In Focus: Intelligent Services Enable High-Performance Buildings
August 2012
Building owners and operators have relied for decades on a traditional preventive maintenance approach, servicing heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) and other building systems by performing prescribed tasks at recommended intervals. The actual benefits associated with this model are mostly implied, with no direct and measurable correlation to preventing degradation of performance or efficiency or even failures.
"Smart" Services
Technology innovations and the increasing accessibility to real-time system data are enabling a new data-centric approach to building services in which outcomes can be validated. These "smart" services provide tools and resources to help building operators manage energy use and operating costs in real time, perform required maintenance at the right time, minimize their environmental footprint, improve building system reliability and uptime, and resolve operational problems quickly and efficiently.
For example, the use of advanced sensing technology and proprietary analytics to continuously collect, interpret, and act upon data compiled from building systems and other sources helps to continuously optimize building performance. With a more analytics-driven approach to building operations, critical building areas and the systems serving them are continuously monitored to validate that operating metrics remain within tolerance and risks are mitigated. The system responds automatically or provides specific recommendations to keep the building operating within the performance specifications chosen by the operator.
Service levels are tailored to meet the specific needs of building stakeholders. Service providers can monitor building system performance and alert operators when a problem occurs. Or, they can take additional steps to diagnose suspected operational anomalies or actual problematic events, determine remedial options, and respond appropriately. By using the growing capabilities of technology, many issues can be addressed remotely. Trane's experience shows that up to 40 percent of discovered site issues can be resolved in 30 minutes or less.
Start With an Audit
The intelligent services migration process begins with an operational building audit, which provides the information needed to set an operating baseline and tolerances that are aligned with key stakeholder demands and expectations. For instance, operational standards may be defined for energy and water consumption, indoor air quality, occupant health and comfort, and system reliability and uptime.
Choosing the best operating, maintenance, and service approach can mean the difference between a continuously high-performing building that is an organizational asset and one that degrades in overall performance and occupant satisfaction, and costs more to operate over time, putting the occupying organization's mission at risk.
Project Announcements
Apex Plastics Opens Expanded Production Plant In Brookfield, Missouri
09/22/2014
Japan-Based Bridgestone Rubber-BSA Opens Biorubber Process Research Center In Mesa, Arizona
09/22/2014
SpencerARL Expands Its Plattsburgh, New York, Manufacturing Facility
09/22/2014
Hill International, Inc. Relocates Corporate Headquarters To Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
09/22/2014
Prysmian Group Plans $8.2 Million Expansion At Abbeville County, South Carolina, Manufacturing Center
09/22/2014
Japan-Based Kowa Kentucky Plans $8.3 Million Manufacturing Facility In Corbin, Kentucky
09/22/2014
Most Read
-
19th Annual Area Development Gold and Silver Shovel Awards
Q2 2024
-
What the Latest EPA PFAS Rule Means for Site Due Diligence
Q3 2024
-
Semiconductors’ fragile relationship with water may be tested
Q3 2024
-
2023 Top States Commentary: Top-Ranked States Have What It Takes to Win Mega Projects
Q3 2023
-
2023 Top States for Doing Business Meet the Needs of Site Selectors
Q3 2023
-
2023's Leading Metro Locations: Hotspots of Economic Growth
Q4 2023
-
Mitigating Site Risks for Industrial Projects
Q3 2024