smart buildings
21:31:41 CSCeXpo2019
Montage video recap of the 41st annual CSC Building Expo (21:31) shot live off the floor on February 27th, 2019.
I suited up and slew snowmaggedon on the Kitchener line GoTrain to Union Station, complete with all ten poster boards from last year’s design challenge safely in tow.
While frantically rummaging through pockets for my presto card, I caught a glimpse of Regional Councillor/City of Waterloo Mayor David Jaworsky waiting to board the train. Reflecting on his 2018 year-end interview with Craig Norris on The Morning Edition (*1) put a smile on my face despite an undertone of grumpiness for neglecting to make time for morning java.
20 sec mark🔖 “Construction in Today’s Connected World” was the keynote address from Dr. Rick Huijbreigts, the VP of Strategy and Innovation at George Brown College. Dr. Huijbreights expands on the convergence of IoT devices in building automation systems with low-voltage PoE, smart lighting, cloud management and analytics, all protected by emerging cybersecurity operational standards (*2) Yep, caught myself smiling again even before the aroma of coffee reached the table.
It was refreshing to see so many student volunteers from the college engaged at the expo; serving the industry, asking questions and making connections. The train has indeed left the station
2m30s mark🔖 Next stop on the tour we hear from Charles W. Skipper, partner at Foglar, Rubinoff LLP and no stranger to the Toronto Construction Association. The Queen’s University alumni cut his teeth articling with the Ministry of Attorney General before practicing commercial litigation at a major Toronto law firm. At Fogler, Rubinoff LLP since 1996, his expertise in the dynamics of construction and commercial disputes is highly sought after. Charles obtained his Master’s Degree in Law (LL.M) (Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution) from Osgoode Hall, York University in 1998, specializing in construction litigation. He is a Harvard Law School trained negotiator, a lover of ancient history, and a surprisingly funny guy with a decent throwing arm (not captured in this video) (*3)
⚖ this is justice and I think it’s great, but I must say that I never had any idea in my life that you could ask so many questions for so long about so little ⚖
6m06s mark🔖A sobering overview of changes to the Construction Lien Act including lien registration/perfection, holdback, trust fund obligations, prompt payment rules and interim adjudication (*4)
18m01s mark🔖 CSC Student Design Challenge: the top five entries of the 2018 design competition on display in the winner’s lounge🥂
Cathie Schneider, Co-Chair of the CSC student design competition committee shares her enthusiasm with Michael Vervena as he demonstrates the use of iGuide’s 3D virtual tour of the 2019 Design Challenge site at 1655 Dupont Street in Toronto.
*1) Things that matter to Mayor Dave Jaworsky
*2) US legislation to improve IoT security
*3) Bell Canada v. Olympia & York Developments Ltd., 1994 CanLII 239 (ON CA)
*4) Changes to the Construction Act
PM trends in Canada? WePivot (slowly)
Technology is not the new flavour. How do we manage the change process?
Josh Lipton moderated an insightful panel discussion with industry leaders at the 2017 PM expo Wednesday afternoon. Here’s my take-away…
Peter Altobelli, VP of Yardi Canada, reflecting on the evolution of commercial leasing, spoke about change management with the confidence that comes from years of steadying the ship. He discussed the impact of “WeWork” the latest disruptor, completely unforeseeable as a business model in previous decades. Waves of humiliation rolled over in fear that I probably had no idea what he was talking about. Then suddenly, aha! I HAD heard about WeWork. A notice in my inbox from the Meetup Community announcing it had been acquired. All for We
Robert Plateck, Founder/CEO of SensorSuite and Building Systems Engineer, Laura Tousley spoke on the importance of open architecture for software integration of legacy systems and future expansion to optimize everything. I starting thinking building performance like indoor air quality and energy consumption; tenant information and concierge services, maintenance, security, life safety all connected and operated from a single dashboard. I imagined systems linked to reporting and remittance functions (like energy benchmarking) informing financial planning and providing intelligence to risk management in real time.
Core readiness for future proofing will include building infrastructure investments in wired, wireless and radio communications. The importance of cybersecurity and training on the devices and apps that interact with the building cannot be overstated. I had heard that same warning delivered at an earlier seminar and made a mental note to flag these as barriers to user adoption. The Buzz in the room agreed.
Plan an exist strategy for software use. Who owns the data? Can you transport all your work to a new platform?
Our panel’s vision of the future extends beyond a fully automated, integrated and even modular building to include smart neighbourhoods, powered by local solar/wind generation. Energy storage and local demand response are other strategies that have been tested to improve service where power outages are common. Knowledge will increase in the deployment of battery energy storage for peak shaving and further the clean energy market.
Max Steinman Director of Sales for Landlord Web Solutions reflected on the trend toward marketing running everything at the site level. 3D virtual tours complete with virtual/augmented reality may soon replace the role of the leasing agent. Having worked with the folks at iGuide, I was somewhat familiar with that reality…slipping into the not too distant future I imagined all of the savings possible (time, fuel, disappointment, not to mention the inconvenience to existing tenants and pets). Virtual tours would show the space in pristine condition at any hour of the day, provide accurate room dimensions with tools for furniture placement and estimating window coverings, appliance specifications, and more. One stop collaborative tools for connecting to local utility providers, day care centres, grocery delivery, movers, driverless car pick-up…
What process/analysis can be put in place for a new vender?
What specific applications and collaboration tools work with senior housing? Student residences? Family multi-residential? Commercial tenants?
Engagement Engagement Engagement
Forget Credit Karma, artificial intelligence will predict tenant behaviour and launch credit check accuracy, employment and personality screening to a new level enabling instant tenant approvals. Out pops a smart lease, ready for immediate digital endorsement thanks to the advancement of blockchain technology. Questions about living in the building? Neighbours? There’s a chatbot for that. Keys? Yep, fully functional on moving day and you can probably unlock a private storage locker in advance as a signing bonus. Just hit the send button on the lease to seal the deal.
Data driven, experience driven, and tenant driven change are the new forces bearing down on landlords
music & musings 