Healthcare estates are under growing pressure to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and maintain safe, compliant environments. Yet many are still making important maintenance decisions based on incomplete or outdated asset information. Such matters will be discussed at the SFG20 Virtual Summit 2026 on Tuesday 10 November.
SFG20’s State of Facilities Management 2026 report found that just 15 per cent of facilities management professionals report 100 per cent up-to-date asset registers, despite asset management and maintenance being a top investment priority over the next three years. With 38 per cent of organisations either not updating their registers or unsure how often they are reviewed, maintaining accurate asset data remains a challenge.
Without reliable asset data, estates teams can struggle to prioritise essential maintenance, demonstrate compliance, and manage risk effectively. Having confidence in asset information allows teams to plan maintenance more efficiently, make better investment decisions, and reduce the risk of critical assets being overlooked.
Ian Giles, senior consultant and chartered engineer at SFG20, said: “Asset management and maintenance are now a key investment priority for facilities management professionals, with 72 per cent identifying it as an area of focus over the next three years. However, these investments can only deliver value when they are supported by accurate, up-to-date asset information.
“For healthcare estates, where thousands of assets, from ventilation to emergency lighting, help keep buildings safe and operational, having confidence in asset data is essential. Knowing which assets exist, where they are located, and what maintenance they require allows teams to make better decisions, improve planning and reduce risk and reactive maintenance.
“Similarly, having a strong grasp of installation dates and mapping all assets to their economic life expectancies will allow teams to be able to project when the assets will require replacement and, in turn, produce a cost breakdown. This will help reduce the surprise of capital replacement.
“Asset registers naturally become outdated as estates evolve. Equipment is replaced, upgraded, or relocated, and without clear processes to capture these changes, information can quickly become unreliable.
“The value of an asset register isn’t just in the amount of information it contains, but in the quality and reliability of that information. Comprehensive, accurate, and consistently maintained records give estates teams the confidence to make better maintenance decisions. For organisations looking to improve their asset data, the priority should be ensuring information is complete, removing inconsistencies and keeping records up to date.”
“Technology can also support this approach. While spreadsheets can be useful for smaller estates, complex healthcare environments need a more structured way of managing information. Our report found organisations using dedicated software solutions reported around 70 per cent asset register accuracy, compared with around 60 per cent among those relying on spreadsheets or manual processes.
“Ultimately, reliable asset data gives healthcare estates teams the confidence to move towards proactive maintenance, improve efficiency and support safer, more compliant environments.”