This episode of The Future Built Smarter podcast features Matt Malcolm, leader of IMEG Labs, a new service that provides early validation of the technologies and integrations that have been specified for new or renovation projects.

“With IMEG Labs we are able to offer our clients third-party unbiased evaluation of technology as part of the design process—ahead of actual construction events or implementation on a client’s site,” says Matt.

The evaluations and demonstrations are conducted at the IMEG Labs testing site in the firm’s office in Naperville, IL. “We can take the different technologies that we’re describing as we talk about integration and smart buildings and bring them into our small-scale environment. We can leverage the agile framework and talk about how these things fit together, build out some proof of concepting, and make adjustments before we actually have people installing these things on site.” Owners and clients are encouraged to visit IMEG Labs for demonstrations of their anticipated technology solutions and integrations.

“It’s really about all the things that are behind the walls, the things that are above the ceilings, the things that are in the IDF closets—all the different functional boxes and smart pieces and parts that are connected to a network and drive how a business operates, whether it’s a hospital or a school or an airport. We connect them together with the appropriate wires to showcase everything it takes to achieve the business outcome or use case that a client is looking for.”

This service, Matt adds, “allows us to early in the process decide what brands or manufacturers work well together, which ones might be a barrier to implementing because there’s a huge implementation cost or integration development cost. It’s about timely evaluation of how these systems are going to work together so that they can influence the decisions.”

IMEG Labs also can set up mockups for training and continual improvement at a client’s site and can innovate solutions for which there may not yet be a product on the market that allows an owner to push the envelope.

“Clients are coming up with some great ideas and we’re taking those ideas and trying to see how they could come to life. We’re piloting a couple of different technologies—things that haven’t really been done before in certain environments.”

Listen to the podcast to learn more, read the IMEG Labs service overview, or contact Matt Malcolm.