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Session Overview
Turning Virtual Points into Tangible Values
Track: The Value of Building-IT Convergence
Thursday May-18-2006
17:00 - 18:30
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| Buildings today contain a huge amount of information in what the industry normally refers to as points. While most points are created for a specific functional purpose, the concept of virtual points hypothesizes that the value of such point is much greater than their immediate function. This session will discuss how this can be turned into tangible value in this new era of convergence. |
Network knitting now greatly amplifies the virtual value model. Open protocol supplied equipment is making connection to the virtual world easier, but hurtles still remain to provide a truly integrated project. A good example of this is that over the years, building automation has become pointless. Years ago, DDC points were added to a system to improve energy performance and make the facility easier to operate. The tide has since turned, and now almost all devices are equipped with DDC points as an integral part of the device. If the manufacturers and designers of the HVAC and other building-related devices have done a good job of “future proofing,” they will have adhered to one or all of the open communication protocols.
These integral points are assessable as part of an open network of points which results in a radical drop to the building infrastructure cost. A large part of today’s large building automation task is connecting the networks of the points supplied with each device or sub-system into a useful integration that becomes a valued part of our client’s enterprise.
The puzzle piece players will provide powerful software and Web services that will arm our virtual value tool kits. One of the most visible pieces will be flat screen networked interactive digital signage with multi-function displays customized to our intended function. Narrowcasting will allow targeted, on-demand broadcasts to be delivered anywhere in our virtual value environment. This service will carry all of the functions and interfaces of today's systems combining Web and video, but will also include powerful VOIP phone integration and whatever else the IT giants bring to the party.
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| In the "old" days of facility automation, the term "point" meant a sensor or output connected by wires to a central data gathering panel. However, today's owners and managers depend on the timely use of complex information "on demand". These snippets of data are no longer confined to discrete sensor values or hardwired relay outputs, but can be virtual, composite pieces of information formed through the processing of data from a variety of sources.
This presentation will discuss and present case studies revealing the true life cycle of today's "point", in an Enterprise Facility Management system. |
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| Customers whose environments are regulated by a government body have issues that extend beyond the normal building automation customer. Utilizing systems that specifically address the validation needs of the customer while managing the points in their HVAC system allows the System Integrator to provide tangible value to the customer. |
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| Most of the building-IT convergence discussion has been around technology standards, and more recently, issues such as connectivity. For operational systems (HVAC, lighting, safety, etc.) these topics only address infrastructure. The real business value comes from the information contained within these systems, not the communications standards themselves.
Major advancements in the business of facilities operations only occur once the information is available to the people that need it, both inside and outside the facilities group. To accomplish this, data from all points within the systems must be collected, synchronized, and maintained as an operational information asset, separate from the control functions for those points. Once you have done this, there is a multitude of ways to extract tangible, measurable value, and create new layers of value, by creating actionable intelligence from the operational data. Highly accessible information enables operational, financial, and organizational gains that advance the stewardship of facilities.
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With the infrastructure of local and worldwide networks, owners of buildings are no longer limited to the boundaries of geographical areas. Information can be put onto the network everywhere in the world. The same information can be picked from the network anywhere. The processing and managing of information flow becomes a key issue in the management of buildings.
With this globalization of information several standards in building and process control were formed. These standards need to ease the integration of multi-vendor products. Despite the existing standards many vendors use proprietary protocols to put the information on the network. An open integration platform provides a management solution for the information flow coming form either standard protocol or proprietary protocols.
This presentation highlights the entities and possibilities of an open integration platform. It is the intention of the presenter to give a brief overview of both hardware and software configuration, the graphical presentation and the key features of an open integration platform.
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