Technology must solve a problem

Written by Tommy Hagenes and Endre Johannessen

Technology must solve a problem – this has been Johannessen's mantra whenever testing technology. Together, the authors have tested hundreds of sensors, dozens of platforms and 3D-scanned the "Proptech Bergen" building using 4 different technologies.

We are quite different: where Hagenes is a tech enthusiast, Johannessen is more focused on creating value from technology. Together, over the past year, they have built the perfect toolbox that solves problems for all buildings. The goal is clear: 300 buildings are to be digitalised in 2021, and the total target is 1,000 buildings covering approximately 2,600,000 sqm – the buildings that Toma Eiendomsdrift manages and operates.

How to start such a journey

Managing and operating buildings often starts with something as simple as a risk assessment. This provides a basis for what is needed to ensure the property is a good investment for the landlord. The authors have worked together with many large buildings and property companies; part of the journey has also involved immersing themselves as property valuers. Johannessen adds that it is also important to understand the fundamentals of buildings, even if future operations and management will be a data-driven journey.

Becoming data-driven means trying to shift operations and management from routine tasks – which often consist of fixed inspection rounds – to letting sensor data determine when we need to go out and check technical components. But to do this you need to understand the whole building, the fundamentals and the physics of the building. Hagenes adds that having lots of sensors is no use if you don't understand what the data actually means. For example, Hagenes runs courses in property technology where he shows, among other things, that with a single sensor in a building you can actually see "everything that's happening".

When you understand how people, ventilation and emissions affect indoor climate, you can actually use a multi-sensor to see when people are in the building, when the technical systems start, and easily see whether unnecessary energy is being used.

Distinguishing PowerPoints from technology

At Proptech Bergen, international technology has really been put through its paces in recent years. Johannessen notes that he has learned an enormous amount in the past year alone. Distinguishing between a good PowerPoint and actually functioning technology has been a journey. We have tried and failed over several years, and it has been an important learning experience. Now we have set up the testing in a system – in an ecosystem like Proptech Bergen – so that we are constantly keeping up with developments.

This has been Hagenes's vision from the start of the Proptech Bergen initiative. Now we have 5,000,000 sqm of building owners using this as a test location, and what is perhaps most worrying at the moment is that 9 out of 10 technologies are not approved through our "filter". Hagenes fears that proptech may develop a bad reputation going forward, as it is extremely difficult to distinguish between good PowerPoints and good technology. Looking at international proptech rankings, no one ever tests the technology; it is often a 3-minute pitch that wins you the title of best technology. That is why the Proptech Bergen method is more important than ever for landlords out there.

Winning awards in proptech is often a PowerPoint competition with no grounding in reality.

How to find cost/benefit

Johannessen is contacted weekly by technology companies claiming to have the "perfect technology", whether it be a platform for data collection, a facility management system or sensor packages. What they all have in common is that they claim to have the optimal solution for digitalising operations. Those of us who work with operations and management on a daily basis know that the picture is more complex than that, and often we don't actually know what challenges we need to solve. Is the indoor climate poor in all or parts of the building? Are we using too much energy? Do we have problems with leaks? The challenges are many and often vary from building to building. In other words, it creates potentially little value if we install lots of indoor climate sensors without insight into what the actual challenge is.

Let's give an example:

Step 1: After installing indoor climate sensors we see that both CO2 and temperature levels are where they should be, so we assume that the ventilation and heating systems are working as they should, right?

Step 2: What if in addition to indoor climate we also have energy data? Now we might see that we have an abnormal/high consumption pattern. This tells us that not everything is actually OK?

Step 3: On closer inspection it turned out that one stage of the heat pump was defective and that the electric boiler had switched in to compensate for this, which in turn increased the building's energy consumption.

Hagenes reinforces this by saying we must think holistically about buildings. There is extremely good technology out there, but what they all have in common is that if you combine the best from the different suppliers, you get much more out of the technology. It is only when you combine sensor data that you achieve the unique value.

Summary

They agree that we must start at the right end when using technology to create value for a building. We do this best with a survey/risk assessment for the specific building. Our experience is that starting by analysing energy data is a good starting point – this quickly tells us where "the shoe pinches". The consumption pattern may show that operating hours don't match the usage pattern, that an energy source is behaving abnormally, that there are peak loads with no logical explanation, or a base load that cannot be explained. Here you can quickly combine this with indoor climate sensors or occupancy sensors to confirm or rule out the findings.

If we also carry out a risk assessment that indicates which operating conditions have the greatest negative consequences for the building and its users, we have the best basis for choosing the right technology.

We believe the key to sustainable operations and management is to use a combination of the best available technologies on the market. We need a "digital toolbox" – just as the caretaker has had a toolbox for hammers, screwdrivers and wire cutters, we need a digital toolbox. It is not the number of sensors that matters, but the right sensors.

In short, we must work according to the "need to have" principle, not the "nice to have" principle.

We always strive to find technology that delivers high value at low cost!

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