Inayat-ur-Rahman

The real estate sector has been one of the most prominent adopters of digitization, in recent years.  The UAE real estate is proactively upgrading to predictive operations and maintenance.

Gulf Today spoke with Sanjeevv Bhatia, Chairman of the SB Group, to ask him how the real estate industry in the UAE is being transformed by transitioning to a new model of building operations.

“The industry is now aspiring to achieve considerable energy savings, optimized and remote operations, as well as responsive services, at portfolio scale, using a unified & connected approach”, Sanjeevv tells us. “This is a well-established practice in sectors such as the life safety industry, and any qualified and civil defence approved company is taking this approach to maintaining assets from multiple vendors. The UAE real estate industry is now actively trying to bring an equivalent model to the Building Management Systems domain, which will allow it to operate with a vendor neutral and open proprietary protocol”.

These are not simply guiding principles or future goals, for Sanjeevv and the SB Group. ODS Global, an automation systems and connected buildings service provider that is part of the SB Group of companies, has recently been awarded a three year annual maintenance building automation systems contract for 24 towers in Dubai-based luxury property developers Damac Properties’ portfolio. The contract involves ODS Global optimizing the operations and predictive maintenance of multi-vendor assets, across all 24 towers.

“The project will be a major milestone in the industry’s shift from using siloed and disparate vendor control systems to a unified model of building operations”, says Sanjeevv. “It will essentially integrate Building Management Systems and services across seven legacy brands. Traditionally, commercial real estate operations have been limited in achieving overall optimization, because of a complex web of protocols and software licenses, which are specific to each asset, and the vendor that has supplied it. Now, with IoT and AI based solutions allowing seamless integration, we can finally unlock the potential to create a true synergy across an entire portfolio”.

ODS Global’s subsidiaries, ODSS Mechanical and ODSS Technical, will be the solution providers for its maintenance contract with DAMAC Properties. As ODS Global’s service arms, ODSS Mechanical and ODSS Technical offer a wide suite of services ranging from Category A approved Mandatory Life Safety Systems, BMS, Automation, Iot & AI based building management solution, CCTV Security Systems, Access Control, Intrusion Alarms, Gate Barriers, as well as ICT solutions.

In addition, ODS Global is already discussing further upgradation of the 24 towers using an IoT and AI based Intelligent Integrated Command and Control Centre (iICCC), which is offered by SB group’s divisional company, Netix Global BV - an automation solutions provider, with a strong focus on sustainable smart buildings, smart cities and energy efficiency.

“Our relationship with DAMAC properties will go a long way in validating this integrated and connected model of built assets management. It will help Dubai and UAE emerge as the model to emulate, in a global shift to smart buildings and smart cities”, Sanjeevv adds.

Showcase projects, such as ODS Global’s partnership with DAMAC Properties, are setting the template for commercial real estate to achieve seamless integraton efficiencies with an open protocol, flexible and simplified model. Apart from bringing in cost efficiencies vis-a-vis maintenance provided by OEM’s, this vendor-neutral unified approach enables the ability to monitor operations with complete transparency. The fully integrated Connected Buildings model allows real estate businesses to analyse assets in real-time and conduct predictive maintenance. Faults and inefficiencies are identified and addressed, before they compromise either performance, or tenant experience.

“Essentially, buildings are generating huge amounts of data already. It’s up to us to collect and interpret this information in real-time, and use it to add value to operations”, Sanjeevv says. “This is an approach that creates positives for everyone involved. Building owners and operators get to achieve maximum efficiencies, and their tenants get highly personalized and exceptional user experiences. At a higher level, the energy efficiencies unlocked optimize sustainability, making it possible to reconcile the highest standards in liveability with ecological concerns”.

“These technologies are more compelling in the post-COVID new normal. Being able to ensure compliance and occupant safety, through total transparency into operations, will allow the industry to easily adapt to the new scenario. I anticipate an even more accelerated adoption of these solutions, moving forward”, Sanjeevv concludes.