Is your facilities team comparing building management apps? Most likely, your aim is to reduce site visits and boost the visibility of useful operating data. The best solutions also need to work with the controls you already have installed.
Below are the seven capabilities that should rise to the top of your checklist during evaluation.
1. BACnet Integration With Existing Equipment
A building management app should work with the control infrastructure already serving the property. It’s common for buildings to contain equipment from multiple manufacturers or have systems that were installed during different renovation cycles. You need BACnet compatibility to tie it all together.
ODIN connects with BACnet devices and can auto-discover BACnet objects — an easy manual setup that gives teams a path to modern control even as they retain serviceable equipment already in place.
2. One View for Multiple Buildings
If you’ve ever tried to manage five properties through five separate interfaces, you’ll be familiar with the extra administrative work this disjointed arrangement creates. Shoot for an application with multi-site visibility so owners or facilities teams have just a single place to check equipment status and investigate conditions anywhere in the building portfolio.
The more buildings you have, the higher this should be on your list. Campuses, retail portfolios, apartment properties, and other organizations with geographically separated sites stand to benefit the most. Staff can identify which location needs attention, and no one even has to get in a vehicle.
3. Mobile Access From the Field
According to Facility Executive, 15% of buildings don’t even have a BMS in place at all. Of those that do, less than half “have the tools in place to access or view it remotely.”
Mobile access changes where technicians can use building controls. A contractor servicing a rooftop unit can view equipment status while standing beside it. A facility manager can check a temperature complaint from home.
For teams evaluating building automation apps, look closely at the mobile interface itself. A desktop screen squeezed onto a phone creates a different experience from an interface designed for practical mobile use.
4. Real-Time Alarms and Notifications
There’s limited value in alerts at your on-site terminals when nobody is looking at the screen — which could be a lot of the time if techs are busy working on equipment or other sites.
Surface equipment trips or temperature excursions as they happen with mobile alerts on the devices technicians and contractors are already carrying in their pockets. The instant visibility of a smartphone or tablet notification allows your team to assess severity as early as possible and decide whether the issue requires a remote adjustment or an onsite response.
5. Remote Adjustments and Scheduling
Ideally, your solution will offer actual remote control of systems as opposed to just viewing system status. Authorized users may need to adjust a setpoint after an event schedule changes or correct an override that remained active longer than planned.
If your building(s) experience wide swings in occupancy, you can also reduce unnecessary HVAC runtime with remote scheduling. And it still preserves your ability to respond quickly when plans shift.
6. Clear Trend Data
Current readings tell operators what the building is doing now. Trend data adds the operating history you need to see recurring patterns.
A facilities team might compare space temperature with equipment runtime after repeated comfort complaints. Engineers can also use historical information to evaluate performance and investigate energy use over longer periods.
7. An Interface People Can Learn Quickly
The operational value of excellent technical capabilities is pretty limited if even routine tasks require extensive training. During your building management app evaluation, make sure to test common actions yourself. Find an alarm. Review a trend. Change a schedule. Move between buildings. How easy is it to figure out?
If you find navigation to be pretty clear, it could broaden system use beyond the handful of employees typically familiar with a legacy front end. It might also shorten service work when contractors need access during a call.
Focus your evaluation on daily work. A lengthy feature list is great, but only if it’s user-friendly. Look at how the platform handles the equipment already installed and how quickly users can reach the info they need. Then, test how easily the system can expand as buildings or devices are added.
ODIN brings these capabilities together in a cloud-based building management app that connects with existing BACnet systems. If you want to see how that kind of access could fit your buildings, explore ODIN or get in touch with the team.
