In The News

by Douglas Schweitzer, Sc.D.
December 8, 2006 • Processor® Vol.28 Issue 49
www.processor.com

Some already overtaxed IT managers are being pushed yet further in the interest of remaining within the limits of company financial constraints. Not only are managers responsible for their technology staff and data centers, but they’re increasingly finding themselves in positions that can be likened to hall monitors—in this case, more like entire building monitors. For the data center manager, this means a wide array of the building’s systems (such as heating, cooling, lighting, various sensors, fire, and safety) and security are part of the focus of his monitoring.

The Intelligent Building
Many tools are available to aid managers with this responsibility, not the least of which is what’s considered the “intelligent building.” Paul Ehrlich, professional engineer, says the intelligent building employs “use of technology and process to create a building that is safer and more productive for its occupants and more operationally efficient for its owners.”

The trend for small to midsized enterprise data centers is for managers to have access to building information via a hosted Web client. According to Rodman D. St. Amand, director of strategic accounts at Tour Andover Controls in Massachusetts (www.tac.com), the Web client “provides the end user with access to specific information related to their space. The use of the Internet allows the supplier of content to spread the cost of the front-end server. Using the Internet also allows the customer access to information anytime and anywhere they have Internet access.”

St. Amand explains that today’s BMSes (Building Management Systems) can access and save tremendous amounts of historical data related to mechanical and electrical equipment—equipment that is crucial for proper operation of data centers running 24/7. Managers need access to the BMS data to determine the cause and effect of failed equipment, instantaneous alarming, and future analysis for equipment that they may require for later expansion.

Tools For Integrating
While integrating the BMS can be complicated, many solutions are available to the SME (see the “Tools Of The Trade” sidebar for examples). According to John J. McGowan, president of Energy Control (www.energyctrl.com) and a contributing editor at AutomatedBuildings.com, “Over the last two decades, with deregulation of electricity and the availability of sophisticated software packages, the concept of integration is expanding to encompass the management of energy demand in the building, energy supply to it, and energy information documenting the entire process. Numerous Web-hosted and standalone tools are hitting the market for this purpose, and a key requirement for much of this technology is access to data from the EMS [energy management system] and even control of equipment connected to the system.”

Cam Rogers of RLE Technologies (www.rletech.com) notes that “signals available for BMS integration include, but are not limited to, Modbus, JBus, BACnet, LonWorks (and other proprietary signals available from the equipment manufacturers). On the other hand, IT generally works with SNMP integrated into a Network Management System (NMS).”

Rogers notes that the problem that faces those who are trying to integrate building systems into their network is the lack of a standard protocol for signal conversions. In order to capture information and alarms that are available from critical equipment, the signals must be converted to SNMP. According to Rogers, “That plays a major role in why RLE is forecasting a 25% growth in 2006.” RLE’s Falcon products are designed to be integration-friendly for both NMS and BMS systems, converging signals and allowing information to be relayed to the appropriate management systems.

Food For Thought
It should be noted that not everyone agrees that responsibility for monitoring the systems in use in a company’s buildings is increasingly being put on the shoulders of the data center.

According to Dale Sartor, applications team member of the Environmental Energy Technologies Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, “That sounds like somebody thinks data centers and data center operators are at the hub of an EMCS [Energy Management and Control System]. Perhaps the idea stemmed from the increased use of the Web for EMCS information transfer, thus potentially passing data through servers in the small and midsized enterprise data center. Or perhaps it stemmed from the need for data center operators to have a better understanding of the HVAC systems serving their center.”

Wherever he believes responsibility for monitoring lies, Sartor does note that “perhaps the single biggest thing to look for when monitoring a building is to confirm its systems get turned off or reset during unoccupied hours.”

Integrating The BMS
Rogers says, “The convergence of IT and facilities is not an easy process. Historically, critical equipment has been monitored by facilities utilizing a BMS.” The goal of the smart building is not only that it runs efficiently but also that it is able to do so with a smaller staff and at a lower long-term cost.

According to Ken Sinclair, owner at AutomatedBuildings.com, “These technologies promise to convert building operation and maintenance from highly reactive and unplanned to proactive with highly targeted actions based on information about the actual status of the building systems. In the long run, many problems will be self-corrected by the systems themselves.”