User Manual

MYTH 2: IT’S ALL ABOUT TECHNOLOGY

While many of the components and software packages

that support big-data analytics and data visualization

can be deployed today, the missing ingredient for many

companies is the people necessary to do the work. In

our survey, 67 percent of respondents claimed that a

“lack of resources to help implement and manage a

solution” is delaying their technology purchase.

According to James Gray-Donald, VP Sustainability at

Bentall Kennedy, one of North America’s largest real

estate investment advisors, “I think it’s important to

assess the readiness of people at the property level for

big data. Is there the literacy, willingness and skill set

to transition to digital technologies? I think that’s the

largest constraint that we face and will continue to face

despite having rich energy performance data available.”

MGM’s Magee agrees. “You have to continually

evaluate whether you have the right resources. Do

you have the team that’s going to be able to effectively

respond when you get alarms or highlights, who will

come up with the proper remedy, and do you have the

right kind of team structure at that particular facility?”

One executive adds, “Ultimately the data is the data,

but you need that human interaction, the people

to maximize the value of that data, whether it’s

somebody telling the system what to do under

certain scenarios or somebody that’s directly acting

because of the data they’re getting.”

That can be a challenge. As another interviewee

noted, “We’re a $4.6 billion company and I am

the entire energy management team.” Another

energy manager related that, “Probably the biggest

challenge I face is just having the time to actually

sit down and look at the data and make changes or

see what’s wrong.”

NREL’s Commercial Buildings research group hosts

a wide range of organizations at its facilities. As a

result, Steve Frank hears a lot of stories about how

companies cope with energy issues. “Whether

it’s a university or a retail chain, one common

mistake they make is that they don’t allocate

sufﬁcient resources to address the issues as they

come up. In those cases, you don’t get your return

on investment, because the energy information

system is telling you that things are wrong, but

you’re overwhelmed and cannot deal with them.”

Some forward-looking companies are adding staff