FHI In conversation with – SPIE: “Our people must be at the top of the knowledge ladder”

SPIE, which operates internationally, is also a major player on the Dutch market. The technical service provider is active in numerous fields, including activities that fall within the FHI Building Automation sector. What challenges does SPIE currently encounter and how can a trade organization such as FHI play a facilitating role? We asked Maikel Nabuurs and Ben Veenstra in this episode of FHI In conversation with.

Nabuurs, responsible for Digital Asset & Data Management at SPIE Nederland, describes a number of concrete activities of the company: “We focus on a number of areas. The energy transition, among other things, is such an important area of attention. For example, grid operator TenneT is a major customer of ours. But we are also working on smart cities, the construction of fiber optic networks and (maintenance) work and making the industry more sustainable. SPIE is also a major player in the management, maintenance and construction of buildings through the SPIE Building Solutions division. Approximately 75 percent of our activities focus on management and maintenance of existing buildings and 25 percent on new construction and renovation. We feel comfortable with complex building installations.”

The organization has the necessary strength for this: “After the necessary acquisitions, we are the largest multi-technical service provider in the Netherlands. SPIE has approximately seven thousand employees and more than 40 locations in our country. We have approximately fifty thousand employees worldwide with a turnover of approximately eight billion.”

Colleague Ben Veenstra, consultant at SPIE, adds to Nabuurs on the building automation activities: “We have traditionally been involved in the control and management of climate technical installations. Much has been added over the years, such as the control of lighting and sun blinds. About ten years ago, the market was further developed and the information from the building technical installation was brought together via one management platform. As a result, we are now able to manage the building technical installations better and more clearly. At SPIE we strive to be 'best in class' in the building automation discipline. This means that our people must be at the top of the knowledge ladder.”

Direction to the building owner

Customers come to SPIE with sometimes complex issues, such as how to deal with all the data collected with modern building automation systems, says Nabuurs: “Our clients struggle with this question. The merger of IT and OT offers many opportunities, such as smart buildings or hybrid working, but how do I seize these opportunities? How do I do that safely? There is currently a bit of a lack of cooperation in accessing data and integrated management for this. Because we have to return control to the building owner in order to get the most out of all the collected data.”

Veenstra says: “At SPIE, we see great prospects in IT services. The 'old' OT environment is increasingly integrated with the IT infrastructure. The data that results from the digitization of real estate can be used to improve the primary objectives of a company or building owner. We are now looking at how this merger of OT and IT fits into our services. Consider, for example, asset management. Then the question is: how are you going to put that together for a client? That's where different technologies come together.”

Role of FHI

To achieve compatible systems within, but also outside, the field of building automation, a trade organization such as FHI can play a guiding role. Nabuurs and Veenstra also confirm this: “A few things are important at an organization like FHI with its network and the tasks we jointly face,” says Nabuurs. “We must inform each other within the industry, partly to prevent us as individual members from continuously developing 'single point solutions'. As an organization, FHI is important for this because these types of processes can be facilitated by them in order to initiate a flywheel effect.”

Veenstra, who has been chairman of the marketing working group in the industry association, adds: “Within this industry we ask the question: why are we so united? What do we radiate? I am also involved in various initiatives from the GA sector, with the constant question: how can you develop further in the future? There are a number of companies that are leading the market, including SPIE. The question then is how you can help each other without ending up in each other's way. As an industry, we share independent information with clients during our conferences. You maintain this network to know what is going on in our world.”