Canadian building management company BGIS will expand its Australian operations centre to monitor clients across the Asia-Pacific region.
BGIS plans to utilise the latest Internet of Things technologies in Adelaide to remotely control buildings in other states and countries through internet-connected devices and sensors. This includes the monitoring and activation of lights, sensors, security alarms, fridges and air-conditioning units.
Headquartered in Toronto, BGIS has more than 8000 employees across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and in Asia and manages 30,000 client locations across the globe including corporate offices, retail sites, universities, schools, hospitals, stadiums, institutions, military bases, remote townships, warehouses and data centres.
BGIS, which already has its National Operations Centre based in the Adelaide CBD, recently completed a pilot project in Canada to remotely monitor multiple sites.
Following the success of the trial, it will now expand its Adelaide operation to include a state-of-the-art Remote Command Centre (RCC) to service the Asia Pacific, closely replicating the company’s other remote centre in Toronto.
In South Australia, BGIS delivers integrated facilities management and real estate services for clients including SA Water, SA Power Networks, Optus, BAE Systems, BP and BAE.
BGIS opened its Adelaide office in 2009 as a relatively small helpdesk and has since expanded into a 24/7 knowledge centre that services clients across Australia.
BGIS APAC managing director Dana Nelson said the ability to locate a service centre in the central business district of Adelaide was a significant advantage and helped attract and retain skilled staff.
The Adelaide office also acts as the centralised service delivery hub for the company’s defence industries business, which includes the Federal Department of Defence and private defence companies; and provides financial shared services for the Asia Pacific business.
Nelson said the Adelaide RCC would undergo local modifications and be modelled on its Toronto centre.
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She said the technology delivered a deeper understanding of client facilities, improving the ability to respond and escalate issues to deliver cost savings and sustainability benefits.
‘We share many similarities with our North American business, in both regions BGIS provides support to clients with multiple sites, often in remote locations, which is the ideal environment for effective remote monitoring’, Nelson added.
‘The ability to closely monitor numerous devices allows us to help optimise operations for our clients – this includes better tracking of energy usage across multiple sites to improve energy efficiency and reduce wastage.’
The information gathered through smarter monitoring can be very insightful, for example, clients with multiple retail sites can monitor the foot traffic and movement at their best-performing sites so they can replicate the layout at all of their stores.
