It may seem as if they’ve been harvesting crops of gold, but the folks at Johnson Controls Inc. – a Fortune 100 company and the sixth largest security systems integrator in the United States – know that to conquer the world as a global provider of integrated systems means it is necessary to first plant the many seeds of success. Johnson Controls is planting them around the world as part of a continued strategy to integrate previously separate technology silos into an integrated solutions approach for solving specific business problems.

Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls got its start in the building controls industry 125 years ago. (See related story, “Founded in 1885”) It wasn’t until the late 1990s that it formally entered the security industry through its acquisition of access control giant Cardkey. Security and fire safety solutions today are delivered through Johnson Controls’ Building Efficiency business. But until this year, those solutions were routinely delivered through a “siloed” approach to the market; the firm knew it could more successfully address its customers’ business needs by integrating services across the various disciplines within Building Efficiency. Those services are comprehensive enough to allow it to function as a single-source provider. They include risk identification, systems assessment, scope development, project management, technology and contractor partnerships, systems configuration, user training, labor and materials, PSA, implementation of new technology and remote monitoring.

 

Approximately one year ago, Johnson Controls announced a new global organization and strategy plan that would allow it to take full advantage of all the technologies and services its Building Efficiency business offered, and pass those advantages along to its customers around the world. The plan was to break down the silos between physical security, information security, IT systems, building automation and business applications, “allowing the systems to work more collaboratively and efficiently without interference,” Johnson Controls related. A new reporting structure called for eight global directors experienced in their respective disciplines with responsibility for strategy, operations, human resources, finance, global accounts, solutions, product program management and product development and engineering. Five regional general managers would oversee North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Latin America. These global teams were now in place to focus on systems integration.

 

During a press announcement at that time, Lisa Roy, Johnson Controls’ global vice president and general manager, Security & Fire Safety, said, “Customers are clamoring for single-source providers to deliver comprehensive solutions spanning planning and consulting, enterprise technology, implementation and service. Johnson Controls has the scale and expertise to offer that kind of solution. Previously we provided these solutions to single or a few facilities at a time, but this restructuring makes complex integrations and global enterprise customers our sweet spot.”

 

What a sweet spot it has been for this solutions-oriented integrator. Johnson Controls expects a nearly 7 percent increase in its security integration revenues in 2009, which are projected to reach $463 million, up from $433 million in 2008. (Growth from 2007 to 2008 was approximately 18 percent.)

 

“During 2009, we deployed our systems integration and solutions strategy to all nine North America regions, Europe, Middle East and Latin America. The deployments were designed to provide the customer focus, sales disciplines and sales tools required to execute the strategy. It also allowed us to hear the requirements of the specific countries and regions,” Roy describes. She and her team recently returned from Asia including stops in Japan, China, Malaysia and India.

 

Evidence that this strategy is flourishing is found in both the increasing number and complexity of Johnson Controls’ integration projects. For continuing the successful implementation of its global strategy, resulting in the ability to deliver “specific business outcomes” to the marketplace, SDM chose Johnson Controls as its 2009 Systems Integrator of the Year.

 

One such project example is in the Cayman Islands at Camana Bay, a mixed-use master planned community. Johnson Controls was selected to provide a complete low-voltage systems design for the entire Town Centre. The design includes a security management system for access control, digital video surveillance, an emergency call system, an addressable audio system, fire alarm system, and building management – all converged on a single IP network.

 

Other projects have been landed at universities, office complexes, airports, hospitals and medical facilities, pharmaceutical campuses, county and municipal government facilities, and more.

 

What’s the next step? “We have deployed the strategy and are measuring our success with continuous improvement metrics and actions to drive the results,” Roy acknowledges. “We will continue to provide sales and operations support through 2010 to ensure we are focused on our success metrics and employee satisfaction measurements. Our biggest adjustment, largely because of the new construction market, is to accelerate working with our customers who may not be building but need to solve security issues. We believe we have the right strategy and will continue to implement and adjust to market requirements.”

Johnson Controls says its future depends on helping to make its customers successful. “We are proactive and our approach to customer service is simple: we want to keep our customers for life. We offer expert knowledge and practical solutions, and we deliver on our promises,” Roy says.

