Is Your Commercial Building Fit For Purpose?

3 min read
Apr 18, 2019

Most traditional commercial buildings bleed resources and energy somewhere. This can be attributed to the human element of your operations, but also the functionality and lack of facilities to control this component.

In previous years, it may have been a near necessity to underplay the significance of this factor in order to propel your business forward, however, with the development of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, advanced building methods and the added pressure of environmental concerns, the case for energy inefficiency is difficult to argue.

Key energy wasting causes:

  • Unattended appliances and machinery left running.
  • Heating and cooling systems working in unoccupied areas.
  • Around the clock lighting in corridors or less frequently used zones.
  • Faulty or misused taps and other undetected maintenance issues.
  • Doors and windows that have been left open.

You’ve got more space than you need

The modern workplace requires an intuitive design that encourages fluidity and ease of communication and collaboration. This often means that traditional office layouts won’t appropriately serve the needs of your employees.

In other commercial environments, such as hospitals, educational facilities and hotels, space is often wasted and functionality compromised when decision makers don’t take note of the movement patterns that occupants follow.

People counters can help you to identify where employees prefer to congregate, or how they utilise the current office layout. You may find that you are lighting and heating rooms that aren’t being used, or that the current setup creates barriers for departments which should be working closely together.

Furthermore, with IoT technologies, you can collect and interpret data on how customers interact with your building. You may discover that you are investing in large spaces that convolute your branding message or make it difficult for clients to navigate and find what they need.

Evaluating how you optimise the facilities within your building should be a regular practice. This is because, inevitably, the nature of your business operations will frequently evolve as we move further into the age of artificial intelligence. With the Irisys Vector 4D, you can detect how occupants move in and around your building so that you can identify inefficient zones and either transform them into more practical spaces or use them as additional revenue streams by letting them out to other businesses.

Lack of employee productivity

So much of the focus in recent media has been on mental wellbeing, something which is primarily affected by stressors in our immediate environment.

Some of your departments may not thrive in overcrowded open-plan offices, while others cannot operate in isolation. Equally, poor lighting and inefficient air control place a physical burden on workers which manifests itself in the form of unproductive behaviour and possible medical complications.

With the Vector 4D, you can study how much movement employees get throughout the day and help to encourage healthier habits. By communicating with other IoT devices, the Vector 4D can help to control room temperatures to suit occupancy and help maintenance staff to quickly respond to issues which may be causing delays or frustrations for employees. By being proactive, you are showing a vested interest in your staff’s job satisfaction which in turn fosters loyalty and higher quality of work output.

Science has answered many of the questions related to physiological factors that affect our productivity, such as the correlation between air quality and the “post-lunch dip”. Remaining unresponsive to these facts puts your business at a disadvantage as other companies work hard to tailor their facilities for higher productivity.

Your building is costing you talent

To link from the point above, your commercial building could act as a deterrent for potential candidates.

Understanding the needs of your employees and creating inspiring, comfortable and well equipped working spaces helps your employees to perform tasks to the best of their abilities. In a world where speed and efficiency are largely what keep businesses competitive, you cannot afford to have a building that creates operational obstacles. After all, inadequate facilities can exacerbate stressful situations which eventually pushes high-value team members out the door in search of opportunities that align with their environmental and ethical beliefs.

The Irisys Vector 4D is the perfect tool to help you gain insight into how your commercial properties operate daily, while also having the ability to communicate with other technologies to boost your building’s energy credentials. These discrete and highly adaptable devices will give your business a new perspective on how your building consumes resources and what options are available to capitalise on existing positives while also addressing costly issues. To find out more about our products, request a demo or speak with one of our experts today.

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