Integrating a facility at the enterprise level involves managing numerous moving parts. These include the various systems, from physical security technology to HVAC to elevator control to lighting technology, as well as the network backbone to run it and all the people that interact with these pieces every day in the building. It can all seem very complicated—and it is—but in the final analysis, users of all sizes of buildings are looking for a good return on investment for whatever integration they achieve. This can be measured based on the functionality of the integration; how readily available the integrated system is to operators, wherever they are; and how well the system can leverage all the building’s data to improve operations.
Accessible, Pro-Active Systems
For enterprise level Building Automation Systems (BAS) users the greatest demand is for proactive systems that help them save money, reduce energy consumption and keep the building secure. Whole facility smart building integration, where the building “knows” who is there and opens doors and elevators and sets lighting and HVAC to preferred settings, is not in great demand nationally. Although there may be some regional variations, this level of integration has not proven itself to most facility owners, especially regarding the ROI of installing this type of system. Those integrated features, however, that have a track record of providing ROI are in demand. For that reason, facility operators often request systems to better manage energy use so as to control utility costs.
An important trend across all building types is the demand for global access to BAS information, according to Nick Bennett, IT specialist for Control Services, Inc. in Omaha, Neb. Operations staff want to have system alerts as well as operational data available whenever and wherever through mobile devices. The enterprise-class network makes it possible to provide the secure communication between smart phones and tablets that keeps facility managers apprised of facility conditions. Users can work with their Integrator to create custom alarm sequences and establish a hierarchy of recipients based on the significance of the problem. This allows alarm message to go beyond the control center and into the field to the staff member’s mobile device. The integrated system allows trouble shooting and corrections via mobile device for many incidents, so the physical presence of a staff person at the facility is not necessary. The system can even provide management with an audit trail showing how the issue was resolved and establishing accountability.
In addition to remote access to BAS information, enterprise users expect more functionality regarding the application of data from integrated systems, observes Bill Lawrence, security division manager for CM3 Building Solutions, Inc. in Fort Washington, Pa. Many enterprise users realize stand-alone systems that function independently are obsolete because integration allows them to take advantage of all the data available from the various systems in a building. Appling all that data enables building operators to better understand how the facility functions as a whole and lets them make informed operational changes. Energy efficiency is an area that provides an obvious benefit with results that operators and occupants alike can see. Many organizations are taking their energy use data and publishing it to the smartphones of employees or displaying it on screens in common areas of the facility in order to educate occupants on energy efficiency and reinforce positive behaviors related to energy use.
Lawrence notes that some of CM3’s retail clients have found other uses for facility data derived from the integrated BAS. One client actually measures the impact of energy efficiency practices on sales using integrated technology. “By tracking and comparing In-store temperature data with sales data the retailer can learn what impact lower temperatures during the winter have on how much consumers spend in the store. This enables the retailer to find the perfect temperature to save energy without adversely affected store performance, generating an identifiable ROI,” he says.
Another retailer has harnessed the power of security monitoring to its marketing efforts using analytics. Security cameras with analytics software monitor customer traffic in the store and discover what captures the consumer’s attention. For example, the cameras and analytics will capture how many customers stop at an end-cap display and even what actions they take: looking, handling merchandise and even putting items into a cart for purchase. Retailers are also developing ways to use consumer data contained in smart phones to send marketing messages directly to consumers or to change the messages on in-store digital displays to match the interests of approaching shoppers.
“Merging security analytics with marketing increases the ROI on these integrated systems that were originally focused on loss prevention by making them sales drivers as well,” says Lawrence.
Integration for ROI
All the diverse systems within buildings—from HVAC, to access control, to lighting, to life safety—matched with varied demands of each building’s users means that the integration needs of facilities are wide-ranging. Ultimately, the level of integration required depends on the specific building, what type of work occurs there and the skill level of the facility management team. The system integrator must be the users trusted partner and understand the customer’s needs. Serving as consultants, integrators provide advice and guidance for customers to enable them to achieve the level of integration that works best for them. The integration strategy must meet the needs, skill-set and budget of the customer and this means one customer may get the most advanced integration system available while another does not.
In the end, the amount of systems integrated at a given building is not the most important factor to consider. Because for every facility operator, integration must solve a problem if it is to deliver a positive ROI. Obviously this is why energy efficiency is so important to building managers, but there are other benefits as well. Lawrence says new technology allows for users to go from passive monitoring to pro-active control of facilities. “For example, a hospital customer had a problem with inventory shrinkage and came to us for help. Items from bandages to wheelchairs to expensive medical equipment were disappearing across their large campus,” he said. To counter this, CM3 provided the hospital with tracking tags and proximity devices to locate missing items. Although this is expensive, time spent locating items causes loss of productivity and staff cannot work efficiently when they don’t have all the tools necessary for their jobs.
