Symmons Transforms Water Management & Conservation with AI and Machine Learning

Summary

Water management in commercial buildings is often overlooked until it's too late, leading to costly damages. Simmons has spent over 85 years solving water-related issues, and with their Evolution platform, they’ve created intelligent, self-reliant water systems. Powered by AI and IoT, the system detects issues like leaks and inefficiencies in real-time, helping facilities managers take action without expert knowledge. By leveraging Amazon SageMaker, Simmons’ solution saves millions of gallons of water annually and aims to save 5 billion gallons over the next five years, representing the future of self-healing infrastructure.

Takeaways

• 😀 Water management in commercial buildings is often overlooked until problems arise, leading to costly and preventable damage.
• 😀 Many building systems only notify of issues after significant damage has already occurred.
• 😀 Simmons has been focused on solving water-related issues for over 85 years, engineering innovative solutions.
• 😀 The goal of Evolution is to make water systems intelligent and self-reliant, preventing issues before they occur.
• 😀 Kalin's IoT-driven platform collects millions of data points from buildings daily to turn this data into actionable insights.
• 😀 Kalin’s deep AI and MLOps expertise helped transform raw data into real-time, actionable solutions for building teams.
• 😀 The platform can detect problems like leaks, overheating tanks, and faulty cooling towers by analyzing sensor data.
• 😀 Evolution learns and adapts to recommend proactive solutions without requiring deep technical knowledge from facilities managers.
• 😀 Facilities managers can easily find and address problems using the system's simple and intuitive interface.
• 😀 Simmons' system has already saved 80 million gallons of water, with a goal to save 5 billion gallons over the next five years.
• 😀 The ultimate goal is to not just detect problems, but to automatically solve them, creating self-healing infrastructures.

Q & A

What are some common issues with water management in commercial buildings?

Water management in commercial buildings is often overlooked until problems like leaks or inefficiencies occur. These issues can go unnoticed for days or weeks, potentially causing millions in preventable damage.

What is Simmons' approach to addressing water-related problems in buildings?

Simmons has spent over 85 years understanding customer problems related to water. Their focus is on engineering solutions to sometimes invisible water-related problems, aiming to create intelligent and self-reliant water systems.

What is the role of Kalin in Simmons' water management system?

Kalin plays a key role by helping turn data from millions of sensors into actionable insights. They brought deep AI and MLOps expertise to make the system useful for facilities teams on the ground.

How does Evolution help with water system management in buildings?

Evolution uses IoT technology to collect data from hundreds of buildings daily. The system adapts, learns, and guides facilities teams in real-time, helping them detect and address water-related issues before they escalate.

What technology is used to power the smart water management system?

The system uses AI and machine learning technology built on Amazon SageMaker. This allows it to contextualize data from dozens of sensors in a building simultaneously to identify potential issues.

What kind of water-related issues can the system identify?

The system can identify a variety of issues, including slow leaks, overheating tanks, and faulty cooling towers, all by analyzing data from multiple sensors across a building.

How does Evolution's system help facilities managers with limited expertise?

Evolution's system provides recommendations and actionable insights without requiring deep plumbing expertise. It tells facilities managers exactly what needs to be done to resolve the issue.

Can you provide an example of how the system has helped customers?

One customer shared their experience of a big flood at a hotel. After implementing the Simmons system, they were able to quickly identify and fix leaks. The system made it easy for the manager to find the issue and resolve it efficiently.

What long-term goal does Simmons have for water conservation?

Simmons has set a goal to save 5 billion gallons of water over the next 5 years. They already saved 80 million gallons in the previous year, marking the beginning of their water conservation journey.

What is the ultimate vision for water management in commercial buildings?

The long-term vision is not only to detect problems but to solve them automatically. This represents a shift toward self-healing infrastructure, where water systems can proactively manage and fix issues without human intervention.