New technology is allowing smarter occupation of London’s 220m sq ft of offices. Mark Simmons reports
Key points
- Companies are now using high-tech gadgetry to increase occupational performance
- Landlords and occupiers could benefit from sharing a building’s data
- Data breaches could increase
Earlier this year, microchipping of dogs became mandatory in the UK. Could office workers be next? Probably not, although last year some tenants in Stockholm’s Epicenter allowed chips to be fitted in their hands to enable them to automatically access the office block and its facilities. Futuristic it may be, but some companies like AON in London’s Cheesegrater, EC3, and Deloitte in Amsterdam’s The Edge are using high-tech gadgetry such as sensors and chipcards (see boxes) to increase occupational performance.
“Our managers have been astonished because the data we have collected in London shows trends that are very different from their perceptions,” says Will Esplen, managing director for global real estate and workplace strategy at Deloitte. He acknowledges that gathering useful data is trickier in practice than in theory and data protection and cyber security issues are unlikely to make things easier.
Commercial building consultancy Malcolm Hollis is trialling desk-based sensors in three of its offices and while technology partner Mike Robinson is enthusiastic about the results, he says: “We had to do quite a bit of work to manipulate the data. It does not give answers by itself – it gives us a pattern to investigate.” Nevertheless, he believes that both landlords and occupiers will benefit in future from sharing data relating to a building across its whole lifecycle.
Making sense of the sheer volume of data will require specialist skills, says Tim Oldman, co-founder of the Leesman Index, a global workspace efficiency benchmarking tool. He says: “Anyone with more than 20 buildings will soon need to take on an analyst in their team to recognise what that data means. People need to get smart at 2D/3D analytics and play with multiple datasets. For example, is a cheap, non-productive building in Warrington better or worse than a highly productive but expensive building in Mayfair?”
Estates Gazette’s technology correspondent Antony Slumbers says that data has the potential not only to improve occupational activity but could also enhance leasing efficiency.
“Given enough data, you should be able to match supply and demand and filter down to the, say, 4% of occupiers who are suitable for your particular building on London Wall. Connecting to disparate data sources is where we should be going,” he says.
The ability to combine crystal ball-gazing at the same time as getting to grips with the output of new technology is something the industry needs to improve on, says Leesman’s Oldman.
He says: “At the moment, the real estate industry is scared of the amount of data coming out. It is scared to even look at the crystal ball, let alone analyse what may be in it.”
Big brother is watching you
Pass cards that monitor your location in a building in real time. Nicotine-style patches that will tell you (via a central system) whether you are dehydrated. Wearables that record your fitness levels as you walk around the office. “This is all well intentioned, but can create an environment of mistrust among employees who feel that they are being covertly monitored in ways they are not comfortable with,” says Philip Tidd, head of consulting EMEA at architect Gensler.
Savills director Sean Monie adds: “It is a bit Big Brothery, so we need to ask what the benefits of having this tech in the workspace really are.”
There is a consensus that younger workers will be less concerned about sharing personal data, but JLL director Tom Carroll suggests it would be wise to consult those affected. “All companies need to listen to staff, as that feedback will be essential to success,” he says.
Legal aspects
In May, a month before the referendum, EU member states formally adopted the General Data Protection Regulation, which comes into force in May 2018. This innocuous-sounding legislation, which legal experts believe will apply to the UK regardless of Brexit, dramatically increases the penalties for organisations that fail to protect data relating to individuals, including fines of up to 4% of worldwide turnover.
Any data that is related to health (for example, collected from patches that measure body hydration or Fitbit-type wearables that monitor cardiac activity) is deemed sensitive personal data and requires a higher level of care, with consent clearly given. Will this slow down the adoption of data collection in workspaces across London?
“Possibly not, as people are not necessarily aware of this and it may take them by surprise,” says Suzanne Gill, commercial property partner at London-based law firm Wedlake Bell.
As personal health data in particular is valuable to hackers, the potential for data breaches is only likely to increase.
Gill’s colleague, data protection partner James Castro-Edwards, says: “Companies should collect only the data they really need rather than on a just-in-case basis. The more data you collect, the more you have to protect and more at risk.”
Some occupiers already understand this. Gill points to pharmaceuticals giant Glaxo Smithkline, which for security purposes uses key card technology at Stockley Park in Uxbridge to determine how many people are in a building. Although that information would also help GSK’s facilities management team to optimise how workspace is used, at present GSK does not share the data owing to privacy concerns.
Occupier consultancy experts suggest that one way around the issue is to render anonymous any data collected. However, Castro-Edwards warns: “In practice, it is often difficult to truly render anonymous personal data.”
Central working
As the co-working phenomenon sweeps across the capital, it is perhaps unsurprising that a workspace provider has seen the potential benefits of collecting data to help its occupiers work more effectively.
“The reason we put in tech in the first place was to allow members to connect better,” says James Layfield, chief executive of co-working network Central Working. Say you work in aeronautics and are keen to meet virtual modellers. If a virtual modeller enters the building, you will receive a message suggesting you hook up. The Central Working system, in operation across the six centres open in London, collects data passively in real time using dedicated key cards. Users do not need to present these as sensors detect them automatically.
Layfield says the system, which has been in use for 18 months, has many applications beyond the original requirement to enhance member connectivity, as the key cards show how members interact with their workspaces.
“From an asset optimisation point of view, we are not guessing. We know exactly how our buildings are being used and we can manage our real estate far more effectively,” says Layfield. “The data can also help from a security perspective: we know exactly who is where in a building.” He adds that the company is now looking at integrating the data with that collected from other systems to enhance productivity.
If you would like to comment on this topic, e-mail stacey.meadwell@estatesgazette.com or tweet @EGStaceyM
