Agilquest Blog

Networking Building Management Systems

Networking building management systems in smart buildings creates efficiencies and saves money. Organizations need multiple building management systems communicating with each other in order to deliver operational cost savings and customizable solutions. That’s why – in an effort to save $24 million in rent costs, $4 million in energy costs and $12 million in operational costs annually – the General Services Administration (GSA) has networked building management systems to modernize their offices.

As AgilQuest CEO, John H. Vivadelli, noted:

“GSA’s 1800 F St Headquarters is another example of AgilQuest’s history of innovation and listening – creating fundamentally new capabilities and responding to customer demand. AgilQuest sits at the intersection of The Sharing Economy, The Internet of Things, Big Data and Mobility and takes these lofty concepts and turns them into concrete reality. The Book-It system referred to in the Washington Post article, ‘At GSA, an ‘Internet of Things’ experiment’ is GSA’s internal name for AgilQuest’s OnBoard Smart Occupancy system. This platform is the fundamental link connecting GSA’s employees to the space and building technologies they use every day. It gives people freedom to choose where and when to work while controlling building systems in response to their needs, allowing for maximum productivity. At the same time, the platform provides management the measurement and control necessary to meet cost cutting, energy and CO2 reduction goals.”

In July, the GSA connected its lobby turnstiles and employee identification badges to Book-It, a customized version of AgilQuest’s OnBoard booking software. GSA employees are encouraged to telework, but when they do come into the office, they must reserve available desks either online or at an electronic kiosk using Book-It. When they swipe in at lobby turnstiles, their desk reservation is activated. This not only created efficiencies, but the networked building management system has also been customized to the GSA’s specific needs and goals.

Other customizations include energy saving features such as automatic lighting control. When employees swipe their identification badges, the power sources and lights at their reserved desk power-on automatically and off when they swipe out. Employees use tablets mounted outside each conference room with the Book-It system to check into conference rooms, whose lights and power sources only function when the room has been reserved in the system.

When networking building management systems to create cost and space saving efficiencies, choosing a system that can be customized and utilized in the specific ways your organization needs is key. One size does not fit all even though many organizations have the common goal cost saving. AgilQuest’s OnBoard software allows for the creation of your own rules to govern the system.

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