Understand why your customers do not approve important fee proposals and build a pipeline of service project work.

Where does the BMS/BAS fit in a world of technology? Where will the BMS/BAS be in 10 years?

We are building buildings faster than ever before, but we haven’t changed how we design and install the BMS/BAS. To keep up we need to completely change how we design and install BMS/BAS systems.

Some technology companies will market their product as opening up the lock-in from the BMS and the BMS contractor. That may not be quite right.

People don’t want to work like they have been for the past 100 years. People want more than just work-life balance. They want the flexibility to work where they want and when they want.

Who is responsible for your continuous professional development? Your employer? You? Watch this video to find out.

The Chiller Management System (CMS) visualisation and analysis manual provides a resource for engineers that want to provide best-in-class chiller management system visualisation and analysis.

Outside air volume measurement helps, but it does not solve all our control issues.

There are millions of buildings around the world that have the incorrect outside air being drawn in from the AHUs.

If you don’t have these graphics, then you are not optimising the BMS.

Graphics are the easiest thing to enhance to impress our customers. But, we continue to deliver the most simple graphics.

When we want to save energy, we often start with the major systems. E.g., the chilled water system. But, there are a lot of small changes that can be made, which can often be done during BMS service time.

BMS companies are not training their engineers and managers in advanced concepts. If they are not going to do it, then you should consider investing in your own career.

Like everything, there are pros and cons that need to be considered when you have a multi-vendor BMS.

Even if you have a multi-vendor BMS system, you can easily still get locked-in.

The definition of an open system changes depending on who you ask.

We have been following the same rule for over 30 years. Is it time to reconsider how we look at our serial sub-network designs?

They were here, and now they are not. I thought I’d sit down and try to work this one out as no one has given me a good answer yet.

There are a few basics that I feel have gotten lost over the years. If you are a BMS engineer and you submit BMS technical submissions for review, then you should watch this video.

If you have any Windows Server 2012 operating systems, then you need to get fee proposals in right now so that the funding will be available next year.

10 years ago, we gave away Energy Management Systems, 5 years ago we gave away building analytics. What are we going to give away next?

The BMS Net Zero program. Know exactly how you are going to test your optimisation efforts and how you are going to prove the reduced power consumption before you start. If you can not prove the saving, then there is no saving!

The BMS Net Zero program. Which systems you start optimising is important. If you do not start with the right system, you may need to come back later and do it again.

We do not need millions of electric cars, millions of wind turbines, millions of solar panels, billions of dollars - we just need time to update the software programs in millions of existing BMS controllers. And, we can do this during normal service time. We already have a maintenance contract, we are already getting paid to go to site. Why not update the code while we are there?

A differential pressure switch, used to determine if a filter is dirty, does not really work on VAV AHU's. This is another one of those things, where something changed 20 years ago, and we did not realise that our monitoring system needed to change.

Five years ago we gave away building Analytics, ten years ago we gave away Energy Management Systems. What are we going to give away in the next five years?

In this video we discuss the concept of just what may be possible if we all work together.

After thought: When the health department talks about buildings that do not have enough outside air, they are probably talking about hotels, age care living, apartments, C-Grade buildings with DX air conditioning. I don't think this lack of outside air applies to premium grade and A-Grade buildings in expensive cities around the world, built in the past 10 years. They are often designed with lots of outside air (above code requirements).

This is the final video in a 3 part series on the design of the system pressure transmitter.

This is the 2nd video in a 3 part series on the design of the system pressure transmitter. In part 2 we look at three things to consider if the transmitter is installed far away from the chiller plant room.

This is the 1st in a 3 part series on the design of the system pressure transmitter. In part 1 we look at the installation location, and how appropriate the 3/4 rule is.

In this video we are introducing a couple of things for you to think about that may cause BMS equipment to prematurely fail. Can we make our BMS equipment last longer? Go study in depth the entire control loop from the sensor, through the controller to the output device. Read all the datasheets for every component, including the installation instructions. Go look at the cable.

