How Building Energy Management has Evolved

I’ve been in the Building Services industry for 25 years. I’ve worked for large corporations, venture capitalist and smaller niche organisations. Over this time I have seen technology advance. I have also witnessed a step-change in our thinking, where we strive to take a holistic, sustainable approach to building estate management.

My career has certainly given me a wealth of enjoyable experiences & knowledge. I started my working life on the factory floor, I then moved into the drawing office, designing high efficiency fan arrangements for an air movement company. And over the years I have gained experience in project engineering, sales & marketing, and even spent time as inventor & directorship, all in the market sector of Building Services.

In 2008 I experienced a project that sought to utilise a single fibre-optic backbone, for carrying a variety of systems. This forward-thinking approach sought to reduce construction costs, construction time and improve building operation. Unfortunately, the single fibre-optic backbone was problematic. Each manufacturer or installer were wary of loosing intellectual rights and the 40% project costs for installation of works. Yet this provided me a window into the future.

A single platform – integrating building services

Technology has moved on since the single fibre-optic backbone project. Now everything can be web enabled and available through the Cloud. Terms such as Internet of Things (IOT), 4th Industrial Revolution (IR4), Software as a Service (SaaS) are more and more prevalent. In this always connected, always switched on world that we now live in.

In recent years I have also noticed an evolution in the Building Management Services arena. With manufacturers losing their hold, as a result of “Open Protocol” solutions. The art of integration has become more and more important.

More recently end user clients have approached me with a series of questions about the BMS; Can tenant billing to be added? Can it control lighting? Could it know when a meeting room is booked, in use or vacant? Etc. They understood that the BMS was the most technical and invasive building services system within the building, so wanted to get the most from it.

So began my search for a solution, a single platform that could be either retrofitted in an existing building or be used in the new build environment. I also wanted a solution that had been tried and tested. And one that provided support to deliver the client’s needs.

Why I chose AXON

AXON holds a lot of the jigsaw pieces to help clients. It is a company with a BMS background, with each of the installation disciplines to provide an end to end solution. It can demonstrate tried and tested solutions in retail, education, healthcare and commercial building arenas. All this with full 24/7 support, both automated and manually intervened where clients require.

AXON is helping supermarkets monitoring their chilled and frozen cases, reducing stock loss and keeping the down time of a sales display device as low as possible. Universities are reducing consumption and improving their Green credentials, something of strong concern with their student population. Healthcare sites are meeting regulatory requirements and commercial building managers are providing efficient environments that provide wellbeing attributes for tenants.

Automated building management - the future is here

I have seen many different aspects of the industry, from supplying equipment for new build construction, moving to the emerging energy replacement market in 2002, providing business cases for energy reductions, managing installation projects, strategic thinking, system software solutions and recently I’ve been responsible for end user relationships for building management system (BMS) maintenance sales.

Working for AXON, I am now able to be part of the next evolution in the building services sector. Delivering big building data that drives informed decision making. Decision making that provides reduced energy, better in-use performance and greater wellbeing for occupants.

Find out more why AXON is different, read more