Boston Scientific, a worldwide developer, manufacturer,and marketer of medical devices, opened anewcorporate headquarters and integrated EcoStruxure™Building Advisor as part of a strategic initiative toreduce energy waste and work toward creating a moresustainable corporate campus.Boston Scientific’stwo founders joined forces in 1979 to bringmore accessible, lower-cost, and lower-trauma medical options topatients. Today, Boston Scientific is an industry-leading developer,
manufacturer, and marketer of medical devices used in a range ofinterventional specialties.From the outset, the company’s mission has been to transform livesthrough innovative medical solutions that improve the health ofpatients around the world. Boston Scientific may be best known fordeveloping the drug-eluting stents used to open clogged arteries.Boston Scientific is dedicated to ensuring its facilities are runningat peak operating performance tominimize energy waste andpromote a sustainable culture and environment. The companyinstalled a building management system (BMS) to gain a moreholistic view of its facilities and to start optimizing buildingperformance. After experiencing significant benefits from theintegrated building system monitoring and control, BostonScientific realized an additional opportunity to further improve itsefficiency through leading-edge analytics software.
Leveraging system information
Office space occupies most of the square footage at the BostonScientific headquarters campus. Labs, R&D, a machine shop,mechanical spaces, training areas, a fitness center, and a 9,000square foot daycare occupy the rest.The challenges facing facilities staff usually relate to HVACequipment and maintaining comfort levels. That means ensuringall the equipment — from chillers and pumps to air handling units(AHU) and terminal zones — performs optimally day in, and day out.Systems and equipment are located throughout the campus.For instance, a chiller plant and boiler room occupy the first floorin one building. Terminal units are locatedthroughout each floor. AHUs sit on therooftop. And a trigen unit located in aparking lot provides on-site, high-efficiencyproduction of electricity and heat.The BMS delivers a holistic view of systemsand equipment. Then the BMS ties togetherinformation ranging from temperatures andflows to relative humidity and current so thatfacilities’ staff can monitor everything from acentral location.Adding intelligenceThe Schneider Electric EcoStruxure™Building Advisor solution was deployedacross the five buildings that make upBoston Scientific’s corporate campus toidentify, prioritize, and drive continuousimprovement of its buildings’ performance.The data created by Boston Scientific’sexisting BMS can now be converted intoactionable intelligence with the ability toidentify and prioritize energy cost savingactions and maintenance recommendationsfrom an energy, maintenance, andcomfort standpoint.Tasked with monitoring over 1,000 piecesof equipment, the system logs more than9,000 system data points every five minutesinto cloud-baseddata storage for analysis.The automated diagnostics pinpoint whichequipment and systems have irregularitiesand outputs a prioritized listing basedupon Boston Scientific’s energy cost, issueseverity, and comfort impact. This allowsbuilding faults to be quickly identified andactionable measures to be implementedto remedy noted issues. The BMS andEcoStruxure Building Advisor work togetherto get the right information to the rightperson at the right time for more informeddecision-making.
The added valuethat this level ofanalytics brings toa facility is almost
immeasurablebecause it is sosimple. It is reallyjust maximizingthe data that theBMS alreadycontinuouslygeneratesmaking the data
work for youand providingthe means ofunderstandingthesefacilitiesand a way that we continuallybring realvalue toour customers …helping them domore with less.”— Nicolette Fondl,
Account Executive,
Schneider Electric
EcoStruxure™ Building Advisor is like amicroscope that funnels information dowto a single point, enabling more efficientoperations so that equipment runs asoriginally designed. And when equipmentruns at peak efficiency, energy use dropsand frees up an organization’smoney forother things.Analytics in actionFrom the analytics information, multiplestakeholders are able to drive action acrossthe campus’ facilities. Schneider Electricremote service and branch teams examinethe information to provide ongoing technicalsupport and repair services. The BostonScientific engineering team assessesthe recommendations to act upon andresolve high-priority energy efficiency andmaintenance initiatives.Additionally, the utility company alsoaccesses the analytics information tovalidate qualification for participation in anenergy incentive awards program.
5-buildingcampus(645,000 total sq. ft.)$30,000 –40,000annual cost savings (with
additional savings expectedthrough ongoing energyefficiency measures)“Boston Scientificwants to dowhat’s right for theenvironment byminimizing ourenergy footprintas much aspossible. Whenthe utility invoicesstart to drop, Iknow we’re doingthe right thing.”— Greg Lamson,Senior Facilities Engineer,Boston ScientificSpecific repair measures highlightedinclude adjusting errant temperaturesensors causing improper, automaticoverride of time-of-day schedules, repairingstuck dampers, and implementing newcontrol sequences to provide propereconomizer or time-of-day scheduleoperations. Additionally, the EcoStruxureBuilding Advisor platform has identifiedchronic low chilled water temperaturedifferential as a potentialsavingsopportunity on the primary chilled waterand condenser water system.Savings in focusWith EcoStruxure Building Advisor, theBoston Scientific headquarters hasachieved an annual cost savings ofapproximately $30,000 – $40,000 to date.During the first year of operation, a totalelectric savings of 160,184 kWh wasrealized, and an additional 137,200 kWh inthe second year — the equivalent of carbonsequestered by 5,257 tree seedlings grownfor 10 years or removing 43.2 cars fromthe road. Boston Scientific was additionallySchneider Electric EcoStruxure TM Buildingable to secure a $33,264 performanceAdvisor has optimized operationalincentive from National Grid as a rewardperformance, reduced energy expenditures,for enhanced energyefficiency throughoutand created more environmentallythe campus.friendly, higher-performing buildingsacross theBostonScientific corporateThis project has also resultedinacampus.Throughthe cost savings and40 percent reductioninavoidable costenergy incentives, Boston Scientific hasrelated to faults, including a 51 percentoffset the cost of EcoStruxure Buildingreduction in energy-related faults as wellAdvisor and is able to invest savedas a 49 percent reduction in faults causingdollars into additional programs andimproper zone conditions. The engineeringinitiatives that further the core mission ofteam continues to gain valuable insightsthe organization.from the system and anticipates realizingadditional cost savings through futureenergy reduction measures.
