Massive end-user participation supported the success of the fourth version of the event. Now, the 2014 edition of TecnoEdificios will be held on June 4, 5 and 6, in parallel with the RefriAméricas Congress. by Duván Chaverra Agudelo
TecnoEdificios 2013 once again met the expectations of those attending the academic component, as well as exhibitors and visitors to the trade show, who for two days learned about more recent developments in terms of technology available for the operation of buildings. This version held on November 7 and 8 at the Plaza Mayor Convention Center in Medellín, Colombia, in parallel with TecnoMultimedia (fair of the audio, video and professional lighting sector), had many novelties that made the meeting that brings together building managers, maintenance managers, general services more attractive, architects and engineers, among others, who seek training in topics related to the management of commercial, industrial and corporate spaces. One of the novelties in the Academic Program of 2013 was the inclusion of topics related to the administrative aspect, since the objective of the Congress is to balance the balance in terms of technological and management contents, as in the case of the conference on Facility Manager (FM), presented by Mauricio Espinosa, from Sodexo, who explained different reasons why a company must have an external FM service highlighting the efficiency in cost reduction, the outsourcing of services for your facilities, among other aspects to be taken into account. In his talk, Espinosa stressed that an FM must have certain requirements to execute a good job: "Quarterly performance reviews, Introduce best practices, Benchmark, Risk Management Strategies, Provide Management Tools, Short, Medium and Long Term Planning, Determine the strategy". However, this is still an unknown market for the building managers guild and the inclusion process is still progressive. Continuing with the management themes, the first day of conferences ended with an Expert Panel in which the central theme was "Risk Management - how to act in the face of catastrophes before or after they are presented". There participated the vice president of operations of the Panama Canal Authority, Esteban Sáenz, the manager of the El Tesoro Commercial Park, Adriana González; Luis Triana, risk management consultant at CSI, and Mauricio Espinosa, from Sodexo. The ecuentro was free and had the active participation of the members of the Association of Modern Building Managers (AGEM). The guests mentioned some aspects about the management of security in their spaces, talked about specific cases where they were forced to act for an emergency and in the end it was concluded that building managers have increased their responsibilities for the safety of the occupants of the property, and that they are much more prepared to avoid catastrophes or manage them in the right way. The Academic Program also included lectures that an administrator must consider for their building or commercial space. Topics such as the correct use of paints for protection, automation, energy efficiency, sustainability, air conditioning, the adaptation of spaces for access, certifications, electronic and physical security were presented during the two days of training. Talks presented by experts from Colombia, Spain, Mexico, the United States and Panama, supported the quality of the topics. In general, the attendees were also satisfied with the academic component, and although we know that there are always aspects to improve, comments such as that of Mr. Jorge Parra, from the elga company in Venezuela, encourage us to continue working.
"Congratulations to the organization and the exhibitors, the level of technical talks was observed with high knowledge in the different topics covered. I left Medellín with more concerns than I entered since the topics for a Sustainable Building - Smart and in the process of LEED certification must cover many more aspects other than the BMS (Building Management System), of which I have carried out several projects in the city. On my part they have a spokesperson for upcoming Tecnoedificios events, which when I have the opportunity to praise them I will do so." Technology showcase at the fair
During the commercial exhibition we had the opportunity to talk with some of the companies participating in this fourth edition of TecnoEdificios to know their impressions about the event. Jose Iragorry, commercial manager of the City Multi (VRF) line for Mexico, Central America and South America of Mitsubishi Electric, was present at the show through its distributor for Colombia, Melco, and also participated as a speaker with a talk on energy saving with VRF systems for buildings. Jose highlighted the attendance of the show and the type of audience that visited melco's stand. "Our main advantage is that through our distributor in Colombia we offer VRF support from the United States and that our equipment is available from our headquarters in Atlanta, where we have training centers and the entire engineering group. We are very happy with the results of TecnoEdificios and will be back for next year." For his part, Mauricio Buriticá, manager of Blue Home, said that in these spaces "we seek to sensitize people, we know that people will not sacrifice comfort, so this type of fairs we take advantage of so that customers understand how an automation system is the perfect answer to obtain comfort and savings". Meanwhile, Tad Sodergren, commercial manager for North and South America and the Caribbean of Lennox, announced the novelties he brought to TecnoEdificios: "With the new certifications of green buildings, which are demanding renewable energies, we take the opportunity to present in TecnoEdificios our most recent offers for the HVAC sector, such as solar panels, which are now more advanced by their operation of 265 watts each panel. We also have a new machine with inverter technology in the compressor, which makes it more efficient." Tad also presented a new option for use with smartphones: "Another technology is the iConfort, which is a thermostat that you can program and observe through iphone or iPad to change temperatures or to program the system remotely if you are going to leave the house or go on vacation. We also have the iHarmony to zone the spaces." Another of the participants in the commercial exhibition was Alexánder Jiménez, technical director of Smart Group, a company specialized in home automation, lighting and electronic security. On the experience in TecnoEdificios, Jiménez commented that "for us it has been very important to make ourselves known here because this is the market we want to touch, because that is where we want to be. We were approached by managers, people who handle the supplies of the entire real estate area, and we felt that it was a good opportunity and a good decision to participate in the fair." In summary, TecnoEdificios met the objectives proposed for this fourth version. Now the goal will be to improve the good and correct other aspects so that the 2014 edition is much bigger and more profitable. It is important to note that TecnoEdificios 2014 will change dates and will now be held in June, on 4, 5 and 6 in the same venue in parallel with the RefriAméricas Congress.
