Convergence of IT and Building Automation Systems
Paul Oswald tells us what’s Possible — And Profitable — About Intelligent Building Systems
Rapid evolution of building automation systems (BAS) is significantly impacting facilities and those responsible for IT. For a long time, IT and BAS were developed separately, each focusing on individual technology developments and moving down the path of least resistance to market. But as buildings become “smarter,” and there continues to be a growing need to interconnect building facilities spread over different geographical locations for remote monitoring, analysis and control, the convergence of the two is inevitable. IT is the basic infrastructure — cabling, networks, data gathering, database management and display — of all the systems used in a building. So BAS, and for that matter any building system, can fully capitalise on IT technology and trends. The convergence of IT and BAS is producing measureable benefits by merging business and building systems data across an enterprise.
Owners and tenants
Regardless of facility asset class, the convergence of IT and BAS delivers a building that costs less to operate. Through the convergence of systems, building owners achieve energy and operational efficiencies and savings, and tenants can achieve greater productivity. This convergence trend is of particular importance to owner-occupied facilities and existing buildings whose owners are considering retrofitting the BAS and other building systems, such as access control, fire safety and lighting.
An owner-occupied facility is directly aware of and in control of the bottom line. Conversely, a tenant-occupied building typically has an owner who passes along the costs of inefficiency to the tenants. One instance where owners of tenant-occupied facilities would benefit from converging IT and BAS would be in depressed real estate markets with high vacancy rates. More efficient building operations reduce costs, allowing for lower per-squarefoot price and improved market appeal without sacrificing profitability.
Immediate benefits
Convergence of IT and BAS improves cooperation and communication among building owners, managers and tenants. Systems convergence allows owners and managers to precisely measure tenant usage of the building. As a result, tenants benefit from this measured approach by incurring costs specific to their occupancy. Sub-metering of each tenant space, for example, allows costs assigned based on actual energy consumption versus taking total energy cost and dividing by the cost of a building’s square footage.
Further illustration comes in the form of access control systems. By converging heating, cooling, lighting and access control with business process systems, tenants can realize extensive efficiencies. Examples include the automatic removal of terminated personnel from the access control database, which provides a more secure environment. Access control cards can record usage hours for lighting, heating and cooling among other services provided by the building owner. Something as seemingly inconsequential as shared conference space on a given floor of a building can be monitored with access control devices that allow the building owner to charge only tenants who use it. These are but a few examples. Converging BAS and IT systems unlocks “islands of information” and enables advanced strategies for monitoring and control that increase productivity and enhance efficiency. The value of this convergence trend extends beyond the building owner and tenants. Facilities managers and building services engineers also are able to streamline their responsibilities through converged systems. No longer must they master several disparate systems to operate a building, thereby reducing the on-going training and support costs. Furthermore, convergence of these systems onto a single architecture or application platform provides precise insight into the health of a building in terms of cost of operation and level of productivity. True systems integration brings together these “islands of information” into a single system that allows greater vision into a building’s operations, resulting in more powerful, strategic, value-producing decisions.
Hostile Takeover?
Recently, Environmental Systems released “Bottom-Line Sustainability for Business: What’s Possible — And Profitable — About Intelligent Building Systems.” More than a dozen experts in the study were unanimous in their conclusion that the convergence of BAS and IT is one of the most important trends in the industry. For some, it may be a daunting prospect, but others see convergence as a natural progression.
One key to success has been the adoption of open systems platforms by some BAS integrators when developing solutions for customers. True open systems integration with a lifecycle approach avoids first-cost traps that result in significantly higher costs over the lifecycle of a particular solution. It helps identify opportunities to reduce costs, improve operating efficiencies and productivity, assist with strategic decision-making and manage risk.
The annual savings ranges from 10 percent to 30 percent on facility operating costs. Year over year, companies are seeing benefits, such as improved energy efficiency of equipment and buildings, more targeted capital spending, better utilization of resources including money, labour and equipment, and a safer, higher quality environment that improves productivity and lowers insurance premiums.
Safety First
Many of the industry leaders who responded to interviews say the greatest impact associated with the ongoing convergence of IT and BAS has been enabling organizations to enhance safety and security by better controlling who has access to critical data and facilities. With the convergence of BAS and IT, building operators can monitor their buildings 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, they can control access and they can recognize cost savings with the shutdown of non-necessary systems.
Command and Control
One big advantage of the integration of IT and BAS is the overall control of user authentication; as it applies to both physical and virtual access control, as well as the enhance facility control strategies that are enabled by this convergence. For example, energy efficiency can be increased by knowing who is in the building, or how many occupants are in the building, allowing control of HVAC and lights to respond for maximum efficiency. Further, knowing the equipment utilization at any point in time because of this convergence, allows provision of space heating and cooling to match the load requirements in real-time.
Real Concerns
Despite the prevailing and apparently positive trends, there are a number of real concerns about the convergence of IT and BAS:
- For solutions to deliver their expected performance benefits in a converged architecture, they will most likely require a multi-faceted team; IT, BAS, Security, Fire and Life Safety, etc.
- While there is no shortage of technology to implement a converged architecture, there is a lack of integrated applications expertise. With education, solutions that lower cost and enhance performance are very possible.
- Integration of physical and digital (IT) security can deliver substantial efficiencies. However, businesses have not realised the importance of integrating physical and virtual security in the workplace. Clearly, there is an opportunity for an organisation to achieve lower costs and higher levels of security with this integration.
How to get started
For businesses considering BAS or IT systems upgrades or installations, it is imperative to ask several questions as part of your research for a systems integrator. To ensure the convergence of IT and BAS systems serves your business well into the future: Ask for a record of delivering successful, value-driven, open, integrated systems. Ask for a roster of facilities for which convergence of architecture, applications and integrations was achieved? Ask for specifics on how they measured success? Selecting a partner who truly understands the technology and applications, as well as the value convergence can provide, is key to unlocking its true potential.
Paul Oswald is president of Environmental Systems, Inc. headquartered in Brookfield, Wis. For 25 years ESI has delivered innovative, performance-building solutions and services focused on Building Controls & Automation, Security & Life Safety, and Energy Management for commercial and industrial facilities of all sizes and types for leading companies across America.
