7 Reasons Why You May Need a Building Management System

Have you been tossing around the idea of investing in a building management system (BMS)? If you'd like to reduce energy waste, cut costs, and help things run more smoothly and efficiently, it may seem like the perfect solution. Strangely, the overwhelming majority of facilities haven't yet gotten on board with this technology. What can a BMS do for you, and is it the right option for your facility?

What is a building management system?

The term "building management system" is often used synonymously with "building automation system," and for good reason. At its heart, this is a computer program that handles systems like HVAC, security, and lighting. This can be as simple as setting a schedule for turning lights and climate control on at the beginning of the day, or as complex as monitoring the systems' performance, anticipating occupant needs, and adjusting accordingly.

Why should a facility invest in a BMS?

Though these automated management systems can be expensive to deploy, they can also be a wise investment if:

1. You're concerned about fire safety.

Some building management systems can take care of fire suppression by using a Very Early Smoke Detection Apparatus. Once it detects a potential fire, it sounds alarms and alerts employees. This can keep small fires from turning into bigger conflagrations and ensure that all occupants are able to get out safely. For facilities that hold very flammable or potentially explosive material, like the oxygen tanks in hospitals or solvents in factories, this technology could be invaluable.

2. You're suffering from "data overload."

A good BMS linked with analytic software can give you a useful collection of data with actionable suggestions for making things more efficient. It helps prevent information overload and choice fatigue and can make it much easier to appropriately and effectively prioritize maintenance tasks. You may also be able to customize the reports you receive, so you focus on the highest priority needs first. These can help uncover trends in power usage and asset maintenance, and provide valuable information to stakeholders and lessees.

3. You want to maximize your facility's uptime.

Facilities live and die by their uptime. If yours isn't operational, it isn't earning money and covering its expenses. If a crucial system goes down, it can take the entire facility down with it. A BMS provides data that can help you perform predictive maintenance, scheduling needed downtime for when it's least disruptive to building operations. It can also shift power needs to backup generators in an emergency, minimizing disruptions.

4. You want to get the most out of your assets.

When machinery experiences a breakdown, this shortens its lifespan. Preventative or predictive maintenance, which involves deliberately taking assets offline in order to correct problems before they start, helps keep them running better and longer. This is another way that a BMS can help save you money: In addition to saving electricity and improving uptime, it also helps critical assets last longer before they need to be replaced.

5. You're having a hard time managing your Internet of Things ecosystem.

A lot of devices with internet connectivity can generate their own reports and provide limited automation and analytics. With a BMS, it becomes easier to get these devices to communicate and cooperate with each other. This means that you can potentially use a BMS to allow your electrical system to trigger power-saving settings in other critical assets in the event of an emergency, or even let your fire detection system automatically unlock exterior doors and switch elevators and escalators to evacuation mode. A BMS can streamline the often difficult process of getting independent systems to work together.

6. You have a broad portfolio and need to be able to manage things remotely.

Since building management systems can collect data and compile it into easy-to-understand reports, managers can keep an eye on things from anywhere. If there's a critical system failure, they'll receive an alert to return to the site to fix it. Otherwise, most adjustments can be made remotely through the interface or handled entirely by automation.

7. You want to save money.

In addition to helping your facility reduce the cost of maintenance, downtime, and asset replacement, building management systems are often lauded for their ability to trim utility bills. By turning on HVAC and lighting systems only when they're needed, for example, a BMS can cut down on wasted power. Since it can also provide analytics that help managers anticipate trends in building operations, it makes it easier to avoid being surprised by unexpected costs. If you want to cut costs and improve your facility's efficiency, a building management system can help you find safe, effective, helpful ways to do it. A building management system can be an expensive investment, but it may also be a smart one. If your facility currently has uptime, analytics, interoperability, or even safety issues that would benefit from automation, then a BMS may be worth considering. After the initial expense to deploy it, you may find that it more than pays for itself.

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