Smart Buildings Won’t Bite

Written by Hannah Coleman, Source8, Mitie Group

According to recent studies, we generate 2.5 quintillion bytes of data daily – that’s 2,500,000,000,000,000,000 bytes per day.  It is estimated that over 90% of data ever created has been generated in the last 2 years, and the pace of growth shows no signs of abating.

Technology has transformed every aspect of our lives, from how we communicate, travel, work, exercise and shop, through to how we treat illness. With the Internet of Things, we now connect even the most ordinary of daily objects – you can buy smart flipflops for that summer break! 

With the proliferation of technology across every aspect of our personal lives, why is it then that smart buildings prove so controversial? To understand this, I believe we need to look back to the very first implementation of technology as a workforce management tool. 

In the 1800s, timeclocks were implemented as a method to ensure that wages were paid based on input. For the first time, employers were able to accurately identify and compensate employees for their time. However, for the employee timeclocks became just another way for employers to instill discipline.

Over time manual timeclocks evolved into computerised timeclocks, making the processing of input-based wages yet more efficient and further reducing inaccuracies – such as one employee stamping another’s timecard. The introduction of computerised timeclocks kick-started the trend towards ‘real time’ monitoring of workplaces. However, with these systems working off employee numbers rather than names, they served to further dehumanise the workplace.  

In recent years, innovations in workplace technology have sought to move away from monitoring as a method of measuring employee efficiency, to focus primarily on fostering employee productivity and well-being. Productivity growth has stagnated in recent years – falling from an average 2.3% annual increase before the financial crisis to just 0.4% between 2008 and 2018. Employer focus on well-being further recognises the challenge to business productivity represented by mental health, with 1 in 4 Britons experiencing mental health issues at some point in their lives.

Even with this change of focus, barriers to acceptance remain. There needs to be a seismic cultural change to move the mindset from a historical use of technology in the workplace to make people work harder, to helping people understand that technology can be used to help make buildings work for their benefit. New offices can now be equipped with upwards of 30,000 sensors allowing for personalisation of working conditions (light, heat); intelligent building management (air quality, energy); smart connectivity (location and wayfinding); and systems monitoring (critical asset fault detection and diagnosis).

At Mitie, we are working with more and more clients who want to take advantage of technology and move to a ‘Connected Workspace’. They are at the forefront of this innovation and understand that creating exceptional environments can boost the productivity of their buildings and ultimately the wellbeing of their people. 

Analogue Learning From A Digital Building

Mitie recently moved into the iconic Shard building in London. As part of the design of this smart office, we created an experimental work environment, the ‘Living Lab’, with the express purpose of measuring the impact of biophilic design on worker wellness and productivity. Using Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to capture real-time environmental data on temperature, light levels, CO2 levels and total Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) levels allowed us to understand the actual indoor environment and the extent to which this impacted occupants’ wellbeing and productivity.

Using measures focused on emotional and psychological aspects of wellbeing, gains can be linked to data from IoT sensors. In a joint study with UCL, we were able to demonstrate a 60% increase in perceived productivity in the biophilic spaces. Furthermore, study participants felt 36% less worried, tense, anxious and nervous and 38% more calm, relaxed, laid-back and at ease.

These significant productivity and wellbeing gains can be linked to relatively small changes to the physical environment. Comparing IoT data across the control space and the ‘Living Lab’, the ‘Living Lab’ was maintained within defined comfort policy ranges for temperature, CO2 (ppm) and luminance levels (lux) for a greater proportion of the study period:
– Temperature +31bps*
– CO2 +17bps*
– Lux +12bps**

*Percentage of time within defined comfort policy ranges
**Reduction in time spent with excess levels

The study clearly evidences the direct link between biophilic workplaces maintained within comfort policies and the perceived improvement of employee productivity, mental wellbeing and satisfaction. In a world where productivity is king, it also indicates the potential for increasing bottom-line return on investment from improving the working environment.

With smart buildings clearly offering potential to better our working lives, perhaps  smart buildings aren’t quite so scary after all. 

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