Why Data Is King When Driving Building Efficiencies
Using data to improve building operations and enhance employee productivity
There is a lot of concentration on the efficiency of buildings themselves from an operational and sustainability perspective, and rightly so, with the built environment being one of the largest contributors to the climate crisis we find ourselves in today. But are we doing enough? Why are we moving so slow? And are there other areas technology in the built environment can help?
“It’s a great vision and it’s definitely achievable. But the reality is that in the buildings built today, it’s extremely hard to achieve, without re-engineering HVAC systems, re-engineering the way that the whole building was originally designed and built.”
But is that all organizations should be after?
With people still being the largest expense of most major corporations, their efficiency when in the office should also be extremely high on the agenda. This is an area many organizations are failing to look to data to optimize.
“We still haven’t seen many (companies) focus on how we drive efficiencies in the people that are in the building, not just purely in the operation of the space.”
It is also an untapped area of potential for owners and developers in how they design, build and ultimately market their buildings to future tenants.
“How can we use technology to make people’s days more effective in how they get into buildings, how they move around buildings, how they find places to sit and places to work. That’s still a huge opportunity.”
However all this takes vision and a long-term plan. Something that corporate America and the nature of the US stock market does not always reward.
“The real estate industry as we know it has been around since the dawn of time and it’s generally a space that is slower to innovate just because of the rhythm of how long it takes to build something new.”
In this podcast with Metrikus COO Michael Grant, we unpack all these topics and more, with a focus on how data can be put to work to address many of the challenges corporate real estate and workplaces face today.
I hope you enjoy it!
Episode highlights:
- The examples of overselling I have seen within smart building technologies (02.21)
- The aspirations for where some of the technology may develop to (04.25)
- The importance of using technology to streamline processes whilst also recognizing its limitations (06.34)
- The biggest misconceptions around indoor air quality (07.12)
- The opportunities the industry has for driving efficiency (10.18)
- The benefits greater data collection can have on efficiencies (14.23)
- How important efficiencies will become in the valuation of buildings (16.39)
- Why it may take time for new technologies to appear in builds (18.38)
- Examples I have seen of innovation within smart building technologies (20.21)
- What businesses can do to avoid greenwashing (26.42)
- How to use PropTech to improve a buildings environmental impact (32.06)
- Which area I expect to see the most growth over the next 5 years (42.43)
