Improving Property Management

The BNP Paribas Real Estate (BNPPRE) Major Buildings Property Management Team looks after 21 trophy buildings of over 150,000 sq ft in London. The team manages assets for a number of prestigious clients, with buildings including 200 Aldersgate, 5 Churchill Place and 245 Hammersmith Road.

In 2016 Craig Chapman, Director of FM, Major Buildings was finding it difficult and time consuming to prove to clients and occupiers that the required building tasks had been completed. Whilst many service partners operated their own time and task management systems, the variation of these across the buildings meant that the property management team did not have consistent, easily accessible data. It was impossible to quickly check that SLAs were being met and there was little robust or consistent insight into building incidents, such as floods or thefts.

Craig’s vision was a cloud-based system which could ultimately be used consistently for building management across the estate, with data accessible by the team anytime, from anywhere. Security, ease of use and low cost needed to be combined with versatility for multiple service management needs. Removal of paper was required for sustainability objectives

Innovative MyTAG Technology

MyTAG’s innovative technology utilises NFC (Near Field Communication) with proprietary software to move building management processes from paper to the cloud, bringing time and cost savings, together with improvements in safety, security and reporting. Designed to transmit short strings of information to an interacting phone, NFC tags require no internal power and usually take the form of a sticker or ID card. Their power comes from simplicity because they transmit information wirelessly, don’t require a battery and Trusted® Tags cannot be copied or cloned. NFC is compatible with most mobile devices, without an App, and is the technology used in Oyster and payment cards.

Following initial meetings between Craig and Mike George, Founder and Director MyTAG, trials of MyTAG Key Management and Proof of Presence, for managing and monitoring security patrols, were carried out at 200 Aldersgate, one of the largest buildings in the portfolio with 2,500 occupants. The MyTAG team worked closely with BNPPRE building management to ensure all needs were fulfilled, and provided training and advice.

Managing keys with a paper based system had been a time consuming process, with contractors frequently forgetting to return keys in a timely fashion. Time was wasted tracking them down, in addition to the obvious security risk. MyTAG tags attached to each key allow them to be checked out electronically, with details of who has the key and when it is due for return. Contractors are alerted to return overdue keys via text and email, which greatly reduces mislaid keys and saves significant amounts of time.

Security patrols were providing challenges, as BNPPRE building management were not able to prove to occupiers that they were fully completed. Trusted® tags are now used to define patrol routes, with the security officers tapping each tag with their NFC enabled phone. This simple tap is all that is needed to prove presence and time at a given checkpoint, and records are available in the cloud instantly. If the officers identify an issue, such as a water leak, this can be reported immediately, with photographs added to the building dashboard. Automated emails ensure that building management are alerted (reported by exception) of any problems, so they can quickly be resolved. In areas where the Wi-Fi signal is poor, the MyTAG Deadzone App allows information to still be recorded and uploaded when back online.

The data has supported incident investigation and insurance claims, such as break-ins and floods, as the timestamped data shows precisely when patrols have occurred, and allows interrogation of CCTV footage and other information.

Collaborative Partnership

The security trials provided unprecedented data and management insight, proving the service level and facilitating a rapid response to client and occupier enquiries. Craig and his team were quick to see opportunities to take building management processes to higher levels, and new solutions were soon under development. Craig commented: “We saw immediately that a single platform, tailored to our needs, could help us drive efficiencies and improve service. MyTAG were great partners, translating our requirements into simple to use new solutions, which we could roll out quickly.”

Proof of Compliance
200 Aldersgate has 165 fire extinguishers, numerous escape routes, fire doors, panic alarms, lift phones and other safety items that require compliance checks. Ensuring these were regularly carried out and recorded was challenging. BNPPRE and MyTAG worked closely to design a compliance system, incorporating the required schedules and protocols, with automated notifications when actions are required. Security officers are provided with details of the check required on tapping the MyTAG Trusted® tag with their phone, and can input the necessary information. Alerts prompt immediate focus on overdue items, so they can be addressed.