Month: July 2018

A unified platform bringing together different controls under one umbrella ushering in a new phase of smart premises management in Mauritius. A unique centre which controls and integrates all existing and future technologies that would be required in any premises, from large-scale real estate to smart city projects, EC3 is the reference. Making all available data useful optimising maximum efficiency of your premises with up most business sustainability etiquettes, it is what EC3 proposes you. DigiConsult uses intelligent technologies and its ability to achieve integration and control of all clients’ assets, from Energy, Security, Water, Sensor and others.

The Enterprise Command & Control Centre (EC3) is now ready to shape the future

A single figure alone cannot tell you much and much conclusion cannot be made from a single data. However, when data analytics is applied connecting different data metrics together, instant and efficient decision can be made for premises management. Enterprise Command & Control Centre (EC3) is one of the largest and most modern control centres in the world. What sets it apart is the use of intelligent technologies and its ability to achieve integration and control of all means. It has been specially developed to integrate different control centres, with information on a single window for efficient and instant decision making. Different premises, from real estate, hotels, malls to smart cities, an EC3 platform adaptable to each project requirement can be set up. To achieve leadership and excellence by managing all your systems the integrated platform will contribute mainly in the management and maintenance of resources for long sustainability and efficiency.

Imagine a dashboard tracking different information metrics and bring them on a single platform where the figures can spell you intelligent decision strategy for the efficient management of your premises. When you think of efficiency in premises, the first click relates to energy efficiency and Air conditioning devices capture a lot of energy. If you are able to get details in real time about the functioning of all your AC (Air conditioning) equipment in your premises and whether an AC  is malfunctioning or one can be switched off or any other decision, the EC3 is the reference to let make a sustainable and efficient decision instantly.

The Architecture of an Enterprise Command & Control Center (EC3)

A platform where you get access within a single window, a myriad information metrics which will be used intelligently to manage proactive and reactive issues that affect business services and operations, technology tools and the infrastructure elements that interact with and comprise IT services for the enterprise. A platform which integrates different information sources from various IT stakeholders and turns this information meaningful with access to real-time information.

EC3 is a framework that brings together these elements and enables the enterprise to consolidate management across their infrastructure, tool sets, IT teams and stakeholders.

• Business Units. As enterprise IT teams evolve to serve as internal IT service providers to their business units, a command centre provides the platform to deliver and optimise these services in a multi-tenant way.
• IT and Application Services Teams. Whether enterprise IT is organized by technology towers, service categories or applications, multiple “tower” teams need to collaborate and have a consolidated view across their infrastructure to move fast enough to meet the needs of today’s business. The enterprise command centre provides the platform that teams can leverage to coordinate response and share common services.
• Tools Stack. Enterprises will have multiple IT operations tools in their stack, including IT service management (ITSM) tools and technology- or application-specific monitoring point tools. The command centre integrates this myriad of tools into a single framework that leverages (Application Program Interface) APIs and automation to consolidate alerts, events and metrics across tools to provide the right insights to drive action.
• IT Infrastructure. EC3 has line of sight to all infrastructure, cloud and application elements that are used across the enterprise IT environment. The technologies may or may not be directly owned or managed by central IT, but is part of the integrated framework to provide enterprise-wide visibility.

Use case of a successful EC3 platform in operation

This includes the Dubai Metro, Dubai Tram, Taxis and Traffic Systems Control Centres. (EC3) is fully equipped to manage mobility; to tackle various transportation challenges of the Emirate, and to meet the requirements of hosting Expo 2020. In addition to collecting and analysing all the data gathered in real time, the EC3 also ensures that emerging technologies such as Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, IOT and others will allow the smart-cities to speed up the response time to its users.

As applications and infrastructure change dynamically, an EC3 will automatically deliver visibility into what is happening in the IT environment of your premises. Are you an existing premise or planning a new construction, DigiConsult brings you a tailor-made solution adaptable to your premises irrelevant of the sector you operate. With latest technologies application; Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Analytics, we promise you an efficient sustainable enterprise decision making. Contact us on +230 2331636

Wi-Fi is the popular choice for home and business networks with the possibilities of offering local area networks to operate with minimal cable and wiring. Integrating good working principles for Wi-Fi in your smart buildings will tone up compatibility and efficient communication between your devices to create a smart environment. DigiConsult can assist you in integrating a proper Wi-Fi networking approach in your smart buildings to ensure proper communication and security between your devices and allowing business partners to be more productive and focus on the assigned task regardless of location.
About Wi-Fi networking and its working principle

