See how Willow can help you cut costs, save energy, and operate your buildings more efficiently and sustainably.
Effective Capital Planning and execution relies on fast data-driven decision making. However, managing and analyzing vast amounts of facility data can be a challenge. Imagine believing you have a firm grasp on the performance of your campus facilities, staff, and contractors, only to realize that the reality is far more complex. With countless data points and myriad complicating factors, managing campus facilities is a labyrinthine challenge.
Further, pulling these data points together for Capital Planning can traditionally require laborious report generation and data queries. Leveraging Willow’s Knowledge Graph and GenAI, Willow Copilot makes it easy to understand top insights for energy savings and areas of highest avoidable cost. In a conversational experience, it can summarize which insights have been actioned to realize cost savings, where opportunities lie for the highest impact, and quickly build an execution plan.
Steve Burrell, CIO at Northern Arizona University, shares how Generative AI in Willow Copilot is simplifying this complex journey.
Let’s walk through a planning work session.
Disclaimer: These are sample prompts. Responses may vary. Data points listed are examples only. Energy and cost savings reported by Willow Copilot are dependent on the number of insights enabled in Willow.
Northern Arizona University’s Flagstaff campus is impressively expansive, with over 100 buildings. These include academic halls, residence facilities, research centers, athletic complexes, and student services buildings—all nestled among the ponderosa pines at 7,000 feet elevation.
Looking across HVAC systems for the entire campus, a great place to start is to check on top insights that, when actioned, can deliver the highest impact in energy savings.
Top 5 Energy-Saving Opportunities
Water meters not going down to zero consumption overnight may be indicative of a water leak, while AHU fans running 24/7 present an opportunity to optimize the space for occupied periods.
Now that we have the bigger picture, let’s look into recent insights from the past week.
New Energy-Saving Opportunities Identified This Week
Insights in Willow are actioned by creating tickets (work orders) and assigning them to technicians. When the tickets are closed after fixing a water leak for example, the related insights are resolved. This allows the organization to turn avoidable costs into actual, realized energy and cost savings. Note that sometimes tickets may be closed without addressing the actual underlying issue – Willow helps track those situations as well.
Resolved Issues With Notable Energy Savings
Key information can be quickly compiled into the desired reporting format.
Energy Impact Summary & Future Opportunities
With the Executive Report in place, it’s now time to formulate a work plan, looking ahead across the HVAC system and the water meter system.
Active Insights by Trade and Location
Capital planning doesn’t need to start with tedious data synthesis and uncertainty.
Allowing AI in Willow Copilot to handle complex analysis eliminates guesswork from plant and personnel management. This creates space for focus on the strategic thinking and planning that can truly enhance performance and efficiency of facilities and staff.
If this approach is helping Steve Burrell, CIO at NAU lead with more clarity, it might be time to ask what it could unlock in your own planning process.