Facility Management Tech

Our New Building Automation System Key Fob

Government innovator. We’re boasting when we say it, but among fellow governments and, even, among many private facility operators, our Port Authority stands out for our deployment of technology for facility management.

Who else has an on-site weather station with ground temperature sensors?

Who else has the ability for tenants to schedule marquees electronically?

Who else has a solar-powered, wireless internet camera system that has been running for going on five years?

Who else can brag 313 fans on its Facebook page for a facility?

FACILITY MANAGEMENT TECH OF 2010 and 2011
We didn’t slow in 2010, and we’re gearing up for a tech-savvy 2011 too.

Lobby Message Centers: We’ve been test-driving a Lobby Message Center system that was conceived of with in-house ingenuity. It’s not an off-the-shelf system and it costs and operates for far less than the others. A massive 60” monitor scrolls internet content that we deploy. It will have on-site weather data, camera images, welcome messages, and safety messages on it.

Next year, we’ll deploy two more Lobby Message Centers in our new building. We soon expect to show Horton Building tenant customer, Goodrich, the keys to a system where they can send a text message and have that message displayed on the Lobby Message Center in seconds. See Bob arriving in the parking lot? You can welcome him electronically in the lobby before he’s even out of his car. A similar display will be in the new clean room building lobby too.

Building Automation: We are also test-driving the building automation system for the new Horton Building. Key fobs with RFID’s have replaced the old metal keys on our Port Authority admin building’s front doors. The building locks and unlocks on our schedule as well. All can be reset by our admin via the internet. Add fire alarms and temperature controls to that system and its smart technology indeed. This promises to be quite handy for managing a multi-tenant building across our campus.

High Tech Fixtures: Light-powered automatic flushing valves atop our bathroom fixtures. The light-powered system promises no battery changing and more consistent running.

Segways: Though not new technology at all, Segways are new to many of us in Licking County. Our 2011 budget predicts purchase of two Segways. Our 2011 budget predicts purchase of two Segways to improve the Port Authority’s facility responsiveness.  Who else can do a site tour on a Segway?

Touch-Screen Tablets: We also envison our February meeting and our DC Fly-In with touch-screen devices in hand to make for paperless meetings.

Web 2.0: We are already underway with a total revamp of how we do our websites. In the first quarter, look for our tenant-focused intranet to morph into a online Message Center with dynamic content similar to that of the Lobby Message Centers with a social media approach.