RFID and SCADA for the Ultimate BMS Solution

BMS (Building Management System) Software is the cornerstone for any modern facility.  It takes a revolutionary SCADA package to bring all the capabilities of a building into a single user interface.  InformaTrac and PcVue, using today’s state of the art technology, easily couples RFID and SCADA for the ultimate BMS solution.

Industrial facilities, data centers, office buildings, universities, transportation infrastructures, hospitals, malls and many more all use BMS solutions to provide both facility efficiencies and comfort.  With the ability to optimize the return on investment and ensure regulatory compliance, the BMS is the optimal tool for all building owners, operators and occupants.  Monitoring and interacting with equipment, sensors and datapoints while natively supporting all the standard protocols enables the BMS to provide smart and automated responses to all aspects of a modern facility.  Cutting edge facilities now use BMS systems to not only manage the HVAC, water and electrical systems, but also interact with and improve production and personnel tracking.

• Graphical interactive controls
• Occupants Comfort
• Energy Performance
• Operation Costs
• Regulatory Compliance
• Return on Investment
• Customizable Settings

RFID is a radio frequency identification technology that allows a tag to be identified at a distance with an RFID reader.  Seamlessly integrating RFID into a BMS solution opens a whole new category of possibilities relating to location management.  By placing a tag on people or assets the building control system can now be automated to react to changes occurring in real time within the facility.

• Location Management: Using RFID, the interactive graphical user interface of the SCADA application can show the location of people, assets or product anywhere in the facility.
• Alarming:  Modern SCADA applications have more power than ever before.  Not only can the SCADA application provide full alarm management for basic rules (such as when an asset leaves a secure location or a person enters a room), but it can also be configured with much more complex alarming rules that may involve time or contamination sequences.
• Personalized Responses: SCADA has been able to use motion sensing devices to turn on lights when motion is detected.  But with RFID the SCADA system can perform smart functions like setting the temperature based on the person or product that enters the room or set the lighting brightness depending on the person(s) in the room.
• Safety: Using RFID tags on people (badges) is often a way to provide security access to locations.  In an emergency it becomes critical that everyone is properly accounted for.  RFID empowers emergency teams to quickly account for everyone who’s been evacuated in addition to knowing the precise location of anyone still in the building.

Using a modern SCADA application such as PcVue provides so much more than just on-screen graphics for the facility.  Integrators are now able to take full advantage of the latest software tools to provide enhanced capabilities such as:

• Online Reporting: reports can be viewed at the SCADA PC terminal or with any remote web browser.  Report can also be scheduled and sent via email to designated recipients.
• Web Access: PcVue offers its WebVue technology that allows the user to securely interact with the application via a web browser.
• Mobility: Access and manage critical facility controls from your smartphone automatically depending on who you are and where you are.
• Email and Text message alerts: operators no longer need to sit at a terminal to watch for alarms.
• Azure & AWS cloud hosting: reduce the need for expensive servers and the expensive environmentally controlled rooms to store them.  Host the application in the cloud and simply use a laptop or workstation to connect.
• Open Configuration: If your process requires a complex set of logical procedures, PcVue is fully configurable to automate the process.  Work with an integrator or get trained to do it yourself and empower the BMS to handle the most complex of tasks.

Let’s not forget that SCADA also provides local and cloud-based data logging along with advanced analysis and reporting.  Use PcVue to perform real-time decisions based on accurate information.  Let the software do the heavy lifting to automate and perform efficiency analytics and adjust settings accordingly.  Finally, use RFID to track people, assets and production for safety, accountability and overall equipment efficiency (OEE).

It’s time to go beyond simply putting the on/off switches on the screen and begin automating a smart facility with modern technologies such as PcVue, SCADA and RFID.

Click here for more information or contact us at (805) 283-4239.