While Rich's comments have a great deal of merit there has also been a great deal of evolution in Building Automation Systems. To a great extent they are communicating on IP networks allowing better, more flexible monitoring and control, and to the extent that they can run on common cabling systems and on an institutions overall IP network there may be opportunities for cost effective installation and operation.
It may be useful to look at the environmental control system areas on the websites of companies such as Siemens and Johnson Controls to get a sense of where things are going. Certainly check with your three prospective vendors to see if they specifically provide solutions which enable interoperability; even a pro forma evaluation of alternative approaches can be worthwhile. However, the extent to which it makes sense or is even feasible to unify existing control systems, which have traditionally been married to specific vendor management systems, is a very big question (compared with decisons pertaining to totally new construction). Staff comfort with systems for which they are responsible is certainly important. In the final analysis though, what would you be gaining with a unified solution (other than an elegance of design). Would there be cost savings, in terms of service contract cost, upgrade cost, opportunities for staff who - with a unified system - would have time to address and achieve other things, reduction in staff? Perhaps the real long term return on investment should be a "guiding force" in deciding the extent to which you pursue your ideal. If three systems is an economical way to go, adds overall reliability in such a critical application, and staff dont really spend much time attending to those systems anyway (other than adjusting certain parameters) maybe this isnt the place for "the good fight." Finally, I have visited your museum several times. It is a favorite destination it is a wonderful architectural feat which i have to believe presents a number of environmental challenges. Good luck. Len Steinbach On Jan 9, 2008 8:50 AM, Cherry, Rich <rcherry at skirball.org> wrote: > The question is weather this is really an IT related system or a > Building/Engineering related system. My guess is that its really a > Building system because one of the end results should be to actually > control humidity and temp not just monitor it... to do that you need a > building control system that's tied into your chillers/humidifiers etc. > There are more versions of these than you can imagine. They span from > simple systems to very complex database controlled systems that have > logic based design tools that allow the engineer to design complex "what > if" scenarios. In many cases it boils down to what the systems you need > to tie it into and what your engineering integrators understand how to > do and what system your chief engineer knows than anything else. If you > get a fancy system and your chief engineer is the kind of person who > likes dials and gauges and works around it you would be wasting your > money. > > Rich > > Rich Cherry > Director of Operations > Skirball Cultural Center > 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. > Los Angeles, CA 90049 > Work: (310) 440-4777 > Fax: (310) 440-4595 > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of > Gauthier, Troy > Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 4:17 PM > To: mcn-l at mcn.edu > Subject: [MCN-L] Server Room/Museum Environmental Monitoring > > Looking for one solution that meets the needs of multiple areas within > the museum. > > > > We are looking for a unified environmental monitoring system that > upgrade our current system (which is gallery, temp, humidity myopic)and > will meet the requirements of > > > > Conservation and Collections within the galleries... temp and humidity; > > Building Requirements... monitoring freezers, flooding, temperature; > > And Equipment protection... monitoring our server room for temp and > humidity. > > > > I discovered we were prepared to purchase 3 separate systems and was > hoping other museums may have had a similar experience deploying > environmental monitoring systems. > > > > I realise this is in the grey area of being MCN relevant but hopefully > this discussion will be of use to many. > > > > Troy Gauthier > > Manager, Information Technology > > Direct 604-827-5355 > > Email troy.gauthier at ubc.ca > > > > Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia > > 223A - 6393 N.W. Marine Drive, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2 > > p. 604.827.5355 f. 604.822.2974 e. troy.gauthier at ubc.ca w. > www.moa.ubc.ca > > > > _______________________________________________ > You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum > Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) > > To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu > > To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: > http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l > _______________________________________________ > You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer > Network (http://www.mcn.edu) > > To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu > > To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: > http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l >
