Case Study: Cornell University achieves 40% faster off-hours troubleshooting and significant energy savings with iFIX from GE Digital

Cornell Speeds Off-Hours Troubleshooting By 40% And Optimizes Energy

Cornell University, a large Ivy League campus with 260 major buildings, needed to conserve electricity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and gain real‑time visibility into complex facilities including lake source cooling, water filtration, steam and power generation. To meet those challenges the university deployed iFIX and Historian from GE Digital, along with GE Digital’s Mobile for remote access, to provide a modern HMI/SCADA visualization and control layer across its plants and distributed assets.

GE Digital implemented a redundant iFIX HMI/SCADA system with Historian and Mobile to monitor pumps, sensors, alarms and KPIs campus‑wide, enabling proactive maintenance and faster decision making. The solution delivered measurable results: 40% faster off‑hours troubleshooting, increased energy savings and lower operational costs, improved uptime through preventive actions, and support for the Lake Source Cooling project that cuts associated chilling energy use by about 80%.

Cornell University

Tim Peer PE

Energy Plant Manager