Honeywell’s new Vector Space Sense allows building operations team to make better-informed real estate and space usage decisions
Honeywell has launched a new software solution today provides visibility into how building spaces are being used.
The new Honeywell Vector Space Sense allows building operations teams to make better-informed real estate and space usage decisions that provide opportunities to optimize costs and promote better building experiences for occupants, the company said.
“From higher levels of employee productivity to healthier environments that help drive cost savings, connected buildings have real benefits for owners, operators and occupants,” said Vimal Kapur, president and CEO of Honeywell Building Technologies. “Honeywell Vector Space Sense is the latest example of how Honeywell is using cutting-edge technology to enable smarter, data-driven buildings that work for their organizations.”
Honeywell highlighted that recent studies show that most offices around the world are underutilized by as much as half of their actual capacity due to factors such as shifting work schedules, mobile technology usage and changing business needs. However, many facility managers lack the type of comprehensive insights required to take action to address these usage issues. The company said that this can lead to overpaying for unused space, wasted energy usage, off-temperature spaces and other inefficiencies that negatively impact an organization’s bottom line.
Honeywell Vector Space Sense gathers and analyzes data from multiple sources throughout a building to deliver actionable insights that help personnel better utilize, optimize and prioritize building spaces. The facility team can have access to these insights through detailed dashboards and reports incorporating visualization methods like maps, usage profiles, overall trends and other metrics, Honeywell said.
Honeywell Vector Space Sense, which is backed by a cloud-based infrastructure, follows a three-step process that starts with gathering space utilization data from multiple sources such as smart lights, bluetooth beacons, mobile apps, and other sensor-connected devices and equipment. The solution then applies analytics to the collected data, using customized algorithms and space utilization models to deliver actionable insights, which is the third step.
Honeywell Vector Space Sense is currently in use at London Health Sciences Centre, a London, Ontario-based hospital network with 15,000 employees that covers 1.9 million square feet and served more than 1 million patients in 2017. The hospital network chose to implement the technology to better understand the use of its clinical and office spaces, following complaints of overcrowding and office expansion requests, Honeywell said.
“Hospitals are complex systems, and not only are the operational costs high, so are the stakes. There’s no room for error when it comes to using your space most effectively,” said Derek Lall, director of facilities management, London Health Sciences Centre, in a statement. “As a regional acute hospital, we must strike a balance between efficiency and comfort to ensure we’re delivering the best care possible and getting the most out of available resources. Honeywell Vector Space Sense is helping us do that by providing a level of insight all in one place that we’d otherwise have no way of obtaining.”
“Expenses associated with unused building spaces often go unnoticed, simply because it’s so difficult to get an accurate, moment-by-moment view into how building spaces are used, or if they’re being used at all,” said John Rajchert, president for building solutions at Honeywell Building Technologies.
