A number of DBC members spoke at the ISE Europe Smart Building Summit today in Barcelona, including the following on Lessons Learned How to Operationalise Smart Buildings panel moderated by Conor Cleary, Associate | Digital Lead – Ireland at NDY:

• Kevin Brownell, Director at Nu Xform
• Dan Drogman, Founder and CEO at Smart Spaces
• Tomás Mac Eoin, CEO at Hereworks

Experts at the ISE Smart Building Summit discussed the challenges of operationalising smart buildings, highlighting the need for greater collaboration and integration. The panel, comprised of consultants, contractors, and software providers, emphasised engaging facility management teams early to break down silos and ensure a seamless transition from design to operation. They pointed out the evolution of roles in the smart building industry, with a need for specialised consultants to oversee digital transformations. The speakers advocated for consultants to remain involved after building handover to align operational expectations and ensure user experience. The panel also touched on the increasing prevalence of multi-tenant spaces, suggesting a re-evaluation of traditional construction contracts and greater HR involvement to better serve occupants and maximize operational potential in these evolving building environments.

Key Themes and Ideas

1. Early FM Engagement and Silo Breaking:

• A major challenge is the lack of integration and communication between different teams involved in smart building projects. “The challenge we’ve got, and the irony actually is that we are talking about technology that breaks down silos, yet our kind of client base and our people on that part of that team are in silos. They’re not fully engaged in the project or in the smart elements of project.”
• FM teams need to be involved from the beginning: “ultimately the people that are going to run the building need to be involved very early on.”
• The project doesn’t end at handover; the “Stage 7 (in-use) is kind of where it all starts to happen.”
• Smart building consultants act as “relationship managers” to facilitate collaboration.

2. Evolution of Smart Building Roles and Specialisation:

• The market is maturing, leading to specialisation of roles. Companies like Smart Spaces have evolved from offering end-to-end solutions (consulting, installation, operation) to focusing on their core expertise (software).
• Value engineering by main contractors can negatively impact the quality and user experience of smart technology. “We find that they obviously want to value engine the project a lot of the time and they will compromise our decisions…we’ve given a spec on the different hardware systems which will achieve that exact user experience. And then as it gets closer to the project going live, that hardware has been ve’d for an inferior product.”
• The panel advocated avoiding novation of smart technology providers to main contractors.

3. Digital Transformation and the Changing Nature of Buildings

• Buildings are now experienced digitally as well as physically: “‘People move into buildings digitally now, not physically’.”
• Smart technology connects various building systems: “It connects the electrical system, it connects the mechanical system, it connects the IT system and the operational systems. It is the building.”
• Consistency of the relationship and vision across project phases is critical. “There’s an expectation…that the consistency of relationship between our various elements must be maintained through the project because we are…custodians of [the customer experience].”
• Smart building consultants should ideally be involved from REBA stage 3 (or earlier), but are “often” appointed too late in the process.
• Retaining smart building consultants and MSIs for at least 24 months post-handover was suggested to ensure proper operation and continuity.

4. Adapting Construction Processes:

• Traditional construction processes haven’t evolved to keep pace with smart building technology. “All we’ve actually done in the smart building world is layered new technologies and new tools on top of old processes. So we’re not getting any more efficient, we’re getting quite the opposite. We’re over complicating things.”
• Specialist contractors should take full responsibility, similar to the data centre construction model. “We actually move away from traditional construction contracts to have digital building contractors or smart building contractors actually take the full responsibility for delivering the building from start to end of life.”

5. The Human Element and the Role of HR:

• HR departments are often excluded from smart building discussions, despite buildings existing for people. “HR are never at the smart building table.”
• Buildings should be designed and operated with the needs of the occupants in mind.
• Some organizations are moving towards facilities reporting to HR rather than finance, indicating a shift in priorities.
• One panelist noted their “best client project has HR leading the smart building initiative.”

6. Multi-Tenant Buildings:

• Organisations are increasingly moving into multi-tenant spaces, requiring smart building operating systems that allow them to operate as if they were in a single-tenant building.
• Smart building technology can enable shared facilities and create new revenue streams for building operators.

Action Items (as listed in the source):

• Smart building consultants and MSIs should be retained for at least 24 months after building handover to ensure continuity and proper operation.
• Building stakeholders should engage facility management teams early in the smart building process to ensure operational success.
• Avoid novating smart technology providers to main contractors to maintain quality and user experience.
• Consider involving HR departments more directly in smart building planning and implementation.

You can also listen to a 12 minute AI-generated podcast disussion our Executive Officer Justin Kirby has posted on LinkedIn and check out more from our Lessons Learned, including:

• Summary of the Lessons Learned panel session at Realcom London (Oct 24)
• Lessons Learned: 6 common mistakes MSI contractors see in smart building project article in Smart Buildings Magazine (Sept 24)

We hope to be announcing more from this series soon. In the meantime, stay connected by following the DBC on LinkedIn for the latest updates, events and insights from the founding members and reach out to learn how to join our community and contribute to our mission.