2. Technology Experts, Innovative Solutions for your
Property
The Business Case
Owners, designers and managers of buildings want integrated building systems to
produce high performance buildings that add value, differentiate the building, control
costs and meet occupants’ requirements. The challenges in doing so are many. How do
you select technology amenities that will address tenant needs? Do the building
designers and managers have the resources to really understand system integration?
How do you manage energy usage and costs or the coordination of multiple designers
and contractors? How do you procure the right facility management tools to obtain
accurate, up-to-date information on the building’s performance?
Why Axenttech?
Axenttech is in the business of providing professional consulting and engineering services related
to integrated building technology systems. Our mission is to provide building owners, managers and
tenants with high performance buildings with systems optimized for cost-effectiveness and functionality.
As building automation systems (BAS) that control heat, air conditioning, lighting and other building
systems get smarter, they're converging with traditional IT infrastructures. Emerging standards are
enabling data sharing between building systems as well as with other business applications, improving
efficiency and real-time control over building operating costs. Information security concerns, immature
standards, the reluctance of vendors to give up proprietary technologies and ignorance among IT p
rofessionals of the convergence trend are all slowing the pace of this transformation, but it's
gathering momentum.
3. How Smart Should your building be?
The Business Case
Smart building technologies are not only saving building owners and their tenants some
cash, they are also offering significant help in saving the planet.
Thanks in part to Internet protocol-based networks, new digital technologies are ready
to make dramatic contributions in how buildings function, particularly in reducing
their energy consumption.
The idea of smart buildings has been around for decades, but the lack of a standard
communications infrastructure has stymied efforts. Now, however, Internet protocol
(IP) networks are providing the foundation to unify a wide variety of building
automation tasks.
What are the Dilemmas?
Despite such potential benefits, smart buildings are still
a puzzle to many, including the real estate developers
and owners who must pay the bill for installing these
futuristic systems. The realities of real estate make
developers extremely sensitive to initial capital costs,
as well as to investments in anything but the most
established technologies and building methods.
Also, though Internet technologies are helping
integrate various components, tying together all
the possible systems in a building is no easy task. The
market is still fragmented and no comprehensive
turnkey offerings are yet available. Because of this,
industry experts say the real estate and construction
industries have been slow to embrace smart buildings.
Efficiency in Integration.
A smart building can be almost any structure, from a
shopping mall or home to a hospital or an office
high-rise. They all share the common ability of
"knowing" what is going on inside their walls and
being able to respond accordingly. Smart buildings
control what the industry calls building automation
systems for monitoring and regulating such tasks as
heating, air conditioning, lighting and other
environmental variables. They can also oversee other
building functions such as security, fire suppression,
and elevator operations.
Beyond integration, smart building technologies focus
on bringing more detailed monitoring and sensing
"awareness" to buildings. Typically, heating and cooling
systems have one thermostat for an entire office floor.
But new smart building networks can now cost-effectively
provide far more detailed monitoring of the conditions inside a building, helping a structure's
environmental systems deliver just enough heat, air, or cooling when and where it's needed.
Smart buildings equipped with an integrated array of sensors can also monitor such things as the
amount of sunlight coming into a room and adjust indoor lighting accordingly. And advanced smart
buildings can know who is visiting a building after hours (based on the key swipe from the security system)
and turn on the appropriate lights, equipment, and environmental controls.
The bottom-line result of this intelligence and coordination is much lower operational expenses for
commercial buildings. Industry research suggests that such overhead can account for as much as 80
percent of the cost of a building during its lifetime (including construction). Much of that expense
is from energy usage.
Doing The Math
Buildings have potential for Massive Energy
Savings
- Maintenance, including energy expenses,
can account for as much as 80 percent of
the cost of a building over it’s lifetime.
- Typical Heating, Ventilation and air
conditioning systems are 50 percent efficient
compared to fully integrated systems
- Commercial and Residential Buildings
account for 39 percent of the world’s Co2
Emissions and 70 percent of electrical
consumption per year.
- The U.a.e. Building Sector consumed 44
Billion Btus of Energy in 2008 at a cost of
more than $4 billion.
- Buildings have a lifespan of 50-100 years,
during which they continually consume
energy and produce CO2 emissions. If half of
new commercial buildings were build to use
50 % Less Energy, it would save 6 million
metric tons of CO2 Annually for the lifespan
of the buildings - The Equivalent of taking
more than 3 Million cars off the road
every year!
4. Secure, Safe and Sound.
The Business Case
An access control solution can be as simple as the use of electronic or magnetic swipe
cards instead of keys to unlock a front door. This limited functionality still retains a
considerable level of Integrated access control solutions have become easier to apply
value. In most cases, businesses can limit which cards are able to access the door during
specific times, thus allowing all employees to have "keys to the shop" without risking
unwanted access to the premises out of hours. In addition, security managers benefit
from the ability to check or report on who attempted to enter the premises and at
what time.
