As part of a new digital transformation initiative, Cheltenham Ladies’ College required a “flexible and scalable” technology platform for their unique estate allowing its tenants and contractors a better, more consistent experience from building to building whilst maintaining the heritage and prestigious architecture of the buildings.
“Acutro’s differentiated approach and strong references in the real estate industry convinced CLC that it was possible to do more with less,” said Nigel Richards, Chief Operating Officer at CLC.
With expertise in data acquisition and interpretation, Acutro allows real estate owners such as CLC to aggregate building data and control operations with the aim of improving building performance whilst deriving real efficiencies across the estate. The programme is being driven in collaboration by CLC’s strategic partner, BGIS – a supplier of integrated facility management services.
BGIS always encourages better ways of working and new experiences through innovation and has championed AI-driven technologies like Acutro for some time. BGIS and Acutro are achieving similar measurable outcomes together through a partnership that spans over two years across multiple sites in the UK.
“It was imperative we chose an ambitious technology partner to disrupt the education sector to drive change through this data-led approach, whilst preserving the heritage that remains at the heart of CLC.” said Nick Spearman, Director of Professional Services at BGIS.
Reducing operating costs, meeting sustainability targets and elevating student and staff experiences are three of CLC’s major targets that the BGIS promises to deliver through Acutro’s Internet of Everything platform. The innovative cloud-based solution will consume live telemetry data from a multitude of sources to provide a holistic view of the estate’s data environment. Leveraging AI data models to prescribe live scoring of critical assets and systems to measure asset health, asset availability, asset lifespan, and more to address the headline objectives. Adopting Acutro will give all stakeholders across the property value chain never-before-seen insight through data.
One of the major factors in selecting Acutro was Cheltenham Ladies’ College’s aim to reduce energy consumption across the 36-acre estate by at least 12 per cent. The Horizon system, from Acutro, uses Artificial Intelligence to monitor and optimise energy efficiency across the site, representing an important step in College’s aim to become carbon net zero. A 12% reduction in College’s energy consumption equates to 275 tonnes of CO2e; equivalent to 1,654 mature trees photosynthesising for one year.
As well as reducing CLC’s carbon footprint and energy costs, the system will also monitor CO2 levels and room temperature throughout the site and make adjustments to maintain comfort and well-being among the pupil and staff body.
