Page 473 - Shaping smarter and more sustainable cities - Striving for sustainable development goals

1.8 Underlying philosophy

The preceding exams are comparitively superficial with the potential of intelligent building concept
providing far greater benefits. The single spine is usually represented by physical security
information management (PSIM). The significant advantage of intelligent buildings is that they can
constantly monitor current operations in context and automatically adjust resources for optimum
efficiency while identifying and accuarately informing key decisions in a timely manner. This can
range from the routine such as variance to the preventative maintenance schedules to automated
restocking and repair according to changes in the normal pattern of use.

For example, Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert is the most northerly, permanently inhabited
location in the world, located only 817 kilometres from the geographic North Pole. CFS Eureka is a
intelligent building that advises the Canadian Department of Defense Headquarters in Ottawa,
Canada when it is in use and automatically compiles its resupply and repair requirements for each
season deployment to the High Arctic. The expectation is that it will in the future inform and enable
change of use capabilities, enhancing through life value.

Figure 1 – Canadian Forces Station Alert
Photo credit: courtesy of IBI Group
Thus, the most important components for the purposes of providing an intelligent building are:

 A diverse, reliable, accessible communication system;
 Use of devices and systems which adhere to communication standards which provide
bi‐directional signalling;
 A clear commitment by the building owners, operators and designers to work together in order
to ensure the provision of the opportunities for the exploitation of communications
infrastructure and;
 Recognition of the roles played by each of those participating in the design, implementation,
operation and maintenance of these systems.
The benefits which accrue to the building have been briefly described and may be summarized by:

 A more efficient building;
 Implementation of communications as a "fourth utility" which results in only one
communications backbone for all applications (in some jurisdictions, fire or other life safety
systems may need to be segregated into an additional communications infrastructure to comply
with local ordinances) and;

 Energy savings, maintenance savings and staffing savings will generally arise as an indirect
benefit of each of the individual efficiencies.

ITU‐T's Technical Reports and Specifications 463