"Don't be fooled by the Big and Shiny"

As I sit here in my office wondering which direction building technology is going, I can’t help but also wonder who will dictate this trend: Is it going to be one of the big companies with billions of dollars to spend in advertising who can influence people with repetition until they believe them? Or is it going to be a company out of Japan or China that say they have the newest and most impressive system out there? Or is it going to be a small company like ATC that has taken into consideration not only the customers’ wants and needs in a building but also the buildings’ wants and needs?

    ATC looks at a building as a person with a beating heart. In a person, a heart keeps the blood pumping, which keeps the person alive and feeling healthy. But if the flow slows, it leaves the person feeling weak and unhealthy and can even lead to a person’s death. So, look at a building the same way as you would a person: The building energy management system (BEMS) is the heart, and all the field devices are the body. By bringing in all the building components like lighting, water, electric and gas, you can collect all that data and control where it goes and what it does; you can then keep the building healthy and not worry what’s going to happen next.

Now, it’s a given that the heart will not function without the brain — a beating heart without a brain is nonsense. Something must tell the heart where the blood needs to go; it’s the same with a BEMS. As we collect all the data in a building and start converting it into usable information, we then know where we need to focus our resources. For example, we could say: “Hey, that motor has been running at 3.2 amps for the last year and is now running at 5.4 amps. Let’s go check that.” Or in the instance of filters, if your static pressure is changing on a system, it’s time to check it out. Could it be the filters? Could it be a damper that has failed? Maybe a belt is slipping or something got pulled into the system? We know something is wrong and that we need to get one of our ‘doctors’ out there.

    The point is, don’t let people influence or direct you where they want you to go just because they have spent millions on advertising and bright shiny bling. The help your building needs to stay healthy, to keep you moving forward, and to allow you to focus on what your business does will come from a small company with a global reach, like ATC. Remember: Just because it’s big and shiny doesn’t mean it’s the best.

Frank Thompson

Founder / Chief Operating Officer

Automated Technology Company