60 Seconds with Bruce A. Kellogg, Chairman, OSCRE Americas, and Senior Vice President, Industry Relations, Argus Software Inc.

The Open Standards Consortium for Real Estate (OSCRE Americas) is preparing to merge with PISCES Ltd to form OSCRE International. Bruce Kellogg, chair of OSCRE America, explains how the merger will impact on the development of global standards for real estate commerce.

BF: How will the merger effect the ongoing development of standards for real estate commerce and operations.

BK: The merger of OSCRE and PISCES will have a major ongoing impact for real estate commerce and operations based on our united efforts to be a global organization. This union of the two leading developers of real property data standards and interoperability will unify the entire real estate industry and related entities to establish the most utilized interoperable data standards in real estate today. The ultimate goal will be data standards that are truly global.

BF: How soon will globalization of the real estate industry be achieved, and what are the benefits?

BK: Globalization of the real estate industry [will happen] when the industry understands and values the benefits of decreased labor cost, increased productivity, and the open and flexible exchange of information. The potential merger will expedite the process [and] create the platform to do business in a fraction of the time and with higher quality results. The merger will speed up the growth of (interoperable) e-business in real estate by removing barriers to individual innovation, reducing the repetitive and non-value added work for the industry.

BF: How will standardized formats for electronic transfer of information improve the way real estate transactions are conducted?

BK: We are establishing a common language for real estate commerce and providing neutral, verifiable formats for information interchange. For example, classification of space is used in conjunction with space measurement standards to describe and manage space allocation, account for premises costs and coordinate many real estate property performance metrics, including space, personnel, asset allocation, financial and contracted services. The U.S. Air Force has a goal of reducing their physical plant 20 percent (85 million square feet) by 2020 in order to offset a 20 percent reduction in funds available for installation support activities. They plan to meet this goal by implementing a standardized process utilizing the OSCRE Space Classification Standard that incorporates the Unified BOMA and IFMA Floor Area Measurement Standard.

BF: Will there will be a dramatic transformation of the real estate industry?

BK: We must see a dramatic transformation of the real estate industry! While many would like to see the status quo, the reality is that we will move forward to develop quicker, more consistent ways of doing business. The real estate industry has been one of the last bastions clinging to doing things the “old-fashioned” way.  Well, it’s time to introduce not only be the utilization of data standards, but the globalization of data standards.

CORDLESS FUTURE

WiTricity, a company that has powered light bulbs using wireless electricity that travels several feet from a power socket, predicts that within a year laptops, phones and other devices may no longer need power cords, chargers or disposable batteries.

WiTricity is a spinoff of an MIT research group that has developed a version of wireless electricity which converts power into a magnetic field and sends it through the air at a particular frequency. The technology—called magnetically coupled resonance—still is being refined, but WiTricity is boldly predicting that in five years it will be the norm. The company also claims the magnetic field technique will permit electric car owners to power up their vehicles by driving into a garage fitted with a wireless power mat.

Wireless electricity has been under development for decades, going back to the early 20th century experiments of Tesla, but thus far has only been used to send tiny amounts of electricity over long distances.

Some scientists are concerned there may be health risks with magnetic resonance, but WiTricity says the technology will produce magnetic fields that are roughly the same density as the Earth’s magnetic field, and which offer the environmental benefit of making disposable batteries obsolete.