IBM’s headquarters showcases solutions for Smarter Buildings

Smart is....

Integrating building, infrastructure and enterprise systems to promote sustainable and cost-effective operations.

Through a joint effort by IBM Global Business Services, IBM Software Group, IBM Real Estate Operations and IBM Alliance Partner Johnson Controls, IBM solutions for Smarter Buildings delivers new economic, operational and environmental benefits at its facilities. The integration of advanced software tools and building instrumentation is a key enabler for reducing energy use and carbon emissions, and for sustaining these reductions.

Instrumented: Sensors, meters and instruments monitor operations of facility assets, energy use, equipment conditions, systems performance and environmental conditions

Interconnected: The integration of instrumentation, metering, control systems and asset management systems gives a top-down and bottom-up view of facility performance, energy use, costs and carbon footprint

Intelligent: Advanced analytics detect and diagnose faults well before occupants are affected, while enabling improvements in building reliability and efficiency

IBM’s headquarters in Armonk, New York is one of the first IBM facilities to showcase the company’s solutions for smarter buildings. Here, visitors can see how to make a smart building even smarter, how to reduce energy costs in an already energy efficient building and how to decrease maintenance and operational costs while improving tenant comfort and productivity.

Built in 1997, this four-story, 280,000 square foot office building uses IBM’s solution for smarter buildings—which combines software and services expertise together with industry-leading business partners—to help:

• Manage energy use, lower costs and decrease emissions by monitoring and analyzing heat, air conditioning and power consumption
• Maintain equipment proactively, identifying emerging problems and trends to prevent breakdowns and confirm that critical assets will work as needed
• Lower maintenance and building management costs and extend asset life through preventive maintenance, greater insight into asset conditions and automated notification when assets are performing outside of specifications

The solution that is being implemented at IBM’s Armonk headquarters and its other facilities is part of the company’s strategy to sustain year-over-year reductions in energy usage across its building portfolio.

Making a smart building even smarter

While many companies might target their worst-performing buildings first, IBM selected the Armonk building because of its high levels of efficiency. “We set the bar high in our testing of the solution for smarter buildings,” explains John DeMarco, director, Real Estate Operations, IBM. “We tested the full functionality of the system at Armonk, the results of which have inspired broader deployment across the portfolio.”

The solution, implemented by IBM® Global Business Services®, IBM Software Group, IBM Real Estate Operations and IBM Alliance Partner Johnson Controls® extracts and consolidates more than 7,600 data points from building equipment, such as air handlers, chillers, pumps, variable air volume boxes and HV/AC systems. Data analytics and optimization software measure and record operational performance against standards (rules), highlighting variances as they occur.

“The system has the ability to monitor hundreds of data points using advanced analytics to prioritize those that represent the largest opportunities for energy efficiency,” says DeMarco. “The solution for smarter buildings will help us find and address opportunities that were previously invisible to us.”

Early response reduces energy and asset costs

If a variance is detected, a service request will be automatically generated and the appropriate personnel notified. Each service request will provide technicians with the necessary details regarding the malfunction, the asset’s maintenance history, warranty information and other important asset information. Work orders will be prioritized based on the severity of the issue and the impact on energy consumption and building tenants.

“The system is helping fundamentally change the way maintenance personnel are dispatched,” says Phil Calabrese, director, Engineering and Construction, IBM Real Estate Operations. “Traditionally maintenance technicians are dispatched when a tenant reports an event, such as a heating problem, or based on preventive maintenance schedules. The solution for smarter buildings can identify subtle variations earlier and that’s an advantage in terms of extending asset life and reducing operational costs. We had an instance in which the system found a problem with an air compressor that we had not found in the normal course of business. If that compressor had failed, it would have been a more significant and costly issue.”

Additionally, according to Calabrese, with this new insight, staff will be able to monitor the quality of a particular manufacturer’s equipment. “We can trend information to determine in an objective fashion when something may have to be replaced as opposed to repaired,” says Calabrese.

Role-based dashboards provide corporate and site managers, engineers and maintenance staff with a centralized view of critical operating alerts and key performance indicators (KPIs). Integrated security and single sign-on capabilities help confirm that staff members can only access the information pertinent to their area of responsibility.

“I can see opportunities for improvement that I couldn’t see before,” says Mike Slapp, chief engineer, IBM Armonk site. “The system is very powerful.”

Leveraging knowledge across its global portfolio

According to DeMarco, the solution will also enable the company to improve equipment selection, optimize maintenance schedules and leverage best-practices across all buildings in its global portfolio.

“As we expand the deployment of the solution, we'll be able to benchmark equipment performance across locations,” explains DeMarco. “If we have repeated alerts on a piece of equipment in one site that we are not seeing in others, we are likely to consider replacing it with a better performing brand.”

The inside story: Getting there

Collaboration drives success. The solution was implemented at IBM’s Armonk, New York headquarters in just six months. Software architects, developers and engineers from IBM Global Business Services, IBM Software Group, IBM Real Estate Operations and IBM Alliance Partner Johnson Controls worked collaboratively throughout the process. “We had weekly meetings to drive the implementation, obtain funding and bring the right resources to bear on the project,” says DeMarco. “It’s a shining example of multiple IBM divisions working together with a valued partner to create a powerful, integrated solution.”

Understanding where you are. One of the team’s first steps was to create a baseline of existing levels of instrumentation, data aggregation and reporting. “Those determine how you go about implementing the solution and how large the opportunity is,” says Calabrese.

Global deployment. “The base software and management system are highly portable from one building to the next,” explains Calabrese. “The operating standards (rules) are customized to recognize each building’s unique characteristics.”

Adds DeMarco, “As we deploy this solution in more buildings throughout the world, we are expanding our expertise in using analytics to invent new ways to optimize building performance. The solution is a catalyst for new innovations in facility management.”

Business Benefits:
Supports company’s strategy to sustain year-over-year reductions in energy usage across its building portfolio
Reduces building costs through improved asset reliability and longer asset lifespan
Decreases operational costs by streamlining problem diagnosis and improving facility management staff productivity

Solution Components
Software:

• IBM® Mashup Center
• IBM Maximo® Asset Management solutions
• IBM Tivoli® Access Manager
• IBM Tivoli Data Warehouse and Monitoring
• IBM Tivoli Netcool®/OMNIbus
• Johnson Controls® Metasys® Building Management System
• Johnson Controls Sustainability Manager™/EnNet
• Johnson Controls Dashboard & Mash-Up Widgets

• IBM Global Business Services®—Smart Buildings solution implementation
• IBM Software Group
• Johnson Controls Systems & Integration Services
• Johnson Controls Energy & Sustainability Solution Services

• Johnson Controls