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Episode 229: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for Week Ending June 25, 2017

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Episode 229: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending June 25, 2017 features an indepth review of our video coverage of the EasyIO’s 2017 Global Partner Event in Manchester, Cochrane Supply’s Controls-Con 2017 in Detroit, and the RealComm|IBcon conference in San Diego. The disruption and new challenges to our BAS industry and HVACR are real and global. Yet, with each potential threat, there is opportunity — and our interviews with Paul Oswald, Brian Turner, Ken Sinclair, and others provide valuable testament and insight to where the trends are likely to take us next. Also added, more video highlights from 2017 RealComm|IBcon, a Room Controller Q & A from Schneider Electric; Tridium Update Release of Niagara 4.3; Lynxspring’s Intro to Data Modeling and Haystack Tagging; and three posts from our new “Making HVACR More Interesting Series.”

Catching Up with CBRE/ESI’s Paul Oswald at RealComm|IBcon. Thanks to the team at RealComm|IBcon for letting us fill in on Conference Live. In this video we had the chance to catch up with one of our favorite people CBRE/ESI’s Paul Oswald. We love talking to Paul because of his experience as one of the premier master systems integrators in Smart Building controls.

Room Controllers, How Much Do You Know? Take the Schneider Electric Q & A. What exactly is a “Room Controller?” It’s fully configurable and application specific Terminal Unit Controller. It has built in space temperature with an option for remote temperature sensing. In addition, it can be configured with on board humidity and occupancy (PIR) sensing or those sensors can be external to the controller.

Tridium Update: Release of Niagara 4.3 Ushers in Significant Innovations! Dear valued VYKON Partner, Tridium has released the third version of Niagara 4. Niagara 4.3 introduces enhancements that make it easier to manage and deploy templates, along with several other new features. Most notable about this release are the significant innovations built on Niagara 4.3, including: Backup as a Service (BaaS), our first Niagara Cloud offering launching in mid-July; VYKON Integrated Analytics 2.0u2, with analytic chart enhancements and key defect fixes; Support for JACE® 8000 IO R in both a 16 and 34 point module; and JACE 8000 expansion module Hardware Development Kit (HDK), new for developers.

Introduction to Data Modeling, Haystack Tagging and the Benefits. 30 Minutes with Lynxspring Webinar Series. There is no question that data is impacting the building automation, energy management, and smart buildings markets. The data produced by equipment, systems, and smart devices now has more potential value than the devices themselves. However, with all the data now available at our fingertips, it turns out that it’s one thing to have access to data; it’s another to make it useful and actionable.

Ken and Eric, the ControlTrends Guys, Interviewed on RealComm Live at 2017 RealComm|IBcon. Ken and I, the ControlTrends Guys, normally the interviewers, had the table turned on us — as we became the interviewees, at the 2017 RealComm|IBcon in San Diego. Jerry asked us some challenging questions that allowed us the opportunity to highlight the ControlTrends Community, review the hot button trends in our industry and how they relate to the RealComm|IBcom Community, as well as talk about some of the great people, solution providers, MSIs, and vendors leading the way in the Building Automation industry.

Making HVACR More Interesting Series – Comfort in a Flash: Carrier to Join National Apartment Association’s Maintenance Mania® Competition. ControlTrends is committed to promoting our HVAC industry, which according to a 2015 report from the HVACR Workforce Development Foundation, cited there were 220,734 HVACR job postings in 2014 – twice as many as in the oil and gas industry (109,323), making HVACR one of the fastest growing industries in North America. We have a fascinating and challenging industry and we must do what we can to attract and inspire more of the young workforce to join the HVACR industry.

Making HVACR More Interesting Series: National Signing Day Comes to the Skilled Trades from the NEWS. ControlTrends’ second post in our Making HVACR More Interesting Series, is from an insightful article written by Nick Kostora, Staff Writer, at the NEWS, who captures the innovative spirit behind one of the most exciting moments in the career of a student becoming a skilled tradesmen, by using media event momentum typically associated with the sports world, to create an equally awesome event for the future HVAC professional, the National Technical Letter of Intent Signing Day.

Making HVACR More Interesting Series: American Boiler Manufacturing Association Awards (ABMA) 2017 Randy Rawson Scholarships. This ControlTrends’s Making HVACR More Interesting Series comes from another great industry organization, the American Boiler Manufacturing Association (ABMA), and annual their Randy Rawson Scholarship Program, which has awarded over $150,000 since its inception. This program is another opportunity to recognize and reward the future stars of our industry.

Making HVACR More Interesting Series: American Boiler Manufacturing Association Awards (ABMA) 2017 Randy Rawson Scholarships

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This ControlTrends’s Making HVACR More Interesting Series comes from another great industry organization, the American Boiler Manufacturing Association (ABMA), and annual their Randy Rawson Scholarship Program, which has awarded over $150,000 since its inception. This program is another opportunity to recognize and reward the future stars of our industry.

