Upgrade Monitoring, Management, and Operation of the Systems
All system upgrades, recommissioning, and LEED certification are for naught
if the right tools and personnel are not in place to monitor and manage the
systems and keep the building’s performance in an optimal state. This is where
open systems are especially important so that building system data, facility
management systems, and business or property management systems can be
fully integrated to provide actionable information on the building’s perfor-
mance. The information needs of a facility manager, chief financial officer or
chief executive officer are different, but all will need to be addressed in deploy-
ing the operational tools.
The tools may require middleware, open databases, and some customiza-
tion. Operating the building is more than simply software integration and
Web dashboards. The skill sets of existing personnel in facility management,
security, and IT may need to be examined and the organizational silos among
security, BAS, and IT may need to be removed. If the building owner is
upgrading buildings in a portfolio of real estate holdings, a centralized build-
ing operations center for all the buildings will prove to be the most effective
and efficient method of monitoring and managing each building as well as
the entire enterprise.
158 Smart Building Systems for Architects, Owners, and Builders