The system connects almost 60,000 points of control from all the buildings and plants, including the DSOA headquarters, six office towers, the cedre shopping centre, the operations and facilities centre, light industrial units, two residential complexes, Al Waha Mosque, and Dubai Digital Park project, through a Local Area Network (LAN) and using Tridium’s Niagara Framework to integrate all the digital data streams available across the network. Data is aggregated centrally and analyzed through an artificial intelligence-enabled approach, with algorithms designed to recognize and react to patterns. Every data point in the building portfolio is consolidated into a single system to optimize information management and decision-making.

Leveraging state-of-the-art technology, the IBMS has helped DSOA save approximately AED1 million per month. This number takes into consideration both a reduction in energy usage and reduction in facilities manpower.

Speaking on the significance of the system integration with Artificial Intelligence solution, Engineer Khalil Odeh Shalan, Senior Vice President of Operations and Facilities at DSOA, said, “At DSOA, we are committed to articulating the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the smartest city in the world. In line with this objective, the newly implemented AI solution will further enhance our existing integrated building management system that was implemented for the first time in 2009. The new upgrade is testament of our commitment to implement sustainable projects, in line with the objectives outlined in the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 and the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050.”

He added, “We will continue implementing our AI enabled building management systems in newly completed projects and integrate them with the current system. Going forward, building management systems will be incorporated within the centralized system into the planning of all DSOA-owned facilities. In addition, any private developer in DSO will have the flexibility to integrate their building management system into our IBMS.”

More specifically, the benefits of the new system include a significant reduction in energy saving totaling 36% per year and the number of operators required to manage the 40 buildings – from 110, to five. Furthermore, the software is based on a framework that integrates a range of devices, regardless of manufacturer or communication protocol, hence allowing DSOA greater flexibility.

In addition, from the centralized control room, the DSOA facilities management team can monitor electricity usage in real-time, giving greater ability to make appropriate adjustments and send alerts during high-consumption instances. Lastly, the IBMS grants the ability to capture and store more historical data to feed analytics tools, which help DSOA’s facilities management team to drive toward continual energy reduction and performance improvements.