Column - 2015 AHRExpo Chicago

These columns appeared in the Show Daily newspaper delivered to the Exhibition floor.

Understanding The Impact of The Internet of Things “IoT” on our industry
The "I of Me" and you at AHR Expo 2015 Chicago

Your present IoT (Internet of Things) understanding, which I choose to whimsically call “The I of Me,” greatly controls your comprehension and expectations of what those three letters might mean to you and those around you. The art, science, and social interaction of our time, the Internet of Things, reflects life and is affecting all of our lives daily so get over it. You cannot go back, sorry.....smile. The true danger comes from not being involved in its evolution and having open discussions. Allowing IoT to be created and applied without input from those it will affect is of significant concern. Old school wisdom is of value in its evolution but not a game changer. We cannot hide from IoT; we must embrace and change its shape and purpose. Please embrace and help evolve IoT with open discussions followed by personal action.

Everyone's "I of Me" is greatly increasing expectations of our industry, but it is our combined personal IoT interaction that will actually change industry.

At this year’s show you will see IoT as part of every product and service. Take the time to understand how each exhibitor has increased the power and reach of his product and services with IoT.

Autodidactism or self-education is the act of teaching oneself about a subject or subjects in which one has had little to no formal education. I am looking forward to using this word in encouraging the attendees of our free education sessions at AHRExpo to keep on the self-education theme, please drop in and join us.

I’ll Have IoT with That Please IoT is emerging as the third wave in the evolution of intelligent buildings. - Marc Petock, Vice President, Marketing Lynxspring & Connexx Energy

“There has been much discussion as of late on what IoT means and how does it impact and relate to the world of commercial real estate. IoT is an important aspect to the overall ecosystem within CRE and has and will continue to play a key role in how we interact, collaborate, operate, manage and “smarten up” our buildings. IoT is emerging as the third wave in the evolution of intelligent buildings.

IoT requires more than “just being on the Internet” or simply adding connectivity. IoT offerings require value propositions and design thinking from the set-go. It requires reimagining the business you are in, the way you operate your facilities and the challenges that present themselves and creatively determining how to most effectively solve them though interoperability, integration and intelligence within a secured environment.
IoT isn't coming; it's already here. Companies have been working on and in the Internet of Things for decades. Look at our own industry. We have been developing, delivering and deploying IoT for years in our buildings and facilities. We’ve been connecting devices and systems to each other, to people and measuring, collecting, analyzing, monitoring, and sharing information about them.”

Show Daily - Day 2 - January 27

Developing Young Talent in our Industry
AHRExpo is the place to start

I have pulled this insight from my young speaking partner at AHR Expo, Brad White, P.Eng, MASc, Principal, SES Consulting, Inc., from his article, "Knowledge Sharing to Drive Learning." He writes: "Only if you can hire good people, train them well, and ensure they continue to learn throughout their career will we see industry, from the operators to the engineers, achieve the potential we all know is there."

These words have been extracted from his article: “While technology solutions, like the ones I discuss above, are part of the answer to the education and training problem, it certainly can’t completely replace things like good old fashioned mentorship. I am fortunate to have been exposed to many fantastic industry mentors early in my career.

“It turns out that Google already knows this. A lot of the themes I talked about are echoed in this article.

The main lessons I took away are to: hire the best people you can find (even if you are not sure what you'll do with them), hire people who cherish learning, and don't be afraid of unconventional planning processes since we also face a pretty dynamic industry. I think we do a pretty decent job at this already, but it's always nice to have confirmation that we're not way out in left field with our ideas, or at least we're in good company out there. Examples like these are good inspiration for how we can continue to push things and also a reminder of why these things are important if we're going to continue to be successful.”

Join our free Session at AHRExpo 2015 Chicago January 26; 1:30 pm room S102a

[an error occurred while processing this directive] “Addressing the Skills Gap”, Understanding that People are our only Asset, an education session.

To help grow our only true resource, our people, younger, by reaching out to youth with messages about our vibrant, vital and rewarding industry. Organizations need to attract talent before they graduate; whether working on a two or four year degree, students need to be introduced to this field early on. Through internship programs, they can gain an understanding of the field and whether this is right for them. The knowledge shift required for the IoT will be discussed.

“Creating your Collaboration” started with my puzzling with the process of how industry knowledge gets passed on. AHR Expo is the annual event where we present our free education sessions to the industry. This is our 16th year of presenting these sessions and hosting the third annual Connection Community Collaboratory meeting. Online Collaboration is how today's education occurs.

Education is not an affair of "telling and being told" but an active process; I am a poor presenter but a good connector of concepts and resources for the active process. My value is not the knowledge that I can share, but the knowledge I can connect folks to so they can self-teach themselves their way.

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