New snapshot poll shows managing building information remains a key obstacle as Asset Owners tackle BSA compliance
- 85% of participants highlighted challenges in meeting the BSA's compliance requirements, likely exacerbated by unclear guidelines and fragmented data.
- 70% noted challenges with managing building information across disparate systems and formats, making it difficult to achieve a unified "golden thread".
- Difficulty locating asset information was a significant pain point for more than 50% of respondents, with a further 56% struggling to share and update it.
- Only 27% state that asset information is properly digitised and managed within their organisation to ensure compliance with the Building Safety Act.
London – 27 November 2024: Today, Zutec, a leading provider of construction and property management software solutions, has unveiled the findings of its latest snapshot survey exploring the digital transformation journey of building asset owners.
The survey, conducted with 35 asset owners in the UK, offers fresh insights into the adoption of technology, the challenges faced in regulatory compliance and managing digital building information, the perceived value solutions bring, and the future direction of software investments in the sector.
Digital transformation progress
Zutec’s survey reveals a dynamic yet challenging landscape as organisations advance their digital transformation journeys. While progress varies, most respondents (87%) report being some way into their digital journey.
Over a third of these indicate rollout is underway (37%), highlighting increasing internal adoption and training efforts. For some, they are in the early planning stages (17%), or just at the start of their digital journey (30%). Meanwhile, 17% are already implementing advanced systems to establish a single source of truth.
A key driver behind this momentum is regulatory pressure from the Building Safety Act (BSA), which mandates the effective digitisation of building information, accelerating efforts to adopt technology.
This regulatory push underscores the critical importance of having accurate and up-to-date building information, which is readily accessible to all relevant stakeholders as part of a golden thread of information.
Technology adoption readiness and challenges
Despite this progress, some challenges remain in readiness for technology adoption. While over half of those surveyed (56%) stated that they are well-positioned to embrace new solutions, many are still struggling with technology adoption (44%).
Managing building information across fragmented systems and formats remains a significant barrier for over two-thirds (70%), as organisations often rely on tools like SharePoint or Dropbox, which are not optimised for unified data management or compliance needs.
This issue is further compounded by the high volume of legacy data in various formats, such as paper, Excel and PDF, which are not meta-tagged to support searchability. As a result, 55% of respondents struggle to locate this information, 27% find it difficult to update, and another 27% report challenges in accessing and sharing it.
The survey showed that digitising existing building information including paper-based documentation (30%) and managing more comprehensive regulatory requirements such as the creation of safety cases (30%), presented organisations with some of their biggest challenges. Achieving seamless data management for key building information is an ongoing and complex task.
Desired technology capabilities
The survey also revealed a growing demand for software solutions that focus on accessibility and functionality. Asset owners overwhelmingly prioritised easy searchability and findability, with 75% citing it as their top requirement. Additionally, 67% emphasised the need for tools that make data storage and retrieval intuitive and efficient.
Beyond this, features such as the ability to create comprehensive audit trails of information (47%), monitor real-time dashboards (40%), access reports and analytics (40%) and conduct gap analysis (30%) were all highlighted as essential for providing value in a solution. These capabilities not only streamline workflows but also empower teams to respond more effectively to regulatory demands, by enhancing decision-making and compliance.
When asked whether asset information is properly digitised and managed within their organisations to comply with the Building Safety Act, only 27% said “yes”. Those who said “somewhat” or “no” indicated that having a centralised platform with a single dashboard for managing building information would improve their capabilities.
Such a solution would enable quick access to information, provide a clear audit trail and establish a golden thread of accountability.
Future technology investments
Looking to the future, respondents expressed a clear intention to invest in advanced solutions to overcome current limitations. Priorities include tailored document management platforms or common data environments (CDEs), as well as specialised fire safety solutions, each cited by 22% of respondents.
Digital tools for audits and inspections, such as fire door audits, were also identified as key investment areas by 22%. These plans reflect the sector’s commitment to evolving beyond fragmented systems and toward a single platform with solutions that can support the complexities of modern building management and compliance in one place.
Driving industry collaboration
Together, these findings paint a comprehensive picture of the challenges and opportunities facing asset owners as they navigate an increasingly digital future and underscore a critical need for industry collaboration to establish best practices.
“The regulatory landscape has created a complex, yet essential, environment for asset owners to digitise their data. By embracing a centralised platform with dedicated dashboards to manage data, and leveraging robust solutions built to manage BSA compliance, the industry can move toward greater efficiency, safety, and compliance, while also ensuring better maintenance management and inspections.”
To find out more about Zutec’s Asset Owner-focused research, and its award-winning portfolio of Asset Management and Handover solutions for BSA Gateway and Golden Thread Compliance, click here.