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Building Automation Systems

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 Organizational view of facility assets
Building Automation Systems
In reviewing a 1994 survey
conducted by Arthur Andersen
Byron A. Ellis, PhD Consulting to assess how 160 European
businesses view their property assets,
Loe (1996) noted that many European
businesses were under-exploiting the
Abstract financial and strategic benefits of
effective property management. For
Building automation systems (BAS) provide
facility managers with the ability to monitor,
instance, over half of the respondents
track, and respond to the performance of facility viewed property merely as a cost of
assets. Round the clock monitoring ensures that doing business; and, under half had no
all systems function optimally. Appropriately formal strategic property plan, as well as
managed building automation systems increase no significant performance
facility assets reliability and reduce maintenance
costs. Large organizations can achieve measurements- facility maintenance
economies of scale by centralizing facility asset goals. However, clearly defined
monitoring. actionable facility maintenance goals
that cascade from the organizational
Introduction mission and vision to individuals are
necessary to determine performance
The ability to detect impending (Cable & Davis, 2004).
faults and to minimize energy usage The European view of property
associated with facility assets will assets is not unique, many U.S.
increase reliability and reduce cost. businesses and government agencies
Therefore, building owners and behave in a similar fashion. However,
managers should consider global without monitoring and fine-tuning
networking technologies to optimally facility assets, modern buildings tend to
manage their buildings and building degrade; the settings of the buildings
equipment. Finch (1998) argued that will diverge from the changing
global networking technology requires a requirements of occupants (Finch, 1998).
new mindset for facility managers. It According to Finch, facility managers
also requires a new mindset for facility are unlikely to have all the expertise
owners. He also noted that building necessary to monitor the many different
solutions should tie manufacturers and types of assets within a facility. Thus,
suppliers into the total life-cycle lack of facilities managers’ expertise is a
performance of the building. In essence, strong justification for integrating and
monitoring and monitoring responses centrally monitoring embedded systems
may be outsourced to those with specific so they do not operate as inefficient
expertise: manufacturers, suppliers or islands. For instance, in many buildings
service providers. Environmental lighting systems operate independently
concerns, safety issues, and cost from the security systems.
reduction are other reasons for viewing
facility maintenance with a new mindset: Intelligent buildings (IB)
as a strategic organizational component
(Tsang, 1995). Intelligent buildings are facilities
in which building automation systems

www.jethroproject.com,TJP, June 2006, pp 1-5 Building Automation Systems

Copyright © 2006 TJP. All rights reserved 1 Byron A. Ellis
(BAS) facilitate a productive and cost in overall building energy consumption.
effective environment by optimizing Curtis (2003), Aprilaire manager,
structure, systems, services, and (Aprilaire supplies automation systems)
management and the interrelations believes that energy savings could be as
between them (So, Chan, & Tse, 1997). high as 33% based on occupancy.
So et al. noted that two of the most
intensely used building services are The benefit of tracking asset
lighting and heating, ventilation, and air performance
conditioning (HVAC). Thus, BAS can
be programmed to minimize HVAC and Wood (1999) argued that
lighting energy usage, and to detect other preventive maintenance (PM) often
parameters of interest. failed to maximize the service life of
An article in Air Conditioning each component; in many instances the
Heating and Refrigeration News, June components were being replaced with
27, 2005, reported that Thomas Jefferson many hours of useful life remaining. PM
University in Philadelphia saved tasks, based on hard time intervals,
$600,000 in energy as a result of BAS waste a lot of resources (Tsang, 1995);
equipment scheduling. Equipment that is, often the plant or building is
scheduling is the ability to turn over-maintained (Mann, Saxena, &
equipment on and off. Improving Knapp, 1995).
equipment scheduling is one of the most According to Bloch and Geitner
common and effective measures for (1983), certain signs, conditions, or
saving energy in commercial buildings. indications precede 99% of all machine
BAS can also perform an array of other failures. Therefore, by monitoring an
functions, such as data logging, trend asset, action can be taken prior to it
logging, energy assessment, etc. (So et having a serious effect on the
al). Moreover, users can issue commands performance of the organization. Thus,
to manipulate certain building systems to condition-based monitoring offers an
affect temperature set points, chilled alternative to the PM assumption of age-
water flow rates, illumination levels, etc. related failure mode. Moreover, with
Wal Mart Stores, Inc. has used an condition-based monitoring, managers
energy management system (EMS) since can focus on just-in-time (JIT)
1988 to monitor and control all HVAC, replacement. According to Wood, JIT
lighting, and refrigeration systems at replacement maximizes the life of each
each Wal Mart or SAM’s locations. component and is facilitated by BAS or
(Wal Mart Good Works). Moreover, intelligent buildings.
each location is controlled centrally by Condition-based monitoring
their 24 hours a day, 7 days a week involves intermittent or continuous
facility monitoring team. Accordingly, collection and interpretation of data from
round the clock monitoring ensures that components of critical equipment,
all systems function optimally, thereby determining when a failure mode has
maximizing energy efficiency at each been initiated, predicting the time to
store. complete failure, and making decisions
NSTAR (2004), the largest on the appropriate maintenance response
Massachusetts electric and gas utility, (Mann et al., 1995).
indicated that energy management Wilmeth and Usrey (2000) noted
systems saved an average of 10 percent that United Airlines studied documented

