by Brianna Crandall — September 16, 2019 — Pharmaceutical company Roche has transformed an area in one of its German offices into a smart workplace by implementing the Interact Office space management application from Signify, a worldwide provider of lighting technology. The pilot office space at Roche in Grenzach-Wyhlen, Germany, was equipped with Philips LED connected lighting and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, using Signify’s Interact Office software and insights to increase building efficiency and optimize space utilization.
Roche’s offices are using Signify’s Interact Office space management app to determine room and desk occupancy in order to optimize building use. Image courtesy Signify
A recent study from Senion indicates that 25%-50% of office desks in buildings are vacant on any given day. The Interact Office space management mobile app helps to understand occupancy rates across buildings, floors, meeting rooms or even at desk level by counting people and analyzing the number of workers in a given space. Through accurate reporting on historic and real-time space usage, corporate real estate (CRE) and facilities professionals can assess and optimize space requirements and workplace designs easily, says Signify.
Roche chose to implement Signify’s space management app to get a better understanding of the company’s building.
Tobias Bächtold, Digital Real Estate manager for Roche, stated:
Understanding how our buildings are being used is key for Roche today and in the future. The data collected via IoT sensors and the lighting system using Interact Office software gives us tremendous insights and best granularity in terms of occupancy, desk-level accuracy and people counting in meeting rooms.
Steelcase research has shown that up to 70% of workers waste up to 15 minutes per day looking for a meeting room, and 24% waste up to half an hour a day. Signify says that can be solved with the launch of the Interact Workspace mobile app for personalizing lighting, wayfinding and booking free meeting rooms and workspaces.
Signify’s Interact Office app can also be used for wayfinding and to book meeting rooms. Image courtesy Signify
This mobile app enables employees to view which desks or meeting rooms are available and book the available room on the spot, improving employee experience, engagement and productivity.
In addition to the mobile app, a public kiosk can also be used to assist employees and visitors with indoor navigation. Typically located at the entrance to the office building and next to elevators, the kiosk offers a user-friendly way for people to find their desired location.
Derek Wright, global sub-segment manager of Office, Education and Municipal buildings at Signify, remarked:
Our customers can use their lighting infrastructure and real-time occupancy data to guide employees wherever they need to go. By looking at the 500,000 responses from the Leesman Index, we can see that employees have high expectations of being able to find focus rooms, for example, and yet the levels of satisfaction for this are extremely low. So, with our applications we aim to solve real pain points and bring quantifiable value to the workspaces of today.
For more information about Interact Office space management software, visit the Signify website. See also the Interact US website.