Another example Lawrence sites is the expansion of security alarms as tools to establish accountability and drive personnel actions. Instead of an alarm merely sounding when an incident occurs, such as detecting that a door is ajar, cameras fix on the open door and the image is immediately displayed on monitors in the security center. Images show both the alarm incident and real time views of the site. Next, staff is required to indicate they are aware of the problem. Then, the system provides specific instructions to resolve the issue, such as to investigate the area that has been accessed and close the door, and prioritizes how urgently these actions must be taken. The system provides an audit trail of the incident and actions taken and establishes accountability for how the incident was handled.
As new technology comes available and increases in popularity, costs typically go down, making advanced systems more cost effective and available to more users. As demand increases for integrated systems that can handle both routine building management and unique and one-off situations, open protocols, such as BACnet, are crucial to enabling the most integration between various sub-systems within the building, says Bennett from Control Services.
IT and FM Staff Unite
Ironically, as integration of all the systems in a building is becoming a reality and as more facility staff want and need global access to system controls and data, the biggest obstacle to integration is often an enterprise company’s IT department, say both Bennett and Lawrence. Successful, secure and accessible integration, however, requires cooperation between the IT and facilities staff. Historically these two groups have been at odds and neither department was very good at speaking with the other. Both have typically been separate departments with separate reporting structures and each is protective of its specific networks and devices. This arrangement has suited both groups fine. IT staff hasn’t wanted the BAS and all its associated third-party products on the IT network and facility staff has preferred autonomy over their network.
The time for this division to end is now, notes Bennett. “IT networks are more hardened and secure than the typical BAS network has been and the IT infrastructure is also more robust and resilient, so it is much more efficient to use this network as the backbone for the whole facility,” he says. Because an IT network uses an encrypted virtual private network (VPN) it automatically has the appropriate level of security to safely support the access users want on mobile devices, which facilitates providing this level of access. This heightened security offers protection for the entire integrated building network as well, so both IT and facility staff can be confident in the safety of their equipment.
Communication between the IT and facility staff is key to bridging the divide and must start as early in the process of developing an integration project as possible, according to Lawrence. “Waiting until the project is underway and asking IT staff for access to a network to add equipment creates conflict. IT staff may reject equipment, believing it has not been thoroughly vetted for its security.” But when the IT staff works in conjunction with the facility staff everyone can have more confidence that the integration won’t open the network to up to vulnerability.
Future Trends
Some of the basic parts of the BAS will not change—there is little chance of revolutionary new damper technology coming on the market—but that doesn’t mean we won’t see many technological innovations in the future for building operators to take advantage of as they integrate facilities. Future integration technology will change how and where that damper is activated and provide more information about how that activation impacts the facility. Today, operators want access to facility data on mobile devices such as tablets and phones. Wearable technology is the newest trend and eventually the demand for building control via a smart watch will emerge.
Analytics will continue to evolve, enabling facility staff to gather all the data in a building and combine and sub-divide the information to gather intelligence on the interrelationship of all the building’s systems—and all in real time. Analytics add real value to integrated systems by harnessing all the data that is available and applying it in meaningful ways. Analytics can support the BAS by enabling more efficient operation and even allowing the BAS to anticipate system failures, thereby sending alarms before they occur to facilitate a pro-active response. Armed with this knowledge, building owners will rely more heavily on integration and demand even more nuanced control over systems. Analytics enables hardware such as cameras to evolve, for example enabling them to recognize specific shapes and actions. When a single camera can see and do more, the size of deployments is reduced and owners save money without sacrificing security.
The development of analytics as an important tool for the management of an integrated building illustrates where innovations in facility automation are coming. Field devices, such as sensors and access controllers, which have long life spans, will continue to work years into to the future. The changes will be at the enterprise level related to server capacity and functionality. Open protocols can protect the investment in peripheral parts of the BAS, but building operators must be prepared to invest in new enterprise hardware every three to five years. This requires a change in perception for facility staff who have considered the BAS to be part of the HVAC system, with a 30 year lifespan, and now must regard the BAS as part of the IT network.
A further development will be a greater willingness to utilize cloud-based solutions for the BAS, says Lawrence. While this is a huge shift for facility operators, it offers the advantage of reducing investment in server hardware and memory to support complex integrations and analytics. Currently, there are issues to resolve regarding the return-side of stored BAS data on the cloud as well as concerns about security, but when these are resolved the cloud could become a viable solution for providing enterprise-level building integration and control and a reduced cost.
Enterprise level integration is more than connecting various building systems to each other. It involves connecting all these systems to people who can run them effectively, both onsite and off. It is also about connecting all the data from the building so operators can better understand how all the pieces work together in order to manage the facility to its upmost efficiency.
About the Author:
Paul Strohm is President of the InsideIQ Building Automation Alliance (www.insideiq.org), an international alliance of independent building automation contractors representing common automation and security system platforms. An industry veteran, Strohm is also president and COO of C & C Group, a leading facility services provider in the Midwest based in Lenexa, Kan.
