Technical operation: how to manage it more clearly? The operation of a building constitutes a major cost item from its completion. Expenses are mainly replacement investments, optimizations around comfort, energy efficiency and compliance with environmental requirements, including a gradual transition to CO2 neutrality. Efficient investment and cost management requires all-round data-based technical management of operations.
Especially in the healthcare sector, a decades-long operation of a building is equivalent to a permanent yard. There is the maintenance, there are the adjustments according to the changing purpose of building and departments, and there are the optimizations. "You can express it with a number," says Operations Director at engineering firm Ingenium Geert Verhelst. "100 is the quality level at which a building is delivered. If you do nothing, that figure will quickly drop due to wear and tear, derogations ... Even regular maintenance and optimizations lead to a sawtooth pattern: 100-80-95-75-90 and so on, with the top figure continuing to drop. Every few years, a thorough refresh with energy measures, among others, must be done to restore the quality level."
Follow-up and management, maintenance, adjustments, studies and investment plans are thus necessary for successful operation. Geert Verhelst: "Our offer in this is based on a number of pillars. The first is a dashboard operation. We can monitor the maintenance and technical management of the building, comfort, safety, efficiency of the techniques and, using clear dashboards, offer the client an instrument for further action. Data from the BMS will be used in this, such as the comfort level. In doing so, we can show whether everything meets the requirements. The dashboard can display that per department. The general overarching dashboard provides insight into the maintenance and comfort of the building. Color codes green to red indicate the current state through the dashboard."
Second, framework operating contracts are a pillar of Ingenium's services. "A framework contract must be legally watertight and correctly formulated," Geert Verhelst emphasizes. "There are different types. On the one hand, there are framework contracts for maintenance, ranging from pure maintenance contracts to maintenance and energy performance contracts. In addition, a hospital is also constantly evolving. Two departments are merged, part of a wing is reallocated due to a change in the legally permitted number of in-patient days... For smaller works, an order can be issued each time, but that is time-consuming due to the law on public contracts. A framework contract with fixed price agreements is then much more efficient. Framework contracts are mainly determined on the basis of the needs of the coming years, with the necessary margin to avoid surprises."
Through strategic management , an overview of the necessary and available info such as as-built information, official documents ... Efficient management of the operation of buildings cannot but be fully digitized. Project Manager Niels Vercaemst developed for Ingenium two forms of digital services for the operation of buildings. On the one hand, the digital vault, on the other and an app with augmented reality that puts a layer over reality allowing visual building management. "The management of buildings in operation is automated based on a digital vault for information management," explains Vercaemst. "Many building managers struggle with their document management. Organizing, sharing, legally required maintenance of technical plans, inspections, contracts ... For the majority of our customers, there is no good system for this that is accessible to the entire organization. The digital vault makes the management of as-built files easier. Plans, BIM models, technical sheets, contracts, inspections and other relevant information about the property are stored on a cloud-based central web platform. On the other hand, we find that in the healthcare sector, many hospitals that are constantly remodeling are struggling with BIM software."
But BIM is actually very useful for parametric info of a building and thus also for operation. "Analyzing BIM models and taking the benefits of the data from the model can also be done with the digital vault, without having to purchase specialized BIM software," Vercaemst continued. "In addition, we developed the BIMvisible app that visualizes BIM models in full size via Augmented Reality, simply through a smartphone. That info is centralized in the app and can be easily consulted. BIMvisible can solve comfort and technical problems in buildings quickly and efficiently. Because current and historical sensor information from the building management system is also displayed in real time in the right location via the app, comfort and other technical problems can be solved immediately. You get a much better understanding of the installation."
Geert Verhelst: "Another part of the strategic management tool is an overview of the necessary investments and resulting to-do's. This is done by performing studies on the building such as the condition state measurement according to NEN 2767, which is originally a Dutch standard for determining the condition of building and installation parts. On that basis, you determine the necessary investments in terms of structure and techniques. The strategic management tool is linked to other tools that link to an energy audit or safety & security, feasibility study, research into optimization... so that the newest, most sustainable and most profitable solution is always proposed when techniques need to be replaced. Optimization is essential for efficient technical operation."
"The overall picture of the various partial studies is brought together in one clear table. In it, based on the six levels listed in the Dutch standard, the assessment and budget estimate for investments for the coming years is made. Good for an annual budget estimate that an organization can take into account and plan investments. This enables additional replacement investments without exceeding the budget. We map out the exact investments needed to keep the building up-to-date, avoiding budget guesswork. The common thread is bringing simplicity to complexity."
Operations are also being outsourced more frequently in the healthcare sector. Geert Verhelst: "We see more and more focus on external outsourcing in a lot of areas, especially for maintenance. You can't be a specialist in the maintenance of a certain type of boiler if you only have to do it once a year. The proportion of in-house departments doing everything is indeed decreasing. The investment of people and resources is far too great. Cooling has become a pillar for healthcare facilities. Energy and climate goals are linked. In hospitals, there is not yet a general trend toward climate neutrality, but that is certainly coming their way."
Niels Vercaemst: "Hospitals, due to their specific characteristics (permanent cold demand, continuous occupancy ...) offer a lot of opportunities to reduce CO2 emissions via heat pumps and cooling. There is much more attention to patient and resident comfort. During covid, ventilation also became a hot topic. At the same time, obsolete cooling machines have to be removed; sustainability is coming to the fore. Through a clear, digitized and tailored strategic management, in accordance with the legislation and the guidance of experts, the Facility or the technical department can keep a much better overview.
(Source: publication in Care&Technology 032)
For more info contact Geert Verhelst and Niels Vercaemst: 050/40 45 30 or at geert.verhelst@ingenium.be and niels.vercaemst@ingenium.be.
