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

The weekly podcast where Phil Zito discusses topics related to building automation and provides useful tips and action packed examples to help you better understand building automation.
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The Smart Buildings Academy Podcast | Teaching You Building Automation, Systems Integration, and Information Technology
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Now displaying: 2022
Dec 21, 2022

Do you want to make your building automation team more productive and profitable in 2023? 

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast we will continue to lay out strategies that you can implement into your team meetings that will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your BAS team.

Dec 16, 2022

Are your weekly smart buildings team meetings boring?

Do you find yourself struggling to develop topics that will improve your team, increase the profitability of your business, and grow your customer base?

In this 3-part series we will layout 52 strategies that you can discuss with your team in 2023.

That's one strategy for each weekly team meeting!

Dec 14, 2022

Are you struggling to find talent for your building automation team?

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast we discuss the exact strategies we are using right now to help leading organizations develop a robust pipeline of talent.

In this episode you will discover how to find and develop billable talent to execute backlog right now!

Resources: https://podcast.smartbuildingsacademy.com/389

Nov 29, 2022

Have you been struggling to find talent for your building automation business? 

If so you're not alone. In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast I interview Michael Conway of Stacks + Joules. 

Michael is relentlessly focused on delivering quality training to underserved communities in New York and Boston. What makes Stacks + Joules unique is their ability to rapidly train folks on complex topics even though their students start with little to no technical background.

My hope is that after hearing the podcast you will choose to partner with Stacks + Joules on this giving Tuesday.

Resources: https://podcast.smartbuildingsacademy.com/388

Donate at : https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=C33YEHX667HFC

Nov 28, 2022

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast I interview Bill Spohn of TruTech Tools. Bill has a tremendous level of experience in the Smart Buildings Space.

We discuss:

  • New technologies that can be used for takeoff and measurement.
  • How developments in the residential space can translate to the commercial space
  • How the future of building techniques will translate to the commercial sector.
  • And Much More.

Resources

https://podcast.smartbuildingsacademy.com/387

Nov 23, 2022

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast I will answer any questions you have live. I will also be asking past questions asked by our listeners.

Nov 21, 2022

In today's episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast we are going to review the ASHRAE 55 standard.

ASHRAE 55 Thermal Conditions for Human Comfort is a fascinating standard.

In this standard we will learn:

  • How space type and utilization factor into comfort design
  • How to identify setpoints and conditions based on space load
  • How to comply with the ASHRAE 55 standard
  • And much more
Nov 18, 2022

With people begrudgingly returning to the office how can you increase the attractiveness and suitability of the work environment?

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Podcast we discuss how to increase the efficiency of space utilization and planning with Akira Jones of HH Angus. In this Podcast we discuss:

How is space utilization and efficiency planning different in the modern built environment? 

How do you know if you need space utilization and efficiency planning?

What are the silos, that tend to keep the built environment from modernizing their space utilization and efficiency planning? 

Framework for space utilization and efficiency planning
What framework do you use? 

What are the inputs for use case development?

How do you differentiate between inferred data and actual data?


How do you plug inputs into the framework? 

What should come out of the framework?

Resources: https://podcast.smartbuildingsacademy.com/384

Nov 16, 2022

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast, we will be exploring the ASHRAE 62.1 standard.

ASHRAE 62.1 is a key standard that is tied to indoor air quality in buildings.

But how does ASHRAE 62.1 work?

We will be exploring:

• How the standard is structured.

• How to determine the required indoor air quality (IAQ)

• The different methods for achieving the 62.1 standard

Resources: https://podcast.smartbuildingsacademy.com/383

Nov 14, 2022

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast, we will be exploring the ASHRAE 90.1 standard.

ASHRAE 90.1 is a key standard that is tied to multiple upcoming utility regulations and initiatives.

But how does ASHRAE 90.1 work?

We will be exploring:

• How the standard is structured.

• The two implementation methods; Performance and Prescriptive.

• How modeling works with ASHRAE 90.1.

• How 90.1 ties into potential energy conservation measures.

Resources:

https://podcast.smartbuildingsacademy.com/382

Nov 11, 2022

How do you actual succeed with analytics? This is a question I get asked often. 

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast, Devan Tracy of Lockheed Martin discusses how she built a successful analytics platform from the ground up.

If you've found yourself thinking, "Analytics seem like a good idea but I'm not sure they'll work for me" or "Where would I even get started on an analytics journey" this podcast is for you!

Resources: 

https://podcast.smartbuildingsacademy.com/381

©️ 2022 Lockheed Martin Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Nov 9, 2022

Are you struggling to find technical talent?

Are you unable to execute backlog due to labor shortages?

