Towards smarter space management

In the city, the balance between built-up area and green spaces is crucial for the harmonious development of society. And with management through technology, this balance can also be more sustainable, meeting the expectations of its inhabitants.

Balancing the need for development with citizens' expectations of quality of life is one of the main priorities for those responsible for urban planning in order to manage space more effectively.

The good news is that there is a lot to be done in the way we look at cities in areas that, by their very nature, can have an impact on citizens' lives.

In the facilities management sector, in which NextBITT is one of the leading references in Portugal - having already been awarded twice by Microsoft at international level - there are solutions that help organizations manage and optimize their equipment, as well as their relationships with their service providers: from cleaning to security, gardening to maintenance, lighting to air conditioning.

The NextBITT team has been developing several innovative projects that make it possible to control customer equipment and facilities, whether they are dispersed or concentrated in the same building. The solution takes advantage of NFC communication and geo-referencing technologies in order to guarantee complete traceability of physical assets throughout their life cycle, both in terms of cost control and in terms of the availability and operation of each piece of equipment.

The implementation of the NextBITT - Asset & Facilities Management solution takes advantage of the information collected from sensorized equipment (and the application of sensors in older equipment) in order to monitor its operation, manage proactive and reactive maintenance operations, and reduce its ecological footprint as much as possible.

Using the information collected by sensors, it is possible to analyze parameters and adjust the operation of lighting and climate control systems in real time. The possibilities for optimization are practically limitless: internal lighting can be dynamically altered according to the light coming in from outside; air conditioning adjusted according to real-time temperature measurements; forced ventilation activated after reading certain values in air quality... This information can then be automatically shared with internal teams or external service providers to act on the needs detected, and integrated with the ERP, thus optimizing a workflow without paper, email or separate documents.

But monitoring these parameters, which range from temperature to lighting and air quality, can also be done in public spaces and for the benefit of citizens - from traffic lights to lighting systems, from georeferencing land and rural buildings to optimized water, sanitation and energy management.

In other words, the good news is that the same NextBITT technology that enables this scenario in a building or organization can easily be scaled up to offer important urban management tools to a municipality, optimizing resources and anticipating needs that result in a higher quality of life for citizens.

News source available at: Smart Cities