Posts in category: Building and Data Center Monitoring

Why is traditional building management and maintenance no longer sufficient?

A building’s technical infrastructure is usually not developed as a single integrated system. One supplier provides heating, another lighting, and a third security systems. Each system uses its own communication protocol, has separate controls, and displays data in a different interface. If these technologies are not integrated, building management and maintenance lack a single reliable source of information. Facility managers then check individual systems during manual inspections or through different applications and configure each of them separately. This approach is time-consuming, increases operating costs, and does not provide a comprehensive overview of how the entire building operates.

What is BMS (Building Management System)?

BMS (Building Management System) is a system designed to monitor, automate, and centrally control a building’s technical systems. It collects operational data, displays the current status of building systems, and coordinates their operation according to predefined rules. Depending on the specific project, it can integrate heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting, security systems, and other components of the building’s technical infrastructure.

In practice, you may also encounter the term BAS (Building Automation System). While BAS places greater emphasis on the automation and control of technical equipment, the term BMS is more commonly used to describe a broader solution that also includes centralized monitoring, visualization, and alarm management. However, both systems can monitor, automate, and control building technologies. Their functions therefore overlap significantly, and suppliers often use the terms BAS and BMS interchangeably.

How does BMS transform everyday building management and maintenance?

✅ Coordinates building systems from a single location

BMS allows operators to monitor and control individual devices, but its main advantage is the ability to coordinate the operation of multiple systems according to common rules. Facility managers can configure normal operating, energy-saving, or emergency modes for specific zones and adjust the operation of all related equipment with a single change. Instead of controlling each device separately, this creates a coordinated system in which technologies respond to the same operating mode and do not interfere with one another.

For example, if the administrative section of a building is unoccupied over the weekend, BMS automatically reduces heating or cooling, switches ventilation to energy-saving mode, and turns off unnecessary lighting. Before working hours begin, it prepares the individual areas for normal operation again without the need to configure each system separately.

✅ Consolidates operational data and simplifies diagnostics

Building management and maintenance become easier with BMS because BMS collects real-time and historical data from various building systems in a single environment. Facility managers gain a comprehensive overview of how the building operates, which systems are running, and whether they are achieving the required setpoints. They can monitor trends in operating parameters, identify inefficient settings, or detect abnormal behavior in individual systems.

For example, if the temperature in a room does not reach the required setpoint, the heating unit itself may not be the cause. The problem could be a closed valve, low heating water temperature, a pump failure, an incorrect operating mode, or a faulty sensor. Instead of checking every possibility individually on-site, a technician can review the relevant data in BMS and significantly reduce the time needed for diagnostics.

✅ Helps detect deteriorating equipment conditions

Many devices do not start failing overnight. Problems are often preceded by gradual changes in their operation, such as increasing energy consumption, pressure changes, or reduced flow rates. BMS continuously records this data and monitors trends. Maintenance teams can therefore detect abnormal behavior earlier, before equipment stops performing its intended function. This data also enables maintenance to be better aligned with the actual condition of equipment. Two identical pumps may operate under completely different conditions. If both are serviced at the same interval, maintenance may come too late for one and unnecessarily early for the other.

For example, a pump can be monitored for the number of starts, operating hours, electricity consumption, pressure, and flow rate. If it starts significantly more frequently than during normal operation, this may indicate a control problem, a leak, or a faulty sensor. The technician therefore has a reason to perform a targeted inspection before a more serious failure occurs.

Which technologies can be monitored and controlled using BMS?

➡️ Monitoring and control of heating, cooling, and ventilation

Heating control is among the most common applications of BMS. The system can adjust temperatures according to operating schedules, occupancy, or outdoor conditions. It also regulates the output of cooling units according to the current demand of individual zones and adjusts ventilation based on temperature, humidity, or CO₂ concentration.

➡️ Monitoring and control of lighting

Lighting control can also be based on time schedules, occupancy, and daylight levels. In production halls, lighting is adjusted to work shifts, in administrative areas to the occupancy of individual zones, and in outdoor areas to current lighting conditions. As a result, lights are switched on only where and when they are actually needed.

➡️ Monitoring and control of security systems

Building management and maintenance using BMS can also include the control of security systems, such as intruder alarm systems, video surveillance systems, and fire alarm systems. BMS can display the location of an event, the current status of related systems, and potentially coordinate permitted responses of other equipment. However, critical functions must remain under the control of the relevant certified systems and comply with applicable safety and regulatory requirements.

