National healthcare organization saves $19 million through data-driven space optimization

The organization’s partnership with Johnson Controls kicked off with the deployment of 200 OpenBlue occupancy sensors across six buildings. The goal was straightforward: understand how healthcare space was actually being used.

The insights those sensors delivered proved to be transformational, and within two years the deployment had expanded to nearly 1,500 sensors covering approximately 1,000 clinical and non-clinical rooms across 150 properties.

Today, the organization has approximately 7,000 occupancy sensors deployed across its properties. With its internal deployment of OpenBlue technology well-established, they have turned their focus to servicing additional healthcare property owners.

Like many large public-sector organizations, the organization relies largely on manual processes, anecdotal feedback and static, stale booking records to make decisions about space. Clinical teams frequently report that buildings are “at capacity,” in some cases triggering requests for costly building extensions or new facilities.

With the help of OpenBlue occupancy sensors and OpenBlue Insights, the real estate team team has been able to show that, in reality, many spaces across the estate are being used for only a fraction of the time for which they’re booked. In fact, their studies show that many spaces are typically only 40% utilized. One utilization study found that a room that had been reserved for an entire week was only actually used for two hours on a Monday morning, then locked and left unused for the rest of the week.

This mismatch between perception and reality can create significant issues, including:

• Funds being spent on unnecessary new space instead of optimizing existing assets
• Valuable clinical space remaining underutilized
• Patients experiencing longer wait times due to perceived capacity constraints
• Estate decision-making becoming slower, more contentious and harder to justify with confidence

“We were having conversations based on hearsay; everyone believed their building was full, but no one could prove it,” said a senior leader at the organization. “Now, if you're a landlord and you want to see how your space is used, we can deploy OpenBlue sensors and then analyze the data and suggest ways to improve utilization.”

By the end of 2021, the program had leveraged OpenBlue technology to reduce unauthorized use rates from 60% to less than 5% and increase utilization from 30% to over 50% across sensor-enabled properties. Since then, performance has continued to improve, with the unauthorized use rate falling to 3.5% in 2025.

Over the past year, the real estate team has conducted dozens of these utilization studies, resulting in many millions of dollars saved, while improving utilization, streamlining decision-making and improving patient access to care.

In some cases, these insights have eliminated the need for costly capital expansion. For example, a three-month utilization study revealed that a building that tenants claimed was 100% used was actually operating at just 38% utilization. By identifying this unused capacity, the property owner was able to accommodate additional general clinicians and services within the existing space and avoid a planned nearly $2 million building expansion.

Across dozens of similar studies, the senior leader estimates total cost savings and avoidance in the range of $13 million to $20 million.

“It's having an impact across the board on how the health service is delivered to the patients, which is what our prime objective is: To make sure that the patients that come to our building have quality space and get treated quickly,” he added.

The OpenBlue difference: transformative technology with personal partnership

The senior leader and his team valued the continuity of expertise and partnership, even as the platform evolved over time. Having first implemented the solution in its earlier form, the organization experienced a seamless transition as capabilities expanded — supported by a consistent team and collaborative approach.

“What stood out was the people behind the technology,” said the senior leader. “Even as the platform evolved, we were working with the same team who understood our challenges from day one. That continuity made a huge difference.”

This continuity enabled the organization to build on early success without disruption, maintaining momentum while scaling the program across its estate and beyond.

“Over the past 18 months, the work we’ve done with the OpenBlue team, through utilization studies and enhancements to how OpenBlue Insights supports our needs, has already delivered clear benefits,” the senior leader added. “We’re now emerging as a leading provider in the space and doing far more business than we initially expected.”

Looking ahead

The organization's expansion is well-timed. National initiatives aim to advance long-term healthcare transformation, including a shift from analog to digital systems and a greater focus on prevention. Estate data will play a critical role in meeting these new directives, positioning the organization at the center of this evolution.

With ambitions to extend its platform across tens of thousands of healthcare facilities, they are continuing to expand their use of OpenBlue technology while exploring additional solutions, including environmental sensors, smart building systems and digital twin capabilities. This is particularly important given the scale and complexity of the real estate portfolio, which comprises everything from 100-year-old primary care facilities to brand-new 700-bed hospitals. The organization’s vision – with the help of OpenBlue – is to manage a large and diverse healthcare portfolio through a unified, data-driven approach. They also see OpenBlue solutions as essential tools in helping the system minimize energy inefficiencies and accelerate progress toward sustainability goals.

With a proven model, growing demand and a trusted partner in OpenBlue, the organization is helping redefine how healthcare estates are managed – unlocking capacity, improving efficiency and ultimately supporting better patient outcomes.

The customer is a large public-sector healthcare property organization responsible for managing, maintaining and optimizing a broad estate of clinical and non-clinical facilities. Working across a complex network of healthcare providers, property owners and community care settings, the organization helps ensure that healthcare spaces are safe, efficient, accessible and aligned with changing patient needs. Its work supports better use of existing buildings, more informed estate planning and improved access to care across a national healthcare system.