ISS, a global provider of facility services, has signed a commercial agreement with IBM to use its Watson IoT platform, consulting and advanced facilities management technologies to transform the management of more than 25,000 buildings around the world. The platform will be used to make buildings more personalized, intuitive and user-friendly.
IBM will collect and analyze data from millions of devices and sensors embedded into building doors, windows, chairs, meeting rooms, dispensers and air conditioning systems. Data will be uploaded into IBM’s Watsons IoT cloud platform, which will use cognitive computing technologies to optimize services and further the understanding of how people use buildings. For example, sensors in meeting rooms, tables and chairs can inform staff when a room requires cleaning.
“In today’s highly competitive market, managing and servicing buildings should no longer just be about cost,” said Jeff Gravenhorst, CEO of ISS, in a press release. “With a dashboard overview of key building metrics displayed on mobile devices, facility managers will benefit from an integrated, real-time view of the services and supplies within their buildings enabling them to adopt a more pro-active, flexible and responsive approach to building management and customized service delivery. Putting real time data into the hands of service staff will help to foster more attentive and service-minded employees, supporting our customers in achieving their priorities. Putting a ‘human touch’ in buildings helps to increase employee productivity, decrease absenteeism and makes a better impression on visitors.”
Copenhagen-based ISS has a staff of over 500,000 in fields that range from concierge to cleaning and catering to technical maintenance for a client list that includes Rolls-Royce, Novartis and the UK’s Royal Air Force. To start, ISS has already placed sensors in its Copenhagen headquarters that are connected to the Watson IoT platform. The next phase will be implementing cognitive IoT technology at selected client sites.
Photo caption: Andrew Price, Chief Commercial Officer, ISS (left) and Nils J. van der Zijl , Business Unit Executive, IBM Watson IoT Europe (right).