Wi-Fi is one type of wireless technology creating connectivity between devices. There is a range of hardwired and wireless network technologies which are been used to deliver the intelligence within a smart building, including Ethernet, WiFi and Bluetooth. The Wi-Fi is a really mature technology and has now a large ecosystem which makes this technology reliable with affordable equipment.Wi-Fi is a high-speed internet connection and network connection without use of any cables or wires. The wireless network is operating three essential elements that are radio signals, antenna and router. The radio waves are keys which make the Wi-Fi networking possible. The computers and cell phones are ready with Wi-Fi cards. Wi-Fi compatibility has been using a new creation to constituent within the ground connected with community network. The actual broadcast is connected with in sequence, in fact, it is completed by way of stereo system surf as well as the worth of wires with monitor to classification prone. Wi-Fi allows the person in order to get access to web any place in the actual provided area. You can now generate a system within Resorts, library, schools, colleges, campus, personal institutes, as well as espresso stores as well as on the open public spot to help to make your company much more lucrative as well as interact with their own customer whenever. Wi-Fi compatibility can make surf with stare to company using their inspiring cable television much a smaller amount force down.

Smart Buildings wireless communications

Smart Buildings needs vary depending on the type of the building but generally, it is about allowing a better control and monitoring of the building itself and how it is used. There are a lot of different equipment developed nowadays allowing us to do so. Actuators, automation and control equipment are a part of it but the main components are the sensors. Indeed, a lot of sensor is needed throughout the building in order to be able to collect all the information needed and with the appropriate granularity level. All use wireless communication technologies and most work by harvesting energy from their environment (solar, heat, mechanical, induction, …)

Wi-Fi integration in Smart building for data communication with sensors

Smart Buildings and Wi-Fi technologies get the data and communicate with the sensors, actuators and automation and control equipment. There are only two possibilities: with wire or with wireless technologies. Running cables through all the building would involve an extremely high deployment cost, especially when retrofitting an existing building. Therefore, the wireless technologies are the only alternative. And their versatility is a strong advantage. The final goal would be to use only wireless device and run them on batteries for years or with harvesting energy from the environment.  Indeed, expensive and proprietary technologies can’t compete that much with cheap emerging technologies promoted by strong consortiums. The diversity of technologies is also a good point since the needs won’t be the same for a Smart Home and a Smart Building.

The Security aspect with Wi-Fi technology

Security is impartment element in the Wi-Fi technology. Security is our personal decision but having a wireless connection we should pay attention to protect our private details. We can connect easily to unsecured wireless routers. The problem is any one is connected to your wire less router using the data like download games, download apps and planning terrorist activities, shirring illegal music and movie files etc. So it is necessary to provide security to the wireless technologies based devices. All routers have a web page that you can connect for configuring the Wi-Fi security. And turn on WEP (Wire Equivalence Privacy) and enter a password and remember this password. Next time when you will connect your laptop Wi-Fi router will ask you to enter the connection password and you enter that password.

DigiConsult is the reference for keeping abreast of the latest technological development. DigiConsult can assist you in integrating a proper Wi-Fi networking approach in your smart buildings to ensure proper communication and security between your devices and allowing business partners to be more productive and focus on the assigned task regardless of location. Contact us on +230 2331636.

The building management and building automation market is changing fast. Internet of Things  is impacting the industry with smart buildings as one of the fastest growing cross-industry IoT use cases. Buildings today are more connected than ever. It is not unusual to control temperature, lighting, and other mechanical components automatically or remotely. With the IoT making it possible to access data about everything from temperature to equipment effectiveness in real time, it is easier than ever to control and monitor a facility remotely. The data collected by the IoT allows facility management teams to be more effective in preventing maintenance issues and reduces the time spent on repairs and regular maintenance tasks.

DigiConsult help you understanding the accelerating role of IoT in intelligent building management

The Building Management badge is predominantly for system integrators and partner companies which have been working in the building management and building automation field. It is an evolving landscape, whereby the Internet of Things is a key game changer .Since the traditional main background is mechanical, they originally provided rather simple automation services for HVAC equipment such as boilers, air handling units, chillers and heat pumps in commercial buildings. Over the years their skillset moved from traditional HVAC controls and the understanding of essential thermal dynamics of creating heat or cooling in a building to more advanced skills.These include programming and networking skills at a proprietary level as the technology evolved to control systems and integration into third party systems, whereby they, for instance, acquired knowledge about how lighting systems and fire systems work and about security access control and video technology. Most BMS partners don’t install the latter but they are able to connect to them. However, this is changing too and that’s where the Internet of Things comes even more in the picture. Today they are looking at this new challenge and opportunity to move to a complete Internet Of Things approach which requires true open IP protocols connectivity and network design, using hubs.

