What is a building management system | BMS benefits

A building management system is a great way to keep an eye on multiple areas of interest at all times, and helps you and your team to quickly make decisions about the spaces you work in. However, if these decisions aren’t backed by accurate data and up-to-date information, they could be ineffective or – even worse – actively harming your business. 

Read on to get a better understanding of how to maximise your BMS, and take a look at our PropTech Guide to Workplaces for even more information about how to get the most out of your office. 

What is a Building Management System (BMS)?

BMS stands for Building Management System. It’s a centralized control system that allows the control and monitoring of equipment such as ventilation, lighting and security systems. 

Their main aim is to improve the comfort, functionality and efficiency of any building.

Why do you need a BMS?

• Data collection

Collecting data is the first step in running a business, but understanding and making the most of your data is where you’ll really reap rewards. A BMS will help you ensure your building data is reliably collected and accurate at all times. This will also come in handy when ensuring compliance with industry-specific standards. 

Using a BMS also maximizes the use of your data by enabling you and any other decision makers to have access to all the up-to-date information you need to make complex and informed decisions, as well as improving the entire strategy of the business.

• Scalability and efficiency 

Having a BMS in place improves efficiency for everyone in your organization. Having a centralized management system means that you’re able to keep on top of the needs of your company, no matter how big it get.s

This will make it easier for your business to automate time-consuming manual tasks, such as heating, cooling, and ventilation – and make your whole operation more scalable as you grow. 

• Employee satisfaction

Using a BMS can help keep everything in your building running smoothly, minimizing disruption for the teams in your company. Moreover, a well-managed BMS can help provide optimal indoor air quality (IAQ) which is vital for employee comfort, wellbeing and cognitive function. And everyone knows that productive employees are happy employees!

• Cost saving

Having a BMS will incur cost saving benefits across different aspects of your business. A centralized system minimizes any budget wasted on unnecessary labour costs and energy. On top of this, it will enable you to keep an eye on all your assets, meaning reduced time and money spent on maintenance and support. 

So how can Metrikus and your BMS work together?

We know we’ve spent a good deal of time telling you how great building management systems are, but the reality is they do come with some drawbacks: and that’s where Metrikus comes in. 

Greater visibility 

As useful as a BMS is, they’re usually only accessible to the facilities team rather than every employee in the business, creating data silos and knowledge gaps. Metrikus disperses this information, allowing greater visibility and access to your entire data, for any employee who needs it – from the facilities management team, to the building owner, right down to the occupiers. Many of our clients have been displaying IAQ or occupancy panels on screens to help their people make decisions about how they want to occupy spaces in the new pandemic-era workplace.

Combining your BMS with Metrikus also enhances its monitoring capabilities – you’re able to compare and analyse across an entire portfolio, be that a small office, hundreds of rooms across numerous floors or even various buildings spread around the country.

Through this, clients can remotely access insights into operational inefficiencies across multiple buildings, all through the Metrikus platform. Another point to note is that Metrikus can be used to augment your BMS by acting as a health check, ensuring you’re getting the most out of your chosen system at all times. 

Make the most of your data

Metrikus stores data indefinitely, so that our clients can see data across an entire year (or more), viewing long-term trends, peaks, and seasonality changes. Using this information, decisions can be made to optimize your BMS based on how the building has operated historically.

The power of automation

Finally (but maybe our favorite reason of all), is the power of automation. 

A real-life example of this is meeting rooms. Picture this: you're in a stuffy, enclosed space with too many people, and you start to feel sleepy halfway through an important meeting. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. By using the Metrikus platform to monitor the occupancy of your meeting rooms in real time, your BMS can be alerted to feed fresh air into meeting rooms with high levels of CO2. This means your employees will be happier, healthier, and more productive.

Having this level of control allows you to dynamically change your building to suit the needs of your occupants, and react to how they’re using it. This means your entire built space will work for everyone inside it, rather than in accordance with predetermined (often irrelevant) set points. 

---

Are you ready to enhance your BMS? Arrange a demo with our team today.