REFLECTING ON THE BUSINESS AWARDS

Last year at the Chamber’s Derbyshire Business Awards, Scenariio picked up the Business Improvement through Technology Award, where it had previously been a finalist on several occasions.

George says the recognition was significant as it demonstrates “an unbiased view” on its achievements.

“It just cements what you’re doing – business improvement through technology is exactly what we've been helping people achieve for the past decade,” he says.

When reflecting on the application process for the awards, George adds: “We’ve been growing for a number of years now – when I joined the company eight years ago, there were just four of us.

“We were always flat out working on making sure our customers were happy, but not truly reflecting on what we did as a business. We’ve been able to discuss projects we couldn’t talk about previously, and actually been able to put the time into the application process, which I think made a massive difference.” fluorescent lighting with LED lights that command a fraction of the power or running costs.

The Chamber’s Business Awards programme launches on 17 April. Find out more at www.emc-dnl.co.uk/business-awards.

“Although this has saved businesses on keeping the lights on, it didn't allow them to save energy on aircon units or their heating bills because they put in a system that just saved a nominal value of energy on the lighting,” says George. “It didn't take into account any of the data feeding into other systems that could identify money-saving opportunities elsewhere.”

When speaking to businesses about operational savings, Scenariio’s team of eight will identify any available data across a building, as well as how people use facilities in order to identify potential issues and areas of over or underuse, before making a recommendation for smart technology.

He explains: “It starts by reviewing some of the systems they may have put in place, then looking at the environments they are trying to create, whether that’s improving air quality or intelligent lighting. From there, we look at the user experience, and use the sensor technology to integrate all the data together.

“The last stage is when we can implement processes such as setting timers for monitors and for lights to turn off after people leave a meeting room, once you have a holistic view of how people use the building.”

TECHNOLOGY HAS A tendency to regularly hop from one fad to another, but George recognises the importance of sticking within an area of expertise.

This has led to a number of recent award wins for the company, including Business Improvement through Technology at the Chamber’s Derbyshire Business Awards last year to go with the Severn Trent recognition, and it plans to build on this success by growing its seven-figure turnover by 15% this year.

George says: “We know what we've got works, we know it's already ahead of what 99% of buildings probably have, so we want to put an offering we’ve proven out there further."

That doesn’t stop the team staying ahead of the curve, reading trade journals and looking out for new products that can benefit its client base. A client request on what could be done to streamline cleaning processes within its office recently led to Scenariio exploring whether odour sensors could be deployed on toilets.

“What we install in our own office is changing every time you come in,” says George. “We’ll get a new sensor in, we’ll test it and put new data into the dashboard to see how it functions. We're always evaluating and working on new technology so that if anything amazing becomes available, we can be ready.”

A new smart technology product for warehouses is demonstrated next door at street food venue Bustler Market, where a sensor network has been installed to help the owner and its traders access real-time security alerts.

It’s an example of how learnings from the office environment are being adopted in other areas, with initial findings suggesting the technology can detect whether equipment is running properly and the temperature is at an optimum level for the building’s contents.

“We want to be at the leading edge of what we’re doing, so we keep an eye on what's going on within our industry by following sector reports and attending trade shows,” adds George.

“Ultimately, we want to make sure that the products we’re promoting to businesses are what they are asking for.”