Why Early Integration Of Smart Building Technology Is Essential To Its Success

Property owners across the country are eager to adopt advanced building automation systems, which is why it’s predicted the market for this technology will grow more than 6% annually through 2030. 

Integrating these systems, however, is often an afterthought, which can make them much more costly to adopt, said Sean Edwards, president of Rittenhouse Communications Group.

“Developers overlook the low-voltage cabling, the cameras, the access control and how systems integrate until the last minute,” he said. “At RCG, we do things a little differently. We're involved in the process very early, typically during the design phase with an architect and owners, right before a project is even awarded to a general contractor.”

The Philadelphia-based building technology provider designs a custom tech package for every client based on their needs and exact specifications, Edwards said. The firm starts out with a discovery meeting to gain a full understanding of how RCG’s tech solutions can be tailored to suit their goals. 

From there, the firm’s engineering team designs a suite of technology solutions with the client, their architects, contractors and any other stakeholders vital to the completion of the project. RCG’s solutions can include low voltage cabling, IP surveillance, access control, WiFi, audio/video, unified communication systems and property management software — or a combination of all of the above.

“Our motto is ‘discover, design and deploy,’” Edwards said. “And that’s exactly what we do. We take the time to listen to our clients and then reverse engineer solutions for them. We don’t try to confine them into a box.”

Once the client’s building systems have been designed and are ready to be installed, RCG’s team of in-house technicians are ready to dive into action and ensure the process is efficient. Edwards said it only takes a matter of a few days to install a client’s hardware. 

After installation, RCG conducts several tests to make sure every system is working smoothly, Edwards said. This is a critical step in the process before RCG trains the client on how to use and access the systems. 

If a client has any questions or concerns about the systems they’ve installed after RCG has completed its work, the firm’s account managers and support teams can aid them, he added.

“A lot of integrators like us are doing bid work or work that a consultant puts together,” Edwards said. “We are the team that designs everything, puts everything together and installs and supports it. On top of that, every piece of technology that we deploy is installed in our innovation center in Philadelphia, so we know how everything works inside and out.”

Edwards said that in the proptech world, property owners are used to having many different building systems that don’t typically mesh together well. This can create a jumbled combination of hardware and software that all run on their own processes, potentially creating confusion and, even worse, cost inefficiencies. RCG completely simplifies these processes, he said.

“By fully integrating our technology, it eliminates a lot of the recurring costs that a lot of clients are used to,” he said. “Instead of having an intercom that costs a certain amount, a wireless door lock that has an additional cost, a base building system that costs even more, and then an app to manage all the separate systems on top of it, we streamline the whole process and keep recurring costs as low as possible.”

Edwards added that RCG’s success stems from prospective clients recognizing the value of its competitive pricing and seamless project management and customer service.

Since it began in 2008, RCG has had many recurring clients, Edwards said. One client in particular, who has several high-profile commercial properties in Philadelphia, has worked with RCG for more than 10 years. Edwards said the scope of RCG’s work started out as deploying 141 smart TVs to studio units but evolved into being the design-build partner for that developer. 

“We’ve designed three or four successful, very high-profile buildings for them throughout the region,” he said. “Every time they build a building, they call us. And this has happened with multiple clients over the years.” 

Moving forward, Edwards predicts that the building automation landscape will shift rapidly thanks to artificial intelligence and other wireless communication advancements. Though this market is swiftly evolving, only about 55% of building owners take advantage of these innovations. 

The RCG team, however, is embracing the adoption of these new technologies.

“We're constantly going to industry shows, testing new products ourselves in our test kitchen here,” he said. “That's how we stay ahead of the curve.” 

Edwards said there are going to be two main factors in commercial buildings going forward: wireless communication between devices and AI to automate property management systems. Between these two factors, there will be fewer cables, which means these systems won’t be as costly.

“The whole wireless movement is going to definitely bring down costs, including labor, hardware and proper cabling costs,” he said. “AI, though, is going to be very proactive in design and tenant satisfaction/retention in the future.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Rittenhouse Communications Group and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.