Arup’s Smart Workplace Revolution: Harnessing Data for Efficiency, Sustainability, and Wellbeing

Arup, a global collective of designers, engineers, and consultants, is committed to shaping a more sustainable world through innovation, technology, and rigorous problem-solving. As part of this mission, the UK Workplace & Facilities Management Team is focused on optimising office spaces to better serve its employees while maintaining operational efficiency and sustainability.

The Challenge:

As the landscape around hybrid working evolves, modern office environments pose several challenges:

• Office spaces to align with employee needs and the ability to maximise efficiencies.
• Optimising operational performance through real-time data. Office spaces are being used differently today; occupancy levels are changing on a daily basis dependant on employees schedules for coming into the office. Now more than ever, it’s critical to understand operational performance and where the opportunity lies in energy savings and optimising the role of the facilities team.
• Improving sustainability through energy-saving initiatives and data-driven decision-making.
• Complying with accreditation standards such as WELL – an international system that measures, monitors and certifies a series of features to promote the wellbeing of its occupants – by optimising air quality and office conditions for employee well-being.

While Arup had invested in a range of smart technologies—including people-counting sensors, air quality monitors, temperature sensors, and smart meters—the challenge was making this data actionable.

The data was available through a ‘Things Board’ dashboard created by Arup’s Smart Buildings Team, but deeper analytics and visualisation capabilities were needed to drive real value.

The Approach

Being a long-term user of MRI Software’s Facilities Management solution, including mobile workforce management (Evolution GO) and customer engagement solutions (Evolution Reach), Arup explored the possibility of leveraging MRI’s IoT hub to aggregate and analyse smart asset data.

The goals for Arup were clear:

• Enhanced Data Visualisation: Improve dashboard functionality to provide leadership and office managers with deeper, actionable insights.
• Operational Efficiency: Identify trends and anomalies, such as equipment running outside specified hours, to drive energy savings and sustainability improvements.
• Compliance and Wellbeing: Use real-time environmental data to demonstrate adherence to WELL accreditation and other standards.

The Journey So Far

While Arup is still in the early stages of integrating its smart assets with MRI’s platform, the initiative represents a significant step toward a more data-driven, sustainable workplace strategy. This project highlights Arup’s commitment to continuous improvement and technological innovation when it comes to workplace management.

As the integration progresses, Arup aims to refine its approach, ensuring that smart building data translates into actionable insights that drive efficiency, sustainability, and a better workplace experience for its members. The collaboration with MRI has the potential to create a powerful model for data-driven facilities management—one that other organisations may follow in the future.