Smart buildings and smart theatres

The term ‘smart building’ is used to describe a building which has been designed and built, or retrofitted, to include technology for gathering and sharing operational data. This provides opportunities for integration or automation to enhance the operational phase of the building. Compared to traditional methods this provides an improved experience for a wide range of users and allows for better monitoring, control and analysis.

Smart theatres are a proof-of-concept project which has embraced the smart buildings principles and retrofitted digital technology within a discreet and critical area of the hospital estate.

The benefits of deploying smart building technology can be significantly amplified when systems are integrated to work together and can provide insights to optimise operation. These insights can contribute to achieving business goals, such as reducing estates issues and theatre closures, and help deliver sustainability ambitions.

In smart theatres we have seen significant benefits in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Integrating HVAC with occupancy sensors means temperature and airflow can be automatically adjusted based on room occupancy, reducing energy demand and thereby saving cost and reducing carbon output. 

The Smart Theatres Project has converted operating theatres to be ‘smart’ by:

• installing additional sensors to augment real-time condition-monitoring capability (CO₂ presence, air quality, energy consumption)
• maximising use of existing data from the building management system (BMS) such as temperature, air changes and energy consumption
• extracting and managing this data through interoperable systems

The pilot has created a comprehensive framework for monitoring various environmental and operational aspects within an operating theatre. The project is providing valuable data on energy consumption, air quality, occupancy, door status, and leak detection. This data-driven approach facilitates better decision-making and enhances operational efficiency by significantly reducing energy consumption and downtime in theatre facilities.

Active data from both the new sensors, the incumbent sensors and from the upgraded BMS is aggregated, filtered, displayed on dashboards, and fed into analytical outputs. These can be used to:

• access live energy data and measure energy usage in individual theatres 
• provide a dashboard overview of operating theatre conditions for staff and patients
• generate alerts once thresholds are breached, triggering alerts to the Computer Assisted Facilities Management (CAFM) help desk
• reduce downtime resulting from estates related failures in operating theatres
• provide ongoing trend analysis, evidence-based decision making, auditable and traceable data and insights for continuous improvement

Furthermore, a clinical audit conducted at an early stage of the project identified that, with the addition of some low-cost sensors and the support of other teams, the hospital could:

• reduce energy consumption and carbon footprint - led by Sustainability Team
• improve patient care - led by Clinical Team
• improve productivity - led by Estates and Facilities Management Team
• feed ‘smart’ best-practice into new build designs for the trust - led by Capital Projects Team