Building office spaces for tomorrow with Foresense Technologies

Modern office spaces can resemble an entertainment precinct or shopping mall.

Moving beyond simple open floor plan cubicles and designated reception and refreshment areas, the logistics in actually managing the physical spaces in the office environment has become increasingly challenging.

The more forward thinking companies now offer a host of perks to attract and retain their employees.

Employees want network connected facilities to enhance productivity.

Video conference rooms and even recording rooms for podcasts and webinars are becoming common.

Workers now desire restaurant quality food and beverage on-site.

They want access to common and social areas and pleasant green spaces outdoors to recharge.

Employers also need to encourage modern notions of health and wellbeing.

Bicycle storage areas, access to showers and locker rooms, on site health and massage services, wellness rooms, gyms and fitness classes… the list goes on.

Libraries, pet friendly areas, basketball and volleyball courts, recreation areas for video games, table tennis and billiards…

Some workplaces offer more fun on hand than some suburbs!

With all these designated areas for specific purposes, building management is changing too.

With such high levels of investment in employee satisfaction, technology is key to its efficacy.

It is one thing to have all these activities and facilities on-site; it is another thing entirely to monitor usage and ensure accessibility.

While smart office buildings are becoming increasingly common place they are often limited to tasks of isolated automation.

Beyond keyless entry and remote access control, smart concepts such as temperature control, automated lighting are increasing in demand.

All these are great initiatives but they are not inherently smart, per se.

They are capable only of logging rudimentary data that offers limited value for immediate adjustment – and for future improvement.

And because they are not inherently smart any Artificial Intelligence, so integral to all leading technologies in the modern world, is largely underutilised – if at all – to guide key decision makers and improve productivity and useability.

And therein lies the problem to taking smart office buildings to a new level, where managers can really drill down to learn of how people interact with the building and its facilities over time.

The challenge into the future is moving beyond individual devices to develop a fully integrated management platform.

Connectivity is key.

IoT (or Internet of Things) is the new buzzword.

In today’s modern digitally connected world, just about everything can be connected to another device or the internet, including many aspects of office life.

Like automated systems and smart devices, the Foresense platform has evolved due to technological convergence, where multiple technologies have come to merge into singular entities, a new-age sum of their many parts.

At its core, the Foresense platform utilises proprietary AI to identify areas for improvement and guide commercially based decisions to increase operational KPIs and efficiencies with highly detailed, quantifiable data.

Foresense simplifies the collection of presence data and the analysis of action – and interaction – on- site in real world settings to provide real-time AI analytics of traffic inside and around any physical location with applications across government, commerce and industry for smarter, safer physical spaces.

In a similar way to how behavioural data is utilised online through careful analysis of aspects such as dwell time, session duration, and unique and return visitations, the Foresense platform collects data through a series of sensors strategically placed around the office floor layout.

These sensors communicate with smartphones and/or specialised smart ID cards to monitor movement and behaviour and relay this data via Wi-Fi to the internet, and on to the AI software for collation and analysis.

The resultant data is accessed via the Foresense Dashboard, an internet portal where information is obtained from the graphical user interface for management, building owners and maintenance staff.

This next-level connectivity allows better, swifter decisions to be made on the day-to-day running of their buildings and the efficiency and effectiveness of the services they provide. It allows accessibility in real time so highly- informed, proactive decisions and actions can be executed as trends and developments are actually emerging.

As a complete journey mapping solution, the technology presents a wide range of possibilities to understand exactly how employees and visitors use work spaces and shared recreational facilities.

Accurately log arrival and departure times, break down workplace flow from carpark arrival, through to work preparation and actual work commencement to gain behavioural insight and increase productivity.

Track employee movements as they move across different areas to improve workflow and productivity.

Precisely monitor mealtime, break and restroom visit durations for individual staff members.

Monitor time spent working to ensure adequate breaks are taken for staff wellbeing and to comply with appropriate workplace regulatory frameworks.

Aggregated data is used to establish peak demand times for specific sections or facilities within the building to lessen wait times to keep movement flowing and alleviate any congestion.

In this way Foresense can assist in commercially based decision- making by identifying areas where demand exceeds supply, to justify purchase of new equipment and the expansion of current facilities – or the construction of new ones.

As we learn to live with COVID, Foresense can also complement existing digital tools to monitor and log employees and visitors as they move across different areas to assist contact tracers and keep everyone safer. In this way it can also be used to monitor and control the number of people gathering in any given space to address density regulations, social distancing requirements and total numbers in any given section or amenity.

Foresense can even identify those who have not recently received negative COVID testing where such laws have been introduced and those who bypass QR code scan points, sending digital reminders to scan in.

The technology can even be applied for personal safety concerns. For example where an employee is not moving across an area as normal, or has been stationary for an excessive amount of time, indicating illness, injury, collapse or unconsciousness.

Foresense can also improve on existing alarm and video surveillance systems and address shortcomings, such as the need for constant monitoring and the ability for seasoned criminals to bypass them altogether.

The AI platform detects loitering, erratic behavior and unauthorised entry and can deploy security staff or notify police in real time as issues develop, when and where they are needed most, to ensure timely response and the best chance of suspect apprehension.

The sensors can even be equipped to govern automated control of other systems in the building to more efficiently manage resources such as water flow, garbage disposal and HVAC, for example.

By coupling detailed data sets with the proprietary AI system, highly specific analytics can be utilised to move office buildings forward into a new era beyond ‘smart’ facilities and automation.

With Foresense a series of singular devices evolves into truly smart IoT connectivity; a network across individual employees, visitors, management and the building itself – all driven by Foresense AI.

With highly specific information readily at hand Foresense Technology determines data driven actions to constantly improve efficiency of operations – and improve employee job satisfaction and retention, and cost efficiencies for office buildings in the future.