Once society responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, offices went from bustling busy hallways to empty dark corridors in a matter of days. Buildings that originally catered to guests and workers now stand at lower occupancy—or are effectively empty. Unfortunately, because most building owners and developers simply have never encountered a situation like this before, there are still many outstanding questions, even almost a year after stay-at-home orders were first issued, including:

  • How to ensure a building is optimized while at low occupancy — and for a longer period of time than originally anticipated?

  • What are the most important systems and processes to consider when adjusting for extended low occupancy?

  • When the world makes the transition back to normal, how can facility managers (FMs) make sure buildings will return properly to normal operations?

  • What can building owners keep in mind when designing future buildings to better adapt to low-occupancy situations?

Laying down a foundation

During times like these, building optimization is crucial, especially when thinking about cost-savings as well as reliability and comfort as workers eventually begin to return. When going through the process of enhancing building operations, facility managers must make sure to involve all the necessary stakeholders. This could be anyone ranging from a building management team to a service partner, who should be able to check the boxes for optimization, both remotely and on-site. Furthermore, FMs will want to make sure to document all work carefully throughout the whole process. Doing this will prevent any safety or performance issues in the coming months as capacity ramps up, like misaligned HVAC equipment which could end up stalling the return to work for any building. Keeping track will also create a precedent for the next time a low-occupancy situation occurs and will enable developers to integrate better processes and technologies in newly designed and developed buildings.

Matching a building’s operations to its extended low occupancy

  • Account for management systems. Consider the HVAC system. Every single component of the system is important as they manage environmental conditions and draw energy. It is also important to determine which assets are connected to the building management system (BMS), and which are stand-alone. By accounting for management systems, FMs will enable efficiency and effectiveness in making adjustments.

  • Make the staff currently in the building comfortable. It is important for the climate of the building to be comfortable for those currently on site. Rooms will probably not be at full capacity and gyms and cafeterias will probably be closed, so lighting systems and schedules should also be changed alongside climate control. Depending on local temperatures, building owners and operators can adjust window blinds or coverings to minimize heating or cooling demands to the HVAC system.

  • Take advantage of fewer temperature demands. While the building is at low occupancy, there is more flexibility in temperature ranges as there are fewer individuals to accommodate for. FMs may want to turn down ventilation and rely on outside air for cooling.

  • Watch for humidity. While buildings are in low occupancy, moisture and mold may become an issue when not maintained properly, especially if temperature setpoints are going to be changed. The CDC recommends not exceeding 50% humidity. Monitoring for this also allows for a quicker and safer return in the future.

  • Consider future healthcare procedures of commercial buildings. When workers eventually return back to daily life, things are not going to be how they used to be. Occupants will likely continue to wear face coverings, but what else will be required? Will contact tracing be incorporated? How will FMs integrate this into building IoT systems? It is clear there are still some things to figure out.

  • Take advantage of low occupancy to make upgrades. This may be the perfect time to do that maintenance the building management team has been putting off, or finally install that long-awaited upgrade. This way when the building returns to typical operations, it can increase its efficiency and cost-savings moving forward.

Initiating the return to work

Now that the building has been optimized for little or no occupancy, it’s time to start thinking about how to handle an eventual return to work. Though it’s hard to tell when (or indeed if) a return to full occupancy will occur, building owners and facility managers will need to plan for four key areas to meet the new demands of the returning workforce.

  • Safer space management

  • Enhanced occupant well-being

  • Improved occupant engagement

  • Streamlined operational efficiency

1. Space management: Manage proper social distancing across the facility

As people return to office buildings, hotels, and restaurants, there will be a significant need to monitor and manage social distancing. Fortunately, there are digital tools that help building owners and managers adapt to new regulations, suggested guidelines, and company policies. Here a few of the key considerations building owners will need to address:

  • Proper social distancing: Monitor whether desks and occupants are sufficiently separated via sensors, integrated workplace management software, and/or access control systems.

  • Occupancy monitoring: Set capacity thresholds at the room, floor, or building level and receive notifications if occupancy levels risk exceeding limits.

  • An optimal layout: Analyze how occupants are using spaces to improve floor layout and determine what areas need additional cleaning.

  • Equipment requirements: Track space usage to determine if there is under-used equipment or space — for under-utilized spaces, FMs can reduce maintenance and HVAC energy use.

2. Occupant well-being: Boost safety & peace of mind

A key element of attracting occupants back to buildings is to increase safety with better air quality, touchless control points, and sanitization. New monitoring tools bring intelligence, resiliency, and predictive analytics to the table to address this challenge. New considerations for enhancing occupant well-being include:

Occupant engagement: Transparent communications for a better experience

If one side of the equation is being able to make a building safer, the other side is to communicate these safety measures to occupants. New digital tools allow FMs to keep occupants engaged with the latest updates, such as how frequently air filters have been changed and when areas were last cleaned. Approaches to improving occupant engagement include:

  • Improved communications: Send key updates and share technology improvements to workforce and guests, helping to establish trust and industry leadership.

  • Manage new complexity: Organize teams rotating between home and office during the new normal.

  • Share current occupancy levels: Enable occupants to navigate to desired areas with mapping visualizations of open spaces.

Operational efficiency: Shrink costs & allocate resources wisely

In the past, building management systems helped the industry improve efficiency. But now, there will be even greater demands put on the building infrastructure. Fortunately, new technologies can help facility managers keep occupants comfortable, while simultaneously helping them use energy and resources more wisely. New technologies helping building management teams boost building efficiency include:

  • Optimized HVAC and energy use: Monitor and manage the HVAC system for enhanced ventilation, temperature and humidity control. Gain visibility and control over energy use across all building systems, so FMs can identify savings opportunities.

  • Amenity management: Control access, lighting, and energy use in areas temporarily left vacant due to lower occupancy, such as gyms and cafeterias.

  • Power management: Monitor and manage electrical infrastructure actively, to ensure power reliability and optimize electrical asset use.

  • Smart cleaning: Direct janitorial teams where they are needed most, without wasting time on unused areas, via occupancy sensors that alert FMs when areas approach cleaning thresholds.

  • Asset tracking: Track who uses high-use building equipment such as elevators / lifts, carts, clothing racks, and more, to determine sanitization schedule and aid contact tracing.

Before the world’s population was instructed to stay at home, buildings were becoming one of the biggest consumers of energy worldwide. There is a great need to make sure that building owners, managers and occupants optimize buildings to make them more efficient, both physically and economically — and now, with the impact of COVID-19, to make them safe and healthy for all who pass through them. Not only will optimizing buildings and planning for the return to work help now at low occupancy, but it will help developers and building owners tenfold in the long run. Though all buildings are different and have different needs, optimization is necessary more than ever.