The Smart Buildings Academy Podcast | Teaching You Building Automation, Systems Integration, and Information Technology

We are entering a retrofit market. Are you prepared to maintain your building automation sales pipelines in this new retrofit market? I remember when capital work largely dried up in 2009 and the only thing that kept me employed was my retrofit projects.  In this episode, we discuss how to sell retrofit work. 

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast, we are going to discuss how to troubleshoot common issues that we experience out in the field. Over the past couple weeks I've been keeping an eye out for questions on Facebook, HVAC forums, and LinkedIn.  In this episode I am going to discuss common issues related to: Inputs and outputs Communication bus Protocols Information Technology HVAC...

In this episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast, we discuss how to get a job in building automation.  We discuss the essential skills for getting a job in the building automation space, the different types of roles and what each role requires, and how to transition into those roles.  

In this episode, we take a deep dive into how to use the consultative sales process to identify solutions to problems impacting your customer's business.  We cover: How to profile your customer How to identify business and process problems How to gain buy-in for problem resolution How to avoid common deal killers How to create and propose solutions

Tyson Soutter is an experienced smart buildings professional who has an extensive background in smart buildings technologies. Similar to myself, Tyson started as a technician and worked into more technical roles over the years.  This enabled us to have a great conversation that went into the weeds on several topics. However, if you are not a technical person this podcast interview still has some g...

Are you a building owner trying to figure out what actions you should be taking during new construction or major retrofit projects? If so this week's episode is for you. In this episode, we are going to discuss how to oversee a building automation project from the perspective of the owner. As I see it there are four phase gates for an owner to focus on Tender Phase Specification Phase Submittal Ph...

Managing building automation projects is tough. There are so many nested tasks and expectations that you need to oversee! In this week's episode, we discuss how to effectively manage Building Automation projects. In this episode you will learn: How to manage multiple projects at once The key action you must take to ensure a successful project How to balance time, quality, and cost on projects How...

In this episode, we discuss the controls hierarchy of needs and how to best serve your customers based on their needs.

In this episode, I answer your IAQ questions. We discuss what IAQ is, how to control IAQ, what you need to know about IAQ and COVID-19, and much more.

Building out your BAS team for growth is one of the key factors for success  Having people in the right roles at the right time will give you the ability to flex with your customer's needs and to address new potential work opportunities.  In this episode, we are going to discuss how to structure your BAS Team. We are going to look at $1M, $10M and $50M in revenue We are also going to look at struc...

In this episode, we discuss our step-by-step process on how to create a building automation standard for your organization.

Do you have a formal onboarding process for your employees? Have you analyzed why and when your employees get stuck in their talent journey? In this episode, we discuss how to develop your building automation employees so that they are profitable and proficient from day one.

In this episode, we are going to be completing part two of creating your own pandemic mode. So last week's episode Episode 213, we started to dive into what pandemic mode was, how it works, and how to go about creating it. We ended up getting through most of the sequencing all the way to where we were starting to talk through pressurization and we were starting to talk through some sequences aroun...

In this episode, we discuss what a Pandemic Mode is, how Pandemic modes work, how to inventory your building systems and changes you can make to your sequence of operations.

In this episode, we walk through the fundamentals of IT. We look at the journey of a message from a BAS device through a network to another BAS device. In this lesson, you will learn about networking terminology, network traffic flow, and network devices.

In this episode, we walk through IP Controls Implementation. We look at what IP Controls are, how they work, the most common IP Controls architecture patterns, and how to implement IP controls.

How do you make your BAS data work for you? There is a lot of talk about data analytics and data tagging but that all assumes your BAS is properly using your data.  In this episode, we discuss how data works, how to integrate disparate systems, tagging, data normalization, and data adaption.    

In this episode, we discuss IP building automation controls. You will learn the common IP controls architectures and how to design and implement IP Controls. 

In this episode, we discuss dampers and economizers. You will learn what dampers and economizers are, why they are used, and how to control them with your building automation system.

How do you ensure that you have enough fresh air for your building? Post COVID-19 building operators are being asked to provide better ventilation control to their buildings.  But how? In this episode, we discuss IAQ, airflow, and the strategies and standards related to their control. We also discuss the changes related to IAQ that are coming post COVID-19.  

In this week's episode, we look at our five-phase framework for controlling your building's HVAC and Building Automation Systems post-Coronavirus.

How do networks work? What do you as a smart building professional need to know about them?  In this week's episode we discuss: How networks work The bottom 4 layers of the OSI Model How to configure networks What you need to know to talk to IT about networks How IP addressing works Common ports and their use in BAS

Coronavirus will eventually clear up enough for the economy to reopen but what do you do after that? In this episode of The Building Automation Monthly Podcast, we discuss how to prepare your career for after Coronavirus. You will learn: How to inventory your current skillset How to bridge your current income gap How to seek out consulting/contracting work in today's economy Our near-free training...

Today's buildings are largely disconnected from the outside world. This was fine until recently. With the growth in stay at home orders, people find themselves unable to remotely support their buildings.  In this episode you will learn: How remote access works How to setup remote access Why you must create an access policy How to work with IT Which remote access technology will work for you And mo...

In this week's podcast, we tackle the topic of shutting down your building. The reality is many people have never shutdown their buildings. So where do you begin? What steps do you take? In this episode you will learn: What settings to adjust and how to adjust them How to manage staging HVAC systems for critical zones How to remotely monitor your building And more!