The German Chilling and Air-Conditioning Association have their annual conference this year in Hannover.
If you happen to be going look out for Andreas Mueller 
and Holger Koenig 
and be sure to say Hi.
They will be presenting on:
"WEB-basierende Echtzeit-Analyse von Energieverbrauchsdaten für
automatisierte Vorhersagen beim Betrieb von Anlagen"
In English that would be:
"web-based real-time analysis of energy consumption data for automated prognosis of the operation of facilities".
In short, they will explain how pattern recognition techniques inspired based on the from the medical diagnostic field are being applied in a facility management context.
The key finding is perhaps that real value can be added by distinguishing complex from routine problems and ensuring action is delegated appropriately. So while it does not pay to have energy experts visit all of say 100 sites, there are some that are worth visiting.
This decision can be made automatically and fast, saving time and energy (and reducing pointless travel costs).
Equally there are going to be problems that can be fixed by relatively unskilled staff - these can be communicated simply and acted upon fast.
When energy managers get tied up "fire-fighting" which can involve vast volumes of repetitive work, they are often more effective if they can be supported with suitable diagnostics and work-flow or delegation technologies, so they free their focus for the real problems where long standing or complex problems need to be addressed.
If this sound like you be sure to get in touch. (and do write in German if that's easier)
Related articles
