BSEE


It will be interesng to see how we alter our habits this Christmas to address waste, and see the products that become available to reduce the consumpon of plasc. In me, it will be the smart retailers that lead these small changes to provide products that match the mood of the naon and the shi away from waste


here are parallels to be drawn in our building automation industry from these ongoing changes in behaviour and consumption. In October I was invited to facilitate a panel discussion on #OneSmallChange at the Smart Buildings Show at Olympia. Joining me on the panel were Richard Meacham of Laing O’Rourke, Paul Rogers of Tridium, Richard Jubb of Sontay, Graeme Rees of Schneider Electric, and James Palmer of Global Associates. In a well-attended session with terrific input from both the audience and the panel, we discussed the concept of #OneSmallChange and how we can encourage our sector to share ideas more openly and accelerate the many small changes that can be made. Whilst I was hoping to bring you an Eddie Jones based story from Yokohama, one strong analogy raised by the panel was Sir Clive Woodward, the former England rugby union coach, who said that it was the “1% changes”, such as adjustments to diet, training and routine, that provide the big gains. This set the trend for the early part of the discussion because it was generally agreed that the “size” of a challenge had to be carefully presented in order to get people on board with an idea. “One” is a small number, it is easier to digest and it feels manageable and achievable.


It all adds up


However, if we are asking people to make #OneSmallChange on a personal level, such as not filling the kettle for just one cup of tea, or turning down the thermostat, there are still many, many changes we can make in the way we


INDUSTRY COMMENT: BCIA


A season for small changes T


currently manage our buildings; I asked everyone present to estimate the average percentage occupancy of university lecture theatres in the UK. Answers from the audience and panel ranged from 25% to 50%, which was very accurate with the actual answer being 35%.


It is likely that the majority of these lecture theatres are being ventilated to match 100% occupancy, so by introducing variable speed supply and extract fan control based on CO2 for example would save a significant amount of energy across the university estate without any impact on comfort. A Facilities Manager present in the audience had recently completed such a project in one lecture theatre and will be repeating this in other buildings – #OneSmallChange!


Sharing ideas is key


Finally, when it comes to sharing ideas, the main point that we took away from the debate was that collaboration is absolutely key as no one


provider can produce a “smart” building all on their own. Our sector is awash with innovation and smart solutions, the real challenge/opportunity is getting these initiatives available to both the designers in the supply chain so the buildings we deliver work better and more efficiently from the start and also to building managers so they can invest in getting their buildings performing to the energy model they should.


Although sharing ideas and innovation instinctively feels as though secrets are being given away, history tells us differently; the industrial revolution was partly driven by the Lunar Society, a group of entrepreneurs and industrialists in the 19th Century who met monthly to share ideas and advancements in technology. Silicon Valley should have been in Boston where all the big companies were then based but it was California that became the hotspot for technology due to a culture of sharing ideas being normal. The resulting advance in collective intelligence in both these examples is indisputable.


www.bcia.co.uk


24 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER DECEMBER 2019


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