How AP Adam Stark stays at the forefront of smart building technology in Australia

JLL Technologies aspires to stay at the forefront of smart building technology. SmartScore Certification enables me, as an AP, to measure and gauge a building’s technology profile against a globally recognized standards system, which is invaluable.

​​Working in the smart building industry, I’ve seen the need for a global standard go undetected for a long time. It’s rewarding to see smart buildings become mainstream enough to have their own dedicated certifications and AP program. I jumped at the opportunity to become one of the first to differentiate myself and elevate my smart building experience in the market with a SmartScore accreditation.

This client is widely recognized as one of the most premium assets in Australia. Achieving both WiredScore Platinum and SmartScore Platinum helped to show that the owners continually invest in the asset to maintain its market-leading position.

The certifications also help prospective tenants save time on any due diligence they may have otherwise had to conduct relating to the connectivity, technology foundation and user experience of the asset.

The WiredScore and SmartScore certifications relate to one another with respect to the underlying digital connectivity of the asset.

As this client had already achieved WiredScore Platinum, the technological foundations that are assessed by SmartScore certification were either already in place or undergoing implementation.

Having such a strong digital connectivity foundation in place reduced the effort that was needed both from me, the AP, and the client to move the asset along the digital evolution path.

As the WiredScore team recognized the overlap in certifications I was able to capitalize on evidence that had been submitted for the WiredScore certification when assessing the building against the SmartScore scorecard. This reduced the time that was required for evidence gathering and meant I could spend more time focusing on other, more valuable aspects of delivering SmartScore certification.

I have been working on smart buildings for more than 20 years. Historically, the focus was very much on reducing buildings’ energy consumption, which was easily quantifiable. If you install solar panels on the roof, you can easily measure the impact by looking at your next energy bills.

Following the initial focus on energy, the industry’s attention shifted to optimizing space. Clients wanted to use technology to ensure they had the right number and type of meeting rooms, and that they were using office floor space, car parking and bike storage optimally. They saw space optimization as a way of enabling tenants to minimize their leased floor space to save costs.

What I’m seeing today is clients focusing more and more on their tenants and delivering an exceptional user experience. The impact of using technology to optimize user experience is generally more intangible and so more difficult to measure. But to me, the challenges that currently exist are what make the future exciting. I am excited to see what innovations are going to emerge from this more people-centric approach.

Try to become as acquainted with the evidence criteria as possible before undertaking your first certification. Having a deep understanding of what is required will make your assessment of the building and client discussions far more productive.

Crucially, it’s important to start with a good understanding of the what and the why of the certifications.