The publication of the finance industries disclosure requirements for Environment, Society and Governance (ESG) commitments are expected in the coming months. Mandated by the UN through the World Economic Forum (WEF), global insurance industry leaders are expected to create workable and impactful measures that indicate a company’s performance in addressing
ITC recently returned its full colours after a Covid19 enforced absence. Over 8,000 people attended the conference in Las Vegas where firms from around the world presented the latest developments in the ongoing digital revolution, amongst them GWTInsight, providing a glimpse to the future of insurance provision. It’s clear that
Intelligent products from real time
commercial building data.
Because the GWTInsight Data Service works in near real time, across time and on multiple building systems and operational equipment, it unlocks insights never seen before.
For insurers it has opened the potential for automation of risk assessments and an opportunity for risk engineers and underwriters to reinvent the evaluation and pricing of risk. It has provided new revenue streams and improved client retention.
For companies designing, manufacturing, and assembling building portfolios it is creating the opportunity to deliver digital twin benefits and will in time, underpin performance guarantees.
For providers of mechanical systems for solar power, cellular telephone networks or remote building provision it facilitates a mercurial shift in cost to service and the ability to disrupt the current servicing market.
For innovative consultants there are many opportunities to combine expertise and knowledge with the potential offered by GWTInsight technology to create innovative and cost-effective ways to reduce cost, risk, and carbon emissions.
Capital Allocations. A bank wishes to improve the basis of its £50m replacement capex programme across a range of commercial building types. Under pressure to maximise return on investment the traditional sources of information, surveys, manufacturers recommendations and maintenance records prove expensive, difficult to assemble and compare and frequently bear little relation to actual performance of the building. Across time and the whole portfolio data on core system performance and cost to run significantly improves decision making. When combined with user feedback and space use, it creates a powerful tool for capital allocations.
Benchmarking. This has long been the source of value. GWTInsight solutions provide data at building equipment level facilitating performance comparisons across all building types, across zones within a building and across a portfolio.
An outsourcing FM firm wishes to find the sources of added value and to be able to demonstrate to clients why action is necessary and the benefits it can bring. A pilot identified that a focus on large scale energy users like HVAC systems can deliver ROI within months and significant financial and environmental benefits over time.
Optimising use of space. Traditional methods of assessing space rely on point in time surveys or more recently sensors that count the number of people on a floor. Both methods miss essential information about behaviours and changing patterns in use. A pilot project with a leading building environment consultant in the UK, the GWTInsight Data Service and Ubiquisense a combination of GWTi-Observer, GWTinsight-Maker and Ubiqisense sensors was able to:
The applications range from automating time bound surveys to real time availability of space and rooms delivered to a smart phone.
The realisation of a risk in commercial buildings can create danger to people, reputational damage, disruption to operations, reduced revenue, and the challenge of renewal. Insurance companies share the burden of commercial building failures and have embraced the opportunity to work with clients to better identify and mitigate risk.
The adoption of a digital solution across portfolios of buildings is now affordable thanks to the innovative GWTI technology. Whether focusing on the building systems or those critical to operations, known risks can be effectively mitigated by real time and over time insights with cost and operational benefits realised.
AXA XL and Zurich Insurance, global insurance companies have embraced the technology which underpins a new and disruptive digital approach to risk engineering. Other Insurance companies are embracing the technology to improve risk assessment, pricing, product offering and cost reduction inside of their operations.
Mutual benefits for clients and providers include:
6% of the worlds carbon emissions are estimated to be caused by commercial buildings in use. The majority is created by energy consumed by building systems. ESG commitments make tackling this area a priority.
Heating, cooling, and ventilation systems (HVAC) in addition to the increasing technology loads and the impact of multiple visits to buildings by those responsible for maintaining them are the key carbon creators. Of course, carbon reduction is not a zero-sum issue, tackling inefficiencies in building systems, eradicating waste, and reducing system failures and the need for maintenance also reduces cost.
Our most common findings leading to action which delivered cost and carbon reductions are:
• Out of hours unnecessary energy consumption
• Systems competing against each other
• Poorly configured systems with few controls
• Failing equipment increasing energy consumption
• Underperforming equipment increasing costs in other systems
• Risk avoidance, the discovery of failing systems and mitigating action.
• Abuse of controls by users
These tactical observations and fixes enable broader cost reduction benefits including improvements in:
• FM strategy optimisation
• Reduced maintenance visits and costs
• Capital allocation and renewal decision making.
• User education and use
What better way to identify performance and provide proof of delivery than real time and over time reporting on a simply accessed dashboard.
An example is a project where fines were being incurred for non-performance in a Public Finance Initiative (PFI) contract for a collection of schools. Classroom temperatures were consistently poor leading to multiple complaints from teachers and pupils. Attempts to correct it had failed. GWTInsight’s Data Service was used in a pilot project and several system issues were identified.
Sharing the findings based on reliable data aligned the client and provider and facilitated the benefits which included better classroom environments, fewer carbon emissions, fewer site engineer visits and reduced energy bills. The financial penalties stopped.
Equally, consultants advising on the potential for improvement and tracking KPI’s in outsourced contracts can baseline performance with accurate data and then monitor performance over time.
The focus on the resilience of companies in the face of climate change and shifting cultural attitudes has given rise to greater emphasis on the environmental, social and governance responsibilities of companies. The need for reductions in carbon emissions, improvements in water and air quality management and ensuring safe and people centric environments is leading to demand for a ESG reporting tool on performance in these areas. The GWTInsight Data Service is central to the solution.
From the outset of our work we found multiple instances of safety systems not working. Commonly occurring discoveries are:
Identification of these key safety issues results from the use of products underpinned by GWTInsight’s Data Service.