Purpose and Scope: The Randy Rawson Scholarship Program was created for the Promotion of Careers in Boiler Engineering and Fabrication. A special fund has been organized to support the scholarship program and is operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. The specific purpose of the Fund is to support post-secondary education and/or training of graduating high school students pursuing careers in the commercial, institutional, industrial or power-generating boiler, combustion and related equipment industry through educational scholarships. The number and amount of scholarships awarded is determined by the ABMA Board of Directors each year in which scholarships are offered. In 2017, the ABMA awarded sixteen scholarships and has given out over $150,000 since inception.

Eligibility: An eligible student is enrolled in or have been accepted by a nationally or regionally accredited post-secondary institution of higher learning or similarly-accredited community college, vocational or trade/technical school and has a high school diploma or General Education Development (GED). The applicant must be a relative of an employee of an Active or Associate Member in good standing of the ABMA or sponsored by an Active or Associate Member company of ABMA. Additional eligibility criteria is included in the application materials.

2017 Randy Rawson Scholarships Recipients:

Thor Brockman – Computer Engineering – Clemson University
Sponsored by Victory Energy

Bryan Burke – Electrical & Computer Engineering – University of Louisville
Sponsored by WARE

Lauren Coolbaugh – Mechanical Engineering –Western Kentucky University
Sponsored by WARE

Naomi Curtis – Computer Science – Georgia Tech
Sponsored by Victory Energy

Brett Curtsinger – Engineering Graphics & Design – Murray State University
Sponsored by WARE

Ryan Daugherty – Engineering – North Carolina State University
Sponsored by CORMETECH

Tobias Dwyer – Chemical Engineering – University of Arkansas-Fayetteville
Sponsored by Victory Energy

Dylan Funk – Mechanical Engineering – Pittsburg State University
Sponsored by Chanute Manufacturing

Travis Harsch – Aerospace Engineering – Oklahoma State University
Sponsored by Vector Systems, Inc.

Lauren Herrington – Mechanical Engineering – University of Tulsa
Sponsored by Cust-O-Bend

Kolby Kiesling – Engineering – Abilene Christian University
Sponsored by Applied Heat Recovery

Mark Martinez – Engineering – Abilene Christian University
Sponsored by Applied Heat Recovery

Nathan McDonald – Electrical Engineering – Northern Illinois University
Sponsored by Karl Dungs

Cody Shults – Civil/Environmental Engineering – Oklahoma State University
Sponsored by Victory Energy

Carley Smith – Chemical Engineering- University of Oklahoma
Sponsored by Toyota Tsusho America

Vincent Souza – Mechanical Engineering – San Jose State University
Sponsored by Nationwide Boiler

AMBA Mission & Significance

For more than 125 years, the American Boiler Manufacturing Association (ABMA) has been impacting the American boiler industry.

Since our founding in 1888 to ensure the safety of emerging boiler technologies, ABMA has evolved into a full-fledged national, non-profit trade organization committed to the advancement, safety, advocacy, and enhancement of the commercial, institutional, industrial and electricity-generating boiler and combustion equipment industry.

ABMA is an organization steeped in tradition – a tradition of excellence. Our member companies are those who have stepped forward to declare their pledge to the market, their customers, and the public: “We will provide safe, efficient, clean, and reliable hot water, comfort heating, process steam, heat recovery, and electricity-generating steam systems.”

Making HVACR More Interesting Series: National Signing Day Comes to the Skilled Trades from the NEWS

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ControlTrends’ second post in our Making HVACR More Interesting Series, is from an insightful article written by Nick Kostora, Staff Writer, at the NEWS, who captures the innovative spirit behind one of the most exciting moments in the career of a student becoming a skilled tradesmen, by using media event momentum typically associated with the sports world, to create an equally awesome event for the future HVAC professional, the National Technical Letter of Intent Signing Day.

Excerpt from Nick Kostora’s article: Signing a national letter of intent is one of the most exciting events in the career of a student-athlete. It’s a declaration of his or her intent to attend a specific school for the next several years. As of late, National Signing Day has become a media circus of sorts as major sports networks broadcast high school sports players as they publicly pledge their allegiance to specific universities.

Students are often seated at podiums behind rows of hats, each representing a different university. It’s a spectacle that has traditionally been reserved solely for sports, but why can’t the pageantry and celebration be extended to other walks of life?

That was the question that came to mind for Clark Coco, dean, Washburn University Institute of Technology in Topeka, Kansas, who saw an opportunity to get kids interested in the skilled trades through an avenue that had previously not been considered. Now, National Technical Letter of Intent Signing Day is a successful event that has been held each of the last four years, helping thousands of students achieve their moments of glory at more than 40 schools as they prepare for rewarding careers in the skilled trades.

