Building

Management
Systems (BMS)
Seminar 1 The Basics
Explained
Presented By: Andrew
Smith Leader Building
Technologies
Seminar 1 The Basics Explained
1) What is a BMS?
2) What Does it Do?
3) Benefits
4) Operational
Considerations
Seminar 2 - Advanced Management and Improvement
Opportunities
5) BMS System Architecture
6) BMS Programming
7) Extended BMS Functionality
8) Upgrades and Retrofits
1. What is a
BMS?
Industry jargon, Terminology and
acronyms
What is a Building Management and
Controls System
BMS suppliers and integrators
Typical System Components
Typical User Interface Options
Industry Jargon, Terminology and Acronyms
Building Management Systems (BMS) also known as
Building Automation Systems (BAS), Building Management
and Control System (BMCS), Direct Digital Controls (DDC)
and Building Controls

Other terms associated with Control Systems include:

Supervisory, Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)
Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC)
Energy Management System (EMS)
Data gathering panels (DGP)
Modbus, Lonworks, and Bacnet All refer to communications protocols
Front End legacy term used to refer to the BMS Operator
Workstation

Most Common Current industry term

Building Management System (BMS) or
Building Management and Control Systems (BMCS)
What is a Building Management System?
BMS systems are Intelligent microprocessor based
controller networks installed to monitor and control a
buildings technical systems and services such as air
conditioning, ventilation, lighting and hydraulics.

More specifically they link the functionality of individual

pieces of building equipment so that they operate as one
complete integrated system.

Now installed in every major building or facility with the

availability of direct integration into all other building
services such as security, access control, CCTV, fire, Lifts
and other life and safety systems.

Current generation BMS systems are now based on open

communications protocols and are WEB enabled allowing
integration of systems from multiple system vendors and
access from anywhere in the world.
What Does Intelligent Microprocessor Control
Mean? NETWO
RK

INPUT
S

OUTPUTS
What Does Intelligent Microprocessor Control
Mean?
NETWO
RK

OUTPUTS

INPUT
S
BMS Suppliers and Integrators
Procured as a complete system that includes,
engineering, supply, installation, programming and
commissioning.

Specialist Integrators that are either directly

associated with the manufacturer or are approved
re-sellers.

All Integrators should have full factory technical

support

Need to work closely with Mechanical Services, Mechanical

Electrical and other contractors.

For new construction BMS is usually included within

the mechanical services package.

Tier 1 Company only refers to a direct factory association

Typical System Components BMS Hardware
High Point
Range to Suit
Counts
Applications
Operator Workstations

Built In Displays

Limited Features

Small Point Counts

Application Specific
Typical System Components Field Devices
Variable Air
Dampe
Speed Flows
r Pressur
Actuato Drives Voltag
(VSD) es es
rs Valve
Pump Water Curren
Actuato Flows
s ts
rs Pressures
Fans
Chillers / Motor Temperat
Boilers s ure
Relative
Cooling CO
Humidity
Towers 2

Low Level
and High
Level (HLI)
Connections
Typical System Components - Networks
Typical User Interface Options
Can be a basic LCD display
through to full Graphic
Operator Workstations.

The Graphic Interface must

be intuitive to use and not
require an Engineering
degree to interpret

They must provide sufficient

level of detail to enable the
operator to determine what
is happening and what is
going to happen next

Graphics need to provide

BMS Simple User Interfaces Built in Display
User defined menus.
Built into the BMS
controller or a remote
device
Password protected
Monitor and control field
points, operating setpoints,
time schedules, alarm
management, even trend
data
BMS Simple User Interfaces WEB Server
WEB Server built into a BMS
network controller
User defined menus and
graphic pages
Password protected, multiple
access levels
Monitor and control field
points, operating setpoints,
time schedules, alarm
management, even trend
data
BMS Workstation - AHU Graphic Display Sample
BMS Workstation - Chiller Graphic Display Sample
2. What Does a BMS
Do?
The role of the BMS in day to day building
operation
Building Control Applications
Measuring and Monitoring building
performance
Interaction with other building systems
The Day to Day Role of the BMS
The most common primary
function of the BMS is the
control of a buildings Heating,
Ventilation and Air Conditioning
Systems (HVAC) including;

Air Handling Units

Chilled Water Plant
Cooling Towers
Tenant Condenser Water
Heating Water Plant
Exhaust Systems
Zone Controls
Computer Room AC
The Day to Day Role of the BMS
Control of Building Systems and Services
Graphic User Interface (GUI)
Real Time Monitoring of Building Operation and
Performance
Trending and Logging of Building Operation and
Performance
Time Scheduling of Building Systems
Fault Management and Alarming
Control Application Programming
User Event Management
Energy Management and Reporting (NABERS)
Building Control Applications
Building control applications include for
following:
Zone temperature monitoring and control
Zone Variable Air Volume (VAV) control to
zones
Zone CO2 monitoring and control (Air
Quality)
Air handling unit supply air temperature
control
Air handling unit supply air flow / pressure
control
Main Plant Chiller and Boiler sequencing
Measuring and Monitoring Building Performance
Operator Interfaces including
Graphical User Interface (GUI)
for monitoring and
adjustments

Trend data is important

when determining the
stability of control
algorithms and when tuning
the system.

