A fire door that tests itself, an enterprise asset management system for the MoD, a digital twin for education estate management and a simple but effective means of reducing university energy consumption have all made the shortlist for the Asset Management Best Practice category at the Digital Construction Awards 2026.
The project has delivered many quantifiable benefits, among them: reactive maintenance costs fell by about £60,000 a year thanks to improved visibility, smarter scheduling and proactive asset management; schools collectively saved roughly 70 days of staff time annually, equating to £105,000 in trust‑wide savings from reduced paperwork, streamlined contractor coordination and automated compliance workflows; and real‑time monitoring enabled more efficient energy management, allowing data‑driven reductions and early detection of underperforming assets.
The solution, called Halve the Half, turned the university’s existing automated meter reading (AMR) data into a lightweight, vendor‑neutral analytics tool. By importing half‑hourly electricity, gas and water readings into an Excel workbook and separating the data into in‑hours and out‑of‑hours periods, the team quickly identified where energy was being wasted.
Engineers then investigated and applied iterative fixes, adjusting schedules and setpoints, repairing runtime logic and replacing worn parts. Outcomes are recorded by monitors. In addition, by analysing peaks and out-of-hours consumption, replacement plant can be right-sized to meet the measured need, anchoring design conversations in evidence rather than assumption.
For the full academic year to 31 July 2025, gas usage fell 22.3%, electricity 7.5% and water 11.3%, saving 2.3 GWh of energy, 10,000 cu m of water and 430tCO2e. Financial savings from reduced consumption amounted to £700,000 in the year (more than £1m including tariff effects), all within existing maintenance budgets.
View the original article and our Inspiration here
Leave a Reply