Key Takeaways:
Maintenance and engineering managers have never had more data within reach. Sensor technology in a range of facility systems and components is transforming institutional and commercial facilities into databases of valuable information.
Unfortunately, many managers have been slow to explore and embrace the potential benefits this transformation can bring and to embrace measures to take advantage of it. When it comes to buying into the latest generation of plumbing and restroom products and systems, many managers have been slow to act.
“Facility managers are somewhere in the beginning stages of this learning curve,” says James Dipping, P.E., senior principal and plumbing engineering discipline lead, with Stantec, an engineering, architecture, and environmental consulting firm. “Water management plans are going to be the driving factor in a lot of this, but many facility managers who are implementing these water management plans still seem to be relying on manual checks and paper logs for things like temperature and disinfectant monitoring.”
Despite managers’ hesitations, smart technology already is impacting facilities’ plumbing systems and restrooms.
“The adoption of smart building technology is accelerating,” says Rajat Malhotra, global lead of engineering operations for data centers and critical environments management at JLL. “It’s predicted that in another two years, there’ll be over 3 billion connected devices deployed across smart commercial buildings. If you look at the global smart washroom market, it’s expected to reach about 14 billion by 2030, which represents a year-on-year growth of almost 20 percent.”
While embracing smart technology in plumbing and restrooms can be a daunting process, one proven starting point is identifying the facility goals the technology can help managers address.
“Product selection has to be informed and determined by the ability to create a compelling business case for their particular type of facility,” Malhotra says. “The major impetus is on products that support regulatory compliance, sustainability commitments, bring in cost efficiencies and ensure employee health and well-being.
“For example, plumbing products that have integrated temperature monitoring to help mitigate Legionella risk or systems to monitor potability of water, including chemical parameters, are seeing a demand and adoption.”
With this information in hand, managers next can identify the most beneficial locations for plumbing and restroom products with sensor technology to collect crucial data.
“A practical first step may be putting sensors in the places that matter most, such as for circulation loops, risers and at the point of use,” Dipping says. “From there, it helps to set acceptable ranges. You can create alerts, such as ‘I’m seeing water flow at an unusual time, or I’m seeing temperatures that aren’t in line with why we want the building to perform.’ Make sure that staff know how to respond when something falls outside of those limits.”
Malhotra stresses the importance of selecting the IoT platform technology that will help managers address the requirements of water management plans.
“You select the right IoT platform, and make sure that it has the right analysis, which is built into the platform, to favor and facilitate your reporting requirements,” Malhotra says. “That will guide efforts on conservation, compliance and hygiene.
“An interesting point to consider when you’re choosing the platform is to choose an open protocol platform, which can be integrated into a BMS (building management system). We have a large global client that has potable water hygiene monitoring systems, which are integrated to their BMS and are sending live feed into the CMMS. It’s made the life of the facility managers much easier. So pick a technology, and integrate it into the BMS so you have a single pane of glass where you are looking at plant performance and looking at these outcomes.”
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.
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