Sh*t You Wish Your Building Did!

AI updates weekly. Cyber threats evolve daily. Meanwhile, most commercial buildings still run on spreadsheets, siloed teams, and 30-year capital plans. In this episode, Rick Huijbregts joins James McHale and Rob Murchison to dig into the growing tension between fast-moving digital forces and the slow-moving world of real estate, infrastructure, and human behavior. We'll explore why buildings are b...

Why do so many smart building investments stall, underperform, or quietly create risk, even when the technology works exactly as promised? 🤔 Join us as we sit down with Rob Murchison, CEO at Intelligent Buildings, LLC to unpack 📦 a truth the industry is beginning to confront... The biggest barrier 🚧 to smart building ROI isn't the tech stack; it's the absence of a governance and risk operating...

We spend a lot of time in commercial real estate talking about technology, but very little time discussing how decisions actually get made. In this episode, we sit down with Lachlan Macquarrie, a former asset manager, educator of asset managers, and someone who now operates on the front lines of CRE technology. It was a candid look at: * Why smart building initiatives stall before they start * How...

What happens to your smart building ROI when nobody owns the risk? 🤔 CRE Portfolios 🏢 are getting more connected, but governance isn't keeping up. Cybersecurity gaps, unclear ownership, and missing operating models are quietly killing 🔪💸 the returns that justified the investment in the first place! In this podcast 🎥 episode, we were joined by Cecilia A. Li, CIO at Urban Edge Properties, to un...

Insurance costs are climbing. Coverage is shrinking. And most building owners are still treating it like taxes, something you just pay. But what if the technology investments you're already considering could directly reduce your premiums, unlock access to captive insurance programs, or simply keep your coverage intact in markets where insurers are pulling out? In this episode of Sh*t You Wish Your...

In this live podcast episode (number 42) we were joined by co-host Rob Murchison from Intelligent Buildings, to break down our 5 biggest trends from 2025! We're talked about: 1. Why property management just became a tech job. 2. Why digital infrastructure is now as critical as utilities. 3. Why "per sq ft" metrics are dead (and what will replace them). 4. Why IT Managed Service Providers have "ent...

What do you do when your entire campus is already running, tenants are happy, and lease rates are high, but your building systems are exposed? You can't just rip everything out and start over. You can't disrupt operations. Tearle Whitson, VP of Operational Technology at MetroNational and Rob Murchison, CEO of Intelligent Buildings, join us to discuss how MetroNational fix network vulnerabilities a...

Devon Newton shares how Stiles Property Management escaped the "Efficiency Paralysis Cycle" and generated measurable savings across their portfolio. The "Efficiency Paralysis Cycle" - Why Most Buildings Never See ROI: * Low visibility into building performance * Lack of CRE tech expertise * Unproven ROI projections * Budget constraints that keep savings stuck Hard Numbers, Real Results: * $300,000...

In episode 40 of Sh*t You Wish Your Building Did, we dive deep into the unvarnished realities of running a PropTech startup with Michael Grant, founder of Metrikus and co-creator of Smart Buildings Boot Camp. Michael shares hard-earned insights from 6 years in the trenches, covering everything from fundraising in 2025 to why partnerships in real estate are so much harder than other industries. Wha...

The UK Carbon Capture Gamble: Is It Worth £22 Billion? 💰🏭 In this eye-opening podcast episode, we dive deep with Nick Hun into the UK's massive bet on carbon capture technology! 🔍 Is the UK government putting all its eggs in one unproven basket? 🧺 🔥 What you'll discover: * Why carbon capture might be the "new fusion" - a promising but perpetually distant solution ⚡ * Only 2% of carbon captur...

Are AI agents about to transform how our buildings work? In this conversation with smart building expert Elisa Rönkä, we explore how agentic AI could revolutionize the PropTech ecosystem. This isn't just another AI hype video — it's a practical discussion about how the smart building industry might navigate a huge transformation in technology. We discuss: * Why agentic AI is fundamentally differen...

How did a UK 🇬🇧 electronics vendor successfully expand globally 🌏, competing against industry giants, and grow 🔺 exports to over 40% of their business? In this podcast episode, John Davies, former Managing Director of TDSi, reveals some of the strategies that transformed a regional Access Control 🚪 vendor into an international player. 🚀 🔑 Key insights include: ✅ How to compete against better...