Many processes, practices and resources go into that delivery aspect. For example, Johnson Controls uses an approach called Johnson Controls Technology Contracting.™ “It involves assigning a single point of responsibility upfront to bring an enterprise-wide perspective to managing the planning, design, installation, integration, commissioning and service of low-voltage systems, business applications and supporting infrastructure,” Roy explains.

“Technology contracting can save time, reduce risk and decrease construction and operating costs while ensuring that technology is deployed and integrated in an orderly manner to achieve desired outcomes. Technology contracting helps building technology fulfill its promise – and helps building owners to realize their vision,” she says.

 

Johnson Controls Security & Fire Safety serves customers in more than 125 countries from approximately 500 locations worldwide. Roy points out that the company’s human resources capabilities include technicians with NICET, PSP and CPP certifications in North America, as well as technicians with network design certifications. “As a Cisco partner, we continue to advance our capabilities in the area of structured cable, wired and wireless infrastructure and enterprise software applications,” Roy relates. In addition, “the company’s global teams have more than 800 LEED certified resources who can consult with a company about creating a sustainable environment, whether in a single building or global enterprise.”

 

A variety of events and processes also go into delivering the message that Johnson Controls is a single-source provider of integration. For example, the firm hosted its first Technology Expo recently in Milwaukee to not only show the different technologies that Johnson Controls can implement, but also to demonstrate how they could be integrated into a complete solution. (See related story, “Technology Expo.”)

 

Another example is Vision Week, a series of events hosted within each line of business around the globe. “Vision Week 2009 focused on sharpening our customer focus. Several activities took place to emphasize the importance of our vision and also educate our employees throughout the process,” Roy says.

The plan for the future, Roy states, is to continue to build on the market competence Johnson Controls has already established worldwide in the building controls business.

 

The one phrase Roy believes customers would use to describe Johnson Controls is “trusted advisor.” It is an apropos description for a business whose mission is to make the world more comfortable, safe and sustainable.

Situated on 500 acres stretching from the Caribbean Sea to the North Sound, the town of Camana Bay on Grand Cayman is a place to live, work, play and grow. Camana Bay is a mixed-use master planned community that will be developed over several decades, allowing it to flourish for generations to come. With the continuity of its building systems in mind, the development team selected Johnson Controls early on to design and integrate the town’s major low-voltage systems.

Camana Bay was conceived as a series of four linked villages, with a resort on the west edge linking to the Town Centre and then on to residential areas and a marina village on the eastern edge of a 238-acre plot of land, which has doubled to accommodate more residential area. Camana Bay is a walkable community with a mix of housing, shops, restaurants, civic space, parks and a school.

 

The master plan for Camana Bay has been deliberately designed so that plans can evolve and grow organically to meet the changing markets and requirements of the Cayman Islands and its residents. For Dale Dennis, chief executive officer of DE Technology, ensuring the continuity of the town’s major low-voltage systems such as fire and security systems, HVAC controls and other technologies was critical to allowing for this growth and the changing needs of the development.

 

“We wanted all the systems to be integrated or at least compatible with one another so we could easily expand them as we grow, and more efficiently manage and operate them from a central facility upon completion of the development,” Dennis describes. “We narrowed the field of companies that could provide the required breath of systems and evaluated what we believed to be their strengths. Johnson Controls provided a very high level of comfort in demonstrating their systems integration capabilities and successes.”

Beginning with the end in mind

 

In order to create and nurture the new community, the developers decided to start with the Town Centre and school as the foundation of Camana Bay, followed by the residential areas. Johnson Controls® Technology ContractingTM strategy of beginning with the end in mind was applied to the development’s low-voltage systems.

 

“Considering the magnitude of this project, we knew that engaging multiple vendors, using disparate systems would ultimately result in a tremendous amount of management on our part to ensure all the systems worked together in a cohesive manner as the development progressed,” Dennis says.

 

“We wanted one point of responsibility that would take ownership of the complete design and installation. Johnson Controls understood the theme of the project and our emphasis on the functionality of our various building systems. And, because of time constraints resulting from Hurricane Ivan and other delays, Johnson Controls was able to provide a complete low-voltage systems design for the Town Centre within 45 days of signing the contract.” In addition to the school, the Town Centre includes office and retail space, restaurants and the central district chiller plant.

