JOHNSON Controls has just released version 9 of its Metasys Building Management Systems (BMS), one it describes as one of the most advanced and feature-rich on the market.
“Intelligent systems constantly send out status updates and, in many buildings, the monitored points have expanded from 50 to 50,000 seemingly overnight. With no logical way of displaying that information, it’s become really hard to make intelligent decisions,” said Russell Hattingh of Johnson Controls
“With v9, Johnson Controls has focussed on getting this right, putting the Metasys BMS a step ahead of its competitors and giving building administrators the power to leverage their investments in intelligent technology.”
What’s new in v9 is what information is displayed in the Metasys user interface and dashboards and how it’s displayed.
“The challenge administrators face is that BMS’ are receiving inputs from multiple sensors on building systems (e.g., chillers, lighting and access control systems) and simply displaying them without a logical ‘map’ to indicate how building systems are interrelated or how they impact one another,” said Hattingh.
“For example, if a chiller fails, the BMS will send out alerts indicating that the required water temperature has not been reached and air handling units are dealing with air temperatures that are too high—alerting dashboards lighting up like Christmas trees and the user has no logical way to identify and address the root cause.
“The typical response is that administrators simply hit the ‘kill’ switch and manually troubleshoot systems. This completely negates the value of installing intelligent building systems. If less serious alarms cannot be differentiated from the alarms that can have a greater impact on the building the results can be catastrophic.”
If a chiller has tripped due to an overload, it can impact the temperature of the working environment. In a food or pharmaceuticals manufacturing plant which may contain temperature sensitive chemicals or foodstuffs, this can have a serious impact on production, or on the products themselves, leading to losses.
Hattingh said the new Metasys v9 capabilities can significantly reduce downtime and risk. With the version update, alerts are depicted graphically in a decision tree that maps logical relationships, making it easier to diagnose problems. When the root cause is acknowledged, all alerts are muted. The BMS is also able to self-diagnose problems, sending a single alert rather than 500 individual system alerts.
The BMS interface allows administrators to log into the system, review the problem history and reset and restart systems remotely as needed. In addition, with the right information to hand, specialised solution providers, such as access control or chiller service teams, also benefit.
The BMS is able to analyse the fault and advise what is wrong with the system, what needs to be fixed and what parts may be needed. This means the service provider can bring along all necessary tools and components and get the repair or maintenance done without delay.
Metasys v9 is available as an upgrade to all existing license holders. It is also compatible with the majority of BMS and building systems.