Building intelligence solution provider R-Zero is now offering short-term sensor leases to organizations interested in right-sizing their real estate portfolios and optimizing their mix of space types. The 3-month leases would apply to R-Zero’s battery-powered, wireless people-counting sensors. The company claims they are designed for accuracy, flexibility, and anonymity, and that an organization can install 200 sensors, for example, within a few hours and start collecting space utilization data shortly after.

R-Zero stated only a few vendors of building intelligence solutions offer short-term leasing rates for its workplace occupancy sensors. Sensors are considered more accurate than manual observation as they can continuously collect data to reveal patterns in peak utilization, space types that support productivity, and opportunities to reduce the building’s energy use.

The recent CBRE Global Workplace and Occupancy Insights Report shows that most organizations plan to prioritize portfolio optimization, with 43 percent planning to decrease portfolio size by more than 30 percent in the next three years. This has placed real estate leaders with the task of incorporating data analysis into their space operations strategy.

Sensor data can impact many decisions that drive greater efficiency in office spaces, from furniture and technology selection to right-sizing space configuration for streamlined employee workflows. Occupancy detection can also drive energy savings through better use of HVAC and lighting in underutilized spaces.

“Collecting utilization data is a necessary first step for real estate leaders to progress against the 3-30-300 rule of workplace investment. In benchmarking occupant behavior and space demand, organizations can immediately take action on their data to support the evolving needs of employees and the spaces they need to do their best work,” said Elizabeth Redmond, director of building intelligence sales at R-Zero, in a press release. “Often, we see workplace and real estate teams using sensors to test and measure the impact of changing space types across departments, reducing office space square footage, or automating lighting based on occupancy. With a quick-to-deploy sensor platform, they can easily repeat these cost effective studies across their entire real estate portfolio.”