The Essential Automation That Makes a Building Smart

The appropriate use of automation is considered the most dynamic force in promoting and reinforcing the era of globalization with superb capacity to break through and eventually dismantle the barriers and national boundaries, and strengthen a  borderless world and digital economy. Yet, despite the advancement and the availability of various state of the art automation, there  is still an existing issue and problem known as the digital divide among the various segments of the population of the earth, which separates those known as the have more people (rich) and the have less people (poor). The four basic factors serving as the causes for the so-called digital divide are anchored on the 4A framework: awareness, availability, accessibility and affordability.  These affect the selection of basic and advanced automation software.

The appropriate use of automation is considered the most dynamic force in promoting and reinforcing the era of globalization with superb capacity to break through and eventually dismantle the barriers and national boundaries, and strengthen a  borderless world and digital economy. Yet, despite the advancement and the availability of various state of the art automation, there  is still an existing issue and problem known as the digital divide among the various segments of the population of the earth, which separates those known as the have more people (rich) and the have less people (poor). The four basic factors serving as the causes for the so-called digital divide are anchored on the 4A framework: awareness, availability, accessibility and affordability.  These affect the selection of basic and advanced automation software.

Use of Automation in Building Smart Facility

Despite the presence of the issue and problem about the so-called digital divide, because of the huge potentials and opportunities and use of automation then the innovative design, construction and operations of smart buildings (also known as intelligent buildings) came into existence. Smart building technology is emerging as an innovative solution for addressing several issues about the changes affecting our working environment vis-à-vis the quality of life of the people. A smart building is a new business facility or a new design of housing facility for human habitat, which is furnished with distinctive controlled cabling and electric wiring system that allow residents or building tenants to manage digitally and remotely a range of automated electronic gadgets and appliances for basic and special purposes. 

A good example of the feature of smart buildings is  using a touchtone phone to activate a unit security system, control temperature gauges and lighting system. The building unit resident can switch on or off gadgets, appliances, and program an entertainment system. Through automation, he can operate many other functions and tasks that are part of the design of a particular smart building

Technically speaking, a certain building facility will be only considered an intelligent or smart building when it is fully equipped with appropriate automation as part of the standardized features and functioning as the key built-in component of that particular smart building. This reality makes automation the heart and soul of smart buildings for delivering the benefits to the end-users vis-à-vis their changing needs, wants and expectations.

Scope and Timeframe of Installing Automation System

To effectively guide a company  achieve maximum results  in the implementation of automation, below are  five critical phases with the corresponding activities:

1. Preparation, Testing and Validation

The critical activities of the first phase will be focusing on the gathering and intensive review of relevant documents from various sources on automation.  The automation software to use and the process will then be finalized. A needs survey questionnaire will also be formulated for department heads. The required validation of the survey questionnaire forms are required to effect certain adjustments when necessary.  

2. Data Collection and Automation Review

The critical activities of the second phase are survey implementation and review of automation case studies. Specifically, the actual distribution and retrieval of the survey questionnaire forms are randomly selected end-users within the smart buildings. Simultaneous for this stage will be the gathering and review of additional relevant and related articles, including case studies to support and enrich knowledge on automation. 

3. Data Presentation and Analysis 

The critical activities of this third phase will be centered on the organization of all gathered data. This is based on the design sections of the questionnaire forms. Firstly, the utilization of the appropriate statistical methods will be implemented. Secondly, descriptive and inferential analytical tools will be used. Thirdly, the tallied data will be converted  into graphical charts and data tables. Fourthly, the results of the test, discussions and interpretations and analyses of the summary of findings will be presented. Lastly, the corresponding conclusions and recommendations will be presented.    

4. Report Writing and Organizing

As to the fourth phase of automation installation, a document will be written and organized based on the guidelines and standards set forth by the industry.

5. Report Submission, Review and Finalization

The fifth and final phase will be the submission of the first draft for review and comments of the assigned project manager. The comments of the project manager will be considered for the finalization and submission of the final document following the timeframe deadline. 

Key Takeaways

The expected results of this preparation for implementing automation are a  better understanding and avenue for discussion of possible prevailing and dominant perspectives of end-users. Also, it contributes to the possible improvements and further enrichment of the integration of the state of the art automation. 

Use of automation provides the essential foundations for the development of smart, efficient and effective solutions for all industries. May it be used for large-scale data collection and analysis in real time. For your current business automation needs, take a quick tour of Integromat, sign up now and get one month of the Basic plan for free.  This way you can have a better understanding of automation technology development in other industries. You can see various automation aspects as applied in logistics, data mining, safety management, supply chain management etc. Also check out our new workshop that will give you an unfair advantage over your peers by showing  them how easy it really is to use Integromat.

 

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