How Building Automation Systems are Changing the Face of Facility Management?
Facility management is an essential function in modern businesses and organizations. Its primary focus is on ensuring that the physical work environment is safe, functional, and efficient. However, with the automation in facility management, it is set to undergo a significant transformation. Intelligent buildings and building automation systems are becoming popular in user-oriented facility management systems as they offer a more efficient and cost-effective approach to managing facilities.
Let’s see what is meant by intelligent buildings and building automation systems. Intelligent building systems are made with advanced technology to optimize building operations and provide a comfortable environment with the help of various sensors and devices. Whereas building automation systems automate building operations, including HVAC, lighting, security, and energy management, to improve building performance and reduce costs.
Considering the potential of building automation, its use is rising, and facilities management will become increasingly driven by these systems. As per MarketsandMarkets, by 2027, the global building automation system is forecasted to reach $148.6 billion.
Here, in this blog, we discuss more about how intelligent buildings and building automation systems are changing the landscape of facility management. Let’s begin.
How’s building automation scripting transforming success stories in FM?
Intelligent buildings and building automation systems have completely transformed the field of facility management. These systems utilize cutting-edge technology to control facilities. Let’s understand the ways in which these systems are enhancing the efficiency of FM.
Offering new age control systems
Intelligent buildings and building automation systems can control a variety of building systems, including fire alarms, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), lighting, and security.
By integrating these systems into a single, centralized control system, facility managers can efficiently monitor and manage these systems in real time, ensuring that they are always functioning optimally. This not only saves time but also minimizes the risk of human error, ensuring that building occupants are safe and secure at all times.
Opening avenues for reducing energy consumption
According to a recent study, employing sensor technology to track energy consumption in buildings, can achieve a reduction in energy expenses up to 20 percent. This benefits building owners and helps to promote sustainable practices and reduce carbon footprints.
By utilizing building automation systems (BAS), buildings can now adjust their responses to match the current weather conditions, room occupancy, time of day, and other inputs in real time, leading to notable reductions in building energy consumption. Implementing intelligent controls that respond to usage patterns optimizes energy usage as it significantly reduces waste.
Extended usage life
Building automation systems can monitor and manage utilities such as electricity, water, and gas. By automating the control of these utilities, facility managers can identify and address issues before they escalate, leading to an extended lifespan of the utilities. Moreover, this helps to reduce the energy consumption of the building, which results in lower utility bills.
Monitoring the performance of building systems and equipment that operate in a complex set-up is a challenging process. Automation streamlines this, by accurately analyzing equipment age, usage, and keeping a track of maintenance history. Facility Managers can use this data to plan and prioritize maintenance and replacement activities, and replace and upgrade the systems, when necessary, thereby avoiding premature replacements.
Comfort Consistency
Facility management automation allows facility managers to monitor and control the factors that affect the comfort of occupants in the building. Modern building automation allows the occupant to personalize their space by adjusting temperature and lighting levels, even when they are outside.
Moreover, automation can also help to maintain and control the levels of pollutants and allergens in the building. Air filtration systems can remove contaminants from the air, promoting better health and improving overall comfort levels.
Predictive planning
Manual maintenance can result in significant expenses. Neglecting building equipment maintenance can lead to frequent replacements, which can be costly. In contrast, intelligent buildings facilitate predictive maintenance, making the process much simpler. By utilizing sensors that can detect building performance, maintenance procedures can be activated before an alert is even triggered.
For example, the majority of assets do not abruptly stop functioning; instead, they may consume more energy than usual, which can be an early sign of possible malfunction in an HVAC unit. Detecting this issue through a sensor, can be useful in preventing a complete system breakdown.
Boosting workplace safety and wellbeing
By monitoring air quality, automated facility management systems can help to ensure that the building is safe. Further, it can help in detecting potential hazards such as gas leaks, and controlling access to restricted areas.
Additionally, automated security systems can include access control systems, CCTV cameras, and intruder alarms, which can help to prevent unauthorized access and protect the building and its occupants from potential threats.
Condition-based maintenance
With automation, facility managers can monitor equipment and systems in real-time, detecting issues as they arise. This allows for condition-based maintenance, where maintenance is carried out based on the detected condition of the equipment rather than a set schedule.
A survey found that 70% of manufacturing plants in the United States use condition based maintenance resulting in significant savings. Employing this maintenance process can minimize maintenance expenses, enhance operational safety, and decrease the frequency of system failures during use.
Better resource management
Intelligent buildings can help facility managers to better manage resources such as water, energy, and waste. The system can be programmed to optimize resource usage, reducing waste and saving money.
Moreover, the data collected by the system offers critical insights to inform planning and optimize resource usage. This approach eliminates the need for guesswork or anecdotal data, as decisions can be based on real-time, accurate information.
Final thoughts
The future of facility management is bright, and the adoption of intelligent buildings and building automation systems are poised to play a key role in shaping that future.
These technologies offer an unprecedented level of control and insight into the performance of buildings, occupant comfort, and safety. As the adoption of automation in facility management becomes increasingly widespread, facility managers must stay informed and up-to-date with the latest developments in this field.
Implementing tools like FieldCircle is an important step to adopting building automation in facility management operations. These tools help facility managers to create more efficient environments, while also improving the bottom line for building owners and managers.
