Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1081695
14 I ICT TODAY situation. Note that all these sensors consume either battery or line power, so use battery-powered devices judiciously to mitigate maintenance. The ICT designer should verify the compatibility of product protocols. Proprietary systems are becoming less common, but there are many legacy systems still embraced by building owners. To overcome the protocol differences, integration of specialized devices, such as gateways, may be required to allow for interconnection of the systems. Integration of the systems requires a change in the approach of system support personnel. Systems integration must bring together IT and facilities management teams that may have different priorities, cultures, and reporting chains. These differences can make incident or fault resolution more difficult. Processes and dependencies must be evaluated and documented. Many of these decisions impact design. Critical questions must be addressed: How will the IT department support the facilities staff? Will they grant them physical or virtual access to the network electronics? How will security be maintained for the telecom- munications connections when non-telecommunications personnel must service the other equipment? During construction, network electronics might be required to be on-line sooner when a building is converged than for only voice and data application needs. The installers for systems, like BMS throughout the building, commonly within the TRs or centralized in a dedicated space. Note in space planning that the relocation of some of these systems may affect or eliminate other closets that traditionally housed them. Note also that the corresponding security protocols for TRs will need to be adjusted to allow access for facilities and other personnel. When locating telecommu- nications spaces, keep in mind that to get to the periphery of the building (or in the case of utility metering, possibly even outside of the building footprint) where voice and data outlets were not often needed in the past, it might be cost effective to use a telecom- munications enclosure. Bandwidth needs increase and fault tolerance decreases with system integration. Where life safety systems are being integrated, redundancy of backbone and horizontal cabling, electronics, power, and HVAC need to be balanced against the risks of an outage. This equation looks different than if the system is only providing building network and data services. The authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) and applicable codes will dictate the requirements that must be met. When considering structured cabling for an IB, consider a solution optimized for PoE. The adoption of PoE is growing because of its flexibility and simplification of installation. PoE also has power efficiency and management advantages. IBs deploy many sensors and devices that are PoE capable which capitalizes on such advantages. As a developing subject, PoE is advancing quickly, and ICT professionals should keep up with the latest optimal solutions. Wireless design becomes even more valuable in an IB. Many of the interconnections can be made via wireless technologies. However, keep in mind that these systems often use wireless standards other than the Wi-Fi commonly provided for users, such as ZigBee and Bluetooth. Among other functionalities, wireless sensors can be used for lighting control, occupancy, beacons and temperature reporting. These wireless sensors enable more intelligence with less disruption due to pathway and cabling installation, which is very attractive in a remodel Looking at each integrated system as part of the overall solution is necessary when developing owner system training.