Understanding your space: BMG’s occupancy technology

Occupancy technology has evolved significantly over the last few years. Sophisticated systems can now show how people experience the spaces they use.

The data from tracking software and sensor solutions can feed into informed decisions of everything to do with your estate, including room layouts, HVAC usage, and user pathways through estates.

This data helps create environments that work best for the people using them, every day. And with our recent partnership with Iron Mountain, we’re able to extend that insight to the full lifecycle of workplace transformation, from physical moves to long-term information governance. 

WiFi tracking for large estates

Our WiFi-based solution requires no additional hardware. It's entirely software-driven, which makes it particularly powerful for organisations with large or diverse estates.

When someone enters a building and connects to the WiFi network, our system can track their movement across different receivers throughout the estate. For a university, for example, this means being able to see how students and staff move between buildings, which spaces are being used most heavily, where people choose to work and which breakout spaces are being used.

One of our university customers uses this technology across four buildings surrounding a courtyard on its campus. As people move from one building to the next, the system maps those patterns, giving the university a clear picture of how its estate functions day to day.

This kind of insight helps organisations understand occupancy trends and identify underused spaces to plan estates more effectively. If a lecture theatre is consistently half-empty or a self-study space is oversubscribed, that's valuable information for future planning.

Sensor solutions

Passive infrared (PIR) sensors are small, lightweight tech that measure changes in infrared light radiating from people or objects. PIRs are often a feature of alarm systems, as they can monitor people’s presence and be used to count how many individuals are moving in and out of a space.

Sensors can also be used to measure temperature and noise levels in spaces. When combined with carbon sensors, they can provide a deeper understanding of why spaces are underused or unpopular.

Imagine sitting in an eight-person meeting for two hours. This might sound fine on paper when you are mapping out your future office, but after an hour with the door closed and the room at capacity, the carbon dioxide might have risen to an uncomfortable degree. People start yawning, concentration drops, and the space becomes uncomfortable. When a sensor detects that rise, it highlights how a room might not be fit for its usage, even if nothing seems wrong on the surface.

This data is an invaluable part of understanding why people may consciously or unconsciously avoid a particular space, whether that be carbon dioxide levels, temperature fluctuations, or noise levels making environments unworkable.

The combination of occupancy data and environmental conditions helps organisations make better decisions about HVAC systems, room capacities, and office space design. That way, your spaces are made to support your employees’ work, rather than just counting how many people show up.

Workplace transformation

Understanding how spaces are used is only part of the picture. Organisations managing hybrid estates are dealing with fragmented supply chains at a time when they need clarity and control.

Our partnership with Iron Mountain addresses this challenge by bringing together workplace transformation and information governance under a single accountable partner. This means we can now support clients through the full lifecycle of workplace change, from strategy and planning through to records management, digitisation programmes, and secure information storage.

For organisations consolidating their estates or shifting to hybrid models, this integrated approach reduces the complexity of managing multiple suppliers. It also strengthens governance aligned to regulatory, security and ESG requirements, giving organisations the visibility they need across both physical assets and information.

It's about bringing everything under one roof, so clients have consistent standards throughout and a single point of accountability for their workplace transformation.

Making spaces work better

Understanding how your estate is used is the first step towards creating environments that genuinely support your colleagues. These technologies provide the insight needed to make informed decisions about space design, capacity, and comfort.

Whether you're managing a university campus, a corporate office, or a multi-building estate, accurate data on both occupancy patterns and environmental conditions means you can refine your spaces to meet people’s needs.

Explore occupancy solutions with BMG

BMG supports organisations to understand their estate usage and implement technology that provides actionable insight.

Learn more about our workplace transformation services, contact us or fill out a quote enquiry form to discuss how occupancy technology could work for your organisation.