By Sonny Masero, Chairman, Demand Logic
The Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) of RICS has forecast that maintenance costs will continue to increase over the next 5 years. Energy costs will also continue to rise as the UK government has guaranteed a price for new nuclear which is double energy costs today. This should increase property operating costs, putting further pressure on service quality. I don't think that these costs have to go up if new metrics are used to measure building performance.
Building Performance Data Analytics
New technology is now readily available which makes it possible to monitor the performance of building operations more closely and in real-time. This ensures that a high quality experience can be provided to staff / tenants at a lower operational cost, and with less carbon emissions. This briefing focuses on the headline Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which should be used to monitor performance on a monthly or quarterly basis:
- Productivity - the % of office spaces operating within 21-25℃
- Maintenance effectiveness - the % of terminal units controlling within 3℃
- Energy wastage - the % of major plant operating within expected hours
- Overall operational effectiveness - a simple average of these 3 KPIs
These KPIs have been selected for the reasons explained below.
Productivity - a key outcome of comfort & wellbeing
All successful companies want the best for the health and wellbeing of their staff. This obviously starts with the HR team, but they need support throughout the business. There is good evidence to show that the more comfortable staff are the more productive they are, and there is a clear correlation between office temperature and productivity. One measure of comfort is the number of FM Helpdesk complaints, in particular Hot/Cold calls, which should be a standard monthly reporting measure.
For day-to-day management it is now possible to monitor in real-time the temperature in all spaces in an office and report on exceptions outside of selected thresholds. These thresholds can be aligned with lease terms or, based on independent research guidelines, Demand Logic can recommend a temperature range of 21-25℃ as staff productivity is shown to drop significantly outside of these boundaries.
At Demand Logic our standard service automatically provides a productivity score based on the percentage of office spaces which are within 21-25℃. This KPI shows how well a building is being controlled and we have found that a high quality property should exceed 99%. The service also provides an exception report to focus management time on the spaces which are too hot/cold, and any failed temperature sensors.
Temperature sensors are common in all Building Management Systems, so our system focuses on this KPI for consistency across a portfolio. However, productivity scoring can be further enhanced with humidity and air quality sensor data where they are available or added at a later date.
Maintenance Effectiveness (Demand-side)
The effective control of the terminal units, often hidden in the ceiling/floor/wall void of an office, is crucial for occupant comfort, the demand for heating and cooling, and therefore energy and carbon emissions. Demand Logic data shows that standard, scheduled preventative maintenance is often ineffective in keeping these units under control. Poor HVAC and BMS control is the most significant cause of high energy consumption in non-domestic building. In offices, HVAC equipment is responsible for 60%-70% of energy consumption.
Our recommendation is that scheduled maintenance is reduced to mandatory requirements. All other maintenance should be driven by data analysis of the condition of equipment. For the numerous terminal units (such as Fan Coil Units) we recommend monitoring how well they are controlling to their set temperature. A deviation of up to 2℃ is reasonable so we would suggest setting a threshold of 3℃. Good management of these terminal units will reduce unnecessary demand on the larger HVAC plant. Reducing unexpected equipment operation will ensure that the lifecycle replacement costs are not higher than expected.
At Demand Logic our standard service automatically provides a maintenance score based on the percentage of terminal units which are controlling within 3℃. This KPI shows how well a building is being maintained and our data shows a well managed property should exceed 90%. The service also provides an exception report to focus maintenance time on the units that are failing to control effectively.
Energy Wastage
Electricity and gas meter data is usually collected to monitor energy consumption in a property. An energy report is typically circulated at least 3 months after the consumption happened. In some case, half-hourly data is looked at in a live situation for major fluctuations. This meter data usually shows the consumption of a whole building or a floor, and rarely monitors specific pieces of equipment. The tardiness with which this data becomes available and the lack of granularity means it is of limited value to the day-to-day management of a building and is often ignored by building managers.
In the majority of offices, the single biggest consumers of energy are the major plant items - boilers, chillers and air-handling units (AHUs) - which supply heating and cooling to the terminal units via a system of pumps and fans. If the heating and cooling demands are being well-managed by effective control of the terminal units (see above) then the other key measure for major plant is whether they are turned off outside of expected operational hours. Out-of-hours operation is one of the largest causes of energy waste and unnecessary carbon emissions.
At Demand Logic our standard service automatically provides an energy score based on the percentage of major plant which is operating within the expected hours of occupation. This KPI shows how well a building is being managed and our data shows a well managed property should exceed 70%. The service also provides an exception report to highlight which piece of plant is operating out of hours and when this is happening.
KPI Performance Summary Report
Demand Logic summarises all of these KPIs, and an aggregate ‘DL Score’ combining these three KPIs in our standard Portfolio League Table view. An example is shown below for a portfolio of buildings. The scores can be viewed live and they are summarised on a monthly basis for regular review.
From this portfolio view, a drill-down system takes users straight to the problem buildings, and all the way down to individual plant items in seconds. The problem issues are converted to actions and added to a workflow system. This simple process is used to track issues until rectified by the building manager and contracted engineers. Where possible this system should be integrated with the standard FM work order process and progress monitored within the existing FM contract mechanisms.
