Long considered the “brain” of a building that functions as designed, Building Automation Systems (BAS) actually require the involvement of multiple brains to reach peak effectiveness. Since even the most sophisticated BAS system can’t read minds, there is a compelling need for clear and thoughtful communication to connect the brains of building owners and operators with system designers and installers.
In the absence of clear communications, a Building Automation System (BAS) can either become a trusted sidekick to one’s building operations adventures or devolve into the nemesis of the daily effort required to respond to the mechanical system issues every building faces. When we see Building Owners and Building Operators sustaining healthy, functional buildings, we also see great data showcasing building performance and aligning with their intentions and priorities. So, the question is, what needs to happen so you can have clear dashboards that concisely convey how the building is working and a system that ensures it is working at its best?
First, even the smartest BAS “brains” cannot imagine themselves. They have to be designed with a clear and comprehensive understanding of the building owner’s priorities, intentions, and budget, worked out in the course of honest, detailed conversations. Secondly, they don’t design themselves either — good design will integrate the requirements for a tool that not only has the right size, speed, and accuracy, but also answers the tough installation questions in advance. Bad design leaves the decisions up to the installing contractor and relies on programmer guessing at what the Building Operator wants to see. When it comes to installation, quality installation will take an organized plan and translate it into the system so that the operators can get to “digital gold.” By contrast, poorly installed systems leave owners struggling to navigate the tools they are left with and the BAS often gets abandoned for manual operation.
So, it’s important to have an ongoing “meeting of the minds” to ensure the right mix of human engagement and intervention in BAS Architecture can set the stage for growth, monitoring, troubleshooting, and successful operations. The key factors that demand clear communication include:
SIZE If the operators of a high-performance building want to be able to effectively maintain complex mechanical systems, the design must account for how much data is required. A robust BAS starts with a clear inventory of what information must be collected from the equipment and sensors in the field and factor in spare capacity (we recommend 20-25%) to acknowledge changes that may occur during implementation and in future operations. The design should also organize the controllers into tiers—sensors and field devices being at the lowest tier working up to the building controllers and extending as far as the Energy Management Information System (EMIS) if analytics are in the scope of the project. The design should align the desired communication protocol (BACnet IP, MSTP, Modbus etc) for the controllers for compatibility.
SPEED Before landing the BAS dashboard of the future, Owners must engage with their IT team to plan the server and network environment where the BAS will reside. A mismatch on operating systems, memory capacity and processing speed can cause big nightmares in the course of everyday operations.
ACCURACY Programming complex systems relies on making the right connections and using the right logic and algorithms. A standardized setup is essential if the Owner wants the added benefits of Energy Management Information Systems integration or dashboards. While advocates of BAS will tout AI integration and all but claim the existence of a mythical “fix it” button, building automation actually requires a very technical setup at the ground level, where experts must guide the interface between electronic controls and mechanical devices with a lot of painstaking effort.
ANALYTICS Because building owners and operators are also incapable of true mind reading, they need access to concise, meaningful data to make essential decisions on the conduct of building operations. Because a well-designed, smooth-functioning BAS can do wonders for a building, it is definitely worth the effort. With access to the right data in a usable format, owners and managers can optimize performance, make decisions in real-time, and even protect a building remotely during emergencies.
ENGAGEMENT At the end of the day, the investment one makes in early communications on the scope and design of a BAS must be matched by a willingness to continue that communication through the lifespan of the building. To make the most of a BAS, one needs to log in, see what it’s doing, and tweak performance. In day-to-day operations, temperature monitoring, alarms, and schedules are certainly the most used BAS components, but one should also not lose track of features like charts, tabular data, reports, backups, and stored documentation. While they can be underutilized by less attentive organizations, they can make one’s life so much easier.
So, unless you’ve managed to develop the capacity to read minds, we strongly encourage BAS operators who have done the hard work needed to launch a truly smart BAS to keep is smart by consistently providing feedback, asking questions, logging in regularly, using trend data for troubleshooting, participating in functional testing, visually observing equipment, and keeping systems online. That sustained attentiveness will foster the kind of informed action that keeps your building humming and pays off in the long run.