If so you're not alone. In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast we unpack how to develop talent right now.

For as long as I can remember the prevailing belief has been that it takes years to train a building automation technician.

In this episode we are going to unpack how we built a 11-week training program that has trained postal workers, hotel lobby clerks, and gas station attendants to become profitable BAS technicians in 11 weeks.

We will discuss lessons learned, how you can implement a similar program in your business, and how to find talent to place into a program of this type.

We will also discuss our plans for future Workforce Development Solutions.

Resources: 

https://www.smartbuildingsacademy.com/wfd-info_employers

Nov 7, 2022

5 years ago we founded Smart Buildings Academy with the hopes of gaining 1,000 students by 2025. Today we are the largest vendor-agnostic provider of building automation training programs.

In the beginning of this journey it was just me and my co-founder, who happens to be my wife.

Along the way we've created 30+ training programs with over 2,000 hours of training lessons, 370+ Podcast episodes, thousands of blog articles, and we proved that online delivery is an effective delivery model for BAS training.

It wasn't an easy journey, along the way we've made mistakes, had people blatantly copy our training programs, and we've had to develop processes from scratch for delivering training.

In today's episode I am sharing the lessons learned from running a rapidly growing training business. In our traditional style, I'll share the good, the bad, and the ugly.

My hopes is that you all can learn from us and take away processes and strategies you can bring into your business.

Nov 4, 2022

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast we will be discussing troubleshooting BACnet MS/TP.

You will learn:

  • Common BACnet failures
  • The signs of each failure type
  • How to troubleshoot each BACnet failure type
Nov 2, 2022

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast we are going to discuss how to properly select inputs and outputs for your BAS projects.

You will learn:

  • How to look at a specification and select input/output devices
  • How to decide between multiple different devices
  • How to properly size and select inputs and outputs for your BAS project
Oct 31, 2022

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast we discuss server virtualization.

You will learn:

The different types of servers

How servers work

How server virtualization works

Why you would want to use a virtualized server

Oct 28, 2022

Security Certificates can protect your communications, ensure that rogue devices are not on your network, and verify the authenticity of the devices that do connect to your network.

But do you know what certificates are, how they work, and how to deploy them?

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast we are going to do a deep dive on security certificates.

Oct 26, 2022

Your backlog is full. You find yourself taking calls from GC's asking where your technicians are every, single, day!

You're expected to execute 10,000 man hours of labor with only 5,000 manhours of techs.

Welcome to the world of BAS project management, and the bad news is it's only getting more intense. Material shortages, labor challenges, and inflationary cost pressures make effective project management seem impossible.

The good news is there is a way to succeed as a project manager.

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast we discuss 10 tips to increase your project management effectiveness right now!

Oct 24, 2022

Things tend to fall apart after they are built, buildings are no exception.

Yet every day I'm seeing new construction projects completed with NO post occupancy maintenance strategy.

Do customers need agreements for planned service? If so what should these agreements include?

And most importantly how can you convince your customers to buy a planned service agreement.

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast we are going to explore the scoping, selling, and execution of planned service agreements.

Oct 21, 2022

What is one of the biggest costs in a retrofit project.. wiring!

I remember back when wireless first hit the market. It was clunky, unreliable, and quite frankly a headache!

Not anymore!

Wireless systems are robust, fast, and effective.

But how do we use them? How do they work?

And how do we fix them when something goes wrong?

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast we will explore the fundamentals of wireless systems!

Oct 19, 2022

Did you know that having a meter in the wrong place is sometimes worse than not having a meter at all?

In order to meet the increased demand for net-zero and energy efficiency we first must understand our energy use profile. In order to accomplish this we need to have meters!

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast we discuss the different types of meters, where to place meters, how to tie meters into your BAS, and how to interpret metering data.

Oct 17, 2022

Did you know that the Inflation Reduction Act changes 179D to allow for a tax deduction of up to $5/sq foot for energy efficiency retrofits?

But this is dependent on your energy baseline!

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast we are going to look at how to perform a energy audit so that we can establish a baseline and identify potential retrofit solutions.

Oct 14, 2022

KNX is a protocol that is seeing increasing adoption across the United States.

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast we will research KNX together. Throughout the episode we will explore what the protocol is, how the protocol works, and what the protocol does.

Oct 12, 2022

In today's Smart Buildings Academy Podcast Episode we discuss 9 energy management strategies that you can implement right now to reduce your energy consumption and demand.

Oct 10, 2022

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast we lay out 7 tips for performing effective site audits for your building automation customers.

Building owners need to understand their current building systems to manage the increasingly aggressive energy standards and goals rolling out.

This episode will help you tackle this topic with actionable tips that work right now.

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