Contemporary challenges in the coming decades in the Building Automation industry

Next Tuesday, November 5, will be the 7th edition of the Bits, Bricks & Behavior conference, jointly organized for the second consecutive year with the Smart Homes & Intelligent buildings conference of the Jaarbeurs. Logically, this seventh edition will again be held in the Supernova conference center of the Jaarbeurs. Building owners, real estate investors, project developers, management and facility managers are invited to share knowledge with each other and create awareness about the possibilities for a more sustainable Netherlands. Technically improving buildings is an extremely current opportunity for building owners, facility managers and users. The Bits, Bricks & Behavior conference boasts an annual increase in interest and an increasing number of visitors.

Contemporary challenges require cooperation, which is the basis on which we must meet the challenges of the coming decades. Diederik Samsom, chairman of the Built Environment Climate Table and plenary speaker during the Bits, Bricks & Behavior Conference, is optimistic: “The technological developments this decade are spectacular. That almost makes up for the last decade, which was quite depressing.” Piet van Veelen, chairman of the Dutch trade association for Building Automation, agrees with this: “The climate issue forces us to work integrally and cooperatively. Last year's conference prompted us to think about the place of technology. What do we want to achieve is an essential ethical question, which we must then answer technologically as best as possible. The fact that there are possibilities for this has clearly emerged in the program.”

The conference program addresses contemporary challenges in the areas of digitalization, sustainability, energy transition and cyber security. Security is a fundamental human need and an increasingly important competitive factor in both business and society. There is a lot of talk about security right now and there will be even more discussion about cyber security in the future. The accelerated development of technology will significantly affect security. A comprehensive understanding and control of security is increasingly being strengthened, understanding the digital and physical worlds as a whole. In the age of technology, even the responsibility of individuals and ethical questions are emphasized.

Digitization within the built environment has to catch up. By accelerating and extensively digitizing the built environment, it will become future-proof. This benefits the sustainability of the built environment, but requires adjustment with regard to the increasing demands of the owner, client, user or tenant and the stakeholders in the area surrounding the building. The DigiDeal for the Built Environment (DigiDealGO) fulfills the joint ambition and task to accelerate the digitalization of the construction sector. The sector faces many challenges and tasks, digitalization is one of the crucial preconditions for meeting these challenges and realizing tasks.

The well-being of users of the built environment is discussed by various speakers in the Behavior track of the conference. How does technology improve the user experience of a building, so that the building assists the user to live a healthier life and what does this development do to the productivity and motivation of employees? Can a building think along and move with the user? The built environment can have a positive influence on people's recovery. Complaints such as anxiety, stress, pain and depression can be reduced. The built environment can promote people's health and well-being, but it can also have a negative impact. Awareness of well-being is one of the themes that is examined in the track Behavior.

You can still register free of charge register as a visitor of the Bits, Bricks & Behavior conference on November 5 in the Supernova conference center of the Jaarbeurs Utrecht.

Conference visitors Bits, Bricks & Behavior and Smart Homes & Intelligent Buildings have access to both programs and the common information market.