Honeywell recently launched a suite of Occupant Experience apps to help owners and tenants in premium commercial buildings unlock the hybrid office space. Features analyse occupant behaviour and space utilisation patterns to improve the comfort and convenience, putting more control in their hands while returning to the office in the post-pandemic landscape.
What does the product mean for stakeholders?
The suite identifies areas to enhance the tenant and occupant experience while improving communication between building owners, tenants and occupants for a better experience. Remote work is here to stay, but many employees are returning to offices, at least a few days per week. In the Property Council of Australia‘s latest Office Occupancy Survey, office occupancy grew by at least 12% in all capital cities in Australia from May to June 2022.
Adelaide and Brisbane had peak occupancy days which reached 80% and 73% respectively. These figures are expected to remain strong with hybrid working arrangements becoming the norm. As employees return to offices, including Honeywell’s Occupant Experience suite, the Honeywell Remote Building Supervisor, Occupant Experience dashboard and app that will empower the main groups that occupy and manage buildings in more ways than one.
Value addition for building owners and managers
- Learn valuable insights on the occupants’ experience by soliciting feedback on security, safety, building health, cleanliness and collaboration
- Access tools to show tenants how the building supports great occupant experiences and creates an environment for efficiency, productivity and collaboration
- Improve property value with tech assets that can support current and future needs
Greater insight to employers and tenants
- Help employees adjust to hybrid work schedules and protocols through scheduling tools, frictionless entry options and space utilisation analytics that prevent crowding
- Leverage tools to make employees feel heard by providing easy feedback pathways
- Provide comfortable in-office experiences focused on teamwork and collaboration to encourage a positive return to the office
- Use space utilisation tools to accommodate employee populations
- Gain confidence that goals for productivity, collaboration and retention are being met through easy-to-read, well-organised dashboards and real-time occupant experience indexes
Frictionless experience for office workers
- Take more control over their in-office experience, including direct access to adjust temperature and lighting through a readily available app that also provides frictionless check-in and visitor management, eliminating the need for badges or keycards
- Submit on-the-go requests to facilities managers about maintenance and security
- Engage directly with facilities staff to address building experience concerns
“In a time where competition for talent is high and there is an increased focus on personal well-being, the occupant experience will continue to grow in importance as more employees return to offices and workers set higher expectations for the environments in which they spend time – the need to create a place that employees want to go to is key,” said Udaya Shrivastava, interim vice president and chief technology officer, Honeywell Building Technologies.
“We have already launched and field-tested these tools at our new Honeywell corporate headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina to help us provide an unmatched occupant user experience that supports the well-being of our employees and guests,” she also added.
Where has the hybrid office been used?
At Honeywell’s new Charlotte headquarters, Occupant Experience technologies make it easy for employees to seamlessly move through the campus. Sensors, cameras and biometrics-based access control create a completely frictionless and touchless experience.
Using the Sine application, an employee can park their car in the garage, go through lobby security, access elevators and enter their desired office space without touching a single surface. Gone is the need to fish in bags or pockets for fobs, badges or keys.
Once in the office, employees can adjust temperature and lighting controls in conference rooms and workspaces to their desired comfort while instantly reporting any office conditions that need attention from facilities management staff through the Occupant Experience app.
What are the president’s thoughts on the new tech?
“In working with Honeywell, we’ve learned how the company’s many technologies for interpreting occupant behaviour, as well as making buildings more sustainable for occupants, can help us add value to our properties for our investors and increase their appeal to potential tenants and occupants,” said Paul Dougherty president and chief investment officer, PRP.
“This innovative tech allows tenants to gain visibility into returning workers’ behaviour and helps tenants optimise their space utilisation, improve employees’ well-being, productivity and identify opportunities to improve how their employees use their days working in the office.”
“From our tenants’ perspectives, the more digital services people have to make their lives in the office easier and more rewarding, the more effective they are and the more they enjoy their work. And the more they enjoy their work, the more committed they are to their companies and employers. It’s about creating smart offices that are sustainable, comfortable, healthy, modern, equipped with digital services and simply more fun to work,” he concluded.
The Occupant Experience suite complements Honeywell’s ready now solutions that help improve occupant well-being and change the way occupants experience a building.
