Tenant Services and Smart Building Amenities

Building operators and tenants interact regularly regarding lease agreements, monthly rent, fee payments, building operations, maintenance impacting tenants, tenant-specific requests, and numerous other building-related activities and events. Tenants’ return to buildings post-pandemic is driving an increased desire for real-time communications from building operators about health and safety mitigation activities. IoT smart building systems digitize the collection and distribution of data to enhance the interaction process.

Increasing densification rates combined with inadequate space utilization are driving the need for workspace management systems. Smart buildings are seeing an increased focus on occupant-centric workplaces, using occupancy analytics and live updates on the location of people and objects. Think of it as a blue dot on a digital map showing where something is at a given moment.

This chapter will explore the numerous...

Work orders and tenant requests

In Chapter 2, Smart Building Operations and Controls, we briefly covered work orders and how they are at the center of any maintenance and operation system. They are a simple tool to define a task that needs to be completed, from scheduling, assigning, and tracking job tasks to completion. Digital work order systems allow work orders to be completed on a smartphone. The status of the workflow is updated at each step using IoT, barcodes, QR codes, and other smart sensors. Work orders are used to provide real-time status and prioritization, and they provide a digital record that can be used for invoicing, audits, and historical record keeping.

Figure 5.1 – A sample tenant request form

While that simple definition focused on the building owners and operators’ perspectives of the work order, this chapter will focus on the tenant’s perspective. Dozens of new software applications have been introduced in just...

Space occupancy, utilization, and booking

Space utilization rates in 2018 were averaged 60% to 70% according to a benchmarking report by JLL. Post-pandemic rates fluctuate widely, with much lower estimates at 30% to 50% as of late summer 2022. Hybrid work policies coupled with constantly growing and shrinking tenant company requirements based on the economy are making space planning more challenging.

Traditional approaches to space utilization use rough information gathered from scheduling records, sign-in logs, and often manual observations and on-site assessments. These can be time-consuming, inflexible, not quantifiable, and outdated, missing key trends such as offices being shut down during the pandemic and making observation information outdated and no longer valid.

Space utilization is calculated as the total desks available divided by the total occupied desks, delivered in the form of a utilization rate. If there are 100 desks available and 60 desks are occupied, the utilization...

Financial interactions

Commercial real estate, retail, office park, multifamily, residential, flex space, and other building types typically will have a building owner/operator and tenant/renter relationship that requires financial transactions to occur. In some cases, it is a simple, single, all-inclusive monthly agreed amount to be paid by a certain date. More often, there are several components that comprise the monthly amount to be paid, with some fixed items and some variable items tied to usage.

This list may include a base rent or lease amount, utilities, parking, point-of-sales amounts for in-building purchases, amenity services, homeowners’ association fees, tenant improvements, fees for common area use and maintenance, storage and delivery fees, and large-scale building repairs or purchases.

Building operators implement comprehensive solutions to manage all aspects of their interactions with tenants, guests, and potential tenants. Vacancy management, rent payments...

Data analytics

Data Analytics (DA) is the process of analyzing data collected from IoT devices using specific analytic tools and techniques. The intent is to turn large amounts of unstructured data into valuable and actionable information to make sound business decisions. This includes identifying trends and patterns from historical and current data, which is then used to make predictions and adjustments. IoT DA is now being used in every industry, including smart buildings, and is considered a subset of big data analytics.

Figure 5.3 – DA types

Collecting data and performing IoT analytics can be broken down into the following types of analytics:

• Streaming analytics: Real-time data streams are analyzed to detect any urgent situations that may require immediate action. Also referred to as event stream processing, IoT building applications include water, gas, fluid leak detection, air quality monitoring, fire and smoke systems, and secure...

Workforce applications

IoT technology can help improve operational efficiency and employee productivity. We have covered how IoT assists a workforce in building access control and security, along with how these devices provide valuable real-time data. Workforce management solutions combined with IoT-connected networks provide access to critical company data to ensure the workforce is distributed efficiently and effectively. Smartphones, wearables, and sensors collect data used by managers to allocate resources and track staff performance on a task-by-task basis.

Workforce Management (WFM) is software that streamlines and automates processes related to organizational performance levels and competencies. It is designed to optimize a worker’s productivity and improve efficiency. These systems will track work schedules, time and labor, and workforce absences, ensuring payroll accuracy. They also organize environmental health and safety information collection, reporting, and root...

Concierge services and the amenity marketplace

Office amenities have a significant impact on tenant satisfaction, and from my experience, almost three-quarters of tenants wish their office building had more or better amenities. Fast Wi-Fi and free coffee were once thought to be an amenity but are now considered standard requirements. Smart buildings use IoT sensors and smart building applications to build a tenant portal with access to amenity services. These services help to attract and retain high-quality tenants and provide a safe environment.

The following are some of the many amenity services that benefit from using IoT smart building solutions to enhance the quality of a tenant’s experience:

• Conference facilities: While most tenants will have meeting rooms in their space, they may not have space large enough to accommodate large events. Adjustable conference rooms with online scheduling and payments, along with smart tenant controls for temperature, lighting...

Customized applications

Smart building technology simplifies the capability of building owners and operators to develop and serve customized tenant applications on a building’s tenant experience app. Since the app is already deployed, smaller companies within a building might decide to take advantage of the access by developing company-specific information and programs. In some buildings, we have seen tenants’ employee safety manuals and human resource policy guides digitized and made available via a tenant application.

QR codes located around an office allow workers to scan an item, area, or equipment and receive user manuals, safety manuals, and work process guides, for example. Companies leasing space in a building should work with the building operator to create and deliver a company-specific survey on the building’s tenant applications.

Gamification

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines gamification as the process of adding games or game-like elements...

Summary

Many new tenant experience applications are being introduced that are capable of handling, automating, or even eliminating certain building-related work order requests. Those requests that are processed can be opened, tracked, and updated by the use of IoT sensors and devices throughout a building. The aftermath of the pandemic is seeing a significant rise in smart space management, using data collected from IoT sensors and devices, and the use of DA. Building operators can gain efficiency and lower costs using workforce applications. Building amenities, tenant services, and customized tenant apps can create new revenue sources while increasing tenant satisfaction.

Part 1 of this book has explored the numerous IoT smart applications that are possible, and without a doubt, that list will continue to grow. In the next chapter, we will kick off Part 2 of the book by examining smart building architecture and the smart building ecosystem.