NDY recently hosted a round table at their London offices drilling down into the roles and responsibilities on a smart building project and how they are derived.

In attendance were a selection of smart buildings professionals who came at the topic from a range of different perspectives and fields. On the panel were Tom Michael – NDY, Conor Cleary – NDY, Daniel Watson – Hereworks, Tomas MacEoin – Hereworks, Steven Bicker – KODE Labs, Stefan Schmidt – Meterz, Hannah Schmidt – Meterz, Madeiline Pierpoint – NDY, Errol Buchanan – Learnd and John Clarke – OneSight Solutions.

What was most striking across the debate is that while there is a wish to employ smart buildings from end users and clients, there is still a bridge to cross in where technology is introduced in the design and construction process.

There still seems to be frustration that the delivery of smart technology in buildings is left too late and should take place further up the chain, involving the integrator, cost consultant, architect and designers, in order for the implementation to be successful.

Engagement and eduction are still needed for technology to be successfully implemented in building and there is still a huge skills gap in the industry that is not being filled as it stands. Which comes back to the crux of the problem, early engagement of the digital building contractor at design stage and realising that it's not about a smart building "bolt on" or a "nice to have" but it's about the digital transformation of the construction industry and the owner/occupier's own business.

There was also the argument that when a building is handed over to the client there is very little training done on who manages the systems afterwards as this can fall between FM’s and HR managers. This can lead to a lack of engagement and smart systems not being used to their optimum capabilities. It was also highlighted that there is often not enough foresight in terms of what the end user actually wants from the building, with not enough planning in the commissioning of a buildings smart system .

Regulation was seen as one of the few ways that buildings can be built to a standard that positively impacts sustainability and the end user, but in the UK these regulations are relatively weak and it may be necessary to do more to make better building experiences.

One technology that the panel agreed will be extremely important is LoRoWan as it is very easy to install and effective.

Thanks to Tom Michael and the NDY team for hosting the round table. We look forward to the next one.