CENTRALISING FACILITY MANAGEMENT

Presented by : Shakti ChauhanFM :Reliance Retails – IndiaTwitter : @shaktichauhan

Introduction : Multi Site Building Management SystemIdeally, facility management should be seamless, then multi-site facility management would be as easy as pie.

Perfect scenario will be, buildings to have optimized operations, energy to be consumed efficiently, occupant comfort to be at best, and repair emergencies are nonexistent.

But we don’t live in a perfect world however we can optimize our operations

Leveraging cloud-based building management systems for multi-site facilities is the way forward requirement.

Now ..Let’s discuss the challenges and solutions for multi-site facility management.

Challenges

Every building has unique requirements leading to different levels of automation control

Budgets are limited and resources are few

Installing, integrating and maintaining automation systems specific to site can be costly

If a space is rented then install options of servers and other IT equipment's could be constrained

Amount of data produced by each facility is huge- difficult to collate and analyze for management decisions and actions

Challenges

The main objective of all facility managers is to ;o Understand the business/ Clients requirement, o Identify and anticipate all problems prior to their occurrence, o Create proactive-action plan for these problems, o Implement action plan to prevent or to solve these problems when required.

However, when in chaos or in fire fighting mode due to want of pro active actions,

historical data, awareness of best practices etc., we move away from main

objectives of FM.

At times these challenges seem too overwhelming or too expensive to overcome.

Remember that the building management is not just for large buildings always.

Opportunities

Optimizing operations is good for business but more important is the actual impact optimization can have

On an average, 20-25 % of the energy consumed in commercial buildings is wasted (source US, Environment Protection Agency)

Four out of five workers find it difficult to concentrate and three out of five take up to 25% longer to complete a task due to lack of occupancy comforts (World Green Building Council).

Optimizing performance for controlling the environments in multi-sites can translate into a larger & more profitable bottom line and hence opportunities.

One of the solution is Cloud based Building Management Systems.

Introduction : Cloud based Building Management System

The Cloud is a general term for the technology that allows organizations to outsource data storage, communication, and/or processing.

The development of the Cloud has made possible a more cost-effective approach to enterprise facilities management.

By using the Cloud, large, medium and smaller sized facilities can be viewed and managed in a consistent and centralized way.

Instead of purchasing and maintaining vast IT centers, organizations can use the Cloud to strategically outsource part of their operations.

Cloud will provide more agile IT strategy and often provides maximum returns

Advantages

Quick deployment and easy integration

Able to collect and process data from anywhere at anytime

Convenience and Continues availability

Scalability and performance

No or minimum IT maintenance cost

Cloud is environment friendly

Device Diversity and Location Independence

Disadvantages

Cloud provider has full access to customers’ data, unless cryptography is used

There is no control over which customers use the software; the software is used

by a large amount of users ( only for SaaS)

Integration with other software on any other systems is either difficult or

unsupported

Contract lock-in period bindings

Reliability

Typical Architecture of Enterprise Cloud

User Supervision and Control

HVAC Management.

Lighting Management

Energy Management

Gateway

Gateway

Gateway

Gateway

Cloud

Enterprise Visibility for decision makersControl CapabilitiesBMS data for analytics

Benefits : Post Implementing Cloud based BMS Enterprise Visibility for decision makers Live Monitoring of Energy consuming equipment's Occupant comfort across the enterprise. Dashboards, Graphs and Charts highlighting performance, trends etc.

Control Capabilities Allowing remote adjustment of local environmental settings. Manage entire facilities landscape as single structure. Global scheduling for any number of buildings across the enterprise

BMS data for analyticsDiscover trends in energy use, identify faults, perform RCA and prioritizeUnderstand why a building is operating efficiently (or not) for correctionsConvert intelligence into “actionable information”Enable facility managers to proactively optimize building operations

Key Capabilities Improved Operational Controls – Dashboards on employees / customers’ requests / complaints management , compliance in SLA & Statutory requirements , effectively utilizations of shared facilities like conference room / guest house & FM resources

Proactive maintenance - Problems can be identified before they become serious—for example, declining performance in a chiller can indicate failing equipment, and maintenance can be dispatched before a crisis occurs. Occupant comfort - Local conditions & life safety standards can be continuously monitored to ensure the comfort of workers and/or customers at all times, in all facilities.

Energy Management System : Monitoring , Analyzing , Corrective actions , Trainings , Design change implementations , Compliances , Saving Trends & Audits are key expectations which can be implemented.

Key CapabilitiesReal-time alerts - Unexpected events and out-of-spec conditions can trigger automatic alerts, enabling swift action and problem resolution

Crowd sourcing - The Cloud makes it easy for people to share information, Idea’s, enabling an enterprise to take advantage of crowd sourcing, or “bottom-up” solutions. Reusable assets data can be stored in the Cloud and accessed anywhere.

