FEATURE ARTICLES
THE THREE E’s OF REMOTE BUILDING OPERATION Christian Schiemann Market Development Manager – Building Automation, ABB
Remote building operation is increasingly coming into its own for generating even greater value for building and facility managers. The smart building movement is all about value, and remote operation is increasingly coming into its own for generating even greater value for building and facility managers. We are seeing this play out through the three Es of remote building operation: efficiency gains, environmental gains and experiential gains. Importantly, they empower each other. The efficiency often drives environmental savings, and better experiences are made possible through greater efficiency, and so on. With remote access to building management systems for building managers, all aspects of a building’s energy use can be monitored and controlled without the need to be on site. Remote monitoring optimises energy use and environmental value with absolute convenience. The task can now suit timing, not a person’s physical location, which further increases the likelihood of proactive, improved decision-making. And of course, this goes well beyond pure energy use into the realm of designing and managing better workplace experiences and in the case of hospitals, improved operational efficiency, safety and comfort for hospital personnel and patients.
Remote building management taken to the next level For building managers, a major point of value with remote operation is remote maintenance. Not only can building managers look at what may be wrong, they can fix certain functions remotely through smart building technology. Alternatively, they might be working with a systems integrator and, through remote management, give them access to dial in and look at the problem remotely. This capability offers huge value. By the time they arrive, they may have fixed it or, if not, they know what the issue is and can come better prepared. This saves time on site and potentially avoids wasted materials from vague diagnoses, which in turn create cost savings. For building users, the gain is better up-time and productivity. Particularly when a system integrates multiple data sources, it also means that energy use can be understood and optimised more readily, reducing its overall draw on the environment. For building managers, a significant advantage is the ability to monitor and manage issues in real-time. Additional savings are in streamlined operations and
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