As professional and personal lives are upended to react to COVID-19, it’s been uplifting to see that people have found many ways to help each other. Whether sharing best practices for productivity and collaboration or trading stories about the challenges of life indoors, the emphasis has rightly been on preserving human wellbeing and business operations. But there is another aspect of continuity that’s often overlooked.
With approximately three billion people under lockdown across the world, many buildings now sit empty - offices, homes, stores, restaurants and more. Yet in many ways a building is like an engine: it requires care and maintenance to function at its best and be ready when needed again.
So how can you best service vacant buildings when only a skeleton staff is available?
The Internet of Things can help
IoT technology is already helping to power solutions that monitor the security of buildings via video, or detect leakage and damage with connected sensors. These sensors also help to optimize heating and cooling, even providing protection for any staff who need to continue to work in empty buildings. Just like remote working, IoT allows building managers to continue to look after their sites and retain visibility over their assets in a safe and effective way, even if they can’t access them as normal.
Acting early to avoid keep buildings safe
During this period of restriction, Vital Command installers are designated as essential, so systems and services can still be deployed either on a temporary or permanent basis. Running the system on wireless IoT connectivity now makes installation even easier, requiring less physical work.
As any maintenance professional will tell you, so much can go wrong at any time; broken pipes, power outages, mechanical failure, heat and cold, mold and pump failures to name just a few. When detected immediately and properly monitored, these issues can be addressed before they become out of control.
Vital Command and its services dealers are currently monitoring and mitigating property damage in hundreds of buildings across the US, from occupied to vacant. Their customer base includes drug store chains, national and big box retailers, parking garage companies, car manufacturers, dealers and international shipping companies.
Vodacom Real Estate Internet of Things
Our Vodacom Internet of Things division is integrating building systems and sensors to create automation of processes, and improve security and asset efficiency through the collection and processing of valuable data. Our solutions enable real estate to come alive resulting in these assets being better managed, more efficient and more secure.
For more information on how Vodacom Business pioneers digital transformation in the retail industry and provides solutions as a partner to business, kindly visit Vodacom Business online.