Todays video follows on for our previous video on the importance of proactively managing and understanding the financial performance of your BMS projects.

This is video is for the Building Management System engineers that think they do not need to worry about Project Management. At the end of the day, project management is more important than design and engineering. Believe me, I have been there and felt the pain.

Sometimes value engineering fails, not because the concept does not work, but because we stop short of providing a complete solution.

Are we permitted to interlock the car park ventilation system with an occupancy time schedule? This is something that we regularly come across when reviewing BMS designs.

In this second and final video we discuss why Demand Control Ventilation does not work in older buildings.

In this video we discuss the 1st of 4 issues that you need to consider if you want to install CO2 sensors in older buildings.

This video wraps up the 3 part series on better understanding the BMS design from a mechanical consultants point of view. If you want to be a better BMS designer or project manager, then you need to understand the constraints of the mechanical consultant.

A common thing that that BMS companies complain about... Why does the mechanical consultant choose the lowest price? Or, even more general that that; why does the lowest price win? In 8 minutes you will know why :-)

A lot of the things we blame the mechanical consultant for in the BMS industry, are actually our responsibility, and not their responsibility. This video starts a 3 part series into better understand our BMS issues, from a mechanical consultants point of view. Hopefully better understanding why these issues exist will help you to mitigate the issue and reduce the impact on your deliverables.

We tend to focus our efforts on the largest systems when we start an energy efficiency project. But, there are often easier ways, where small changes can make big savings.

Even when a hardwired smoke control system is provided, it is easy for the BMS to cause significant issues. BMS engineers are often not aware that their software code is potentially affecting the life safety system. This is an important video, not just for BMS companies, but anyone that needs the fire and smoke control system to work during a fire.

This was a big surprise to me a couple of weeks ago. I was looking for an equal percentage modified characteristic curve and I stumbled onto the characteristic for a butterfly valve. Very interesting

In this video we are continuing our discussion about improving Building Management System graphics. Graphics that you need to build as part of a longer-term energy efficiency program. If you work in the BMS service department, then you are best placed to start working this into your normal day-to-day maintenance tasks.

When you design the BMS graphics, do you ever think about what the Facility Manager needs? The home page is the first graphic that is presented when someone logs in. You could almost say it is the most important page - make a good first impression.

We have a track record for leaving the door open for new emerging technologies to takeover parts of our industry, one piece at a time. We are at a crossroads right now, we either pickup our game or continue to squabble between ourselves as we continue to give away more and more of our industry to the next wave of hungry technology providers. We gave up energy management and analytics, we gave up chiller management systems, are we going to keep doing this?

Remember that discussion we had, "we are destroying the BMS industry", here is another example where we stop just short of providing high value and end up opening the door to 3rd party technology providers.

Following on from a previous HLI control video, this video discusses a significant gap being introduced with the supply of packaged control systems. Consultants, mechanical contractors and Building Management Systems companies, we all need to play a part in providing an end-to-end working solution.

Just because you bought an IP65 sensor, it doesn't mean it's 100% weatherproof.

This week we discuss a few things to consider when you are designing your Building Management System instrumentation and installation.

The 3rd and final video in the 3 part series of how to witness a Building Management System.

If you are a mechanical consultant, what do you do at the second day of Building Management System witnessing.

In this 3 part series we are going to discuss how I witness a Building Management System. What to do on the first, second and third day.

In this weeks video we discuss how to get BMS fee proposals approved, almost every time.

This video continues in the BMS data centre design series. Discussing BMS redundant power supplies and alarms.

This video continues in the BMS data centre design series. We will briefly touch on the differences between Tier 1, 2, 3 & 4, and monitoring.

This video follows on from last weeks discussion about N+1 design for data centres.

In this weeks video we start a mini series on BMS design for mission critical facilities, focusing on data centres.

This video wraps up the distributed power and controls series.

