If you could ask the office air conditioning unit one question, it might be: How come it’s always too hot or too cold?
That conversation would turn heads, especially if it answered: Im just doing what Ive been told for over 50 years.
By now, smart buildings have reached a new level of intelligence. Objects are coming to life all around us, but its nothing like Toy Story.
The Win-Win of a New Standard
You might have seen the recent New York Times article about how the average office HVAC unit hasnt been re-standardized in decades. While the article brings to light changes in our workforces demographics, it also touches on enhancements only possible by examining new data.
Updating the standard temperature of an office hits two birds with one stone. On one hand, the mild temperature of 72.5 degrees is a comfortable medium, and on the other hand, energy consumption is reduced for the building overall.
A Simple Change to the Standard Creates a Win-Win
For hospitals, this means no more excessively chilly waiting rooms. At Riddle Memorial Hospital in Pennsylvania, the maintenance department received a software upgrade for better tracking equipment. Temperature complaints went down from 190 at one point to just seven. It all amounts to one less thing to worry about — or 183 in this case.
Universities are also making revolutionary upgrades to campus equipment. NC State University is having its busiest summer yet as the facilities team works to include wireless electronic thermostats, occupancy sensors, and window switches that control humidity. With intelligent sensors, the campus can constantly monitor temperature changes and save on electricity.
One machine at a time a new method of conducting maintenance is offering solutions to common complaints.
From manufacturing plants to the average office, data is being generated to give direct insight into an ecosystem of machines.
How This Affects the Maintenance World
Riddle Memorial Hospital and NC State University use two different maintenance methods. The hospital relies on a new generation of routine preventive maintenance, while the university uses sensors for real-time condition-based maintenance.
Upgrading an HVAC unit to monitor its condition in real-time is only the tip of an iceberg known as the Internet of Things. The affordability of these sensors has brought equipment enhancements with all of their unique challenges to our daily lives.
But the market price for these sensors is only half the story. Below the surface lies a complex crossroads for exchanging information. Aside from monitoring temperature, these sensors are also able to read:
- Pressure states for fluid and airflow
- Cavitation and related wear damage
- Vibration frequencies for structural looseness
- Lubricant viscosity for oil analysis
The software gathering, interpreting and tracking this information is just as complex. Computerized Maintenance Management Solutions (CMMS) are making leaps and bounds with how to handle Machine-to-Machine (M2M) data, pairing up with mobile devices that give technicians insights about equipment in the palms of their hands.
If you think giving objects the ability to talk is amazing, imagine how its changing the jobs of technicians out in the field.
The desire to better manage assets through generating data is making an impact on businesses of all kinds. Smart buildings greatly benefit every day occupants, and while their happiness can have a positive effect, the real incentive for maintenance upgrades is to impact the bottom line.
So Long Mr. Fix-it
Maintenance departments are traditionally known as cost centers, and tend to focus on expenses and repairs rather than investments and upgrades.
In recent years, many organizations have made significant financial shifts when considering the role of Big Data. What sets the maintenance world apart is that the need to carry a mobile device and interpret real-time information is entirely new to the job.
Maintenance technicians have been stereotyped as basement-dwelling Mr. Fix-its who are nearing retirement. But this view is quickly going by the wayside as maintenance technology has transformed the profession.
Although theres a significant manufacturing skill gap as fewer students pursue STEM degrees, the technical skills for being proficient with data is increasingly in-demand. The ability to derive insights from enhanced equipment offers a new direction for the future of the industry.
As our machines become more and more intelligent, the job skills required to manage these machines are changing.
If your office HVAC learned how to talk, everyone would listen, but only the maintenance technician would know what to do.
