The Smart Buildings Academy Podcast | Teaching You Building Automation, Systems Integration, and Information Technology

Now displaying: September, 2017

BAM 087: The four step BAS design lifecycle 0

Sep 25, 2017

I've been the victim of some really bad designs and if I'm honest with you, I've also created a few really bad designs... The thing is, no one really teaches this topic.

Sure there are a ton of "webinars" out there that teach you "BAS" but mostly they are just feature fests, where some vendor goes through all the features that exist in their product. When I was first learning design back in 2007 my mentor had me draw out the design on graph paper from start to finish.

At the time I thought this guy was an a$$, but in reality, he was teaching me several invaluable lessons. The first lesson was that the design should be independent and interdependent at the same time.

Each document you create as part of a design should be able to stand on its own. And I learned this as I had to justify every document I created. However, every document must build upon one another and support one another to create a complete design.

This is a skill that I quite simply don't see being taught anywhere. And that is what we are going to discuss in this episode.

In this episode you are going to learn:

The purpose of a BAS design
The four-phase design lifecycle
The importance of mini-design lifecycles
The secret behind making sure you are always on-time with your design
Strategies to reduce your submittal rejection rate
And much more!

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BAM 086: The In and outs of a BAS Design 0

Sep 18, 2017

Have you ever stopped and thought about what is required to create a good BAS design... and then once that design is created, what deliverables should you expect to receive?

If this topic seems a little muddy to you, you're not alone. Despite all of the talk out there about IoT and analytics, when it comes to the topic of BAS Design (something that affects way more projects than any IoT solution ever will) the Internet is eerily silent...

The reason is, there are not that many folks who can teach you how to create a good design. I mean think about it. Besides for ASHRAES Guideline 13-2015, which you can purchase for $99. There's not much out there. But even that guideline doesn't address the core issue.

How does one design a BAS. Over the next several episodes I am going to be tackling this exact issue. In this episode, we are going to unpack the inputs and outputs that are created as part of the design process. You are going to learn:

The 3 design inputs you must understand
What the one piece of information you absolutely must locate in the specification is
Why you're controller drawings actually confuse your installer
How to eliminate project slippage (hint... it has something to do with your bill of materials)
And much more!

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BAM 085: 7 tips for troubleshooting IP Controls Networks 0

Sep 11, 2017

You've got an IP controls network and you're in a world of hurt because it's not working. You search Google looking for ideas, tech support puts you on hold for hours trying to help the thousands of other folks just like you.

You're feeling hopeless.

But it's not hopeless. In this episode, I provide you 7 tips that you can apply immediately to help you troubleshoot your IP controls network. Success is just around the corner, have a listen...

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