The contract, confirmed for an initial three months, will be focused on designing the Eco-System of technology to enable the connectivity of buildings and assets across over 3,600 National Health Service Facilities.
Having grown enormously since its establishment in 2013, NHS Property Services (NHS PS) now has ownership of over 3600 National Health Service facilities, one of the largest property portfolios in the UK with a total value of over £3bn. The important work done by NHS PS helps to keep buildings clean, safe, warm and compliant, with dedicated facilities management teams working on the frontline to achieve this.
Owning this many properties has challenges, like gaining access to the critical data needed to improve efficiency of systems and industrial assets. The “Smarter Buildings Program” aims to implement an ‘Eco-System’, designed by Hark, which will be a central technological enabler, allowing NHS PS to collect, input, archive, analyse and report on their estate information in a consistent and efficient way. This Eco-System will allow NHS PS to react to facility and management information in real time and control buildings remotely through a digital twin environment by integrating software into their Building Management Systems.
Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, building management systems, artificial intelligence (AI), and augmented reality are amongst some of the technology that will be included NHS PS to control and optimise estate performance in the future.
NHS PS is in the initial stages of its Smarter Buildings program and requires assistance to write the architectural design that will be used to build the Smarter Building platform, the central intelligence hub of the project. Hark are helping NHS PS by offering the provision of technology consultancy services to aid them in the discovery phase of this project.
Hark are an energy analytics and industrial IoT business with a wealth of experience in digital transformations, especially relating to facilities management and energy, making them leading experts in the field. The kinds of topics Hark will be consulting on include: IoT standards, asset connectivity, IoT platforms and dashboarding, reporting & alerting, data ingestion, data storage and more.
Comment from Jordan Appleson, Chief Executive Officer, Hark:
“The NHS is a dream client for many across our team. It’s exciting to be designing something that will enable the connectivity of such a large estate alongside the NHS Property Services team. We feel very well placed to deliver the brief and beyond with our background and experience in large complex estates and also highly regulated healthcare labs and buildings.”
Comment from Cameron Hawkins, Head of Energy and Environment, NHS Property Services:
“As owners of 10% of the NHS estate, we play a key role in reducing emissions, helping the NHS adapt to climate change and building healthier communities. Our Green Plan is our commitment to reducing our environmental impact and promoting sustainable healthcare. As part of our plan, we recognise the important role data and technology plays in helping reduce the environmental impact of the NHS and creating greener, healthier communities. Hark’s excellent approach to systems design clearly aligns with this, demonstrating the power of their capabilities in the smart buildings environment and enabling us to support the NHS deliver excellent patient care both now and in the future.”
