Building automation systems (BAS) can be used to minimize, if not mitigate, many of the struggles with which facility organizations wrestle and help them grow and mature their programs to deliver recognized value at all levels, according to an article from Building Operating Management on the FacilitiesNet website. 

BAS, also known as building management systems (BMS) and energy management systems (EMS), or simply “building controls,” are the central nervous system of a facility. BAS deliver far more value than just alerting technicians when control points exceed alarm parameters or identifying the biggest fire to tackle that day. They play an essential role in managing occupant comfort, safety, and, ultimately, employee productivity.

For example, studies have found that for every one degree F that the ambient temperature runs outside the “comfort zone,” a worker’s productivity decreases by 4 percent; thus, for a building of 500 people, a two-degree slip could result in $4 million of lost productivity per year — just two degrees. 

A fiscal impact of this magnitude could justify further investment in expanding the focus of building controls to proactively manage indoor environmental quality and overall system performance.

Read the article.