Smart Spaces

IoT solution for a flexible, healthy and comfortable working environment

Author: Armin Anders, Vice President Business Development, EnOcean
Issue 01-2024: read all articles online read as pdf

The way we work has drastically changed over the last years. New work concepts are emerging that focus on flexibility, health and overall comfort of the employees. Offices must not be static anymore but need to adapt to the employee’s needs. A well-known sporting goods manufacturer wanted to provide the best possible working experience for their employees. An intelligent IoT solution turned out to be the ideal answer: EnOcean-based desk utilization sensors, room motion detectors and people passing counters, combined with the comprehensive workplace experience platform from Thing-it.

Smart workplace technology

The company chose to update four international locations in Germany, the Netherlands, the US, and Colombia with nine office buildings and a total of 200,000 square meters with smart workplace technology in a first step. This IoT solution consists of more than 8,000 wireless sensors and software developed specifically for this customer to create a flexible, healthy, and comfortable working environment for 12,000 employees.

The wireless sensors from EnOcean deliver all needed information: desk utilization sensors, room motion detectors and people passing counters with EnOcean technology collect data on space utilization, forward it to the Thing-it workplace experience platform and provide important information on the availability of shared desks as well as the occupancy of meeting and quiet rooms. Through shared desks the company achieved a reduction in office space requirements of up to 15%, leading to significant optimization. With costs of about 300-500 €/m²/year including rent, utilities, maintenance, etc. this measure led to a considerable cost reduction.

Choosing the right partners

The entire IoT solution has been a joint project between NTT Germany AG & Co. KG, e-shelter security GmbH, ThingTechnologies GmbH, DEUTA Controls GmbH and EnOcean GmbH.

NTT, as a leading global technology services provider and trusted partner to the company, carefully selected the technology partners. Together they support the customer in achieving their business goals in terms of employee experience, space utilization and sustainability. E-shelter security has performed the system integration including the installation of the EnOcean-based sensors:

6,500 multisensors on desks
800 motion detectors in quiet rooms
730 people passing counters in meeting rooms

DEUTA Controls has provided the entire EnOcean sensor and gateway infrastructure and also undertook the hardware pre-commissioning. These sensors provide the needed data on space utilization and the occupancy of desks, meeting rooms and quiet rooms.

Thing-it‘s smart workplace solution makes the collected data available to facility managers. The Frankfurt based company offers a comprehensive workplace platform and app for large, multi-site corporates, featuring the richest, self-contained data analytics cube for smart buildings in the industry.

The EnOcean sensors on ceilings and desks at the offices monitor the real occupancy of working spaces. This makes the entire office experience needs-based and future-oriented.