Remote monitoring & control were incredibly important during lockdown. Keeping air conditioning plants working was a serious priority, especially for buildings were essential activities were being carried out. That was the case of hospital, for instance, where healthcare personnel were saving lives, and thermal comfort is fundamental for patients recovering from health problems.
In this case, digital tools for HVAC systems proved to be crucial. In fact, the availability of smart remote monitoring technology allowed plant managers to keep HVAC plants working properly and allowed service engineers to take actions to fix issues even from remote.
The importance of taking action from remote
The lockdown has made all familiar with the concept of remote working. The restrictive measures on social and economic activities imposed by governments across the world to slow down and control the spread of Coronavirus, have in many cases led us to a heavier use of digital tools, so we could be able to carry out our activities while respecting social distancing and be safe.
So, digital tools and platforms were fundamental so we could keep being productive, but were also fundamental to keep vital support systems operating, like in the case of hospitals.
During lockdown, it became more and more important for HVAC plant managers and service engineer to remotely control, monitor and perform diagnostic analysis on HVAC equipment instead of heaving people on site.
That is exactly what Daikin has been making possible with a solution like Daikin on Site (DoS).
Daikin on Site allows engineers across the world to monitor, manage and control HVAC systems in real time, directly from the cloud. And this has allowed in many cases service managers to remotely access HVAC equipment during quarantine and take preventive actions without even visiting the site.
Experience “from the field”
The aim of this short article is to document how a solution like Daikin on Site managed to provide great value during the pandemic. We want to do that through the word of those who actually successfully took advantage of this digital tool, so they could provide great service to the customers.
In this case, Trevor Jeffrey, national technical service solutions manager at Daikin Applied UK, and Rui Rebelo, Service Business Coordinator at Daikin Portugal, were kind enough to tell us about their experience – and that of their teams – with Daikin on Site during lockdown.
Mr Rui Rebelo, has been working as a Service Business Coordinator for the last 2 years, after an experience in the after-sales services for Applied systems with a focus on chillers. He currently works with a specialized service team to guarantee daily support to customers and increase the life cycle of their equipment.
Here is what he said about Daikin on Site and how it was a great help for him and his clients:
“With Daikin on Site (DoS) remote monitoring active, we are able to visualize, monitor and record data on all installations with chillers from North to South of Portugal, including the islands of Madeira and the Azores.
With this tool, our technical support capacity increases exponentially. In fact, we have several successful cases of technical support from maintenance teams, optimization of operation with energy savings, avoiding breakdowns with high costs and fault diagnoses.
In the current situation we live due to Covid-19, with very limited access to plants, DoS makes all the difference, because we are able to monitor and act remotely. And especially during the lockdown, DoS was essential, because thanks to it we managed to guarantee remote technical support for hospital chillers.
Also plant owners felt that the DoS is an essential tool to overcome the access limitations caused by the pandemic”.
While Mr Trevor Jeffrey from Daikin Applied UK gave us a feel of what the situation for the UK has been like, and has told us about his experience with hospitals which needed maintenance during lockdown:
“Keeping critical air conditioning and ventilation plant working was a serious priority for the NHS (National Health Service) during the lockdown period. The availability of smart remote monitoring technology will make that increasingly easy and cost-effective.
During the recent lockdown we were using DoS to sort out some issues at a hospital in Belfast (Northern Ireland). This, of course, was hugely beneficial as there were travel restrictions in place and our service technicians in Ireland were able to log in and rectify issues and keep the chilled water system operating. It also minimised any Health and Safety risk associated with sending a service tech to site”.
More about Daikin on Site
Daikin On Site (DoS) is a remote monitoring too by Daikin, that can provide 24/7 real time data, all year round, tracking chiller plants and their correct functionality. All this to allow plant owners to take preventive actions and avoid extra costs associated with breakdowns and downtime.
From a plant manager perspective, Daikin on Site can be beneficial in so many ways.
Every time there is an alarm, plant managers can easily recognize the problem and find the right solution. Through this platform they can evaluate all the parameters in real time and if there is a need for any settings adjustment, they can act remotely. All of this allows both to improve units’ operation and management and allows to increase units’ reliability.
Daikin on Site allows to plan technicians’ work. That means they have the possibility to prepare technicians about issues and possible solutions. Also, that allows to give technicians an idea of the spare parts they might need, then speeding up their work. Allowing them to work efficiently and reduce HVAC plants recovery time.
And on top of that, DoS allows to create periodical reports of the system performance or energy audits, which help keeping the system as efficient as possible.
For all these reasons Daikin on Site has become fundamental, because it is able to increase the level of efficiency and reliability of a HVAC plant, almost completely from remote, which is now more than ever a huge necessity for all businesses in the era of Covid-19.
Do you want to know more about Daikin on Site? Then, get in touch using the form below.