Platforms Like Building Engines Easing Tasks for Property Managers at a Crucial Time

At a time when property management teams have fewer resources at their disposal, peak efficiency is paramount, and Internet of Things technology will guide them toward the proper solutions. 

This was just one of the key findings from the State of CRE Building Operations Report, a just-released report from Building Engines, a JLL company.

To address the need for greater efficiency, property management teams are investing heavily in the Internet of Things, said Sharon Hunt, VP of Product Management for Property Management Technology at JLL Technologies, during a recent video conversation produced by Commercial Observer’s Brand Studio as part of Commercial Observer’s Replay series.

Hunt noted that one of the biggest property management concerns the report identified was the ability to respond quickly to tenant issues. These sorts of investments will help property management teams achieve this goal. 

“Internet of Things technology includes sensors that can provide real-time data on building performance, occupant behavior and equipment functionality,” said Hunt. “This kind of data can help property teams identify maintenance needs, optimize energy consumption in their buildings, and improve overall performance.”

On the latter points, Building Engines, a building operations platform, offers an HVAC optimization solution called Hank that can reduce energy consumption and costs by 20 percent while exceeding indoor air quality standards and increasing tenant comfort.

“Hank partners with existing building management systems,” said Hunt. “Building engineers that know them well can respond quickly to these kinds of comfort issues while minimizing overall energy spend within a building.” 

Sustainability-focused software solutions are another investment opportunity, as owners and property managers seek to achieve, measure and verify net-zero emissions.

“There will be a heightened demand for software that can track and recommend improvements and ultimately report on sustainability initiatives,” said Hunt.

Other areas that should see a massive and sustained growth in technological investment are the industrial and retail sectors, especially given the unique requirements of property managers in those areas.

“Property managers in those sectors are managing larger portfolios,” said Hunt. “Since those teams are often not on site, they’re adopting software like Building Engines to help proactively minimize risk through tracking compliance from triple-net tenants like equipment maintenance records and property insurance and tax payments.”

Hunt also notes that Building Engines has seen a marked increase in the use of mobile technology for tasks including conducting on-site inspections, communicating with owners, and acting quickly on issues with vendors. 

“We’re seeing increased adoption of technology to manage vendor relationships in these sectors,” said Hunt, “including things like going out to bid on large contracts, making sure that the sources are diverse, storing contracts from those bids, communicating with vendors with work-order solutions, and ensuring payments to vendors are never duplicated or exceeding contracted limits.”

On a broader note, Hunt said that the proptech market is exploding in property management, providing property managers with a slew of new solutions with many more on the way. However, it’s important to make sure all systems integrate and talk to one another in order to best use the data to your advantage. Even better is to find a platform from one provider that can do it all.

“The industry is maturing, and we’re seeing a lot more adoption of diverse apps in the sector,” said Hunt. “Property management teams can expect to see deeper integrations between the systems they’re using to manage their operations and their finances, as well as for things like tenant experiences and access control systems.”