All systems go

Traditional control systems for buildings are often unnecessarily complex, poorly commissioned, and too expensive. As a result, construction clients often end up with a building full of disconnected technologies thrust upon them, which they then struggle to use and operate effectively. But not for much longer.

The big IT companies are about to revolutionise the industry by introducing a resilient single IT network for integrating all a building's systems. It is a move that could see the established systems industry transformed. And it is not only the systems sector that is set to be changed beyond recognition: because an integrated network will also allow maintenance contractors' performance to be scrutinised

and measured, it could also turn the facilities industry on its head.

At the moment, the systems' supply industry is complex and fragmented. There are many participants, each with their own vested interests, ranging from M&E consultants, cost consultants, contractors, M&E sub contractors and sub-sub contractors. There are also large multi-nationals, which have been supplying the building systems technologies for many years. And finally, there are the commissioning specialists.

This fragmentation means that all too often, procurement risk issues and financial muscle rather than technical innovation and competences are the overriding drivers influencing the final selection of systems. How many times does one hear the expression "are they large enough to be sued?" It is not an arrangement likely to deliver the client a good value solution, which is why clients are increasingly calling for an integrated solution that will utilise their IT network as a common communications transport medium.

Taking the opportunity

This call for an integrated solution gave the large IT players and their partners the opportunity to enter this new market. They come without history and baggage, fresh with new technologies and solutions and with the ability to deliver innovation, manage risk and lower costs through a networked solution. Perhaps all they are lacking is the knowledge of how to do business in the construction industry.

Make no mistake, these are big IT systems companies, including names such as Cisco, with it's Cisco Connected Real Estate (CCRE) proposition and its collaborators and partners such as Redstone, BT with its Smart FM, Dimension Data with its Intelligent Building Solutions (IBS), HP, Synetrix and many, many more large IT infrastructure companies. They all come with powerful balance sheets, resources, project management and commercial risk management skills - and muscle. These powerful IT players sit comfortably alongside the construction industry's main contractors, happy to stay away from the concrete and steel of a building, in a role that some other industries term "prime systems contractor".

Historically in the UK and elsewhere, when systems integration has been discussed, the debates have centred on technical issues, such as which bus system to use: S bus, J Bus, Mod Bus, Lon, BACnet and the like. This concentration and preoccupation on technical issues, whilst interesting for technical people, is of little or no interest to 95% of the construction/real estate industry.

What the new kids on the block bring is a concentrated effort on delivering business benefits to clients - or the whys, not the hows of systems integration. They will concentrate on the digital fibre, copper infrastructure and systems' world of anything relating to voice, images and data together with the converged telephony and data disciplines. However, the focus will be on issues such as how much can be saved from costs and how client income/ revenues can be enhanced.

Advantages of single networks

So what does using a single IT network for all systems rather than a separate dedicated network for each system achieve, apart from major capital cost savings? The very fact that IT networks operate in totally open non-proprietary ways allows systems performance data to be automatically captured from all of the systems that are connected to the network. With this captured, it can then be used in simple, easy-to-use non-proprietary environments such as the ubiquitous spreadsheets (Excel etc), databases (SQL/Access)and reporting tools (Crystal Reports).

This new approach, which uses performance parameters, is a fundamental management tool within the IT industry. With an integrated network, it can now be applied to the building facilities and maintenance management sector. It will allow clients to use this data to measure the actual operational performance of the systems that have been connected to the network, and thus compare this actual performance to that which they have been sold and are entitled to expect.

Equally, and perhaps more importantly, using this automatically captured data allows the actual performance of maintenance contractors to be measured in terms of fault resolution, times to fix, response times - in fact, all of the quality of service issues.

This use of IT networks as the "fourth utility" in the building has been around for as long as the arguments about the robustness and resilience of an IT network. Typically questions are posed, such as: are these systems as reliable as a fire alarm system network? How are hackers handled, viruses stopped and the like? Quite simply, all the tools and techniques for providing resilience, preventing viruses and stopping hacking are available. Consider the financial services industry and the networks transporting billions of pounds per second in secure, virus-free ways; it is these same IT technologies that are being proposed for handling HVAC data traffic.

The same IT technologies are also used to run the business of defence establishments and nuclear facilities. The tools are available and can be purchased if and when the perceived and real risks warrant using these ‘steam hammers' to crack a little old nut!

How will the building services engineer figure in this? Certainly, there is a space that needs to be occupied which involves professionals multi-skilled in both M&E and in IT - something that has not been the case in the training given by CIBSE.

Equally, to design and deliver these new solutions for new projects requires an understanding of the construction industry design and procurement processes. This is something which the IT industry has traditionally kept away from because IT was always a ‘fit out' activity - although the situation is changing now as ‘IT backbones' are starting to be installed very much earlier (‘at the same time as the drains,' as some commentators put it). Thus both camps have to learn new skills and tricks to meet the needs of clients. It will be interesting times for sure.

Time to embrace change

Those suppliers who have long dominated the extra low voltage systems in the buildings industry will need to adjust to the challenge that these new players bring. The winners will be those companies that adapt and change to be in the vanguard; the losers will be those that remain in denial, wanting things to stay the way they have been.

One thing is for sure: change is in the air. Now it is down to individuals and companies to rise to the challenge and upgrade their competences and skill sets, embrace new ideas and, most importantly, deliver what clients are clearly saying they want.