‘We are concerned that the industry has perhaps become too BMS-centric. There is too much emphasis on the lap-top and not the screwdriver.
We need to fight against what are becoming, common trains of thought within the industry. People have begun to think of the BMS as a panacea to solve every control issue, just as they have also begun to place too much trust in the
integrity of displayed information on individual BMS User Interfaces on their sites.
On site, we actively encourage our engineers to ‘get their hands dirty’ and get out in the field, at the ‘sharp-end’, rather than sit behind their laptops.
We are not turkeys voting for Xmas. We do not want to denigrate the potential worth of a well designed and managed BMS. However, there are many sites that do not have, nor need, a full blown BMS just as there are larger sites where a BMS is essential. Either way, we need to also consider the design ethos behind the plant operation and the efficacy of field control items and mechanical plant – we must not just limit our investigations to the central BMS software.
This harmonious relationship between the mechanical plant and controls system is the key – and we must be careful to consider both. Only then can we optimise system performance and effect the most elegantly engineered and technically sound solution to any control problems.’
Dave Hogan BSc(Hons) MCIBSE Technical Manager
