore Institute of Building Limited, said: "Together with our conference organising partner, Sphere Exhibits, we are delighted to collaborate in producing Smart Facilities Management Conference 2016 where the international FM fraternity, particularly those from the ASEAN Region, can meet, share, discuss and explore new challenges and innovative ideas to advance the necessary competence knowledge for FM futures. The strategic co-location with Smart Facilities Management Solutions Expo 2016 ensures a collective offering and perspective on trends, creative mindshare and market share for the future of FM in Asia."
Taking place on 26 April, the regional focus group session marks a dedicated collaboration among Universities, Councils, and FM-related associations, connecting key decision makers and the academia with a view towards future development of the AEC. The programme provides practitioners and researchers from the industry and academia with a platform to meet and share cutting-edge knowledge towards the development of FM for the built environment sector in Asia. A total of 10 presenters from various countries will be showcasing their papers, research articles and posters to the panel.
Chairman of the Regional Focus Group Session and Dean of Geoinformation and Real Estate, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Professor Abdul Hakim bin Mohamed, said: “This is the first time that an academic focus group effort is conducted on a regional stage. We are happy to collaborate with Sphere Exhibits in fostering the development of an academic platform to integrate academic progression with the trade whilst keeping a pulse on industry developments.”
SMART Facilities Management Solutions Expo is supported by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Singapore Chapter; Association of Consulting Engineers (ACES); Association of Property & Facility Managers, Singapore (APFM); Building & Construction Authority (BCA); Building Owners and Managers Association, Indonesia (BOMA); Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Global Infrastructure, Facility & Project Management Association, India (GIFPMA); Indonesia Contractors Association (AKI); International Facilities Management Association (IFMA); Hong Kong and Singapore Chapters; International Powered Access Federation (IPAF); Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM); Malaysia Association of Facilities Management (MAFM); Middle East Facility Management Association (MEFMA); National University of Singapore(NUS); Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS); Saigon Construction and Building Material Association (SACA); Singapore Environment Council (SEC); Singapore Institute of Building Limited (SIBL); Thailand Facilities Management Association (TFMA); The Association of Thai ICT Industry (ATCI); The Institution of Engineers, Indonesia (PII); The Infrastructure, Facility, Human Resource & Realty Association (INFHRA); The Waste Management Association of Malaysia (WMAM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, (UTM); Vietnam Electronic Industries Association (VEIA); Vietnam Federation of Civil Engineering Association (VFCEA); Workplace Safety & Health Council (WSHC); and WSH (Asia).
