TALKING HEADS Craig Needham is CEO of Horizon Controls Ltd
Craig Needham Needham: 'people who interact with BMS are not engineers but facilities managers and this is a small part of their job'
There needs to be a huge market shift - and quickly
graphics but there is no way a software platform can connect to a boiler onsite with nothing else in between to give an understanding of what the boiler should actually be doing. Whatever these software platforms have to offer there will be the need to drive forward integration.” Needham is adamant that the manufacturers of building management systems and systems integrators are guilty of creating information for qualified engineers. “But people who interact with BMS are not engineers but facilities managers and this is a small part of their job. What was right 20 years ago isn’t right now yet we are still reliant on systems that are very engineering biased. We need to make a shift as an industry so that if I go on to a system I want to know that everything is fine with my building and get on with another job,” he says.
Developments stalled
Raising the value of integration
Craig Needham believes that controls integrators and BMS manufacturers need to step out of the shadows and show their worth to create the smart buildings of the future
T
he migration to a future of smart buildings will be a huge challenge but one which presents enormous opportunities, believes Craig Needham, CEO of Sheffield-based Horizon Controls. “There needs to be a huge market shift - and quickly,” Needham told EiBI. “Projects are being planned now that will only appear in 2030.” And precise control of buildings will be absolutely essential as part of this process. But the problem lies in what you do with the information that buildings are creating, he states. “For example, tech
companies create an IoT temperature sensor. But to get that information to be useful and even accessible requires a lot of engineering. There is a huge disparity between the top layer and what can be accessed. That’s where we, as a systems integrator, have a massive part to play.” In addition, a systems integrator can play a role in the link between items such as a boiler or HVAC plant and the monitoring and targeting platforms. “A lot of companies have been producing M&T systems over the last 20 years but very few are still functioning,” Needham says. “There are plenty of fancy
Needham also believes that technology developments in the BMS sector have stalled. “There has been nothing groundbreaking in the last ten years. The only change has been the cost of integration by systems such as BACNET that have become more common and the cost has come right down. Sensor technology is where we’ll see some of the biggest changes. Cameras will track people’s movements leading to a greater tie up between the physical bodies in a building and how the building needs to react.” But a change of mindset is needed to raise the profile of the benefit of what systems integrators and the BMS can offer. Often, a lot of the benefit is stripped out through ‘value engineering.’ “As an industry we need to be higher on the agenda and show the value we can offer,” says Needham. “Perhaps some enlightened construction companies will see the opportunity and take the leap forward when they realise that somebody is going to have to take responsibility for a building’s performance post occupancy. When data is fed back and compare with the original designs then designs will begin to change. These
market shifts and legislation will make it advance.” Needham is hopeful that the big BMS manufacturers might be persuaded to lobby government to boost the need for earlier involvement in the building design. “They do need to drive it as they have the budget. My concern is that they have a blinkered view and are going to continue to sell product. They are getting year on year growth. It would mean greater cooperation between manufacturers and integrators. As an industry we are a little too close in terms of knowledge sharing.” Despite the pandemic Horizon has grown strongly since Needham’s arrival almost five years ago. “After a spell working with a large BMS manufacturer I realised I was better suited with in a smaller enterprise so I spent a few years consulting for an energy management company in Dublin chiefly working on process management. One thing I learnt is that there is no one single solution to cutting energy use.” “We are very much looking at acquisitions,” adds Needham. “There are a lot of ‘businesses out there with a turnover of around £2m-£3m, set up 25-30 years ago with owners looking for an exit strategy. We see an opportunity in areas where there are new revenue streams or in areas on which we are not focused and where we can acquire expertise.” The lack of expertise is going to be a large stumbling block for the industry in the coming years. “If we don’t get the people coming in we start to lose credibility because we won’t be able to deliver. Recently, the Building Controls Industry Association started talking about an apprentice scheme but it seems to have stagnated.” Despite the challenges Needham is optimistic about the future of energy management. “It’s a fascinating industry with so much to offer. But at the moment all the value gets stripped out because it comes down to a cost perspective every time. But there all those technologies out there that still have to be integrated. We want to be at the forefront of those technologies. I’m hopeful we might see a more joined up approach to the whole issue of smart buildings. We want to be there to help stitch those technologies together.”
34 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JANUARY 2022
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