How it works
Building operations teams run equipment on schedules and respond to faults. A building management system (BMS) monitors and controls systems such as heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting in real time, while maintenance teams carry out planned and reactive work.
Data drives efficiency. Sensors and meters report temperature, air quality, energy use and, in some buildings, occupancy. When operations teams know which floors are in use on which days, they can run heating, cooling and lighting to match rather than to a fixed timetable.
Building operations and experience (BOE) is a newer framing that joins building operations with workplace experience and property management, so decisions about systems, services and the occupant experience are made together. CBRE created a business segment under that name when it agreed to acquire the flexible workplace provider Industrious in January 2025.
How to measure it
- Energy use per square foot, compared across floors and days with different occupancy.
- The balance of planned and reactive maintenance, and time to resolve faults.
- Comfort complaints and service requests by floor.
- Occupancy by floor and day, so system schedules follow real use.
Examples
- An occupier that concentrates office days midweek shuts down heating and lighting on two quiet floors on Mondays and Fridays.
- A landlord combines building management system data with tenant feedback from its building app to decide which upgrades come first.
Benchmarks
CBRE's Building Operations & Experience segment comprises its entire global property and corporate facilities management portfolio of 7+ billion square feet.
CBRE press release: CBRE Group to Acquire Industrious, Create New Business Segment
Common mistakes
- Running building systems to a fixed schedule when attendance varies by day.
- Keeping building data and workplace booking data in separate silos.
- Measuring comfort only through complaints.
How Kadence helps
Kadence does not control building systems. It supplies the occupancy side: check-in and presence data by building, floor and day in Workplace Insights, available through CSV export, the public REST API and outbound webhooks, so facilities and building teams can align services with real attendance.
Workplace occupancy · Workplace API
Frequently asked questions
What is BOE in real estate?
BOE stands for building operations and experience. It joins building operations, workplace experience and property management into one approach, so a building is run as a service to the people in it rather than only as an asset to maintain. CBRE formed a business segment with this name when it agreed to acquire Industrious.
What is the difference between building operations and facilities management?
Building operations focuses on the physical systems: heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting, lifts, access control and their maintenance. Facilities management is broader and also covers soft services such as cleaning, catering, reception and security staffing, plus space and moves.
What does a building operations manager do?
A building operations manager keeps the building's systems safe, compliant and efficient. The role schedules planned maintenance, responds to faults, manages contractors, watches energy use and building management system alerts, and works with tenants or workplace teams on comfort and service issues.
How does occupancy data help building operations?
Occupancy data shows which floors and zones are used on which days and hours. Building teams use it to schedule heating, cooling, lighting and cleaning to match real use, close quiet floors on low days and plan maintenance for when areas are empty.
Related terms
- Facilities management (FM) The function that keeps buildings and their services working: maintenance, cleaning, security, catering, energy, safety and space.
- Smart office A workplace that uses connected tools and data, from booking and room displays to presence and building controls, to fit real use.
- Workplace experience (WX) How employees experience the office and its services, from finding a desk and colleagues to hosting visitors and getting help.
- Workplace operations (WorkOps) The day-to-day running of an office for the people in it: space, bookings, visitors, services, policies and the data they produce.
Sources
Kadence editorial team · Last reviewed