Intelligent Buildings Roadmap Completed

Paul Ehrlich, PE
President
Building Intelligence Group LLC

"The industry needs to get together to integrate or at least 

educate all of the people that involved. the owner 

cannot integrate the industry; the architect cannot integrate 

the industry; 

the industry must integrate itself and take the lead..."

(Comment from participant in commercial office focus groups)

What is holding back the widespread acceptance of the Intelligent Building? This is a question that the CABA Intelligent Buildings Roadmap project set out to answer. This project was started in early 2006, as a follow up to the well respected CABA “Technology Roadmap” document which was released in 2002 is often referenced in the industry. The project has been backed by a large group of organizations including ESC Automation/Delta Controls, Johnson Controls, HID Corporation, Honeywell International, Tridium, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, Siemens Building Technologies, TAC, and Trane as well as others. Building Intelligence Group, was selected to research and write the report, which has now been completed. 

The project started with a thorough analysis of the North American buildings market, dissecting it into vertical markets and identifying the key issues and impediments of each area. Ten a series of online focus groups where we interviewed the key decision makers, designers and buyers of these systems. The results of these interviews then drove the rest of the report. What we learned from the interviews is that the challenges are not with products, technologies or standards. Instead, we face a chasm in delivering to owners the required integrated products and solutions that they are demanding. We heard the following themes from the interviews:

• It is a challenge to prove the value of an Intelligent Building and get project funding.

• Finding qualified consultants and suppliers is tough.

• There is a strong need to improve the efficiency and sustainability of buildings.

• A lack of coordination among the various parties involved with an intelligent building project creates major obstacles to implementation.

Remarkably, when we asked the participants about their plans to implement Intelligent Buildings within the next 1-2 years, almost all indicated that they plan to do so, despite their frustrations and challenges!

Why do they want to do this? The answer is the pressure to deliver more efficiency, productivity, safety and performance from both the current and planned projects. On top of this, they are getting additional pressure to deliver sustainable projects. Owners see Intelligent Building technologies as the method that they will be using to deliver on these needs. 

The strong owner demand shows that we need to become better organized to meet their needs. Ultimately this would be expected to result in better buildings and an increased market for the products and solutions that are required for delivery of these projects. The challenge that we face is in becoming more integrated as designers, contractors, and suppliers and as an industry as a whole. 

In addition to summarizing the market research, the report goes on to analyze the impediments that we face as an industry and provide recommended actions to overcome these issues. A series of detailed action plans, or roadmaps, are provided for owners, designers, contractors, suppliers, and for the industry as a whole. Following these plans provides the route to grow the industry and deliver on owner needs. 

The most extensive of these roadmaps is a series of recommendations for the industry as a whole. This set of recommendations includes:

• Marketing programs, Industry Branding and Advertising

• Tool development

• Building awards

• Education programs

• Certifications

• Knowledge building and best practices

• Market research

• Trade show

Work has already started within CABA to evaluate the implementation and delivery of these programs and a series of planning meetings are being organized to gain input and support during events planned for May and June. 

A summary of the report is available for download, and the complete report is expected to be published in July. See www.caba.org for more details. 

There is clearly a strong opportunity to deliver better buildings, and to grow the size and sophistication of our industry. Take the time to download and read the summary and the report. Become involved in industry groups such as CABA and look for opportunities to participate in the process of transforming our industry.

" A good plan is like a road map; it shows the final 

destination and usually the best way to get there."

Author H. Stanley Judd

Eagle is proud to be a member of CABA