IoT makes building management become more central 

So, today it has increasingly become a mixed environment in the ongoing integration of IT and OT, in this case in the BMS space, with the need to combine several skill sets for a more future-proof offering in times where IoT becomes more important.  The integration of IT and OT is indeed key. Once a challenge for partners is to understand how they can bring these two technologies together in order to create a building that will add value to the customer.

Interestingly, this convergence and integration, along with changing demands, is putting building management more central again. This is also related to the growing importance of energy in the whole commercial building management equation. In a sense, that also brings us back in time.

In the early days of building management, the systems were called building energy management systems . Then people started dropping the ‘E’ and talked about a building management system instead of an energy system. Later on, with the advent of the IT world of things, buildings were designed around the network connectivity.  If you combine those evolutions, the Internet of Things and IT networks, there is somewhat of a debate as to whether the full IT needs to remain independent from the BMS or whether the BMS is part of the IT system. As you can imagine, IT executives aren’t keen to have a BMS on the same bandwidth as the office network. These are the kind of challenges that show up and impact our BMS certification program. We also see an evolution happening in BMS and IoT with a shift to the edge and an impact on the thinking about the network. Intelligent building management and IoT – standards and protocols amidst the movement to the edge

While the network architecture did not change a lot, the use of hubs and/or switches entered into the BMS world.  Many saw this as an opportunity to move the BMS onto the already installed IT infrastructure of the building but due to the earlier mentioned concerns, there was a choice for separate networks.

The future is bright for the IoT

As costs come down, it will become easier to implement, and more companies will take advantage of the benefits it provides. As such, maintenance technicians will need to become more proficient in turning data into actionable insights, in addition to their current skills.

In the coming years, the IoT will become the norm, instead of the exception. As companies find ways to overcome cost, connectivity, and security barriers and gradually update their maintenance systems, it will be easier to implement the IoT in commercial buildings of all types.

Imagine having, at your fingertips, the ability to track factors such as temperature, humidity, rain levels, wind speed, Doppler radar forecast, severe weather alerts, heat index, and barometer/pressure. This can happen by integrating weather data facilitation in building to reach energy efficiency and for better decision making. You might not be able to control the weather, but if you integrate weather data into your Building Automation System (BAS), you can at least control how your building reacts to it and take preventive measures to minimise damage.

The correlation between Building Automation System and Weather Data Forecast

Generating a moderate climate, reduces heating and cooling loads in buildings to enjoy maximum comfort while ensuring energy can be reached with the Building Automation System. Weather data can help facilities professionals make decisions that dramatically reduce the amount of energy and water used by building systems. With sensors to detect humidity and outside air temperature, most building-automation systems (BASs) are already making informed decisions about mechanical-system operations based on outdoor conditions. You can improve mechanical-system performance and achieve ta argeted efficiency level of HVAC (chillers, boilers, and chilled-water and ice storage). You can determine the viability of on-site alternative energy. Weather data can help you make informed decisions about the feasibility of installing photovoltaic or wind turbines, as well as predict a realistic return on investment. Be it a blizzard or a tornado, or other inclement weather, having access to forecast data helps ensure that both the building and its occupants are safe from Mother Nature.

Integrating weather data with BAS for optimal efficiency reach benefiting building occupants and owners:

1. Better performance: Forecasting provides building occupants with arguably the most valuable resource known to man – time. A building, which collects and compiles data on the weather based on the location in which the building is situated can adequately predict when temperatures will be high or low in the near future. With this information, the building owner can have ample time to make the necessary preparations to accommodate the building’s needs. This proactive move could entail redirecting energy from the heating system to the cooling system in warmer days and the reverse in colder days. Based on the accumulated weather condition for a given period of time, buildings can predict with a certain degree of certainty as to how the following periods’ weather conditions and the impact it will have on the building’s energy consumption. This provides flexibility in planning and budgeting along tangible outcomes

2.Optimised Responses: With the advent of IoT technology, commercial buildings have at least one form of smart device running within the property. It doesn’t matter if it is a smoke sensor in the kitchen or a motion sensor in the lobby cameras, most commercial buildings have some form of smart installation. By incorporating data from the weather, these sensors can be further programmed to relay automated energy-saving actions.

 In addition, using the IoT sensors for weather-related data could help with related events such as protection against flood damage. Most IoT sensors provide data such as temperature, wind speed, humidity and precipitation. When there is a forecast of heavy rain, the precipitation data can be particularly helpful in building defences against flooding of your building.

3.Easy Maintenance: There is always the need to have components looked at or changed over time. A stormy day could make maintenance very hard or impossible to accomplish. Collecting and correlating data on the weather allows for maintenance to be programmed on the best possible day when weather conditions will not stand in the way. By incorporating the local weather data along with the equipment data like the HVAC, you can benefit by identifying the peak operating performance as well as when the equipment is not performing optimally.