Remote monitoring can be considered “killer app” of the Internet of Things. The Service Council recently surveyed their members (service organizations) with IoT implementations, where they reported an average of 41% reduction in “service truck rolls”, an 11% increase in first-time fixes, and a 9% increase in asset up time. The amount of machine down time also decreased by 9% with the implementation of remote monitoring.
There are some misconceptions about what the Internet of Things (IoT) is, and what it means for facilities managers. In fact, the IoT has little to do with actually connecting things in buildings, unless, by connecting those things we can improve business processes and reduce costs. The Internet of Things can be defined:
The IoT is the application of inter-corporate business processes supported by Internet connected devices.
In FM, many common business processes and the software that supports them are document centric. This means facilities managers work with work order numbers, or purchase order numbers to identify units of work, and track costs without reference to the specific equipment being serviced. When that equipment becomes IoT connected, traditional work order processes using paper medium in a digital age no longer work.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
Software-as-a-Service, the delivery of software over the internet, or “in the cloud,” is becoming more accepted as security protocols and market acceptance continues to grow, since web-based applications were first introduced in the late 1990s. This is largely because SaaS implementations cost less to manage, for both the SaaS service provider and end-users. Gartner reports that 44% of a 2014 survey respondents indicated “cost reduction” as the number one reason for migrating to SaaS model.
As far as the adoption rate of this technology, The Service Council surveyed 100 services and manufacturing organizations, nearly 70% indicated they have leveraged some form of remote monitoring, and of those 70%, more than 50% have been connected for more than five years.
Pricing is moving from a capital expense model to an operating expense often deployed as a monthly fee. Useful life cycles of technology have been reduced over the years as well as getting smaller and cheaper, thereby aligning better with SaaS strategies in recent years.
Commercial terms for remote monitoring solutions could be a flat rate per connected device (machine/ asset) per month, a rate per connected parameter i.e. kwh, liters, etc. or any combination.
Typically with SaaS there are reductions in the monthly fees in the area of 25% if the user purchases 12 months in advance.
Special consideration must be afforded when drafting the contract terms of a SaaS agreement: specifically, upon exit of the relationship, identifying who owns the data. It is essential the FM manager should never be left in a situation where they do not have access to their own historical FM data in a usable format.
Mobility
The assumption here is that the person who is viewing the dashboard has the necessary skills to interpret the data, and use the analytics to trend future what if scenarios.
LogiAnalytics reported there were 4 elements of an effective dashboard:
Value – Must be useful
Usability – easy to use
Adoptability – easy to get started
Desirability – exciting to use
FM managers will want the ability to immediately customize their dashboard to their user preference and not have to wait for the IT team to make these required changes.
Acquisition of data serves no point if the data is not converted into business intelligence to serve the business objectives of the organization gathering the data. IBM reported that there will be 300 times the amount of data available by 2020 so it is critical to determine the indicators and processes to achieve business objectives. These include:
Clear – remove any possible ambiguity
Meaningful – not all data serves the business objectives of all levels of an organization, i.e. in financial terms for CFO, Building Operator KWH, etc.
Timely – “real” time vs. a set time (transactional), i.e. monthly, weekly, etc.
Relative – ability to interplay with other data sources
Scenarios – ability to future gaze
Gartner predicts by 2016, 30% of businesses will be monetizing asset data. Therefore the potential before the built environment is very real and meaningful.
Bench marking has long been central to world class Facility Management services paired with appropriate Key Performance Indicators (KPI). We now have the ability to monitor asset performance both at the granular level (by connected machine) and as well as the traditional building level. The performance of those assets can then be connected to quality of machine manufacturing, servicing (whether in house or outsourced), and consumption.
This transparency in machine performance will cause all stakeholders to improve their game.
Cloud Considerations
The IoT wouldn’t exist without cloud-based applications. For facilities managers and building service providers, mobile applications used for managing operations and maintenance workflow depends on 3G/LTE (cellular) or WIFI connectivity. Often, neither services are available in parking structures, mechanical rooms, and electrical vaults. Off-line applications can partially fill the gap, but ultimately Smart Buildings will deploy sensors throughout the facility, and that needs seamless connectivity.
Securing WIFI connected devices, and maintaining a safe computing environment will become more and more a facilities management issue.
Data Integration
Building operational technology data (sometimes called OT) and information technologies data (IT) are converging towards the centre of the Internet of Things for buildings. Facilities managers leveraging IoT technologies are combining data from IWMS/ CMMS/EAM, service or financial management systems, energy or utility data, building automation systems, and even occupant engagement systems. Outsourced service providers, each with their own management systems, create additional data silos for facilities managers, while the service providers may be required to provide service data to multiple customers.
Standard business processes, even simple transactions like sending an invoice to a customer, have suffered from fragmented digital processes. Many service providers now deliver electronic PDF invoices to the customer’s personal email, or require their customers to visit their website, enter credentials, and navigate through the site in order to find invoice or service data. Some larger facilities or real estate managers require their service providers to close out work orders within their enterprise work order system. Neither solution works well for the various parties involved in the business transaction.
