One of the greatest enemies of a busy, well-run building is equipment downtime. When an HVAC system malfunctions, every minute it’s down can be costly for building owners — from frustrated multifamily tenants to millions in lost revenue for data centers — and getting maintenance fast hasn’t always been possible.

“In the past, customers would call a service desk, which would then send out a technician, eventually, when they had the time,” Boland Remote Building Automation Specialist Ray Embly said. “This process could take hours or even days, which isn’t ideal for the client.”

In 2018, Boland launched its Smart Desk to solve this costly problem. Originally staffed by just Embly, the Smart Desk now features a team of experts who can remotely troubleshoot and resolve maintenance issues.

Boland clients can call or email to speak with a technical expert who can remotely connect to their building automation system. Boland’s technician can make minor program changes, handle override management and password and login problems, set up new users, answer technical questions and more.

Inquiries are generally answered within 30 minutes, if not immediately. If the issue cannot be resolved, the Smart Desk will work with Boland’s service department to schedule an on-site visit, relaying all the information they gathered on the call to save the client time and ensure a speedy resolution.

“Most of the time, we can resolve the problem within half an hour,” Embly said. “And even if we do need to send a tech, we already know what the problem is, where it’s located, what tools or equipment the issue will require and other key information. This way, they’re ready to roll and it saves a lot of time.”

Since the Smart Desk program launched in 2018, call volume has grown by over 450%.

“There’s no service technician out there who can make over 40 on-site calls in a week,” Embly said. “That’s what makes the Smart Desk so great — just one expert can solve dozens of issues remotely.”

He recounted a recent client call reporting that their building was colder than usual and none of the HVAC equipment was heating. Patrons were beginning to arrive and were already complaining about the low temperatures.

Embly remotely connected to the site and immediately noticed that all HVAC equipment was set to unoccupied mode, operating at the evening setback of 55 degrees. He then reviewed the HVAC schedules and found that the building owner had created exception schedules for the previous Thursday and Friday, when his business was closed, to place all equipment in unoccupied mode.

“I discovered that the exception had been accidentally set for seven days instead of the intended two,” he said. “Because of this, the system continued to run in unoccupied mode through the weekend and into Monday, preventing the building from warming above 55 degrees.”

He removed the unnecessary exception schedules and walked the client through the correct process as he made the adjustments. When the schedules were corrected, the building immediately returned to occupied mode, and the heating equipment started up. This issue was fully resolved within 20 minutes of the client’s call to the Smart Desk.

“There was no need to wait for a tech to come on-site, pay them for their travel and time and then wait for them to determine and fix the problem,” Embly said. “Time is money, and I’m able to save clients both in 20 minutes with one phone call.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Boland and Studio B. 

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.