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Three steps to (BMS) heaven D
espite Eddie Cochran’s hit song Three Steps to Heaven being 61 years old it is still available to listen to now on pretty much any mobile device
thanks to digital technology and the cloud-based music streaming services. It is the theme of ‘Three Steps….’ that I wish to steal to guide building owners and operators through selecting and managing their building systems.
Step 1. “You find a “system” to……” Ok, a system to love might be too much, but the initial choice of system is crucial. Clients should first understand not only their
present needs but also the needs they anticipate and plan for in the future. The BMS now incorporates more than the control of heating, cooling and ventilation plant. Often occupancy systems, people density, room booking, air quality management and a raft of lighting controls are incorporated as well as an array of analytical packages. By comparison would a vinyl turntable be required or even a CD player? It is doubtful either are needed today and nostalgia aside I cannot see any future purpose for these, and I wouldn’t buy one just because I had records and CDs. A product with an open route to market, and that uses an open protocol ensures flexibility and simplifies options to integrate with other building systems in a simple and cost-effective manner. The combination of these two open themes greatly supports the future proofing of the system and protects the customer’s investment. With the majority of systems now benefiting from the speed and range of connectivity options that IT systems provide, it is also essential that our building control systems are designed, installed and indeed operated and maintained with strong security in mind. My music collection may have once been stored safely at home on shelves and in cupboards but now it is entirely online. I want to be sure those accounts are safe and accessible only to those people I want to share it with.
Step 2…Blossoming relationship The song lyric talks of the couple’s blossoming relationship and having made the right choice of BMS and provider so too can our building owners and occupiers begin to enjoy the benefits of a well- controlled space.
“With building control systems managing hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of data points, the analysis of this data can provide a rich source of information to help direct and predict maintenance activity to catch and prevent things before they go wrong.”
All relationships require a little work and there are
a few very simple things that can be done to ensure everything is working efficiently and effectively. Keeping check on setpoints and time scheduling, being sure any temporary overrides put in place are returned to normal operation and that all sensing devices are kept clean and away from any erroneous influences will pretty much ensure as designed operation. Calling on the services of the professional BMS company to provide any software and security updates to system software, providing software backups and exercising of the slightly more advanced technical system elements and modification requests, will keep a system running smoothly and cost effectively when conducted on a regular basis.
Controls
Graeme Rees, vice president of the Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA), gives a step-by-step guide on how building operators can select and manage their building management systems (BMS)
“.. And as life carries on… and things do go
wrong”… sings the song, and sadly things also go wrong in our buildings too. But today, with building control systems managing hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of data points, the analysis of this data can provide a rich source of information to help direct and predict maintenance activity to catch and prevent things before they go wrong. Analytical software is available that uses the mass of data from our building systems to identify how effectively the systems are operating and identify issues that are normally hidden even to the trained eye. They are even able to identify trends and predict when maintenance or replacement parts might be needed. It can also provide insight on the operating health of the BMS itself.
Step 3. “… hold on tightly..” What is possible with existing digital technology is quite incredible – a change at least of vinyl record to streaming service scale. The equivalent change with our building systems is here today with the integration to workplace management software systems (IWMS). A typical scenario could be that the building management system identifies an issue with the cooling in a meeting room which effectively puts the room out of use. Integrating with IWMS would enable the maintenance contractors to be automatically made aware of the issue and the spare parts required to facilitate a fix. It would previously check that the maintenance contractors are approved to do the work on the site and have the appropriate skills to work on that specific system and also validate that there are no other issues preventing an automatic work order to be issued to them. It would also inform users who are booked to use that space that the room was no longer available and automatically move their reservation to another slot space and also trigger the occupancy and control of the new space through the integration with the building control system. Upon completion of the work, it would not only
return all systems to normal operation and reinstate room bookings, it can also take care of work reports, even invoicing and departmental billing. This might sound like science fiction, but it is quite possible today and makes for a truly smart building and that sure seems like (BMS) heaven to me.
DOWNLOAD THE HVR APP NOW November 2021 27
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