Making the most of smart devices monitoring building performance (video)

The technological push to make devices smart to the point where they project an abundance of information about a building’s functionality has led facilities managers in recent years to make the data they collect easier to decipher. So those managers tend to tie the devices into a building management system that shows everything from how much energy the structure is using at a particular point in the day to amount of water occupants are consuming.

While connecting smart devices into a single system seems a viable approach, Varun Nagaraj, president and CEO of technology firm Sierra Monitor, suggests that doing so might not actually be the best approach. The reason: management systems that lump together large amounts of data tend to dilute the information, thus giving facilities operators a limited view of their building’s performance.

In this video, Nagaraj spoke at the recent AHR 2016 in Orlando about the value of using individualized monitor of smart devices.

Sierra Monitor addresses the industrial and commercial facilities management market with Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions that connect and protect high-value infrastructure assets. The company’s FieldServer brand of protocol gateways is used by system integrators and OEMs to enable local and remote monitoring and control of assets and facilities. FieldServer is used with more than 200,000 products, supporting more than 140 protocols.

The company’s Sentry IT fire and gas detection solutions are used by industrial and commercial facilities managers to protect their personnel and assets. Sentry IT-branded controllers, sensor modules and software are installed at thousands of facilities, such as natural gas vehicle fueling and maintenance stations, wastewater treatment plants, oil and gas refineries and pipelines, parking garages, U.S. Navy ships and underground telephone vaults.