Databases require a handshake, a means which connects the two databases. More times than not, databases are not structured in a way which requires additional labor for data scientists to integrate the databases to ensure data integrity. We must start ensuring data is being gathered in a structured manner. Project Haystack is one such attempt to do so. It is an open source initiative to organize and streamline working with data from the Internet of Things. Project Ha
ystack standardizes semantic data models and web services with the goal of making it easier to unlock value from the vast quantity of data being generated by the smart devices that permeate our homes, buildings, factories, and cities. Applications include automation, control, energy, HVAC, lighting, and other environmental systems. For example, air handling units are referred to AHU; HVAC refers to any assets records associated with HVAC.
Cyber Threats
Exposing computers or intelligent devices to the Internet invites cyberattack. Each addressable device is a security concern, and Cisco estimates that there may be 50 Billion devices connected to the Internet by 2020. Even more frightening is trying to remember all those credentials!
As a facilities manager, you should understand that the IoT will demand new skill sets in this area, and those skills will likely come from internal IT resources and/or your service partners. It is interesting that poor physical security hits number ten on the list.
How will you protect yourself? Traditional enterprise systems create perimeter protection, with firewalls and security policies to exclude non-trusted people from entering a network zone. Like a physical building, once inside an intruder may be free to roam. Strategically, IoT security will isolate network segments (like creating secure “rooms” within the building), protecting the most sensitive data in the most secure zones with a gateway which blocks inbound connections. Data required for monitoring within these zones will be pushed out from within the zone, using credentials only known inside the zone. All communication with external systems may be initiated from within the secure zone, with the connection occurring with an “endpoint” that is also isolated from the public. Like a facility with card access utilizing area restrictions by function or position in the organization, so the IoT will create these virtual rooms, with controlled access as determined by FM and the It departments.
Knowledge Transfer
Knowledge transfer is one of the largest issues in facilities management today. Buildings are complex systems, often maintained by a multidisciplinary team of service providers and in house operators, with service records delivered via fragmented business processes. Often critical knowledge is maintained in the heads of senior building operators, or the engineering team that designed the system. Over time, knowledge is lost.
End-to-end service processes, a single data repository, and collaborative services delivery are an answer to the knowledge transfer problem. Integral to the IoT for buildings will be building “Avatars”, which are virtual representations of the physical building, allowing an authorized user to navigate through the building to access and update building information. The Avatar needs to be available to all stakeholders in the building, with access to data based on the stakeholder’s role. The Avatar creates a collaboration point for stakeholders, to allow the sharing of knowledge, and visibility to business processes, as needed.
Collaboration
Having better data available, including equipment specific service records, allows facilities managers supported by building experts, to make better repair/ replace decisions.
Applications
Current FM technologies have very real limitations from the perspectives of interpreting data that is relevant, real time monitoring, openly collaborative, and data transferrable compared to that of emerging FM technologies that do exactly what current FM technologies cannot do. The following topics will now address the significant and exciting implications and varied applications that this new FM technology will have within our FM industry both today and tomorrow, which we call the FM / IT Nexus i.e. when the elements of Facility Management intersect with the digital world.
Command & Control Centers (CCC) have traditionally been the space within a facility which collects and monitors the data coming from Building Automation Systems (BAS); receiving data from sensors, meters, devices, alarms; feeding it back to the command center where the building operator explores data alarms operating outside operating parameters i.e. temperature, run time, intrusion, etc. within that respective structure or groups of structures. Typically an on-site CCC may hold 1 or 2 employees who while reviewing the incoming data signals, may also be dispatched to assess and often undertake the asset repairs; this is very inefficient, and can be very expensive to maintain this way.
Today the FM industry is on the cusp of a new form of outsourcing. This outsourcing will focus on monitoring and analysis from the data of the connected buildings and machines within the built environment to CCC in another part of the globe where skillset maybe higher (or readily available) and labor costs are lower. There are advantages and disadvantages with outsourcing of monitoring building programs, but other than critical operations like hydro projects,nuclear plants, transit hubs, and high pressure boiler plants, how many facility management departments can afford to constantly watch their building operating parameters? Remote monitoring centers are being established to address the incoming digital messages, and initiate service request orders as required; these individuals are trained to address and swiftly interpret these messages.
Building Energy & Water Nexus
Asset Tagging
RMS is only as effective as the most granular data point and the protocols which develop the datasets into analytical formats. A facility’s assets require an asset tag or unique identifying code which p
rovides the RMS foundation to build upon. Many facilities have “AHU2” scribbled the pump with felt marker and while this may have served a purpose in the past, technologies and business processes have vastly improved. Asset tags have morphed into labelling systems, then bar codes, RFID, and more recently QR codes.
Asset Management
Run to Failure (RTF) is essentially a “no maintenance program” scenario.
While this should never occur with most assets, in a few instances it may be practical for smaller assets such as bathroom exhaust fans (other than a PM frequency to clean the grill).
