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2. Outside expertise FDD systems are designed to constantly monitor your sys-
The migration to a smart building system is nothing to tem, tracking changes to energy consumption, equipment
undertake on a whim. Identifying the business strategies, data points and other key data to develop trends and alert-
performing cost-benefit analysis, developing operational ing you when your systems are not performing at design or
tactics and choosing the right contractor to make your peak efficiency. This early warning system will save dollars
vision a reality will require expertise and experience likely and downtime by notifying maintenance teams of issues
not available in house. You’ll want to hire a consultant that before they become problematic. An FDD can even be
can guide the process, from creating the business plan and integrated with a computerized maintenance management
its justification to closing out the project. When you seek system to automatically dispatch personnel to investigate
help, look for these qualifications: or do the repair. Given its capabilities, an FDD is indispens-
able and will pay for itself many times over.
• Find a consultant that is hardware and software agnostic.
This is important. The right consultant should be inter- 4. IT partnership
ested in helping you reach your smart building objectives, I cannot overstate the importance of partnering with the
not selling you their system product. You’ll want to choose IT network provider as early as possible in this process.
the hardware and software that best meets your needs. Depending on the situation, it may be the corporate IT
department or working with them and a vendor, or you
• Look for someone that speaks business as well as con- may partner directly with an outside IT provider. In any
trol jargon. The consultant’s job is to clarify your objec- case, including them in your vision from the onset will
tives and articulate them in a way that helps create the help them deliver the IT network that will support the
business case. They should be able to help put together smart building system.
the estimated costs and savings information that you’ll
need to secure the funds to start the project. The IT partner will need to understand how the various
platforms and the front end will be integrated. They
• The consultant should guide you through the phase of will need to develop cybersecurity standards that the
determining what programs or use cases to incorpo- hardware and software providers will be required to meet.
rate. You’ll want their guidance in identifying those that The provision of log-in credentials and the application of
are critical “must haves,” those that are advanced and single sign-on rules must be worked out so that access to
create an ROI and those that are strictly for branding or the various platforms by the FDD, GUI and other systems
employee experience purposes. isn’t hampered by the need to log in for each data
request.
• Of course, the consultant needs to be an expert in the
areas of controls and integration, both the art of the Rest assured that there will be issues with integration and
possible and the practical aspects of getting various plat- cybersecurity during the installation of the system. While
forms to communicate. This includes a working knowl- most control platforms today talk in BACnet or other
edge of IT and building systems. known protocols, each one has its idiosyncrasies that
may create some obstacle to cross-platform communica-
• Lastly, keep the consultant around for the construction tion. Having the IT teamwork with the system integrator
and turnover of the project. You may want them to help will make those problems easier to resolve.
you create specifications and/or request for quotes from
hardware and software vendors. They should be involved There are many more facets to this exciting new tech-
in the review of any control design drawings and submit- nology that would require many pages to discuss. These
tals to ensure the smart building concepts are followed. four points, however, are critical as you start your journey
Ideally, they can assist with commissioning your graphics to a more efficient, safe and reliable building.
and control sequences and help you determine what type
of ongoing maintenance expertise you may need to keep John recently retired as Executive Director of Global
your system functioning. Building Engineering Services for Warner Media’s
Global Real Estate team. In his role, he provided strate-
3. Fault detection diagnostics (FDD) gic and technical direction for building engineering ser-
FDD is the AI of the smart building system. While it’s possible vices across the Warner Media (formerly Time Warner)
to have an integrated, multi-platform system with a common portfolio and leads Centers of Excellence (COEs) for best practices in
graphical user interface (GUI) without an FDD, it’s a lost oppor- areas including equipment maintenance, HVAC, critical systems, fire/
tunity if it is deleted. Make sure your plans and budget include life safety, utilities operations, infrastructure planning, work order
this critical software addition. management, BMS, electrical, plumbing, and energy management.

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