2019 AWARD FINALIST SPOTLIGHT: CompuCom - Finalist in the Operational Excellence to deliver Business Transformation Category

Read this article about CompuCom, one of our finalists, in the category Best Achievement in Operational Excellence to deliver Business Transformation, selected by the independent judging panel, for the 2019 Business Transformation & Operational Excellence Industry Awards program. Click here to read articles on other finalists.

CompuCom® set out to design one of the first-in-the-world, fully-digital building exclusively powered by Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) to be a showcase for the transformational and operational gains that can be achieved using the emerging technology available now in the construction industry. CompuCom's Global World Headquarters is a 3-story, 150,000 square foot digital campus that includes tech support centers, corporate offices, the CompuCom Solutions Café (a center for the incubation and advancement of digital workplace technology and services), a state-of-the-art healthcare clinic, a modern gym, and a two-story digital video wall. The current building will support about 1,500 workers, but when the full campus is complete, it's expected to house up to 3,500 personnel in two buildings over the next 5 to 7 years.

IoT is used to connect, automate, and control all electronic systems and devices within the building, such as HVAC, lighting, meters and sensors, fitness equipment, kitchen electronics, elevators, water, power, communications, collaboration, meeting room scheduling, televisions, occupancy tracking, and security. Every light fixture is both LED and PoE, which saves energy and allows all lighting throughout the building to be controlled by sensors - meaning there are absolutely no light switches on the walls anywhere. The light levels are automatically adjusted based on occupancy and time of day to match natural light and help people maintain their circadian rhythm - improving productivity and employee satisfaction. The building automatically delivers heating or cooling as needed based on real-time data. Even the plumbing fixtures and faucets are sensor-operated for reduced water use.

Trent Tursi Director of Digital Buildings, Digital Workplace & IoT

CompuCom went from ‘trees to keys’ within 12 months.  One challenge was finding a building contractor with experience in AC, DC, and low-voltage systems. Adding to the difficulty, some of the Cisco racks and data switches used in the PoE/LED design were not actually being manufactured until nearly the end of the construction cycle - making pre-testing impossible.  Much of the other technology used was so new that sourcing suitable equipment, getting reliable specifications, and understanding if and how it would be compatible with the overall plan provided additional obstacles that the team had to overcome.

You might expect that a building crammed with so much emerging technology would cost significantly more to construct, but because PoE low-voltage wiring and light controls require less wire and use cheaper labor, they’re actually less expensive to install than traditional systems - meaning the net construction costs were on par with a conventional building. Thanks to the 24/7 occupancy monitoring and subsequent light and air conditioning controls, monthly operating costs are 16-percent less than CompuCom's original Texas-based headquarters.

CompuCom took a significant risk attempting the world's first fully-digital building exclusively powered by PoE, but it's paid off. While the cost reductions are significant, the improvements to productivity, worker collaboration, and employee satisfaction are dramatic.

CompuCom views its digital campus as one of several incentives that attract and retain top talent, and it's capitalizing on the knowledge gained during the construction process to market digital building technology to other companies.