If you don’t work in the smarter buildings space, you likely aren’t familiar with commissioning. If you are, skip to the next paragraph.

Commissioning is the process of validating all building systems function as intended and at an optimal level. From mechanical systems to life safety systems, commissioning agents (Cx agents for those in the know) rigorously inspect, test, and train operators on using and maintaining building systems. Why? The incentive is clear. According to a Department of Energy commissioning guide, operating costs of a commissioned building can be up to 20% less than those of non-commissioned buildings. That same guide estimates the cost for commissioning, at most, to be 1.5% of total construction cost for new buildings. With a relatively small investment up front, operators can drastically reduce their spend for years to come with nearly guaranteed payback on their investment.

Before buildings could securely connect any application at the edge to any software in the cloud for any number of sites, commissioning was a one-time or periodic process. Now, commissioning is often ongoing and even continuous with real-time data and digital simulation available. Just like in the old model, the motivation is apparent. Operators who utilize continuously commissioned processes see:

  • Optimized utility consumption
  • Reduced system downtime through predictive maintenance
  • Higher levels of occupant comfort and productivity
  • Larger price tags should they sell

Likewise, the Cx companies who maintain continuously commissioned buildings:

  • Drive recurring revenue to their balance sheet
  • Grow a usable store of building data for future contextualization
  • Establish data-driven metrics for customer ROI

The benefits of Digital Transformation are seldom displayed more succinctly than through continuously commissioned buildings. With securely connected systems, Cx agents can turn Data into Dollars for the operators they serve and for their internal organization. In a previous blog, we mentioned a Forbes article that predicts the smart building market would reach 265 Billion USD by 2028. Continuous commissioning coupled with cybersecure, scalable infrastructure is the avenue that leads us there.

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Blog post is written by Skylar Dhaese - OT Network engineer helping integrators and manufacturers monetize their digital transformation.