in management personnel can lead to a shift in processes (or outright abandonment of them) which quickly translates into missing or incomplete records, making it extremely difficult to adhere to any infrastructure documentation process or methodology history. Property teams often struggle with structuring and maintaining building technology records in a way that aligns with best practices, and many are not fully aware of the long-term benefits of infrastructure lifecycle management. This makes centralized documentation systems for tracking infrastructure- related data across smart building silos a rarity.
Historical records, vendor data, sensor and device platform data, and third-party reports may hold key information, but without a structured approach to document management, extracting useful analyses can be time-consuming, and ultimately unreliable. CENTRALIZED CONTROL - A ROADMAP TO SUCCESSFUL ACTIVE EVIDENCE COLLECTION Active evidence collection activities should be divided into four structured phases to ensure comprehensive data collection and maintenance. Additionally, the following phases can be applied to all installation,
maintenance, and documentation activities across the six silos of smart buildings. Each phase of the methodology is crafted to generate the dataset required for the next phase, with each phase building upon the previous one: 1.Preliminary interview : Establishes project scope by gathering essential site information and user requirements. These requirements may range from extensive building certification criteria to simple technology deployments. By establishing the needs of the site at an early stage, the assessment allows the end user to develop a clear, concise requirements document with very little or no ambiguity, giving contractors precise parameters and a better understanding of the project’s scope. 2.Assessment phase : Focuses on initial data collection, including the identification of inside plant (ISP) and outside plant (OSP), telecommunications spaces, photo documentation, and basic observational data of smart building sensors and devices. This foundational information supports efficient planning and execution of the following verification phase. The assessment also documents site conditions, access points, equipment and device locations, and infrastructure details through CAD drawings, photographs, and observational data. 3.Verification phase : Involves an in-depth audit of spaces, equipment, and pathways, including cable labeling, conduit mapping, and backbone cable tracing of any infrastructure that the smart building systems are reliant upon. A structured protocol ensures accurate execution across all activities, from OSP surveys to template-driven data collection. Unlike the assessment phase, the verification phase is designed for contractor execution, requiring skilled personnel with expertise in ISP and OSP surveys. 4.Ongoing maintenance : Data from the verification phase establishes the infrastructure baseline, serving as a continuously updated reference point. This approach allows updates to be made as moves, adds,
and changes occur, eliminating the need for repeated full-site surveys. Active maintenance management ensures building data remains accurate, compliant, and aligned with evolving standards, reducing costs and maintaining operational efficiency. To ensure the success and scalability of active evidence collection, it is essential to adopt an operational model that provides a structured, efficient, and reliable framework for documentation delivery and maintenance. A fully dedicated project management team should manage, monitor, and update key data through regular communication with building owners, property management staff, tenants, vendors, and consultants. Additionally, the team should actively manage ongoing maintenance and documentation activities in a shared, cloud-based platform, allowing for centralized documentation. By entrusting infrastructure oversight to a dedicated management team, organizations can alleviate the burden on their internal resources, freeing personnel from conflicting responsibilities while optimizing departmental budgets. This structured approach is particularly beneficial for large-scale, multi-tenant smart buildings with extensive ISP and OSP infrastructure. Continuously documenting modifications preserves data integrity and provides a reliable centralized source for real-time infrastructure insights. This centralized approach enhances operational efficiency, reduces response times to outages, and simplifies strategic planning for future expansions and upgrades. TECH-READY SMART BUILDINGS - FINANCIAL AND STRATEGIC ADVANTAGES FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDING OWNERS From a financial perspective, active evidence collection allows building owners to optimize budget allocation. Instead of making reactive, ad-hoc investments based on outdated survey results, companies can strategically plan upgrades and replacements based on real-time asset performance data. This ensures that infrastructure investments align with long-term business objectives and tenant needs.
FIGURE 1 . Process and Methodology of Successful Active Evidence Collection Activities. Source: Concert Technologies.
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