FAULT DETECTION & DIAGNOSTICS (FD&D) FOR LARGE-FORMAT RETAIL CENTRES

Retail centres in Australia face increasing pressure to reduce operational costs, improve sustainability, and maintain high customer comfort levels. These challenges are particularly acute when it comes to managing complex HVAC systems that are often spread across vast spaces with varying demands. In such a dynamic environment, maintaining mechanical systems efficiently while balancing energy use and customer experience can be a daunting task.

However, many large retail centres have not yet tapped into a valuable solution: Fault Detection and Diagnostics (FDD) for their HVAC systems.

In an industry where customer satisfaction is critical, ensuring smooth operation of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems directly impacts foot traffic and the overall shopping experience. FDD provides retail centres with an opportunity to maintain optimal performance, minimise energy consumption, and extend the life of their mechanical assets. The often-overlooked systems running behind the scenes are now more important than ever to address operational challenges, such as:

• Aging Infrastructure and Workforce: Much like in other sectors, the retail industry is dealing with an aging workforce, and finding new talent to replace retiring staff with years of institutional knowledge is increasingly difficult. This trend is compounded by the complex nature of HVAC systems, making it harder for new teams to keep everything running efficiently.
• Sustainability Mandates: Retail centres are under immense pressure to reduce their carbon footprint. With sustainability being a core focus for many corporate strategies, stakeholders are seeking ways to ensure buildings operate as efficiently as possible. HVAC systems, which consume large portions of energy, are at the forefront of this effort.
• Post-COVID Air Quality Standards: Indoor air quality (IAQ) has become a major focus post-pandemic, as customers now demand well-ventilated, comfortable spaces where they can shop safely. Retail centres must comply with enhanced air quality standards, putting added pressure on mechanical systems that are often older and less efficient.

In response, leading retail centres are adopting advanced building analytics tools like FDD, which allow teams to monitor their HVAC systems in real-time, identify faults early, and prioritise resources effectively.

HOW RETAIL O&M TEAMS CAN LEVERAGE BUILDING ANALYTICS FOR FDD

Operations and Maintenance (O&M) teams in retail centres are often stretched thin, particularly across larger sites with complex mechanical systems. Building analytics software can assist in two critical areas:

1. From Institutional to Shared Knowledge: Retail centres have traditionally relied on seasoned technicians who have built up deep expertise over decades. These individuals know how to manage system quirks and detect early signs of issues. However, as these experts retire, it’s becoming harder to retain this knowledge. Building analytics software can bridge the gap by providing real-time data on system performance, allowing less experienced staff to manage systems with confidence.
2. From Reactive to Proactive Maintenance: With building analytics, O&M teams can shift their focus from reacting to issues after they occur, to preventing them from happening in the first place. By automatically detecting and diagnosing faults, retail centres can allocate their limited resources to fix high-priority issues before they cause downtime or discomfort for shoppers. For example, addressing a faulty valve in an air handling unit (AHU) could prevent a costly escalation that affects the entire centre’s climate control.

HOW FDD HELPS RETAIL CENTRES ACHIEVE ENERGY SAVINGS

Retail centres, like healthcare facilities, are large-scale energy consumers, and energy management is an ever-growing priority. FDD platforms offer several benefits to help these centres achieve energy reduction goals:

1. Energy Performance Monitoring: Building analytics can track the energy performance of HVAC systems in real-time, identifying areas where performance does not match benchmarks. Whether it’s an erroneous sensor or a stuck valve, FDD can pinpoint the exact issue, helping energy managers quickly correct problems that lead to unnecessary consumption.
2. Ongoing Energy Savings Verification: Once energy-saving projects have been implemented, FDD helps prevent the drift that often occurs when systems are overridden or malfunction. By continuously monitoring these systems, retail centres can ensure that their energy efficiency measures remain effective over time.
3. Enhanced Retro-Commissioning: Retail centres often undergo retrofitting projects aimed at boosting energy efficiency. FDD enhances these efforts by providing ongoing insights through monitoring-based commissioning (MBCx), allowing for continuous optimisation across multiple buildings without the need for external commissioning agents.

FDD SUPPORTS COMPLIANCE WITH AIR QUALITY STANDARDS

For retail centres, ensuring optimal indoor air quality (IAQ) is not just a matter of compliance but also customer comfort. With a growing focus on post-COVID safety, ventilation plays a critical role in maintaining a pleasant and safe environment for shoppers.

FDD tools are instrumental in helping retail centres maintain IAQ by identifying common issues such as stuck dampers, sensor overrides, and inadequate airflow. By quickly diagnosing and fixing these problems, centres can ensure consistent air quality and avoid the costly consequences of non-compliance.

IMPROVED SYSTEM HANDOVERS WITH FDD

As retail centres expand or renovate, the handover between construction and O&M teams is crucial for long-term system performance. FDD helps ensure that new systems are operating correctly from day one, providing insights that help O&M teams hit the ground running.

SCALE MATTERS: DIAGNOSTICS FOR LARGE RETAIL CENTRES

Large-scale retail operations, with thousands of pieces of equipment spread across multiple buildings, require sophisticated tools to manage effectively. FDD tools allow retail O&M teams to prioritise high-impact issues, avoid false positives, and focus their time and resources where it matters most.

For example, Asset Assess’ platform is connected to over 420,000 pieces of equipment globally and has identified more than AU$60 million in avoidable costs due to mechanical faults. Further, over 160tCO2-e have been saved globally. By using these tools, retail centres can reduce operating expenses, improve customer comfort, and extend the life of their mechanical assets – all while contributing to their sustainability goals.

In an era of increasing sustainability targets, post-COVID air quality demands, and aging infrastructure, large-scale retail centres in Australia can greatly benefit from Fault Detection and Diagnostics (FDD) platforms. These tools offer the insights needed to optimise performance, minimise energy costs, and enhance the shopping experience – all while ensuring compliance with modern standards.

By leveraging FDD, retail centres can future-proof their operations, ensuring long-term efficiency, cost savings, and customer satisfaction.

Please reach out to us to find out more, and to request a demo of the Asset Assess platform here.