Click here for rest of article.

Making HVACR More Interesting Series – Comfort in a Flash: Carrier to Join National Apartment Association’s Maintenance Mania® Competition

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ControlTrends is committed to promoting our HVAC industry, which according to a 2015 report from the HVACR Workforce Development Foundation, cited there were 220,734 HVACR job postings in 2014 – twice as many as in the oil and gas industry (109,323), making HVACR one of the fastest growing industries in North America. We have a fascinating and challenging industry and we must do what we can to attract and inspire more of the young workforce to join the HVACR industry. There were several interesting announcements and anecdotes last week,like Maintenance Mania, that deserve wider dissemination because they shine favorable attention to our industry and make HVACR a little bit more fun, interesting, and real. Take a look.

ATLANTA, JUNE 23, 2017 – Carrier is getting in on the excitement by developing a new challenge for the NAA’s wildly popular Maintenance Mania competition. The Carrier challenge, being developed now, will pit multifamily residential service technicians against each other to complete tasks related to airflow in an air conditioning unit. Carrier, a world leader in high-technology heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions, is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).

Maintenance Mania is a national competition hosted by the National Apartment Association (NAA) and presenting sponsor HD Supply (HDS), in which maintenance technicians compete against each other in various skill-based games.

“After witnessing first-hand the tremendous excitement and spirit of competition at Maintenance Mania, we knew Carrier was a natural fit to participate in this program,” said Casey Yates, manager, strategic programs, Carrier Residential. “HD Supply and the NAA have created a wonderful community of competitors whose passion for world-class customer service matches the passion Carrier employees and contractors have for home comfort. We look forward to adding our event to this competition and showcasing our equipment alongside these talented maintenance professionals.”

Each NAA local affiliate has the opportunity to have their maintenance technicians compete individually to win local awards and a chance to compete at the National Championship held at the annual NAA Education Conference & Exposition. The event is being held this week here in Atlanta.

At the end of the competition year, NAA offers the top participant from each of the NAA regions, and 10 wild card participants, the chance to compete in the National Championship. The affiliate also can give the competing individuals various awards at a local level.

“Everyone enjoys competition and home comfort so we’re excited to be bringing the two together with the help of HD Supply and the NAA,” Yates said. “We anticipate a lively year of maintenance competition and helping maintenance professionals gain a better understanding of our equipment.”

About Carrier

Founded by the inventor of modern air conditioning, Carrier is a world leader in high-technology heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions. Carrier experts provide sustainable solutions, integrating energy-efficient products, building controls and energy services for residential, commercial, retail, transport and food service customers. Carrier is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp., a leading provider to the aerospace and building systems industries worldwide. For more information, visit www.carrier.com or follow @Carrier on Twitter.

Ken and Eric, the ControlTrends Guys, Interviewed on RealComm Live at 2017 RealComm|IBcon

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Ken and I, the ControlTrends Guys, normally the interviewers, had the table turned on us — as we became the interviewees, at the 2017 RealComm|IBcon in San Diego. Jerry asked us some challenging questions that allowed us the opportunity to highlight the ControlTrends Community, review the hot button trends in our industry and how they relate to the RealComm|IBcom Community, as well as talk about some of the great people, solution providers, MSIs, and vendors leading the way in the Building Automation industry. Hear the questions, and our answers, and let us know how we did on the other side of the interview experience.

Tridium Update: Release of Niagara 4.3 Ushers in Significant Innovations!

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Dear valued VYKON Partner, Tridium has released the third version of Niagara 4. Niagara 4.3 introduces enhancements that make it easier to manage and deploy templates, along with several other new features. Most notable about this release are the significant innovations built on Niagara 4.3, including:

* Backup as a Service (BaaS), our first Niagara Cloud offering launching in mid-July
* VYKON Integrated Analytics 2.0u2, with analytic chart enhancements and key defect fixes
* Support for JACE® 8000 IO R in both a 16 and 34 point module
* JACE 8000 expansion module Hardware Development Kit (HDK), new for developers

Niagara 4.3

Building upon improvements offered by Niagara 4.2u1, Niagara 4.3 offers enhancements that make it easier to manage and deploy templates, and a new Abstract Manager Framework for creating custom manager views. This release fixes the issues with Windows 10 service pack updates changing Host IDs.

Click here to download the features overview, and visit tridium.com to compare Niagara versions.

Backup as a Service

With the release of Niagara 4.3, we make it easy for you to back up your data—at no additional cost. Having an up-to-date Software Maintenance Agreement (SMA) allows immediate access to our new Backup as a Service (BaaS) when it launches in mid-July. BaaS will provide seamless, secure and scalable backups of Niagara to the cloud–24/7/365.

