Research, Reinvent, Recreate, Reboot - Repeat if Necessary

As we recover and return, we need to research and analyze the virus events that changed the world and caused our need for social isolation while grasping the realization that we are all globally connected.

As the world recovers and returns—reboots—we need to watch those that have flattened their curve and are rebooting first, to learn what works and what will cause the next crash. There will inevitably be crashes of our global operating systems, and we need to fail fast and identify those failures.

We need to Recover quickly while Reinventing ourselves, then Reboot and keep Repeating the process till we get it Right—or at least acceptable for that moment in time. Your Reboot needs to include Antifragility; the acknowledgment that returning to baseline is not good enough in a world full of disorder and constant change. 

To make sense of this chapter it might help to do a quick review of the last two chapters: 

Global Reboot - Adopting Adaption  So, what will that global reboot look like?

Adopting Adaptation - Achieving Antifragility  The global pandemic has shown us how fast we can adapt for survival.

Here, in Episode 361 of ControlTalk I discuss antifragility in an interview with Ken Smyers. Key quote from the session:

In the new norm which will never be normal, everything is a variable. Our constants that we normally set our hinges on, are few and far between. Our only constant is continuous adaption to rapid change. But for those that can create rapid adaptions and antifragility, a new world.

And, since it seems we’re all on Zoom these days, here is a recorded session of Monday Live!, a live weekly open Zoom conversation with industry friends and colleagues to help us get through the pandemic and prepare for a new normal for commercial buildings post-COVID.

In the latest issue of AutomatedBuildings.com, Marc Petock Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Lynxspring, Inc. Contributing Editor writes about COVID-19 Conversations and Implications. Key quote:

These are strange times for all industries and the built environment is no exception. COVID-19 has created unprecedented changes. For building owners, integrator's, contractors and solution providers, this virus has created new implications not only on the business side, but the operational and environmental side as well.

As we navigate and consider how to best prepare our facilities for a Ready State to Return, the important question is: What are the changes that will both be needful and/or mandated? How do we begin to answer and have action plans in place to address these changes? While there is no simple/single answer, we must lay the groundwork to deal with what will be permanent changes or the new normal in we how manage and operate buildings.  So, what are the critical conversations we should be having? Here are several that I have considered…

Kim Stanley Robinson, writing for The New Yorker, feels that The Coronavirus Is Rewriting Our Imaginations - what felt impossible has become thinkable. The spring of 2020 is suggestive of how much, and how quickly, we can change as a civilization.

Emma Rose Bienvenu, writing for Marker.com back in mid-April, offers 7 Predictions for a Post-Coronavirus World; remote work, automation, and telemedicine could soon become the new normal.

Harry Smeenk writing for Connected Real Estate Magazine makes the case for Why Smart Healthy Buildings Will Become the “New Normal.” His main point: 

It will be imperative that employees, tenants and building occupants feel safe and comfortable going back to a healthy and clean office “environment.”

Here’s an interesting piece from David Uberti in The Wall Street Journal, Apps to Track the New Coronavirus Have an Old Problem: Getting the Downloads:  

At least 60% of a population would have to opt in for contact-tracing apps to work well. Some experts say Bluetooth can provide privacy features that might entice more people to opt in because the technology measures a user’s proximity to infected people, Ms. Wanger said. GPS data, on the other hand, shows physical locations with a centralized server and can more easily point back to individual users.

This article from the Memoori web site argues that Commercial Buildings are at the Center of our “Return to New Normal” Strategy: 

China is starting to return to some kind of normality. In Italy, Spain, and a host of other countries that were hit early or lightly, they have introduced their de-escalation plans and have begun to ease lockdown measures.

It will still take a while, but we can now begin to consider when we might return to the office, and how. For building owners and managers, that will mean switching from the remote lockdown mode they are only just getting to grips with, to the unprecedented post-lockdown reintroduction of occupants with virus-control measures.

Scott Cochrane, President, CEO,Cochrane Supply & Engineering talks about the new challenge facing the industry in this article, PRESSURE!!!!! 

Controlling and reporting temperature, humidity and airflow have never been more important for a building to operate safely…

This is the challenge we have been waiting for… A NEW CAUSE FOR BAS!!!!  Controlling and reporting temperature, humidity and airflow have never been more important for a building to operate safely.  Making sure a BAS system is working properly can be directly correlated to making the building a safer place.

The ability to modify control strategies to reduce the risk to occupants, as well as the system itsself, has the ability to report back KPI’s for indoor air quality and other measures that point out the actual conditions to the occupants.  This information will hopefully make them feel a little safer to enter that building knowing it’s under control.  A NEW INDUSTRY may have just been born?

In this article, facilities services company Cushman & Wakefield offers  A How-to Guide for Reopening your Workplace:

As areas stabilize from the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home restrictions are lifted, organizations will begin to bring workers back into the physical workplace. It’s already begun in some parts of the world. In fact, as of April 2020, we have helped move our own employees, and those of our clients, back into more than 800 million square feet of properties globally.

The “Recovery Readiness: A How-to Guide for Reopening your Workplace,” outlines some of the best thinking and practices that our more than 53,000 professionals have compiled across the globe and also includes insights from key partners. The recommended practices and protocols already have been implemented at locations across the globe with tremendous success.

In the same vein, Jones, Lang, Lasalle LP, a real estate services company offers in this article a framework for working in the next normal: 

For a moment in time, the world has hit pause. Things screeched to a halt as we collectively assessed the true impact of a global pandemic, all while adjusting in an instant to a new way of life. But human perseverance, sacrifice and selflessness have us moving forward to prepare for (re)entry. This journey will be bumpy and nonlinear. Continual adaptation and response to new information and changes will be critical for success. To ensure we are ready to navigate what’s next, it’s vital that we (re)activate our spaces to balance health, safety and financial implications. And that we continue to (re)spect each other’s well-being.

Preparedness, agility, and resilience will be key. As employees and tenants begin to return to the workplace, it is extremely important that when we open the doors, we are inviting everyone into a safe environment. Together we can (re)vitalize businesses as we take a step forward intoa new and different world

CBRE, another real estate services company specializing in the commercial space, in this article talks about REOPENING The World’s Workplaces:

The implications of COVID-19 have been profound, and the path to business recovery is evolving and fluid. This briefing is for occupiers of space and landlords who manage their buildings—wherever they are in the response-to-recovery process.

We are sharing our expertise and advice based on a rapidly growing body of experience, detailed guidance documents, technical specifications, protocols and tools that we have developed for and with our clients and for our own CBRE workplace.

Naturally, over at AutomatedBuildings.com, we have compiled a list of fantastic resources to help our readers get the most out of their reboot.

We invite everyone reading this article to join in on the conversation, to share ideas, strategies and best practices. This LinkedIn post has 27,900 reads to date. A few selections from the comments section:

"The people that operate buildings will have more impact on your health than your doctor" - Karen Quintana "

Data is the anchor in a wave of unknowns" - Marc Petock

"Tenants have a right in knowing what the building is saying" - Steve Fey

"Buildings need to be able to pass the test of time. To be able to be flexible enough to adapt to whatever is needed from them, from anyone. And the only way forward is to democratize data sense-making and putting no-code/low code platforms in front of domain experts and let them solve the problem they know all about." -  Ken Sinclair

In our new, post-virus world, it will be those that can create rapid adaption with antifragility who will win. Remember, Research, Reinvent, Recreate, Reboot – and then Repeat if necessary.