At the other end of the spectrum is a fully integrated access system, controlling
multiple buildings, which seamlessly incorporates the functionality of a CCTV
surveillance system, Electronic Visitor Management, Intrusion Detection, Lighting,
Fire Alarm, Elevator Control and other systems as may be appropriate. The latest systems
are even linking access control with corporate IT systems - so called physical/logical
convergence - to reduce the risks of unauthorized access to business critical IT
platforms.
Inteoperable Security Solutions.
In this world of technology, security systems are evolving quickly, offering more features and greater
levels of integration. Indeed, security systems work best when functioning as a holistic solution to meet
site-specific risks, where their full potential can be realised. That means integrating equipment such as,
CCTV cameras and recorders, access control, video analytics monitored perimeter fencing, and
intruder alarms.
In the past, true security systems integration used to be the exclusive preserve of a small number of end-
user companies willing to pay large amounts of money for high level functionality. Typically, it was
delivered by specialist systems integrators with Developments in the security industry have led to easier
interoperability between products strong engineering teams, who had the breadth and depth of technical
expertise required to bring together a range of disparate products from independent CCTV, access control
and intruder alarm / detector manufacturers to create a fully integrated security system.
Problems encountered in matching different security system control protocols led to difficulties in
enabling these systems to ‘talk' to each other. Various solutions attempted to resolve this ‘language
barrier' as system suppliers sought the key to unlocking the benefits of interoperability.
Plug and Play Security!
Leading security organisations are now placing the emphasis on access control systems as the core
integration platform. Instead of access control, intruder and CCTV systems working in near isolation
from each other, they can now be Effective
access control also safeguards against
costly and potentially disastrous business
interruption.
networked and centrally or remotely
monitored and controlled via the access
control solution. Easy integration starts
at CCTV camera systems linked into the
graphical user interface of the access
control software. This way, daily operations
can be managed without having to switch
between separate software systems
5. Secure, Safe and Sound.
Complete Integrated Approach
Continued..
An Security solution can be as simple as the use of electronic or magnetic swipe
cards instead of keys to unlock a front door. This limited functionality still retains a
considerable level of Integrated access control solutions have become easier to apply
value. In most cases, businesses can limit which cards are able to access the door during
specific times, thus allowing all employees to have "keys to the shop" without risking
unwanted access to the premises out of hours. In addition, security managers benefit
from the ability to check or report on who attempted to enter the premises and at
what time.
At the other end of the spectrum is a fully integrated access system, controlling
multiple buildings, which seamlessly incorporates the functionality of a CCTV
surveillance system, Electronic Visitor Management, Intrusion Detection, Lighting,
Fire Alarm, Elevator Control and other systems as may be appropriate. The latest systems
are even linking access control with corporate IT systems - so called physical/logical
convergence - to reduce the risks of unauthorized access to business critical IT
platforms.
This way, daily operations can be managed without having to switch between separate
software systems. Practical examples of this include CCTV cameras that can be programmed
to position themselves and record automatically to the local DVR if triggered by a specific
event activation, such as a fire door being opened. The operator would immediately see
live video from the appropriate camera pop-up on the screen on alarm events such as these,
in addition to easy retrieval of historic event images with a simple click of the mouse.
At larger sites, where security staff and building managers operate from a control room,
this level of integration also offers a greater level of supervisory capability to improve
the overall efficiency and effectiveness of daily operations. Security officers can be
better deployed, monitored and supported as they perform both routine site checks and
specific incident response duties during out-of-hours periods such as overnight, weekends
and bank holidays. Similarly, detector activations can lead to alarms being raised at a
monitoring station located anywhere around the world.
Whilst the level of sophistication will vary in accordance with budget and requirements,
given the modularity of today's security
offerings, it is now much easier to steadily
build up an integrated solution in line with
requirements and budget availability.
Organisations can implement different parts
of the core access, video and intruder systems
over time, knowing that they are
interoperable, and can eventually be combined
into a holistic security system. So an
integrated solution is now within any
company's reach and is undoubtedly the new
standard for any company serious about
security.
6. Integrated Building Access.
Security Management with Video
Monitoring and Audit Trails Physical and Logical Convergence
Single Sign On
IP Network Video Recording
Digital Video Manager
Rooftop Camera
Video Analytics
Digital Video Recording
Integration
PTZ Domes
Security Management
System
Integrated Data Management (HR System,
Active Directory, ERP, etc)
Video Monitoring24/7 Digital Video Surveillance
Biometrics and Smart Card Readers
Visitor Management System
Integration with Active Directory/ HR
System,Time and Attendance
