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Carrier and IBM this week each released AI-powered tools that aim to help building operators improve their maintenance operations. Both highlight the ongoing push by vendors to meet demand for data-driven insights and automation that can improve efficiency in the facilities management sector.
Almost half of building operators believe that AI could have a significant impact on improving the efficiency of preventive maintenance and scheduling, according to a December report by JLL subsidiary Building Engines, which surveyed 370 commercial real estate professionals in collaboration with Building Owners and Managers Association International.
On Wednesday, Carrier announced upgrades to its Abound Insights Assistant app that analyzes equipment performance across building portfolios and provides insights to building owners through the app, including recommendations for over 25 categories of equipment in commercial buildings, including HVAC, refrigeration and controls, the company says.
The tool alerts users with detailed information about problems and warnings that can help to schedule a site visit for inspection and complete maintenance, the company said in a release. For example, when there is a suspected refrigerant leak in the chiller, the system can warn there may be a risk of potential compressor damage, allowing technicians to show up prepared, Carrier says.
An equipment health dashboard within Carrier Abound also shares information on energy efficiency and potential failures that can be filtered by equipment categories, with users able to prioritize and allocate tasks based on the health of connected systems and skills required for each task. Located within the “To-Do List” feature, each task for equipment also includes AI-generated repair recommendations and service history, Carrier says.
IBM on Wednesday released a new version of its Maximo application suite that the company says is designed to help clients deploy asset lifecycle management in the data and AI era. The software provides capital planning tools and a Generative AI assistant that can help users engage with asset data through natural conversation.
The upgrades are meant to enable the proactive maintenance of assets, IBM says. In order to help plan capital allocations for projects , Maximo can also generate and compare multiple scenarios for investment in assets based on business priorities; the Asset Investment Planning tool will provide weighted analysis and multi-objective optimization to balance cost, risk and performance, IBM says.
