Challenge
At the heart of Big Ass Fans' mission are the frontline associates — machine operators, assembly line workers, maintenance technicians, and warehouse associates — who navigate the challenges of suboptimal comfort environments daily.
Recognizing the profound impact of thermal comfort controls on productivity and safety, Big Ass Fans set out to bridge the gap, fostering a safer, healthier, and more productive work environment. One significant challenge was the integration of devices within buildings, each using different languages for communication.
Solution
The collaboration between Big Ass Fans, Lexmark, and Microsoft signifies a shared vision of driving transformative change through IoT technology. By leveraging the expertise of each partner, Big Ass Fans designed a solution tailored to the specific demands of industrial clients, with an emphasis on thermal comfort, efficiency and sustainability.
Lexmark's Optra IoT platform, powered by Microsoft's Azure technology, provided the ideal foundation for customizing solutions tailored to exceed the expectations of industrial clients by significantly improving facility operations and performance. To overcome the communication obstacle, Big Ass Fans partnered with Lexmark to develop a BACnet protocol translator skill, facilitating effective communication between devices and bridging the language gap.
Result
Big Ass Fans, in partnership with Lexmark — and using Optra IoT and Optra Edge — provides a scalable IoT solution that not only reduces energy consumption and improves comfort levels but also results in significant cost savings. The customer-focused strategy was first put into action with the implementation of a 10-month pilot at their own Lexington manufacturing location.
The success of this pilot led to the installation of an additional unit in Tualatin, Oregon. The positive feedback received from these implementations has been overwhelming, with zero heat-related incidents or complaints reported in Lexington following the installation of the pilot unit. This success underscores Big Ass Fans' commitment to creating solutions that not only meet but effectively address the unique challenges faced by industrial businesses. The visibility provided by cloud-based dashboards and analytics validates the investment in IoT innovation and the transformative impact of the solution on industrial operations.
