Johnson Controls Launches OpenBlue Healthy Buildings To Ensure Safer Buildings As People Return To Work

CORK, Ireland, Aug. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Johnson Controls, (NYSE: JCI), the global leader for smart and sustainable buildings, announced it will launch a comprehensive suite of digital solutions, called OpenBlue Healthy Buildings, to make shared spaces safer as people begin to return to offices. Combining 135 years of building systems expertise with cutting edge technology, these solutions protect and instill confidence in building occupants and visitors, minimize disruption should employees test positive for COVID-19, and accelerate building re-occupancy by automating and streamlining safety protocols. Additionally, customers will be able to maximize occupancy targets while maintaining safety, understand how their spaces are used and repurposed easily based on data, and help employees be more productive when they are in the office.

OpenBlue Healthy Building solutions, which are integrated but can also be deployed modularly, include a combination of hardware and software - such as smart equipment, digital sensors, security systems, cameras, monitors, powerful analytics and dashboards, infection control and other connected devices - as well as a mobile app to manage spaces and occupant experiences. The Workplace solution is developed using Privacy by Design and supports Privacy by Default.

Solutions to re-enter, reoccupy and reimagine include:

    --  Contact tracing. Automated contact tracing capabilities are the
        foundational element of this suite of solutions and enable other
        technologies. Overall, these solutions allow building management and
        employers to understand risks of exposure for building occupants. In the
        event of an occupanct testing positive, the system can retroactively
        trace person-to-person and person-to-space contact to provide nearly
        immediate support to Human Resources and Facility teams in reaching out
        to at risk workers, addressing potentially impacted areas, and taking
        preventive measures to minimize spread. Furthermore, contact tracing
        provides peace-of-mind for employees in the event someone has tested
        positive.
    --  Social distancing monitoring. OpenBlue Healthy Buildings will monitor
        social distancing in real-time, sending violation alerts should
        occupants be too close together or spaces become over occupied, enabling
        extensive compliance reporting and real-time behavior changes to prevent
        infection spread.
    --  Thermal cameras. To ensure a holistic approach to safety, OpenBlue
        Healthy Buildings includes temperature screening technology that takes
        measurements while an individual is walking to allow for frictionless
        entry and exits, and prevent infection spread.
    --  Scenario Planning. Solutions proactively determine connections between
        people and spaces, predict impacts from possible negative events, and
        enable intervention before disruption and reduces risk.
    --  Infection control. OpenBlue Healthy Buildings creates a layered approach
        to connectivity between various systems integral to infection control.
        These include, but are not limited to, systems that reduce indoor and
        airborne pathogens by increasing outdoor air ventilation, disinfecting
        ultraviolet C (UV-C) lighting, and remote monitoring of room
        pressurization, air change rates, humidity, and temperature to create
        healthier air.
    --  Mapping and monitoring space utilization. The OpenBlue mobile app
        provides live map views of sanitization status, occupancy data and
        recommendations for navigating the building safely in order to maximize
        and monitor how spaces are being used. The system is platform agnostic
        and works seamlessly with existing building management systems to
        support activities such as booking conference rooms or individual
        workstations with indication of sanitization status.
    --  Enhanced communication and experiences. The mobile app helps engage
        employees and occupants in real-time by providing updates about shared
        spaces and new policies, preferred wayfinding to avoid crowded areas,
        space availability and safety details, phone as badge access, SOS
        response, rotational schedule support, health attestation and
        self-reporting options, and more. These increase communication
        touchpoints between building management, human resources and employees
        to provide real-time information and fuller transparency, while also
        supporting productivity and experience features, such as calendar
        integration and comfort control.

"As more buildings welcome back their employees, it's critical we deploy cutting edge technology coupled with our building expertise to create the smartest, safest spaces and places for occupants and visitors," said Mike Ellis, executive vice president, chief digital & customer officer, Johnson Controls. "We are innovating with partners and customers to create technology that will transform buildings and spaces, from thermal cameras to contact tracing capabilities, OpenBlue is an end-to-end solution."

Johnson Controls OpenBlue platform - launched in July 2020 - was designed with agility, flexibility and scalability in mind, to enable buildings to become dynamic spaces. In leveraging the platform, customers will be able to manage operations more systemically, delivering buildings that have memory, intelligence and unique identity. To read more about OpenBlue Healthy Buildings, please visit: JohnsonControls.com/OpenBlue.

About Johnson Controls:
At Johnson Controls, we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. From optimizing building performance to improving safety and enhancing comfort, we drive the outcomes that matter most. We deliver our promise in industries such as healthcare, education, data centers and manufacturing. With a global team of 105,000 experts in more than 150 countries and over 130 years of innovation, we are the power behind our customers' mission. Our leading portfolio of building technology and solutions includes some of the most trusted names in the industry, such as Tyco®, YORK®, Metasys®, Ruskin®, Titus®, Frick®, Penn®, Sabroe®, Simplex®, Ansul® and Grinnell®. For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow us @johnsoncontrols on Twitter.

     
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SOURCE Johnson Controls International plc