Corrective Maintenance (CR) is a reactive form of maintenance i.e. an asset fails, and the repair or replacement is initiated.
Preventative Maintenance (PM) is a proactive form of maintenance usually aligned with a time frame cycle such as monthly, quarterly, etc. or in some cases may be tied to run time in operating hours.
The third proactive level also proactive is referred to Predictive Maintenance (PdM) and is tied to actual performance of the asset at that moment of inspection i.e. through vibration analysis, IR scans, etc. While this is helpful, the data is only as accurate as the last moment of testing; the asset could fail post PdM.
Video Analytics
Intelligence through algorithms & object recognition have been applied to objects within the field of view of cameras, enabling the Remote Monitoring Programs (RMP) to detect and anticipate potential movements.
Drones/ Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
While nations grapple how to integrate this emerging technologywithin their respective aviation regulatory requirements which factor taking into account height of operations, line of sight, weight, safety requirements etc., exciting progress continues to develop with this innovative technology.
Some current drone applications are:
Security – While the issue of privacy is real, the benefit and cost effectiveness of “eyes in the sky” are undeniable.
Thermography Scans – Buildings with failing joints in the infrastructure can result in increased heating and cooling costs. UAV’s can scan a facility and send mages to the operator indicating the areas of the building requiring corrective maintenance due to heat loss etc.
Maintenance – Service drones are now able to inspect and clean HVAC ducts, weld, fasten, drill, clean exterior windows, and conduct FM assessments for roof top and as well safety inspections.
Surveying – HD quality video and high resolution images enable Facility Managers to obtain optimal information for Building Information Modelling (BIM) strategies. Also, conducting roof take offs for measurements for roofing estimates.
Safety – In 2014, Abu Dhabi a highrise window cleaner scaffold failed 10 stories above the ground. The UAV was deployed using audio and visual devices and was able to calm the worker down, observe why the scaffold failed, and relay instructions to repair it. While the costs and sizes of drones were at one time prohibitive, they continue to drop in both accounts.
Depending on brand model, and aviation restrictions, UAV’s can travel up to 1000 meters in altitude at 50 KMH, have a flight time of 1 hour, and pay load up to 12 pounds.
Space Utilization
A conference room may have been booked, but was it used the entire time? A desk may be assigned to a staff, but are they out of the office 70% of the time? It is highly common to have an occupancy rate of 85%, but have a utilization rate of 25%-40%. How can we optimize our workplace strategy and increase our utilization rate, while hopefully also increasing productivity of the occupants?
Workplace strategies requiring essential space utilization assessments once regulated to a time consuming walk through with clip board in hand, walking through floor by floor, room by room, can now efficiently be measured via sensors. The walk through process was a static initiative while the occupancy sensors are dynamic i.e. sending continuous information to the CCC for analysis into staffing to floor plate ratios.
Lighting Systems
Lighting systems often consume the single greatest amount of electricity (20- 45%) in commercial buildings so it is important to integrate this data into the CCC. It is also essential the consumption of the electricity is tied to occupancy and natural sunlight availability (security purposes excluded).
Parking Systems
Remember the days of driving around and around trying to locate a vacant parking spot in a parking structure wasting time and creating additional greenhouse gas by wasting fuel? Today sensors mounted in parking structures send vacancy data to a command center. Through directional arrows, and numeric display signs, drivers can be redirected to the vacant stall on the respective floors. Furthermore signage adjacent to the parking lots located at street level, can also display in real time the number of vacant stalls (if any) so drivers are not wasting valuable resources driving to an already full parking structure.
Machine Efficiency Monitoring
Imagine each machine gathering and sharing data as an individual cost and performance centre. Factoring in business intelligence, we are now also able to predict when the motors will fail and the cost of NOT maintaining the asset.
In essence it is a continuous commissioning process and could form the basis of a new maintenance philosophy – Performance Centered Condition Based Maintenance. Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication is right around the corner when less efficient motors and pumps will be reassigned to other machines which are running more efficiently.
< p>The Future
Imagine machines, buildings, cities, countries so connected and integrated through remote monitoring whereby the consumption, costs, performance of everything is monitored in real time, enabling inhabitants to modify behaviour which results in an outcome for the betterment of future generations. Now that’s sustainability.
To say that FM technology is literally changing before our very eyes would be at best an understatement, and at worst, an overused cliché. Faced with the almost overwhelmingly reality of new and emerging FM technologies in today’s workplace that have been discussed in this paper, it is understandable that technology fatigue and a keenly felt visceral reaction can occur when FM leaders simply do not know where to begin, in embracing and utilizing this new technology that has the potential to turn the world upside down, or rather, it is hoped, right side up.
John Ringness, SFP, MRICSPresident/CEO
NEXT Facility Management Services, Inc. (NEXT FMS)
Immediate Past-President FM Consultants Council Rick Rolston
President/CEO
BuiltSpace Technologies Corp Alberto Cayuela, Peng, PMP, LEED AP
Director of Operations and Business Development
Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability |
University of British Columbia