 

The design includes a Johnson Controls P2000 security management system for access control at retail and office spaces. Video surveillance is in place at all building exteriors, parking lots and garages, and is linked to the central operations system via a Johnson Controls DVN 5000 digital video recording system. An emergency call system is also in place throughout exterior parking lots and garages. An addressable audio system installed throughout the site enables operators to play back multiple soundtracks and differentiate them by location.

 

All non-tenant related HVAC systems and equipment are monitored and controlled by a Johnson Controls Metasys® building management system. The Metasys system is also used for the monitoring and control of an emergency generator, central chiller plant, fuel tanks, and a Lutron Grafik system for lighting in common areas. Fire alarm systems in all common areas can be remotely monitored and controlled by Johnson Controls’ intelligent fire control panels.

 

All of these low-voltage systems are converged on a single Internet protocol (IP) network which is routed back to the Command and Control Centre, a hurricane-rated facility from which all systems are managed 24 hours a day. Johnson Controls provided design assistance to the architects and engineers to ensure all systems were accommodated in the centre.

 

“Involving Johnson Controls early in the process ultimately helped us produce designs more rapidly than if we had done it in a linear fashion,” Dennis says. “My expectation beyond the initial design was for Johnson Controls to implement and commission that design accurately and on time, which they did very well. I think their relationship with the design and construction team and ability to work with local contractors played an important role in that.”

 

By converging all the systems on a single IP network, unnecessary and redundant cabling was also avoided. As the development expands, additional or expanded systems can ride on this same network. As Camana Bay grows and is ultimately completed, systems integration and central management will result in operational efficiencies.

 

“A highlight of our relationship with Johnson Controls is that they’ve really integrated themselves with the team and are highly regarded for their professionalism and accuracy,” Dennis relates. – Story contributed by Johnson Controls

                                                                                                                   Years worked in industry
Lisa Roy, vice president, Global Security & Fire... 15
Joel Lehman, vice president, North America Security & Fire... 20

Michael Mann, business development director, Global Security & Fire... 20
John Fenske, director, Global Security Alliances & Support... 10

Steve Thompson, director, Global Security & Fire Product 
      Development & Engineering... 18
Jay Alix, director, Global Account Sales... 15

Johnson Controls traces its beginnings to 1883, when Warren S. Johnson, a professor, received a patent for the first electric room thermostat. His invention launched the building control industry and was the impetus for a new company. Johnson and a group of Milwaukee investors incorporated the Johnson Electric Service Company in 1885 to manufacture, install and service automatic temperature regulation systems for buildings. The company was renamed Johnson Controls in 1974.

Johnson Controls continued to develop innovative new control technologies to help customers better manage their increasingly larger and more complex buildings. In 1972, Johnson Controls built the industry’s first mini-computer dedicated to building control – the JC80. Today, its Metasys® Facilities Management System is reducing energy costs and improving indoor comfort in thousands of buildings around the world.

In 1998 Johnson Controls acquired Cardkey, a major provider of access control and security systems — marking its entrance into the physical security space. — Adapted from “A History of Exceeding Expectations,” as published at www.johnsoncontrols.com

In October, Johnson Controls hosted its first ever Technology Expo at its Building Efficiency headquarters in Milwaukee. The guests included approximately 80 customers who came from around the world to see firsthand “how we can provide a complete integrated system that will minimize risk, reduce cost and meet compliance,” says Rubens  Costa, global security technology manager, Building Efficiency, Johnson Controls.

Johnson Controls bases this precept on four “pillars”: ID management, event management, compliance management and building management.

Although Johnson Controls set up the technology expo as a temporary exhibit, the company would like to find space to make it permanent. The exhibit consists of seven “scenarios” that visitors can explore in a circuitous route, crowned in the middle by a Microsoft SurfaceTM tabletop computing demonstration. Around the perimeter of the circular space, exhibits demonstrate how an integrated solution can work best to help an end user achieve the most value by, again, minimizing risk, reducing cost and meeting compliance.

“You can have access, you can have surveillance, you can have fire alarm and you can have BMS (building management systems), but if you don’t have them fully integrated as a complete solution, focused on your customer’s business needs, you miss a great opportunity to add value to your customer,” Costa emphasizes.

The Microsoft Surface computing table drew much attention, as Costa and Scott Herman, engineering manager, User Experience, demonstrated this unique new technology with which users can control and interact with their facilities in a very natural way.

“We need to integrate with past, present and future technologies — it’s not enough to simply integrate,” Costa says.