In a nutshell, smart buildings save time and money – and make life easier for everyone involved.

Ensuring a site is safe, comfortable and productive for staff, tenants or visitors requires many elements – security, access control, fire detection as well as heating and lighting to name just the basics.

Managing each of these separately takes more time and money than if you combine them for an enterprise-wide holistic approach. And there are many more systems you can integrate to create a truly intelligent building.

Here are our top five smart building integrations you might not have thought of:

  1. ANPR – Integrating an Automatic Number Plate Recognition system means drivers with the correct credentials can access parking and other parts of your site with ease. VIPs and disabled drivers can also be accommodated effectively and efficiently.
  2. Cashless vending – This allows users to buy food and drink, such as from an on-site canteen, or use tokens instead of money to pay for parking spaces. The cashless system frees up staff time and reduces risks associated with having money on site.
  3. Active directory – Integrating your active directory avoids duplicating staff, tenant or visitor information and allows security managers to instantly control what people can access via their computer. For example, if an employee leaves, security managers can cancel their access control card as well as any computer credentials at the same time
  4. User qualifications – The smartest buildings also integrate relevant user qualifications, such as first aid certificates or fork lift truck licences. When the qualification is near its expiry date, an automatic notification is issued reminding the user to renew their training. If the user fails to do so, the system can prevent them accessing all or part of the site until they’ve undergone the training required. This system can also be used for membership purposes, automatically reminding users to renew their membership credentials.
  5. Key management – Loss or theft of keys can be a costly affair and potentially dangerous in environments such as pharmaceuticals or manufacturing. Integrating a key management system, such as key lockers, allows you to ensure greater personnel safety, restrict movement if necessary and increase reporting compliance.

Intelligent buildings help those who use them get around and access what they need more easily. They also help building or security personnel manage and control them more effectively and efficiently, saving valuable resources that can be redeployed where they’re needed most.

Read how we’ve made buildings smarter at Stockport College and the White Chapel Building, a prestigious commercial site in London.