Technology Integration in Commercial Real Estate: Enhancing Efficiency and the Tenant Experience
To what do we owe our success as a commercial real estate property developer and manager? With over a million square feet here in Wisconsin under Compass Properties’ purview, experience tells us its dedication and consistency in developing long-term relationships with our tenants and surrounding communities. We listen and we learn, getting to know very well our markets and their specific needs. To help meet those needs, we make every effort to stay ahead of the curve in construction and maintenance, tenant services, sustainability, and technology. In this blog post, we’re going to give you a closer look at how we’ve integrated the latter into our
properties to improve the user experience, maintain our competitive edge, and stay ahead of industry developments.
We have buildings in Central Wisconsin, Madison, and Milwaukee and are dedicated to providing each with cutting-edge technology. Even our 110-year-old office tower in downtown Milwaukee, CityCenter735 (a TOBY International Award Winner), serves as an archetype showcasing some of the state-of-the-art building management systems we use.
Even the simplest of details play an important part of improving tenant satisfaction—down to soap, paper towels, and hand sanitization dispensers. In fact, CityCenter735 was one of the first in the nation to install a smart restroom dispenser system created by Kimberly Clark called Onvation. Every single paper towel, tissue, soap, and hand sanitizer dispenser in the building is hooked up to the internet – all 297 of them. A portal indicates the exact level of supplies in the dispensers and alerts the maintenance team when thresholds hit a certain point and needs replacing just before running out. No longer do users find themselves unexpectedly and inconveniently without these necessities; furthermore, the system increases efficiency and reduces waste. For instance, paper towel rolls aren’t automatically replaced at night, but only when they are low.
In yet another instance of technology in use, we have totally overhauled eight elevators in the building and were one of this first in the state to install a new smart elevator system called Destination Dispatch. It’s an optimization system that uses an algorithm to decide which cars should be used to most efficiently transport passengers based on where they are headed. Destination Dispatch significantly reduces wait times and travel times, as opposed to traditional elevator systems where you may stop at several floors on your way up or down when riding with other passengers. No longer are buttons with mere up and down arrows used; instead, users select the specific floor they want using a touchscreen (located outside the elevators on each floor) before stepping into the elevator. It calls a car and takes you straight to your destination. Gone are the days of stopping at every floor on your way to/from the office to pick up and drop off other passengers. This significantly enhances the end-users’ experience and ultimately makes their visit to the building a more pleasant one.
Another efficient feature of the elevators is that they utilize regenerative braking. As the cars move down the elevator shaft, the braking system creates energy that is captured and put back on the grid. This type of braking system reduces energy consumption, lowers operating costs, and improves the elevator operation’s overall efficiency.
Additionally, Compass Properties utilizes a work order management system across the entire portfolio, where tenants can access a portal, submit maintenance requests, and track their progress. The system, of course, records everything and monitors all details. It provides us with useful data that we can analyze and look for trends that will help us improve our service levels and stay ahead of potential issues before they happen. A simple example of how data is used to improve efficiency: if our smart restroom system indicates user traffic spikes at noon each day in a specific restroom, we know that someone on the team should be checking that specific restroom
each day at that time to ensure it continues to meet our standards. We’re able to allocate our time and resources more efficiently. Data provided by the work order management system means potential challenges or opportunities can be foreseen, proactive decisions made, workflows streamlined, risks mitigated, and tenant satisfaction enhanced.
Our goal is to be good partners to the businesses that are trusting us with their space needs in all we do, and technology plays a vital role in accomplishing that. As such, we continue to invest in technologies that not only improve the efficiency of our buildings and the way we operate, but that also improve the daily lives and overall satisfaction of our tenants and their employees. We view the relationships we have with our tenants as partnerships and are committed to finding new ways to help them attract and retain talent in the buildings we manage.
All of these details, no matter how simple, go into providing safe, functional, and healthy workspaces that promote growth and success for our tenants – it’s a real win-win.