INDUSTRY COMMENT: BCIA
With companies looking at how they can safely bring their staff back to work, BCIA president Terry Sharp discusses the role of BeMS in ensuring our buildings remain energy efficient and in good working order both during and after lockdown.
extra-appreciative of our countryside whenever we venture out for exercise has almost become routine. In May the Prime Minister
T
announced a slight relaxation to the lockdown rules, with people being asked to continue working from home where possible, and a managed return to work being advised for some sectors. Looking further ahead though, will this difficult period alter our ways of working?
he beginning of
‘lockdown’ now seems a long time ago, so much so that working from home, queueing at the supermarket and being
In the short term, almost definitely. If there is a phased return to work building managers and business owners will need to re-assess their work environments to ensure they adhere to any potential new regulations, such as cleaning programmes, social distancing measures and space utilisation. For many businesses, doing this within a short space of time might prove difficult, and working from home could become the new normal for the foreseeable future. Many companies and their employees have demonstrated that they can remain engaged with their work through online meetings and document sharing. The technology that enables this has of course been available to us for years, but it has taken a global pandemic to make us fully appreciate its benefits. We can apply a similar logic to smart buildings and the BeMS systems that are bringing benefits during the lockdown and will continue to do so after, as we will undoubtedly need to adapt to new practices in order to help prevent a similar outbreak in the future. In summary, a BeMS can keep the unoccupied or partially occupied building ticking-over, saving energy and maintenance costs. If we look in more detail, we can see exactly where and how a BeMS is proving its worth.
Though many businesses are working remotely, there often remains a high dependency of support services from offices and factories; computer suites that are remotely accessed is an obvious example. In some instances, we hear of office staff maybe working remotely but warehouse or factory personnel are still satisfying customer demand. In these instances, and where building services allow, the BeMS will be scheduling main plant to only serve the occupied areas and zones – avoiding energy wastage in unoccupied spaces.
The monitoring and supervision of plant also allows maintenance resource to be prioritised to address the urgent failures soonest. Automatic change-over of duty and standby plant can ensure plant remains operational in the case of failure, and though there may be very little risk of frost or freezing at the moment, low overnight temperatures can still cause condensation to occur internally. By sensing this and instigating protection strategies, the BeMS can prevent damp and damage occurring. Additionally, periodic exercising of pumps and valves can help ensure water systems do not silt-up, thus avoiding the potential problem of undissolved solids causing failures on restart.
BSEE The role of BeMS in and after lockdown
If these types of measures have been followed and HVAC services have been sufficiently retained then our buildings and plant should be in a healthy state to serve us as and when we gradually start to go back to work.
Online training
Of course, one of the many interruptions to life caused by coronavirus has been to education, with schools, colleges, universities and other learning facilities having to close, including the BCIA’s own Training Centre in Peterborough. For our industry to thrive, a professional and knowledgeable workforce is required, as smart buildings and building controls are going to play a crucial role as the world adapts to new ways of working. It was therefore crucial that we were recently able to make the BCIA’s full suite of training courses available online. Training plays a vital role in the advancement of our industry and the BCIA has long been a supporter of its benefits. The introduction of online training therefore means that the BCIA can continue to respond to the demands of the industry and the needs of everyone within it, even during the lockdown period.
www.bcia.co.uk
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BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER JULY 2020 9
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