Keys to the Commercial Automation Market

Learn why security systems integrators should take a serious look at entering the Building Automation System (BAS) market.

ESI is a systems integration firm in the true sense of the word as they install and administer industrial processing systems, building management and security integration from start to finish. Fifty percent of its business is in building automation and management, 30% in industrial process control in factories, and 20% integrated security.

“We have 36 people here who are focused to do integration,” says Buhagiar. “Whatever the situation may be, we integrate it. We write proprietary drivers when needed and we develop [tailored] graphical user interfaces that end users use on a daily basis.”

The Basics of Energy Management

Energy consumption is truly the place where the rubber meets the road in a BAS. Control of how energy is put to use is integral to creating a cost-effective solution that addresses conservation, not to mention another source of revenue. In today’s world that usually means the use of network technology and a host of specialized devices designed to “talk” to one another, even those that function using dissimilar operating platforms.

It’s the systems integrator’s job to bring all this together. Integrated security systems are the eyes, ears and the hands of a quality, well-designed BAS. Without motion detection, door sensors, fire and smoke sensors, and the network infrastructure to go with it, a BAS is virtually blind other than the ability to schedule events.

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When we view building automation and security in this manner – when we stop and consider the need for sensors – it should be obvious the two disciplines go together nicely. The alternative, one that was prevalent many years ago, is for the building owners to pay two different companies to install duplicate devices. Not only does this cost more, but there’s more to maintain and more to go wrong.

The answer, of course, is to merge security and energy management into the same control space without disturbing the primary functions of either one. Above all, the distributed approach assures that if the central BAS control system experiences a problem, each individual subsystem will continue to do the job to which it was designed and in the manner that it was specified, engineered and commissioned.

This is especially true where it comes to integrating fire protection and detection with a BAS. Integrators must assure that code compliancy is met from the sensors and notification appliances installed to the user interfaces and the third-party central/supervising station the security integrator uses.

“An example application for integrated security and BAS is where we identify the critical signals that indicate a possible threat for the building occupants – those that are business critical,” says Buhagiar. “We bring them from the BAS into our [Honeywell] Pro-Watch Security suite so these signals come up on the same GUI that shows security, a station that many times is manned 24/7.”

When the BAS receives a fire signal from the fire alarm panel, the system sends information about the fire alarm event to the event monitor of the security guard station. This event also brings up the graphical maps on the GUI, which prompts the security guard t
o pinpoint the origin of the alarm signal, Buhagiar explains.

Integration Methods Center on Continuity

The assimilation of security and fire/ life-safety systems with a BAS is attainable through a number of integration methods: vertical integration, star integration and horizontal integration.

The vertical integration method is said to be the fastest to implement be-cause it’s built around specific vendors and their hardware. Moneywise, this is probably the most inexpensive way to install building automation on the upfront cost, but long term it can be more expensive when it comes time to replacing portions of the system.

Vertical integration essentially creates silos built upon proprietary standards and protocols, thus proprietary equipment. Security professionals above all should understand the difficulties of using proprietary systems from an integration point of view. In this case, lighting control is separate from HVAC, which is separate from security, which is separate from fire protection systems. In short, this method of integration limits the overall capability of the whole because each one acts alone and on its own.

The star integration method will provide some degree of systems integration. At its lowest level, hardware is used to integrate subsystems together using relay logic, which acts to isolate subsystems while providing on/off electrical signals among subsystems to indicate changes of one kind or another. This can be accomplished using dry contact relay outputs.

Another method is to integrate silos that function using dissimilar languages is horizontal integration, where a single enterprise service bus (ESB) links each silo. An ESB is designed to speak the language used by each silo or subsystem, thus bringing them all together under a single integrated command and control system such as large-screen GUIs in a high-end integrated security platform. And when motion detectors, door switches, temperature sensors and other devices are added, you have the basis for an advanced occupancy detection system that unites events in real-time.

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About the Author

Contact:

Al Colombo is a long-time trade journalist and professional in the security and life-safety markets. His work includes more than 40 years in security and life-safety as an installer, salesman, service tech, trade journalist, project manager,and an operations manager. You can contact Colombo through TpromoCom, a consultancy agency based in Canton, Ohio, by emailing [email protected], call 330-956-9003, visit www.Tpromo.Com.

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