Here is the thing. “Smart” has been the fashion word for years, but Richard Ligig claims that we are about to have something mothers. In our conversation, the emerging president drawn a clear line between buildings full of connected systems and buildings that can feel, decide and act without a person staring at a dashboard all day.
Richard shared a retail story that lingers. By wiring cooling units with sensors and training models on billions of telemetrieverpoints, his team can see errors 48 to 72 hours before wearing or milking milk. That time window changes panic calls at 3 hours in planned fixes during the day. It lowers waste, protects income and prevents customers from walking in empty shelves.
The bigger idea is a shift from many windows to no window to glass. Instead of asking people to argue, coordinate AI agents HVAC, security and maintenance and then send the right technician only with the right part if one is really needed. That is the road to self -healing facilities.
Practical practices that matter now
Let me explain why this resonates in the industry. Whether you run a hospital, a university, a factory or a supermarket chain, you are struggling with aging infrastructure and a short stock of trained employees. Richard sees the same pattern everywhere. Teams need guidance at work, not another report. Natural language agents who answer normal questions and run users through a task are hearts win because they remove friction.
Return-to-office adds another layer. Hybrid work has made use of space. Richard outlined how linking lease data, occupation and booking behavior helps leaders to decide what to close, reform or scales. It also changes floor plans. When people come in, they want project rooms and cooperation zones, not endless rows with cabins.
Retrofit is the sleeping story. You don’t need a skyline of brand new towers to get smarter. Cheap sensors and targeted integrations make older buildings more responsibly than most people expect. That opens the door for progress without Capex of nine digits.
Energy, sustainability and evidence
Signs want less energy expenditure and real emission progress. The fastest victories often hide in sight. Richard walked through HVAC control that follows people, sunlight and again instead of fixed schemes. Lights that switch off when a room is empty are yesterday’s news. Only cooling where teams actually work is today’s game.
He also marked a coming wave on factory floors. Many legacy engines and line components quietly put more power than they should. Clip-on-sensors can see the behavior of the Extraident, so that maintenance can repair the energy pig instead of replacing an entire line. That is the type of operational change that lowers bills and supports sustainability goals with data, not slogans.
Richard’s timeline is refreshing in the short term. He believes that a large part of the built environment will show real autonomy in three to five years. No theory. No demos. Everyday operations that quietly treat themselves until a person is really needed.
If this conversation starts an idea for your sites, shops, laboratories or campuses, I want to hear how you are approaching. What does this quarter feel possible, and what still feels out of reach?
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