The Heathrow Playbook

Cut Water by 26%, Slash Costs, and Revolutionise Your Cleaning Regime

A major UK airport implemented a smart water management strategy that delivered stunning results in just six months. But the benefits went far beyond just saving water. By making their infrastructure intelligent, they unlocked powerful data that could transform other operational areas, like cleaning. This playbook breaks down their multi-layered approach into a replicable strategy for any large estate looking to achieve holistic efficiency gains.

The Results

💧

26%

reduction in water consumption in six months

💨

1.7t

CO₂ saved every month

💰

<1 Year

Payback on investment

📊

New Data

to drive dynamic, usage-based operations

Here’s how they did it, and how you can too.

The Challenge: Invisible Waste and Inefficient Operations

For any large facility, operational costs are driven by factors that are often hard to see and measure.

Undetected Leaks: A single faulty toilet fill valve at the airport was costing £60 per month, completely unnoticed until the system flagged it.
Inefficient Fixtures: Small inefficiencies, multiplied across hundreds of assets, lead to staggering waste. Optimising toilet flushes and tap flow-rates saved a further £900 every month.
High Emissions: Every drop of heated water carries an energy cost and a carbon footprint.
Inefficient Cleaning Schedules: Traditional cleaning rotas are based on time, not actual use. This means staff waste time and resources cleaning washrooms that have barely been used, while high-traffic facilities may be left unattended for too long, leading to complaints and poor visitor experiences.

You can't manage what you don't measure. Their success was built on a strategy of making the invisible visible.

The 4-Step Strategy for Intelligent Facility Management

The airport deployed a smart water management system across more than 400 points of use to execute a powerful four-step strategy that turned data into action.

Step 1: Implement Granular, Real-Time Monitoring

The foundation of the project was to install sub-meters at hundreds of individual points of use—toilets, taps, and urinals. This provided an unprecedented level of detail, immediately identifying the highest-consuming assets and creating a real-time data stream for every fixture. Explore the data below.

Step 3: Transform Data into Dynamic Cleaning Schedules

This is where the system's value multiplies. Since every single toilet flush is metered, the system knows precisely how many people have used each washroom in real-time.

How it Works: Instead of relying on a fixed schedule, cleaning managers can access a live dashboard that ranks washrooms by usage. A simple count of flushes acts as a direct proxy for footfall.

The Result: Cleaning teams are dispatched based on need, not a generic rota. They are directed to the busiest facilities first, ensuring the highest standards of hygiene where it matters most. This data-driven approach transforms cleaning from a scheduled chore into a dynamic, highly efficient operation.

Location ▾	Total Flushes (Usage)	Status

Your Playbook: Replicating This Success

Any facilities or estate manager can adopt this model to generate similar returns.

Map Your Estate: Identify high-traffic areas and critical assets. Start with public washrooms to maximise the dual benefit of water savings and cleaning efficiency.
Deploy a Smart Metering System: Install a system that provides point-of-use data, intelligent learning, and an online dashboard.
Establish a Baseline: Let the system learn your unique consumption patterns to establish accurate, customised alerts for leaks.
Implement Dynamic Cleaning: Use the real-time flush-count data to direct your cleaning teams. Create a "smart rota" that prioritises washrooms based on actual footfall.
Monitor, Act, and Optimise: Use the alerts and data to fix leaks the moment they happen and build a powerful business case for upgrading your most wasteful assets.

By following this playbook, you can move from reactive maintenance to proactive, data-driven facility management. The result is a more resilient, efficient, and sustainable estate with lower costs, happier visitors, and verifiable proof of your emissions reductions.