If you work in facilities, you know the feeling: nonstop demands, constant change, zero margin for error.
Bryan Bingham described it perfectly: it’s like drinking from a fire hose.
As mechanical/HVAC lead at a global dental manufacturer in South Jordan, Utah, Bryan helps oversee six buildings totaling nearly a million square feet. The campus has been under continuous construction for 13 years. Expansion isn’t an event — it’s a condition.
When Bryan’s team took over fire systems from the security department, things were, in his words, “in complete shambles.”
- Very little reliable data
- No updated maps
- Missing documentation
- No centralized system
One building alone had 180 fire extinguishers. During an inspection, 32 were missed. Leadership wanted contractor accountability. But without accurate locations or drawings, that was nearly impossible. For decades, the facilities department had operated without a formal system. Some projects were never properly documented. Some utilities were abandoned in place. Institutional knowledge had already walked out the door.
Bryan summed up the risk clearly:
“I’d rather have zero information than incorrect information.”
In facilities — especially for emergency preparedness — bad data can be dangerous.
Even as Bryan worked to rebuild documentation, the campus kept evolving with renovations, department moves, project renaming, system upgrades. Sometimes by the time one system was updated, it was already outdated again. Floor plans lagged. Locations were remembered by former occupants (“old accounting”). Teams were stretched thin. It wasn’t just a documentation issue. It was a moving target.
Discovered at an industry conference, ARC Facilities became the foundation for structure.
They began with:
- Emergency equipment mapping
- Fire extinguishers and panels
- Emergency shutoffs
- As-built drawing storage
Instead of paper plan rooms and scattered files, drawings and asset locations are now accessible on tablets and phones.
Not just for Bryan. For everyone with access.
When a fire system sends a trouble signal, the team no longer searches blindly.
They:
- Open ARC Facilities
- Filter emergency equipment.
- Locate the exact panel.
- Direct the on-call technician immediately.
While Bryan doesn’t track formal metrics yet, he’s confident response time has dropped significantly. And when alarms go off, minutes matter. ARC Facilities is also used for emergency shutoff training and orientation. New team members get visual context quickly. In a real emergency, exact equipment locations can be shared with responders instantly. That clarity builds confidence.
Today, ARC Facilities is primarily used for emergency equipment and drawings. But Bryan sees bigger opportunity — especially mapping mechanical systems and tying in O&Ms.
Because the deeper issue remains:
They know what they need. They just can’t discover the information fast enough. With constant renovation and construction, a single source of truth isn’t optional — it’s critical.
Bryan also believes AI layered onto clean, centralized facility data would be a game changer. But it only works if the underlying information is structured and accessible.
Bryan is realistic. They’re not fully caught up. They’re still building. They’re still training. But they’re no longer operating on memory alone. They’ve moved from binders and scary storage areas to fingertip visibility. From reactive searching to structured response. In a profession that always feels like drinking from a fire hose, that shift from guessing to knowing makes a major difference.