"We saw Trendspek as a way to inspect the façade much faster, more cost-effectively, and with a more accurate result."
PGIM Real Estate is committed to innovation across real estate investment. The Australian arm piloted Trendspek in 2020, using it to transform the due diligence process for commercial assets.
We spoke to Andrew Neary, Executive Director or PGIM Real Estate.
PGIM Real Estate first piloted Trendspek in 2020 on 40 York Street, Sydney – a 150-year-old heritage masonry building.
Inspecting the façade using manual methods, such as abseiling, presented challenges due to its height, no awning at street level, and CBD street exposure.
“In the past, we would have had abseilers come down over the roof to conduct the inspection. In those situations, we’re relying on the human eye, meaning it is so easy to miss crucial defects," says Andrew Neary, Executive Director of PGIM Real Estate.
"We saw Trendspek as a way to inspect the façade much faster, more cost-effectively and with a more accurate result."
"Innovation is a massive way to create value for our investors, as is risk mitigation. When compared to competitors and the traditional approaches of inspection, Trendspek was miles ahead on time, cost and accuracy.”
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"Using Trendspek, engineers can have a skim through and identify any really obvious defects or issues, allowing us to make decisions faster."
Since the pilot, PGIM have since used Trendspek for two more projects, and included it as part of five bids.
"For the right types of building, it will just become a normal part of our due diligence process. We keep using it because of its thoroughness, accuracy and the speed it lends to the due diligence process," says Neary.
"Before, we’d have to coordinate a team of abseilers and then wait for them to write up the full report. Now, we have one drone operator and we can capture a substantial building in less than a day."
"Effectively, within a few days of drone capture, we can be looking at imagery of a full building. Even without the full report, engineers can have a skim through and identify any really obvious defects or issues, allowing us to make decisions faster."
"If the results are not favourable, we can stop a deal immediately to reduce aborted costs, or we can start negotiating with the seller, sooner."
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"When compared to competitors and the traditional approaches of inspection, Trendspek was miles ahead on time, cost and accuracy.”
Trendspek has have provided a baseline for long-term maintenance planning. Neary sees potential in returning every two-to-three years to capture new data, comparing it with prior models to track changes over time.
“We’re planning on making this a regular part of the maintenance routine, depending on an asset’s age and exposure to the elements, so that we can more accurately plan my OPEX and CAPEX budgets,” he says.
“We can find defects that are safety-related, identify water stains or cracks early, and make decisions, rather than waiting for something to fall off the a building!”Neary envisions scaling the use of Trendspek across industrial and warehouse assets, even for sustainability projects like solar panel installations.
“In future, we’re hoping this could also have positive implications for our insurance – being able to identify issues early, has the potential to result in lower insurance rates.”
Neary also values Trendspek's ongoing commitment to innovation.
“I also like that the platform is evolving, that there are new reporting functions – it’s becoming more-and-more useful.
When I provide feedback to the team, they really take it on board and look at how they can implement it. The relationship with Trendspek is very collaborative.”
"The responsiveness of the team is something we’ve really enjoyed. We just say we’ve got a building, and ask when they can do it. Once the drone pilots are in place, we can have our model in 24 to 48 hours."
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