Johnson Controls and IBM announced a new partnership on February 22 that will bring about the next-generation “smart building.” The pair plan to use their expertise in energy services and information technology to reduce energy and water consumption in buildings around the world.
“With our Smart Building Solution, energy and asset management is enhanced in new ways that optimize environmental performance and operational efficiencies across a single building, or across an entire portfolio of buildings,” said Johnson Controls vice president of global energy and sustainability Clay Nesler. Nesler was interviewed by Contracting Business.
IBM and Johnson Controls last teamed up in 2007 in an effort to design datacenters that were more energy efficient. The Smart Building Solution expands that focus to include an entire building, or network of buildings.
“For the first time, we will formally link building energy management with asset management,” Nesler explained. “We’ve found that for organizations that want to take the performance of their buildings to the next level, and manage their portfolio buildings as an enterprise, it required coordination and integration across those facilities and information technology silos.”
IBM is building upon a system that many building owners already use to manage work orders, assets, and for optimal maintenance. The integration of the IBM Maximo system with the Metasys Building Management System from Johnson Controls results in a solution that can reduce costs between 10 and 20 percent across enterprises.
The system works by creating visibility into the building, or network of buildings. As a result operational efficiency is enhanced while occupants enjoy a greater level of safety and comfort. The solution provides building operators and tenants real-time information that can be used to reduce energy bills and enterprise-wide reporting that details CO2 emissions, energy costs, energy consumption, waste, and the effectiveness of efficiency programs.
“While it’s been possible for many years to integrate the building management systems with Maximo asset/maintenance systems, to generate work orders automatically and optimize maintenance, it’s been done rarely,” Nesler added. “We think the key opportunity is for building owners to optimize to reduce the cost of their assets, reduce energy costs, and reduce requirements for spare parts by coordinating these technologies.”
Nesler went on to explain that Johnson Controls is providing the automated diagnostics, information dashboards, and reporting capability while IBM will provide data center management. “They’ll be able to view single buildings or a large collection of buildings,” he said. “If an organization that owns a number of buildings decides to renovate one or build a new one, they can now bring that building into the overall enterprise view. However, even the owner of one building will be able to optimize cost and productivity of that single building.”
Critical to the system is its ability to bring in data from open platforms or from proprietary systems. The Smart Building Solution effectively takes traditional control systems to the next level. Over time additional intelligence and control features will be added.
Johnson Controls
5757 N. Green Bay Avenue
P.O. Box 591
Milwaukee, WI 53201
http://www.johnsoncontrols.com
IBM
One New Orchard Road
Armonk, NY 10504
http://www.ibm.com
IBM and Johnson Controls last teamed up in 2007 in an effort to design datacenters that were more energy efficient. The Smart Building Solution expands that focus to include an entire building, or network of buildings.
“For the first time, we will formally link building energy management with asset management,” Nesler explained. “We’ve found that for organizations that want to take the performance of their buildings to the next level, and manage their portfolio buildings as an enterprise, it required coordination and integration across those facilities and information technology silos.”
IBM is building upon a system that many building owners already use to manage work orders, assets, and for optimal maintenance. The integration of the IBM Maximo system with the Metasys Building Management System from Johnson Controls results in a solution that can reduce costs between 10 and 20 percent across enterprises.
The system works by creating visibility into the building, or network of buildings. As a result operational efficiency is enhanced while occupants enjoy a greater level of safety and comfort. The solution provides building operators and tenants real-time information that can be used to reduce energy bills and enterprise-wide reporting that details CO2 emissions, energy costs, energy consumption, waste, and the effectiveness of efficiency programs.
“While it’s been possible for many years to integrate the building management systems with Maximo asset/maintenance systems, to generate work orders automatically and optimize maintenance, it’s been done rarely,” Nesler added. “We think the key opportunity is for building owners to optimize to reduce the cost of their assets, reduce energy costs, and reduce requirements for spare parts by coordinating these technologies.”
Nesler went on to explain that Johnson Controls is providing the automated diagnostics, information dashboards, and reporting capability while IBM will provide data center management. “They’ll be able to view single buildings or a large collection of buildings,” he said. “If an organization that owns a number of buildings decides to renovate one or build a new one, they can now bring that building into the overall enterprise view. However, even the owner of one building will be able to optimize cost and productivity of that single building.”
Critical to the system is its ability to bring in data from open platforms or from proprietary systems. The Smart Building Solution effectively takes traditional control systems to the next level. Over time additional intelligence and control features will be added.
Johnson Controls
5757 N. Green Bay Avenue
P.O. Box 591
Milwaukee, WI 53201
http://www.johnsoncontrols.com
IBM
One New Orchard Road
Armonk, NY 10504
http://www.ibm.com