www.jethroproject.com,TJP, June 2006, pp 1-5 Building Automation Systems

Copyright © 2006 TJP. All rights reserved 2 Byron A. Ellis
failure histories in the airline industry environmental control. However,
and determined that only 11% of all Buswell, Haves, and Wright (2003)
nonstructural components experienced believe that these systems should detect
an aging characteristic, while 89% failed more than abrupt changes HVAC
for reason other than fatigue. Based on equipment. BAS should offer fault
this study, PM replacements were isolation, diagnostic information, and
reduced from 58% in 1964 to 9% in detect degradation in system
1987, while conditioned-based performance. According to Merritt
monitoring increased from 2% in 1964 (2004), currently available wireless
to 51% in 1987. These changes reduced sensor networks allow fault detection
maintenance cost. Likewise, the Electric and diagnosis (FDD).
Power Research Industry (EPRI)
conducted a similar study for utility Wireless sensor networks
equipment and, like airline equipment,
found that, more often than not, utility Wireless sensor networks are
equipment failures were not age-related. ideal, because they eliminate wiring and
Moubray (2001) indicated that are self organizing. These networks
these finding contradict the belief that contain tiny processors called dust,
there is a connection between reliability motes, or sensor nodes. The wireless
and operating age, which has led to the sensors send information to central
common belief that frequent asset wireless processors that convert data
overhauls reduce the likelihood of from up to 12 sensors and transmit it to a
failures. However, he argued that personal computer (PC) that runs asset
overhauls are extraordinarily invasive management software (Merritt, 2004). A
undertakings that massively upset stable mote is a tiny battery operated wireless
systems. Therefore, overhauls are risky processor made by Intel, a dust is smaller
and are likely to introduce infant and solar-powered versions have been
mortality and cause the very failure that used to monitor temperature, humidity,
they seek to prevent (Moubray, 2001; and other parameters.
Tsang, 1995). Building automation systems,
A study on fossil power plants which consist of sensors, controllers,
revealed that 56% of forced outages actuators, and software, can monitor and
occurred within one week after invasive track the status of multiple building
maintenance had been performed assets. Furthermore, direct digital
(Tsang, 1995). Therefore, Moubray controls (DDC) allow for building
(2001) noted that the main reason for control and information flows to be
conditioned-based maintenance is to centralized at a single location. As a
reduce or eliminate the consequences of result, operators can view and control all
failure. building systems from a single computer
terminal. Additionally, most BAS offer
Monitoring systems remote Internet monitoring and control,
which means that virtual monitoring is
BAS control energy usage and possible. DDC systems offer two major
monitor the performance of building communication choices: proprietary and
assets, they are also known as EMS. open communications. Open
Finch (2001) noted that BAS have been communication allows communication
narrowly defined to EMS, security and

www.jethroproject.com,TJP, June 2006, pp 1-5 Building Automation Systems

Copyright © 2006 TJP. All rights reserved 3 Byron A. Ellis
between equipment from different False alarms
manufacturers
Large organizations can achieve A key requirement for successful
economies of scale by monitoring, implementation of BAS is low incidence
tracking, and responding to the status of of false alarms and quick and reliable
multiple building assets from centralized detection of faults (Buswell & Wright,
or regional locations. Organizations can 2004). Buswell and Wright noted that an
strategically locate in-house, or contract, International Energy Agency (IEA)
response teams to address anticipated project indicated that abrupt faults could
multi-site challenges that result from be easily detected; degradation faults, on
fault detection and diagnosis. Regional the other hand, had to be quite large
response teams will improve the before detection was unambiguous. The
organization’s ability to respond to study also noted that it is possible to
facility challenges, reduce resource balance robustness and sensitivity.
allocation, and hence minimize facility Increasing sensitivity results in early
maintenance cost. warning of faults, but may increase the
incident of false alarms (Knapp,
Using RCM to determine critical Javadpour, & Wang, 2000). However,
functions condition-based monitoring industry
leaders have applied quality control type
Organizations can use reliability- techniques in the detection of machine
centered maintenance (RCM) as a tool to faults; thus, providing increased
sort out critical components of facility protection from false alarms, as well as
equipment that may affect the reliability from missed faults (Mann et al., 1995).
of facility assets (Wilmeth & Usrey,
2000). RCM is a structured methodology The future
for determining the maintenance
requirement of physical assets (Tsang, Tiny processors called dust,
1995). Tsang noted that the primary motes, or sensor nodes are the main
objective of RCM is to preserve the components of wireless sensor networks.
functions of an asset. Therefore, once the Merritt (2004) predicted that in the near
dominant and critical failure modes of an future all rotating equipment would be
asset are identified through RCM or a equipped with these sensors. He further
mini-RCM, sensors (hard-wired or noted that in spite of the need for better
wireless motes or dust) could be used to hardware-to-software integration,
track abnormalities, such as unwanted organizations could presently equip their
vibration associated with rotating critical rotating equipment with these
equipment. Vibration is a significant sensors.
parameter for reflecting the condition of
rotating assets (Rao, Zubair, & Rao, Conclusion
2003). For instance, high vibration and
temperature on fans can be correlated to The need for equipment
bearing, shaft, or wheel abnormalities. reliability and cost minimization should
RCM recognizes that overhauls or lead organizations to incorporate BAS as
preventive replacement cannot prevent a central component of their
random failures. maintenance strategy.

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Copyright © 2006 TJP. All rights reserved 4 Byron A. Ellis
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