Building safer environments with the internet of things

Michael Grant shares how Metrikus uses the internet of things to create safer, cost-effective and sustainable building spaces for its customers

By Alice Chambers on 29 April 2022

Building safer environments with the internet of things

Understanding how to optimise the environment, maintenance and usage of their facilities is key to the success of any organisation. And building efficiency software provider and Microsoft partner Metrikus has developed software to help companies do just that.

“Metrikus provides revolutionary insights, making spaces smarter, safer and more sustainable,” says Michael Grant, chief operating officer at Metrikus. “We make data accessible and understandable, with real-time data, bespoke charts, graphs and analytics – all in one place. By driving building efficiency, we help companies to reduce costs and emissions.”

Metrikus is a registered Microsoft independent software vendor (ISV) partner and member of Microsoft for Startups. Its platform is built using a range of technologies on Azure, including Azure IoT Hub and Azure Digital Twin.

“By leveraging Azure, we can gather real-time reliable data using the platform as a service tool, allowing us to reduce our operational costs,” says Grant. “Azure is now the backbone of our platform and we have conducted a range of technical training sessions with Microsoft’s ISV FastTrack team that have been immensely valuable. Azure is now our default choice for technology decisions.”

The company uses the internet of things (IoT) to help customers across the financial services, manufacturing, retail and public sectors connect thousands of assets and sensors in one digital platform. This enables financial services institutions to share data collected from components with shareholders and stakeholders to increase collaboration, while manufacturing companies can use data insights to reduce asset failures, downtime and maintenance costs.

“We ensure factories are safe, healthy and compliant environments, all while lowering costs and increasing profits,” says Grant. “We can also help retailers to improve the customer experience with real-time occupancy and indoor air quality monitoring, ensuring stores are safe and healthy environments.

“Meanwhile, healthcare providers can benefit from asset tracking, automated cold storage, risk management and smart cleaning, all of which are enabled through Metrikus’s healthcare and smart cleaning solutions.”

Metrikus has also developed an environmental, social and governance (ESG) solution which combines multiple data sources and sensors to provide actionable insights on the energy consumption of a building. This solution aims to help businesses simplify their ESG reporting.

“We empower companies with the data they need to reduce their building’s energy usage, overlapping multiple data sets to identify hotspots and opportunities for reduction,” says Grant. “This enables them to reduce their emissions by up to 25 per cent, so they can reach their sustainability targets and comply with ESG regulations.”

This article was originally published in the Spring 2022 issue of Technology Record. To get future issues delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for a free subscription.