Physical foundation of the WG at the “GLT-Anwendertagung” with IMB Institute Bayreuth
Aachen, June 27, 2022. – The BACnet Interest Group Europe (BIG-EU) has decided to involve building automation operators more closely in association activities and to promote active dialogue with manufacturers and system integrators. For this purpose, she founded her own working group Facility Management (WG-FM) at the GLT user conference on September 15th.
The BIG-EU Board is convinced of the historical necessity of now setting up the WG-FM . In accordance with the association’s objectives, this should serve the further qualified dissemination of the BACnet Standard in Europe. Diverse user experiences from projects will be shared for the benefit of all participants.
The objectives of the WG-FM Working Group are:
- institutionalization of the perspective of operation in the BIG-EU,
- Exchange of experiences from realized projects,
- Collection of solution approaches in the context of “BACnet and Facility Management”,
- Events for the presentation of innovative and new solutions,
- Integration of the operator perspective in the development of guidelines, standards and white papers,
- Networking of all interested parties (operators, system integrators, manufacturers).
BACnet constantly evolving
In the last 20 years, BACnet has established itself internationally as a manufacturer-neutral data transmission standard in building automation (GA). This in two respects: For the customers, there is no dependency on the make. This automatically leads to more competition in open systems. On the other hand, BACnet facilitates the system integration of third-party products in complex BA structures. This opens up new possibilities, especially in terms of energy saving and optimization. Products from different manufacturers, even different trades, can be operated in a higher-level strategy. BACnet has been continuously developed and adapted to new challenges. The focus was always on integrating existing technologies and mechanisms into the protocol. With BACnet Secure Connect (BACnet/SC), for example, BACnet was equipped on the basis of IT standards, such as the TLS encryption method, for secure data transmission in IT infrastructures as well. This means that open systems can now also be made cyber-secure with BACnet/SC. This knowledge should be accessible to operators in the new WG-FM so that BACnet/SC works well across the board right from the start.
In facility management, digitalization is opening up more and more possibilities for optimizing the operation of buildings. Building automation is the central tool for the operation of building services. At the same time, however, new technologies are emerging that support energy management or infrastructural processes (e.g. sensor technology in the area of cleaning), for example. In this context, new communication standards are developing in some cases, e.g. the Facility Data Standard (FDS). These are integrated into the open BACnet Standard as the backbone of the building infrastructure.
Networking and communication via WG-FM
The principle of networking and communication is central. Via WG-FM, the comprehensive application-related experience of operators and service providers is to be systematically incorporated into the further development of communication standards, technologies and products. The end result will be better solutions for the operation of buildings – the common goal of manufacturers, system integrators and operators.
The networking in the WG-FM should give BA operators the opportunity to help shape the application and development of the BACnet standard in the future. At an information event on the new WG-FM in early June, it was decided that the physical foundation of the WG-FM on September 15, 2022 at the 34th GLT user conference – directly after the presentation by BIG-EU President Karl Heinz Belser – is accomplished. All interested GA operators can participate in the founding act. The 34th GLT user conference will take place from 14.-16. September in Leipzig – more information at: www.glt-anwendertagung.de.