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Technology Contractor

Technology Contractor

Better systems planning to de-risk building technologies.

Projects

Catalyst: Zero Carbon at Zero Premium in Spokane, Washington

Health Partnership Building in Spokane, Washington

Insights

Smart Building Expert Darlene Pope Kicks Off McKinstry Building Technology Retreat

Integrated MEPFT Crushes Costs with a Single Point of Accountability

Unlocking the Promise of Connected & Intelligent Buildings

Hiring

Senior Associate Electrical Engineer

Construction Manager

Senior Building Energy Engineer

Pioneering a New Approach

Hidden costs and fragmented responsibilities for building technology design and construction stand in the way of affordable smart buildings. Building technology systems hold the key. McKinstry is pioneering a novel approach to organize structured cabling system design, procurement and delivery to make them more affordable and reliable. We centralize building technology coordination to align details and de-risk design, installation and ongoing maintenance.

Number of building technology systems in a typical building.

Percentage of total project budget tied to building technology systems.

Technologies Capabilities Market Focus

Technologies

Audio visual systems

Cellular distributed antenna systems (DAS)

Public safety distributed antenna systems (DAS)

LAN/WiFi

Network infrastructure

Access controls

Security cameras

Fire alarms

Area of refuge

Lighting controls

Building controls

Indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring

Sound masking

Wayfinding and occupancy tracking

Room and desk booking

Digital signage

Distance learning

Capabilities

Concept and program development

Engineering and design

Strategic purchasing

Installation and testing

Programming and startup commissioning

Technology assessments and benchmark testing

Technology refresh and replacement

Technology road mapping

Technology master planning

Market Focus

Commercial office

Public transportation

State and local government

Public venues

Healthcare

Life sciences

Data centers

Education

Hospitality

Mixed-use

For the Life of Your Building®

Integrating a Fragmented Industry Obsess Over Outcomes Bring it Forward Buy it Once, Buy it Right Technology Agnostic to Put Your Needs First Driving Certifications and Interoperability

Integrating a Fragmented Industry

A typical building contains 15 or more building technology systems spanning lighting controls, security systems, access cards, audiovisual, distributed antenna systems and beyond. Each is delivered and serviced through overlapping specialty contractors and channels. This creates siloes that lead to high costs and low building performance.

High costs. Expensive brand-name components, stacked margins and inefficient installation add layers of markup and unnecessary costs, which are overlooked by many building owners because the fragmented approach has long been the industry norm.
Low building performance: When the overall system is impaired or broken, it’s impossible to optimize the collect-analyze-act cycle, resulting in excessive energy costs and decreased occupant productivity and wellness.

Organizing the delivery of all structured cabling systems under a single contractor allows McKinstry to lower costs and improve building performance.

Obsess Over Outcomes

Decades of delivering high-performing structured cabling, audio visual and wireless systems has taught us about the wide range of outcomes that today’s buildings must meet. From day one, we work with you to understand your goals and then obsess over making each and every one of them happen. Our teams work with you to ensure everyone is on the same page. Whether it’s a grid-enabled building or streamlining structured cabling design, we start with the end in mind to drive impact and meet outcomes.

Bring it Forward

Shadow design is what we call the common practice of designing building technology systems on the fly long after the formal design processes have ended. It isn’t a positive practice. Technology choices often run contrary to decisions made during shell and core design and subsequent tenant improvement plans. We eliminate shadow design by moving technology design earlier on the timeline and facilitating open collaboration with the broader design team. The result; you save time and money while enabling a better outcome for building occupants.

Buy it Once, Buy it Right

Buy It Once, Buy It Right

We align the supply chain and strategic purchases of shared equipment across common systems. A typical building could contain miles of ethernet cabling specified and procured by multiple vendors. Centralized procurement by a single vendor with broad systems visibility helps cut costs and reduce waste.

Technology Agnostic to Put Your Needs First

Our building technology system experts manage complex designs to ensure your project is delivered on time and on budget while meeting your organization’s performance and security requirements. We can’t do that if we’re contractually tied to individual technology vendors. We also can’t stay on the forefront of emerging technology, balancing bleeding edge with leading edge, to deliver the outcomes you need. That’s why we remain vendor and technology agnostic, giving us the flexibility to leverage OEM and manufacturer relationships from across the industry to put your needs above all else.

Driving Certifications and Interoperability

Interoperability, industry standards and certifications are emerging to unlock the potential of smart building capabilities. Staying on top of the latest issues and outcomes requires deep industry knowledge and participation. That’s where our teams shine. We are working across the industry to advance protocols proposed by the ASHRAE, Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF), AllSeen Alliance, Thread Group, Open Interconnection Consortium, Emerge Alliance and beyond to represent our clients on the latest certifications and standards.