After a pilot project with Vyer, Hemsö is investing in implementing digital twins for operation and management across the entire portfolio. So far, drawings for nearly 200 buildings have been modernised, and extensive work is underway to connect the twins with data from other systems.

"Now we have reached a critical mass where we can start to work with the power of a digital twin for real," says Fredrik Hörnsten, CDO at the property company.

Hemsö, which has a lettable area of 2.2 million square metres, has several ongoing digital initiatives to streamline the company's information management. Over the past year, they have chosen to scale up their collaboration with the proptech company Vyer regarding digital twins.

Digital twins for nearly 200 buildings are available, and around 400 operations technicians and managers have access to Vyer's platform, where they can access accurate drawings, as well as updated and relevant building information.

"We are taking a holistic approach to be able to manage remotely to a greater extent and transition to more data-driven working methods to streamline operations and management," says Fredrik Hörnsten.

The twins now serve as a hub to coordinate, structure, and share information that is important for operations and management. The collection of data is done partly through imports and integrations with other systems, but also through employees contributing knowledge via so-called "crowdsourcing of data".

Collective mapping of property data (crowdsourcing)

The method allows local managers, with a deep knowledge of Hemsö's properties and priority information, to quickly collect large amounts of data and keep it updated.

"The digital twins help me become a more digital manager. For some properties, I can save up to 4 hours by not having to drive back and forth to check if the right data is available in the twin, and we have the ability to influence that now," says Johan Tollbom, technical manager at Hemsö.

It addresses, among other things, challenges that have previously existed around the time-consuming and costly upkeep of drawings and documentation of other building data, such as spaces and equipment, planned maintenance, and more.

"The digital twins provide a visual context that makes it easy for employees to absorb information and be involved in the mapping," says Fredrik Hörnsten.

Connecting systems creates new values

Projects are also underway to link the twins with other systems. Among other things, data for thousands of rental objects has been extracted from Hemsö's rental administration system. The management organisation thus gains a visual overview of which tenant occupies which space, how many square metres they utilise and pay for, as well as which areas are vacant.

The twins are also used to provide mapping support to Hemsö's existing fault reporting system for faster troubleshooting and resolution. Over time, the collection of location data allows for observing trends in which equipment frequently breaks down, to enable proactive work and make better purchasing decisions.

"The strength lies in the ecosystem where the spatial database, the geographical details of the twin, is integrated with harmonised data from other systems. This allows us to change how we work with operations, technical and economic management," says Fredrik Hörnsten.

Hemsö's digital twins in numbers

800,000 square metres digitally available (BTA) 100 buildings with components (technology, sensors, etc.) mapped by employees 3,300 rental objects 700 fault reports on a map from tenants 600 drawing changes (updated by an architect within a week) 375 users

About Hemsö
Hemsö is Sweden's leading owner of community properties with a lettable area of 2.2 million square metres. The company owns, manages, and develops properties for elderly care, education, healthcare, and the judiciary.