5 Hidden Benefits of Building Analytics

Those looking to adopt a modern building management strategy assessing solutions like Building Analytics are realising that the benefits of this approach extend beyond delivering cost savings and energy efficiencies. The adoption of CIM's PEAK platform alongside CIM's dedicated technical customer support delivers both "hard" benefits to our customers, in addition to less quantifiable hidden but yet highly valuable "soft" benefits.

The hard benefits associated with CIM’s solution typically relate to two main areas of business value;

• OpEx - reducing operating expenditure through the delivery of efficiencies across the operational landscape
• CapEx - optimising the deployment of available capital through increasing equipment lifecycle and using data to drive and inform capital upgrade decisions

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It is easier to agree on the existence and value of hard benefits as this type of benefit is tangible, easily quantifiable and measurable over a specific time.

The "soft" benefits of building analytics, whilst less quantifiable, are of increasing importance to our customers as they seek to unlock the hidden value from their buildings, their team, and truly transform their operations. Here is my top list of the hidden or “soft” benefits our customers realise as they adopt the PEAK Platform paired with the business metrics typically impacted.

Building analytics’ top “soft” benefits

1. Tenant and customer experience
   Delivering comfortable and healthy indoor environments is crucial to ensuring the satisfaction of tenants, customers, and visitors. A pleasant experience at a shopping centre will extend a customers length of stay and increase their likelihood of additional spending. In a commercial building, a healthier environment will improve worker productivity and increase the likelihood of lease renewal.

• Benefits achieved: Setting appropriate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that incorporate indoor temperature and CO2 levels; introduction of PEAK ticketing system ensuring prompt resolution of customer complaints, ensuring lease conditions are met and increasing the likelihood of lease renewal.
• Metrics impacted: Indoor temperature, CO2 levels, customer satisfaction, occupancy, tenant and customer feedback, tenancy renewal rates.

"The PEAK Platform provides me with critical insights into the best and worst-performing zones within my building which makes it easy for me to identify and resolve comfort issues.” - CIM Customer

2. Sustainability
   There are a number of industry recognised sustainability ratings and indices for the built environment. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is now at the forefront of corporate objectives as investors and stakeholders place increasing importance on delivering climate positive returns as well as financial returns. Improved sustainability performance of a building or portfolio not only meets the demands of responsible investors but also increases asset value.

• Benefits achieved: Improving the sustainability performance of each asset through energy reduction, improved thermal comfort, and better indoor air quality. A number of sustainability ratings require historical monitoring data as validation of performance which is provided by the PEAK Platform.    
• Metrics impacted: GRESB, WELL, NABERS, GreenStar, BREEAM, LEED.

3. Facility Manager (FM) and Contractor upskilling
   Building analytics empowers FM’s and Contractors to make better decisions. As decision making improves, the level of knowledge and expertise within the site team improves alongside it. Having access to the data allows teams to better understand their own buildings and the complex network of services within.    

• Benefits achieved: Upskilling of FMs and Contracting teams through access to key operational data, a greater understanding of building services, mapping of tenancies to HVAC equipment operation.
• Metrics impacted: Labour hours, employee satisfaction and retention, ticket resolution time.
• "Due to the age of the asset and the building systems, it is not easy to obtain the correct technical advice to ensure equipment uptime and achieve energy savings. Having understanding and visibility on the actual performance of my asset helps solve legacy system issues.” - CIM Customer

4. Collaboration
   Contractors typically operate within their own silo’s and there can be a lack of communication between vendor teams and the FM’s. Scheduling regular catch-ups where each vendor and the FM come together to discuss the actions identified in PEAK provides a forum for the team to share knowledge, troubleshoot problems, and enhance collaboration.

• Benefits achieved: Facilitating collaboration by delivering a comprehensive tracker and dashboard view to all parties to align actions and track outcomes.
• Metrics impacted: Contractor cost and efficiency, ticket closure rates, ticket resolution time
• "CIM has been excellent in driving collaboration with Contractors and ensuring the team is engaged. They are always challenging the norm and are holding our incumbent Contractors accountable for their actions." - CIM Customer
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5. Data-driven decision making and governance
   Building Analytics provides superior granularity into current and historical performance, making it easier for management teams to accurately forecast, budget, and run scenario modelling. Insights and outcomes generated from analytics can be leveraged to inform new policies and enable business transformation.

• Benefits achieved: Utilising data insights to enable target setting, planning, budgeting, prioritisation of spending, "what if" scenario modelling (e.g. COVID impact), industry and portfolio benchmarking, and tracking of site team deliverables to verify completion.
• Metrics impacted: Maintenance and operations expenditure, CapEx budgets, data-driven maintenance.

"Since engaging with CIM all service providers are now working more collaboratively, and have changed their approach to building maintenance.” - CIM Customer

Summary

While the soft benefits associated with team upskilling, improved contractor engagement and enhanced team collaboration can be less quantifiable, they are invaluable in ensuring customers maximise the value from adopting a modern building management approach.

In many cases, organisational managers are uncomfortable with the process of converting and/or verifiably measuring soft benefits in financial terms. Instead, some choose to view soft benefits as a bonus. However, there is a clear connection between the soft benefits associated with the PEAK platform and creating business value - a better performing team results in a better performing, more sustainable asset, which ultimately correlates to increased asset value.

Get a demo today and see how we can help improve your operational efficiency and achieve your sustainability goals.