➡️ Monitoring and control of electrical infrastructure

BMS can monitor the status of backup generators, battery systems, and other components of electrical infrastructure. Operators gain visibility into power outages, the status of backup power sources, or equipment that has not returned to its required operating mode after power has been restored. For these technologies, BMS typically provides primarily centralized monitoring, visualization, and alarm distribution. However, protection functions and local control remain within separate devices so that they do not depend on the availability of the supervisory system.

➡️ Monitoring and control of energy, water, and other utility consumption

BMS can collect real-time data from electricity meters, gas meters, or water meters and use it for operational control of building systems. For example, if consumption during a weekend or shutdown does not decrease as expected, the system alerts operators that some equipment has remained active. However, detailed consumption analysis is primarily handled by an EMS (Energy Management System).

Depending on the type of facility, pumping stations, water storage tanks, shading systems, irrigation systems, elevators, escalators, and many other technologies can also be connected to centralized monitoring.

Every alarm must lead to a specific response

An alarm should indicate a condition that requires action. If a BMS generates hundreds of low-priority notifications, operators will gradually start ignoring them. As a result, they may overlook an event that is genuinely critical to operations. Every alarm should therefore have a clearly defined priority, triggering condition, time delay, responsible person, and required response procedure. Context is also important. A technician should not receive only a “pump failure” notification. They need to know which device is affected, what readings preceded the problem, and what procedure to follow.

The importance of properly configured alarms is illustrated by an example from a manufacturing company where a backup diesel generator automatically started after a power outage. However, it failed to shut down when the main power supply was restored. The original system sent employees so many notifications that they failed to notice this information. The diesel fuel gradually ran out, and during the next outage, the backup power source was no longer ready for operation.

When should BMS be supplemented with CMMS or EMS?

BMS makes building management and maintenance more efficient, but it typically does not provide comprehensive maintenance and service management or energy management. These functions are handled by CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) and EMS (Energy Management System). The greatest benefit therefore comes from integrating these systems. A relevant event from BMS automatically generates a work order in CMMS. EMS then identifies excessive consumption, and BMS adjusts the operation of the systems responsible for it.

How to implement BMS to achieve measurable results?

1️⃣ Start with an audit of current operations

The most common mistake is starting with software selection without clearly defining what problem the BMS is supposed to solve. The result may be a technically functional system with extensive data and attractive dashboards that fails to deliver time savings, lower costs, or more efficient operations. The first step should therefore be an operational and technical audit. The audit should identify which systems operate independently, where the most manual work, failures, or unnecessary costs occur, and which devices can be connected directly.

2️⃣ Define measurable objectives

A general objective such as “improving building management efficiency” is not enough. Before implementation, it is necessary to determine what needs to improve and how the results will be evaluated. Examples include reducing energy consumption outside operating hours, shortening diagnostic times, or reducing manual inspections. It is also essential to document the baseline conditions. Without information about current consumption, diagnostic times, or the number of inspections, it will not be possible to objectively demonstrate whether the BMS has delivered the expected results.

3️⃣ Design an open and secure solution

The technical design must specify which devices will be monitored only and which can also be controlled. It must also consider data collection, alarms, user permissions, backups, and future expansion options. Cybersecurity is equally important. Operational networks should be appropriately segmented from the corporate IT network, access restricted according to user roles, and updates carried out in a controlled manner.

BMS must also not become a single point of failure. Essential functions should remain within local controllers so that building systems continue operating safely even if the supervisory system fails.

4️⃣ For larger projects, start with a pilot

In a large facility, integrating all technologies at once is not always advisable. A pilot implementation, or Proof of Concept, can focus on a single production hall, a critical piece of equipment, or a specific operational problem. The pilot makes it possible to verify data quality, alarm functionality, and the practical benefits of the solution. The results are then compared with the baseline conditions. This provides the company with a basis for further expansion while reducing technical and investment risks.

5️⃣ Thoroughly test the system and optimize it regularly

Implementation does not end when values appear on a screen. System handover should include comprehensive testing, up-to-date documentation, and operator training. System settings must then be regularly reviewed because building usage patterns and the technologies themselves change over time. Only continuous performance measurement and optimization of settings will ensure that BMS remains a practical building management tool rather than merely a system for collecting data.