New smart building suite for a people centric  workplace experience

by • Company news

Siemens Smart Infrastructure has launched a smart building suite designed to create more efficient and flexible workplaces where people are at the core. The suite of IoT (Internet of Things) enabled devices, applications and services turn offices into a competitive advantage for companies.

Employees are empowered with greater choice and control in the workplace, including picking their own optimal temperature setting, pleasant lighting conditions and find available rooms for their spontaneous meetings.

The suite consists of complementary Siemens technologies and allows building management systems to respond intelligently to user input and environmental data. Now, workspaces can adapt to employees’ needs with real-time analytics continuously learning from user input and picking up behavioral patterns. At the same time, powerful data analytics give insights into how the spaces are being used to make better decisions around space optimization and real estate portfolio management.

 

The future of smart work 

“The future of work demands a more productive, agile and flexible working environment while using resources responsibly and sustainably,” said Beat Vanza, CEO Solution & Service Portfolio, Siemens Smart Infrastructure. “A digitalized, data-driven approach to the office environment ensures that workspaces are optimized for both employee and building performance.”

A recent study by consulting firm PwC found that positive working space conditions, plus a healthy work-life balance, are more important than salary to 75 percent of employees. A meta study by Continental Automated Buildings Association shows that targeted measures to improve the work environment have been found to reduce illnesses and absences by up to 20 percent, with some studies suggesting this could be as high as 60 percent.

The Siemens’ suite includes technologies from Silicon Valley-based providers Comfy and Enlighted, both acquired by Siemens. Comfy delivers Software-as-a-Service workplace technology that elevates the employee experience, increases space utilization and drives operational efficiency across global corporate offices. The open, vendor-agnostic platform offers a variety of reporting features and integrates with existing building systems and third party services. The Comfy app enables employees to connect directly with their work environment and find colleagues or book desks in an increasingly agile office setup.

Enlighted is an IoT platform consisting of multi-function sensors and a scalable network to capture data in real time. Smart sensors installed in light fixtures collect data 65 times per second to measure occupancy of rooms and entire floors, motion, ambient light and temperature. Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems can then be adjusted appropriately in real time. In addition, the platform is able to locate people and assets within a building. Data is streamed securely to the cloud for analysis and visualization. This allows the system to optimize energy and space utilization in order to create better, human-centric working environments.

These platforms complement existing technologies in the Siemens Smart Infrastructure portfolio: Desigo CC, an open building management platform; Desigo Room Automation, a range of building automation systems designed to integrate HVAC, lighting and shading systems; fire safety and security products and systems; and advisory and performance services. These form a comprehensive offering for smart offices in new and existing buildings to create adaptive environments that intelligently interact with and learn from people.