Modern buildings are more complex than ever — layered with mechanical systems, digital controls and automation protocols that quietly keep systems operating and occupants comfortable.

Yet, despite this sophistication, many buildings still underperform over time. Sensors can drift out of calibration; HVAC equipment may fall out of sync; and building operators sometimes become over-reliant on manual fixes. Even small inefficiencies — often invisible — can compound year after year, driving up energy costs and shortening the life of expensive equipment.

For PCL, delivering a high‑performing building is only part of the equation. Owners expect — and deserve — proof that their buildings will continue performing as promised. That’s where CopperTree Analytics comes in. Its AI‑powered building analytics, fault detection, diagnostics and automated commissioning capabilities help improve performance and give owners unprecedented visibility into their building systems. 

Nearly every modern facility relies on a Building Automation System (BAS), which generates vast amounts of data every second: fan speeds, valve positions, temperature set points, damper positions and more. CopperTree’s Kaizen platform connects to these systems and continuously ingests, analyzes and contextualizes data using algorithms and machine learning models.

As CopperTree chief revenue officer Keith La Rose says, CopperTree’s mission is to unlock the full potential of building data by aggregating information from BAS and other building systems into a single analytics environment.

“Our fault detection and energy management tools provide a dynamic, real‑time view of system performance, identifying anomalies that would otherwise go undetected,” says La Rose. Crucially, this creates an independent data layer (IDL). Regardless of which hardware vendors are installed in a facility, PCL ensures the data remains unified, portable and owned by the building owner — not the equipment provider.

Kaizen isn’t just a dashboard — it’s a supervisory platform that continuously analyzes building data and flags issues like heating and cooling happening at the same time, misconfigured sequences, stuck dampers or equipment running when it shouldn’t be. These insights notify operators and contractors so they can step in quickly, stopping small issues from turning into costly problems.

“The real value of CopperTree starts long before a building opens its doors,” says Mark Bentfield, a building systems manager with PCL in Minneapolis. “Ideally, it is incorporated into the planning from the earliest stages, and deployed on-site as the first mechanical systems begin to come online during construction.”

CopperTree can automatically validate every BAS data point — something manual spot‑checking can’t do.

Traditionally, sequence verification and functional testing are performed through a sampling process. But CopperTree allows commissioning teams to validate every point, every sequence and every mode of operation. This process results in a “Digital Birth Certificate” for the facility — documented proof that 100% of the mechanical systems were verified under real-world conditions before occupancy. That includes uncovering subtle issues — like a dead sensor or misaligned schedule — that standard testing may miss.

With the Kaizen Automated Commissioning (ACx) module, CopperTree keeps testing systems automatically during construction and after the building opens. This automated verification improves reliability, reduces the risk of deficiencies, and ensures systems are tuned to how the building actually operates, not just how it was designed. This marks a shift from reactive guesswork to proactive, predictive maintenance. That enables a maintenance budget to be spent on high-impact resolutions instead of repeated manual inspections.

“It’s like having an expert looking over your shoulder and identifying problems 24-7,” says Bentfield. He and his team successfully used CopperTree during the construction of the Altru Hospital in Grand Forks, North Dakota. “We started using CopperTree about nine months before substantial completion and had meetings with the client and their maintenance team until a few months after handover, to ensure things were running as promised,” says Bentfield.

Altru, having seen the benefits of using CopperTree, decided to continue using it after handover and is considering integrating it into other buildings in their portfolio.

The traditional approach to building performance — retro-commissioning every three to five years — results in a phenomenon known as the "sawtooth effect." While retro-commissioning can successfully restore building performance, research indicates that these gains are short-lived. Without continuous monitoring, performance begins to drift almost immediately, resulting in significant lost savings over time.

“Building performance is not static,” says La Rose. “Buildings suffer from a ‘performance drift’ due to sensor error, manual overrides, mechanical wear and changes in use.”

The problem with traditional, periodic intervention is that it treats building performance as a series of “events.” The resulting sawtooth pattern confirms that without continuous fault detection, efficiency gains are temporary and begin degrading immediately after implementation. The "lost savings" represented by the gaps in the sawtooth aren't just energy waste - they represent the premature degradation of a building's most expensive assets and a significant opportunity to reduce ongoing operational expenses.

CopperTree’s analytics help teams move from reacting to problems to predicting them — greatly reducing after‑hours calls and emergencies. La Rose says one major university has installed CopperTree across its campus of about 90 buildings.

“The data‑driven insights have helped operators address issues before occupants even notice them,” says La Rose. “They’re reduced the number of reactive calls they get from dozens per year to just a few.”

In institutional environments, this data-driven approach reduced energy consumption by up to 25% while simultaneously increasing occupant comfort scores.

Owners often lack the tools or expertise to sift through the thousands of data points produced by a BAS. CopperTree simplifies this. Its interface highlights priorities, ranking issues by severity and potential impact. When problems come up, CopperTree provides objective data that helps isolate root causes.

Traditional maintenance models waste time inspecting systems that don’t need attention, while potentially missing the ones that do. CopperTree flips that approach by pinpointing the most important issues and directing maintenance to where it’s most needed. This targeted approach leads to fewer service calls, lower operational costs, extended equipment life and improved energy efficiency.

Buildings account for about 40% of global energy‑related carbon emissions, putting growing pressure on operators to improve performance. CopperTree’s analytics directly support these sustainability goals by identifying energy waste, benchmarking performance, and measuring progress toward specific corporate or regulatory standards.

Kaizen adds portfolio‑level visibility, enabling owners to track consumption, compare buildings and optimize operations across sites.

For PCL clients participating in energy‑incentive programs or aiming for net‑zero performance, CopperTree delivers the data and reporting required to validate outcomes.

As buildings become more connected and performance expectations rise, analytics platforms like CopperTree become essential.