Now that we have distributed our controllers and started install a couple of months early, how can we start commissioning before permanent power is available?

This 3rd video in the series discusses distributed controls as we move towards reducing our reliance on the mechanical board.

This week we are talking through why the mechanical board is such a bottleneck in the installation and commissioning of a Building Management System.

Do you want to create an addition month of BMS commissioning time?

Well, you can stage on return water temperature if energy efficiency is not a priority.

In this video we discuss 5 things you need to consider if you want to install wireless temperature sensors throughout a building.

In the past 12 months I have noticed a couple of projects where Low Level control is being replaced with High Level control.

In this third and final video in the series we look at a few other ideas to explore as you transition into a new modern way to maintain Building Management Systems.

In this second video on BMS Maintenance we look at how to restructure the BMS maintenance plan so that high value tasks are incorporated at no additional cost to the annual contract value.

A BMS preventative maintenance contract provides almost zero value to the owner. In this 3-part series I am going to show you how to completely restructure a BMS maintenance contract so that high value tasks are included at no additional cost.

This is the 3rd and final part in the series on chiller minimum flow control, or bypass control. Hopefully this will be the end of primary only pumping chillers tripping on low flow :-)

In this 2nd part to the Chiller Minimum Flow Control series we look at pressure sensor selection as is occasionally can cause bypass control issues.

This is the first in a series of 3 videos discussing chiller minimum flow control. Chillers occasionally tripping on low water flow is an issue I come across on most primary only pumps systems. This video focuses on explaining why the primary pump modulates to control system pressure and not the minimum flow through the chiller.

The BMS industry has evolved to the point where I think we should reconsider what tuning means to us, and therefore the tasks we perform when doing tuning.

Most energy efficient controls strategies if not properly understood and tuned can waste energy.

Sometimes energy efficient control strategies can end up wasting energy rather than saving energy.

It always surprises me how BMS companies will achieve almost impossible milestones during a twelve month challenging project and then just show up to BMS witnessing without a plan.

Mixing different vendor devices on BACnet MSTP sub-networks, on large projects, can cause significant communication issues.

Do you ever wonder how contractors get away with being non-compliant to the consultant’s specification?

Why are we surprised every time the commissioning program gets compressed? Don't be surprised, it's going to happen. Put in place a risk mitigation plan and do something about it.

Did you ever wonder what can cause a control valve to hunt?

The valve authority equation for 2-port and 3-port control valves is completely different. However, we are still sizing 2-port control valves using the 3-port method, which does not work.

Is your CO Control strategy compliant to AS1668.2?

CO2 Control is one of the Building Management System control strategies that is most often incorrectly implemented. 
The purpose of Demand Control Ventilation is to reduce outside air and save energy and not to provide additional outside to improve Indoor Air Quality over the original mechanical design. 

50 years ago, building control systems consisted of relays, thermostats, time clocks and pneumatics. It made sense for mechanical engineers to scope and specify the control system as a subsection of the mechanical specification. 

Pre-2000 BMS networks were mostly made up of proprietary RS485 communication networks, long daisy chained screened cable networks running through plant rooms, up risers and through floor ceilings picking up hundreds of BMS field controllers.

You do not need to completely upgrade your BMS to save energy, just upgrading the control strategies will result in the same savings for approximately 70% less cost.

There are a variety of issues that can trigger the requirement for a Building Management System upgrade. Here are some examples to help you decide.

If your annual BMS maintenance contract includes for calibrating space temperature sensors, then you would be better off using that time on tasks that add value and saves energy.

The days of practical completion dates being pushed back to allow for Building Management Systems to be properly commissioned are over. In this article we will discuss an alternative delivery method that should allow installation to start earlier and create some breathing room between commissioning and practical completion.

Tuning is not what it was 10 ago

On almost every project I work on or peer review, the chiller bypass control is either wrong or ends up causing issues down the track, resulting in chillers tripping during low load conditions or energy wastage.