Continuous improvement - Facilities managers can see into individual or overall building operations, evaluate energy use and costs, and compare performance across sites to drive continuous improvement.

We can also manage property lease , tenant agreement and terms ,alerts on expiring leases , payment confirmations on lease rental amount & this can help further in space inventory, utilization and availability.

Getting Started : Cloud based Building Management SystemThere will be an initial investment in local building controls so that

HVAC, lighting, and sensors can be standardized and linked to the Cloud. It is expected to have following requirements :

Smart AC and heating controls to allow advanced scheduling Door and motion sensors that trigger lighting and AC based on

occupancy

Lighting control for scheduled on/off, adjusting intensity based on time of day or actual sunlight.

Window sensors that can detect when a window is open and trigger new HVAC settings or security alarms

Smart Meters for energy usage monitoring & stable internet connectivity

Implementation A Cloud-based facilities management system can be installed in stages, or

modified to fit different situations. Start with key facilities and then deploy to other locations as needed or desired.

Option to use existing control technology (if ‘smart’) and linking disparate systems through custom programming

Standardization will make it easier to add BMS and analytics capabilities later on

Upgrading local controls is easy and cost-effective with the use of wireless communications technology

In a typical building, the various controls communicate wirelessly to a gateway, which then forwards the data to the Cloud.

Return on Investment The level of investment is easy to cost-justify for most facilities.

If we assume a of minimum of 10% savings in energy costs (which is frequently achieved in any installations), full ROI can usually be realized within one to two years depending upon the locations, local conditions etc. (Source from few renowned solution providers )

Improved occupant comfort will further improve their performance & productivity

The old adage “You can’t fix what you can’t see” certainly applies to building management. The typical enterprise has almost no visibility into remote building performance & leads to minimum operational intelligence therefore return is less important than working smartly to be ahead of the curve.

Network Security ( Option to Safeguard) Security is an important concern in every enterprise.

Cloud computing can provide an environment that is more secure and less costly than most internal IT systems, due to centralized data storage, governance, and control.

Some Cloud services offer the same technology as that used by secure banking

Choice of cloud is important :Public Cloud : Use the open Internet and share resources among clients, less secure

Private Cloud : Provide dedicated resources for each client, highly secure but costly

Hybrid Cloud : Can be highly secure, depending on mix and match of Public and Private

Cloud & is a recommended option

Cloud ServicesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), SaaS uses the web to deliver applications that are managed by a third-party vendor and whose interface is accessed on the clients’ side. Most SaaS applications can be run directly from a web browser without any downloads or installations required, although some require plugins.Example : Google Apps, Salesforce, Workday, Concur, Citrix GoToMeeting

Platform as a Service (PaaS), are used for applications, and other development, while providing cloud components to software. What developers gain with PaaS is a framework they can build upon to develop or customize applications.Example : Apprenda

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), are self-service models for accessing, monitoring, and managing remote datacenter infrastructures, such as compute (virtualized or bare metal), storage, networking, and networking services (e.g. firewalls).Instead of having to purchase hardware outright, users can purchase IaaS based on consumption , similar to electricity or other utility billing.Example : Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cisco Metapod, Microsoft Azure

Way Forward & Future

Integration of Cloud Computing and Internet of things (IOT)

The “CloudIoT” will further improve the control system on facilities

Integration of Cloud Computing and Virtual Reality / Augmented Virtual Reality

The integration if used in Facility Management will allow facility managers to do

remote walk through of facilities

App based utilization & further integration with Social Media tools

The above integrations will take the Facility Management to next level but with

additional cost

These integrations can be very useful at advanced laboratories & in Hotel industries

as well.

Quick Take AwaysExisting Multisite Facility

Enterprises with multiple facilities have been challenged to manage their buildings effectively, especially at the corporate level.Where building controls are in place locally, achieving a corporate view and control of facilities has been impractical for most organizations.

Challenges

Every building has unique requirements Budget are limited and resources are fewSite specific Installing, integrating and maintaining automation system is costlyFacilities at Rented space, installing IT equipment's is constrainAmount data generated by each facility is huge, difficult collate and analyze

OpportunitiesAverage, 20-25% percent of the energy consumed in commercial buildings is wasted Four out of five workers find it difficult to concentrate and three out of five take up to 25% longer to complete a task

Solution Cloud Based Multi Site Facility Management, Visibility, Control capability and Analytics

Benefits

Quick Deployment and easy integration Able to collect and process data from anywhere at anytime Convenience and Continues availability Scalability and performance No or minimum IT maintenance cost Cloud is environment friendly Device Diversity and Location Independence

A Well Informed Manager Is Well Empowered

Manager !!