David J. Branson, PE Senior Vice President, Compliance Services Group, Inc. and I are extremely pleased to lead these sessions on Building Automation at this year's AHR Expo in Atlantic City. We thank International Exposition Co. for providing our industry with this opportunity. These sessions were well attended in Dallas and Atlanta and we hope our subject matter will again be of interest to the industry. In our Wednesday morning wrap up session in Atlanta there was a cry from the automation users requesting an opportunity to grasp an overview of what all this change meant to them. Our opening session is an attempt to provide overview information for both the automation users and the automation industry. The session is designed to take you from zero to industry speed in less than an hour.

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A brief overview of our topics follows. For the latest information log on to http://www.ahrexpo.com/ 

Building Automation Stabilization - Fact or Fiction? 
THE PHILOSOPHY plus the EVOLVING NEW RELATIONSHIPS

This session will start with a review of the control evolution of Automated Buildings, and discuss the convergence taking place in communication protocol development, the Internet integration and wireless developments within the industry. We will look for signs of stabilization in all of this.

We will review the changes that are occurring in the engineer's design arena concerning building automation. Changes to plan and specification development will be covering issues such as Specification Sections 13000, 17000 and the Request For Proposal or RFP approach.

We will discuss how enlightened owners, comfort contractors; energy performance contractors, etc. are having influence over automation system deployment. Insight into where they are focusing that influence will be discussed.

We will discuss how the new breed of automation will affect our clients' total data enterprise as well as the effect on the designers, contractors, and equipment suppliers, plus of course, building owners.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]The Indispensable Internet
Building Automation Integrates, Converges and Conforms to the Internet Model - in short, 
"Web ways are winning…"

This session is a follow up to the overview session and with increased technical detail will expand on the trends that are presently occurring in the industry and how this will increase ease of design, installation and use. Emerging protocols plus new net standards will be reviewed.

The predicted shift of control toward centralized (enterprise) building automation management via the Internet is now coming to pass. Trending, scheduling, alarming, reports, program changes, memory downloads - all can be accomplished through a browser. The Internet is now influencing hardware development towards the direction of plug and play or PnP controls and diagnostic tools. These new self-configuring devices will be capable of easily joining, contributing and leaving a building automation system network.

New IT interfaces will allow planners, financial, and other top level stake-holders to use live data from building automation systems in an interactive fashion.

Ease of Use in Today's & Tomorrow's Building Automation Systems

This session is a follow up to "The Indispensable Internet" and expands on the now available products and how they will radically affect our industry. Standards evolution will be discussed.

We will discuss new developments on the horizon in DDC, i.e., self-configuring (aka PnP) controls, etc.

Wireless usage, from device to network to enterprise will be discussed.

"The times they are a changing" but are we as Building Automation Professionals grasping the gravity of the moment? Building automation systems are still being installed from pre-internet specifications with proprietary systems and no acknowledgment that enterprise interaction may be essential for system longevity. Designs, often done in isolation without the complete understanding of the client's total IT enterprise, are dangerously short sighted, as it is now clear that TCP/IP will be the data pipe of the future.

We will attempt to create the new formula for Tomorrow's Building Automation Systems.

Our Closing Session - The Audience Speaks Out

Building Automation Forum - The Future of Building Automation

A rollup of first three sessions and some predicted directions for the future will be presented by Dave and Ken, and then the session will be opened up to the industry.

Come and have fun and help us predict the future of Building Automation.

Dave and I enjoy these sessions as they allow us to recap what is hot and what is not. The feedbacks from the floor after each session is great and helps us read the direction interest is heading within the industry. Please come out to the Wednesday morning "The Audience Speaks Out" and share your thoughts. If you are unable to attend please email me your thoughts sinclair@automatedbuildings.com. 

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