In this podcast 🗣️, we dive deep into the current state of smart home 🏠 technology with Consumer Reports journalist Daniel Wroclawski, who brings 10 years of experience covering the smart home industry 🤖. Dan shares candid insights 💡 about why our homes aren't as smart as we'd expect in 2024 despite rapid advances in other tech sectors. What we discussed; ✅ Smart appliances and their questiona...

For Episode 34, we were joined by Warren Houghton for an in-depth discussion on how vulnerabilities in technology affect us all... whether it's your office, hotel or at home. Warren specializes in covert physical entry and exploiting technology controls, and is an expert in hardware hacking at Pen Test Partners - https://www.pentestpartners.com/ Warren gives some practical advice on how we can all...

For Episode 33, we were joined by Nick Hunn for an in-depth discussion on the UK Government's smart metering project, which began in 2009. Role forward 15 years, and by some quirk of fate, the same guy from 2009, Ed Miliband, is now back in charge of UK Energy Policy. So, spurred on by Nick's article (linked below), it seemed like the ideal time to look back at the smart metering project, what wen...

For Episode 32, we were joined by Mazen Jamal for an in-depth discussion on the business case for indoor air quality (IAQ). A whole body of scientific research now shows that CO2 levels impact cognitive function. Yet, IAQ often seems like an afterthought for smart building technology projects. Is it just reality that IAQ is lower in the technology “pecking order” than energy management, occupancy...

For Episode 31, we were joined by Tomás Mac Eoin from Master Systems Integrator (MSI) Hereworks to Discuss their Swift HR Concept. The Swift HR concept envisions a cross-functional team, led by Human Resources (HR), with the agility to quickly respond to, and manage smart building insights. So it becomes a guiding force for integrating human feedback into the data layer of smart buildings systems,...

For Episode 30, we were joined by Nick Clark and Mike Brooman to discuss Aukett Swanke's recent acquisition of the assets of Vanti. We discussed the reasons behind the acquisition. It's Aukett Swanke's 4th acquisition within a year and we also discussed their plans to improve the delivery of smart building technology on commercial building projects. More on the acquisition here 👉👉 https//memoori...

For Episode 29, we were joined by Brahm Lategan, Smart Building Consultant @ MiX based in London. We dived into the world of Commercial Building Data. Why are data integration problems in commercial buildings so persistent? AND how can we fix them? Brahm introduces Unified Namespace (UNS), an architecture from Industrial Automation, as a possible solution. UNS can create a centralized, non-hierarc...

For Episode 28, we were joined by Zane Mansha from UK Smart Building Master System Integrator, Vanti (https://vanti.co.uk/). Zane describes himself as a 'Realist Technophile', having a love for technology but grounded in wanting to deliver real-world outcomes. We dig into the benefits of this perspective in the smart building industry. Zane shared his thoughts on the current 'state of technology'...

For Episode 27, we were joined by Cliff Majersik from the Institute for Market Transformation (https://www.imt.org/), where he helps to shape policy around energy efficiency in buildings. Will standards really drive wide-scale building decarbonization? And what does that mean for smart building technology? Cliff shared his deep knowledge of energy efficiency standards, building ratings and buildin...

For Episode 26, we were joined by Stefan Schmidt from Meterz - https://www.meterz.co.uk/ - to Discuss Building Retrofitting and why it's THE Smarter, more Sustainable Choice over New Construction! Why are older buildings being left behind in the smart tech revolution? And what does this mean for the future of smart buildings? Listen Now!

In this Era of ESG Reporting and Focus on Climate Change, how can Organisations Change their Culture to make Sustainability a Habit? In Episode #25 of our Podcast, Prabhu Ramachandran, CEO of Facilio Joins us for an In-Depth Discussion on the Subject!

Recent global events have reminded us again of the importance of accurate intelligence when it comes to security. How should professionals responsible for the safety of commercial buildings think about threat intelligence and use it not just to keep people safe but improve operational efficiency? Lyndsay Close from Intelligence Fusion joins us for an in-depth discussion on the subject! Intelligenc...

We sat down with Rob Murchison from Intelligent Buildings & Craig Stevenson from Auros Group for a free-ranging discussion about the power of Retrofit and Existing Buildings! Rob & Craig shared their advice about how & where building owners should start with retrofit projects. We also discussed how realistic Net Zero is for Older buildings and whether the Commercial Real Estate industry will reach...