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At NexusCon 2025, Rob Engle, Utilities Engineer at Auburn University, and Dan Fink, VP of Engineering at BuildingLogiX, walked through Auburn’s decision to walk away from a 15-year FDD contract and rebuild the program from the ground up. Auburn manages a large, complex campus with a ~$30M annual utility spend and no dedicated FDD staff—so the goal wasn’t more dashboards, it was faster fixes and better use of technician time.
This presentation breaks down how Auburn shifted from a “set it and forget it” vendor model to a hybrid approach that blends external expertise with in-house ownership. The focus stays on airside systems, campus-scale prioritization, and making FDD outputs genuinely actionable for facilities teams.
Inside the recording, you’ll hear what Auburn learned after years of “boring but valuable” FDD calls—and why that model eventually stalled despite paying for itself. Rob and Dan get specific about what worked: confidence-driven KPIs, daily punch-list workflows, and targeting the systems that actually move the needle (like Delta-T on chilled water).
They also share what surprised them, including how quickly new construction issues surfaced once FDD was connected post-turnover, even in buildings with strong commissioning teams. If you’re struggling to keep FDD relevant, scale it affordably, or justify it beyond energy reports, this is a grounded look at how one campus reset the program to focus on fixes, not meetings.
Watch the full recording inside Nexus Pro →
At NexusCon 2025, Rob Engle, Utilities Engineer at Auburn University, and Dan Fink, VP of Engineering at BuildingLogiX, walked through Auburn’s decision to walk away from a 15-year FDD contract and rebuild the program from the ground up. Auburn manages a large, complex campus with a ~$30M annual utility spend and no dedicated FDD staff—so the goal wasn’t more dashboards, it was faster fixes and better use of technician time.
This presentation breaks down how Auburn shifted from a “set it and forget it” vendor model to a hybrid approach that blends external expertise with in-house ownership. The focus stays on airside systems, campus-scale prioritization, and making FDD outputs genuinely actionable for facilities teams.
Inside the recording, you’ll hear what Auburn learned after years of “boring but valuable” FDD calls—and why that model eventually stalled despite paying for itself. Rob and Dan get specific about what worked: confidence-driven KPIs, daily punch-list workflows, and targeting the systems that actually move the needle (like Delta-T on chilled water).
They also share what surprised them, including how quickly new construction issues surfaced once FDD was connected post-turnover, even in buildings with strong commissioning teams. If you’re struggling to keep FDD relevant, scale it affordably, or justify it beyond energy reports, this is a grounded look at how one campus reset the program to focus on fixes, not meetings.
Watch the full recording inside Nexus Pro →
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This is a great piece!
I agree.