Reports are pivotal when

demonstrating building
performance against
sustainability targets such as
NABERS.
Interaction With Other Building Systems
3. Benefits of Having a
BMS
The advantages of a BMS versus stand
alone control
Improved Tenant comfort conditions
Energy Management and reduced
operational costs
Management of building ratings such as
NABERS
Advantages of BMS vs Stand Alone Control
Reduced installation
costs
Flexibility and ease of
change
Customised control
strategies
Scalability
Operator
interaction,
feedback and
control
Integration with
other building
Improved Tenant Comfort Conditions
Real time monitoring of tenant
conditions
Greater load based control strategies
Trend data of performance, improved
fault finding
Air quality management (CO2)
After hours operational requests, tenant
billing
Alarm notifications of faults reduce
downtime
Automated change over of failed
equipment
Energy Management and Reduce Operational Costs
Optimal start and stop of plant
Building warm up and cool down
cycles
Night purge
Automatic Seasonal plant sequence
selection
Seasonal temperature setting
adjustments
Load based control strategies
Economy cycle control including CO2
Equipment runtime monitoring and
duty cycling
Management of Building Ratings - NABERS
Can be integrated with Energy Management
System (EMS)
Real time monitoring of energy performance
Proactive adjustment not retrospective catch
up
Measurement against load profile targets
Separation of tenant and base building loads
Historical trend data for NABERS management
Energy
EMS is ademand and consumption
dedicated software dashboards
packed for the monitoring and
management of electrical, water, gas and thermal energy metering
systems.
Management of Building Ratings - NABERS
4. Operational
Considerations
Tuning and optimisation
Importance of System Documentation
System Maintenance, what, how often and
by whom
Life cycle expectations and considerations
Control Loop Tuning
BMS Tuning and Optimisation
are not the same thing.

BMS Tuning or control loop

tuning ensures that the
equipment operates in a
stable, predictable and
repeatable manner.

Optimisation focuses on
operating the equipment in
the most energy efficient
manner without impacting on
the controlled variable
Control Loop Optimisation
Outside Air Temp
17C

Zone Temp
22C

VAV Damper 15%

Supply Air Temp Open
Chiller
14C Static
Running
Pressure 350pa
VSD Running at
95%

Zone Temp
22C

VAV Damper 855%

Open
Chiller Supply Air Temp
Stopped 18C Static
Pressure 200pa
VSD Running at
75%
Importance of System Documentation
Functional Description (FD)
Details the configuration of the BMS
Overview of the building services
Describes in detail each of the BMS control strategies and
sequences of operation
Documents interaction between each part of the system

Point Schedules
Detail all connected devices and their point type
Critical for planning and system engineering

Control System Drawings

Should include a network architecture drawing
Detail the physical wiring connections to controllers
Useful for fault finding and establishing spare capacity
Importance of System Documentation
Point Description DI DO AI AO HLI Comments DI Digital Inputs
DO Digital Outputs

AI Analogue Input
Chiller HLI 2 Modbus Connection to
Chiller

Chiller enable 2 AO Analogue

Output
Chiller run status 2
HLI High Level
Chiller fault status 2 Interface
CHW Pump start / stop 2 At MSSB

CHW Pump run status 2

CHW Pump speed control 2 Direct to VSDs

CHW Flow temperature 2

CHW return temperature 1

CHW system pressure 1

BMS Drawings show

CHW bypass valve 1

device details and

wiring connections
Tenant Cooling Tower Fans Start / 2
Stop
System Maintenance
The BMS belongs to the building owner who
should act as its administrator managing BMS
access rights
The BMS should be maintained with an
appropriate level of servicing
As with any software driven system, data and files should
be backed up on a regular basis
Critical components should be identified and checked at
regular intervals
BMS functions such as trend data, reports and alarms
can be used to perform maintenance by exception
Maintenance should be approached as the performance of
the controlled system not individual components, i.e. AHU
or Chiller Plant
While the BMS equipment vendor should be utilised to
maintain the critical components, other suitably qualified
BMS Lifecycle Considerations
Considerations:
Check equipment production cycle
status
Select hardware with proven record
(avoid beta)
Check for level of software and
hardware support
Check for forward compatibility policy

Equipment Lifecycle:
BMS field controllers 15 to 20 years
Field devices 15 to 20 years
BMS computer hardware 3 to 5 years
BMS software Major releases 3 to 5
BMS The Basics Explained Recap
BMS systems are Intelligent microprocessor based
controller networks installed to monitor and control a
buildings technical systems and services such as air
conditioning, ventilation, lighting and hydraulics.

Scalable from just one device to thousands of devices

Link the functionality of individual pieces of building

equipment so that they operate as one complete
integrated system.

Provide the building owners and operators with the tools

to manage the performance and energy efficiency of
their buildings

Can be integrated into all other building services such as

security, access control, CCTV, fire, Lifts and other life
and safety systems.