Asset manager tool

You will be able to access device backups via BaaS using our exciting new asset manager tool, to be introduced soon on the Niagara Community website.

Beyond accessing device backups via BaaS, the asset manager tool will help you simplify license management and recoup valuable time. Other key advantages include:
* Automatic push notifications of maintenance expirations and renewals
* Centralized, brand-agnostic view of all Niagara license information
* Easy access to specific device details through filters
* Single login using your Niagara Community credentials
* VYKON Integrated Analytics 2.0u2

The second VYKON Integrated Analytics 2.0 update has been released with Niagara 4.3. VYKON Integrated Analytics 2.0u2 offers even more potential for systems integrators to differentiate themselves and build a trusted partnership with their customers by engaging in analytics as a continual process.

VYKON Integrated Analytics 2.0u2 features:
* Chart enhancements
* All analytic charts have a configurable font property
* Equipment Operation chart has a configurable property to show or hide Off status bar
* Key defect fixes for analytic charts
* JACE 8000 IO R

Niagara 4.3 supports IO R on the JACE 8000. IO R allows the JACE 8000 to interface directly with simple non-intelligent inputs and outputs remotely located up to 4,000 feet from the JACE.

IO R makes the JACE 8000 more powerful and your migration path straightforward. Enjoy ease of use, enhanced capability, improved flexibility and minimal wiring labor—plus:
* Updated NDIO to NRIO conversion tool to support new JACE 8000 IO R modules
* Programmable Default states for Analog and Digital Outputs
* More information to come soon.

NEW FOR DEVELOPERS

Niagara 4.3 supports our new JACE 8000 expansion module Hardware Development Kit (HDK) for expanding the JACE 8000’s field bus capability.

You can use the JACE 8000 HDK to bring new networks of devices and sensors into the Niagara network by leveraging the powerful JACE 8000 platform. This comprehensive kit includes everything needed to develop unique JACE 8000 expansion modules.

Kit includes: Electrical specification, Mechanical specification, and USB specification

There will be a one-time fee to access this kit as part of our new developer program. Contact Mike Zarrillo for more information or to order part number DEV-JACE-8000-HDK.

Thank you for your interest. We look forward to you and your customers benefiting from Niagara 4.3 and the significant innovations that are ushered in with this release!

Catching Up with CBRE/ESI’s Paul Oswald at RealComm|IBcon

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Thanks to the team at RealComm|IBcon for letting us fill in on Conference Live. In this video we had the chance to catch up with one of our favorite people CBRE/ESI’s Paul Oswald. We love talking to Paul because of his experience as one of the premier master systems integrators in Smart Building controls.

Best advice to owners on how to deal with a “horribly broke” new construction process, how to think about ” new cost versus life cycle cost” and how to measure productivity are just a few of the insights Paul shares.

Paul was one of the first people I heard use the phrase “tribal knowledge leaving the building”.
Hear how he attracts talent, and creates continuous learning programs to reduce on boarding time.

If that is not enough, for systems integrators, Paul explains the “right kind of conversation” to have with your clients.

In an age of deployed data analytics, what percent of calls are still hot/cold calls? The answer will surprise you as it did us! You are going to have to watch the video to find out the answer.

Episode 228: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for Week Ending June 19, 2017

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Episode 228: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending June 19, 2017 was recorded in San Diego, CA, at the RealComm|IBcon 2017 event. Join guest host Marc Petock and three special interviews, muRata’s Tom Takesian, Memoori’s Jim McHale, and Intelligent Buildings’ Rob Murchinson as we discuss some of the most prominent take-aways from the show. Congratulations to Lynxspring’s JENEsys IoT Edge Controller for winning the 2017 RealComm Digie Award BEST TECH INNOVATION INTELLIGENT BUILDINGS.

CTN 228 ControlTalk Now Live From IBcon Week Ending June 18, 2017 from Eric Stromquist on Vimeo.

RealComm|IBcon Pre-Conference Event Opens with CRE Cybersecurity Forum in San Diego. ControlTrends is joined by Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of AutomatedBuildings.com and Therese Sullivan, editor of BuildingContrext.me, as we review some of the highlights of RealComm|IBcon’s Day 1, starting with the CRE Cybersecurity Forum, which brought the best cybersecurity minds in the business together — to address the most impactful cyber threats, share their wealth of industry experience and knowledge, and help attendees set cybersecurity benchmarks and strategies for their organizations.

RealComm|IBcon 2017 General Session Conference Kickoff: Technology – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow – The Pace Increases! Keynote speaker Larry Smarr gave a humorous and mind-blowing summary of technology’s past, present, and future. Larry is the founding Director of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), a UC San Diego and UC Irvine Partnership. He began his research career nearly 50 years ago in relativistic astrophysics and in 1985 became the founding director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at UIUC, birthplace of NCSA Mosaic which drove the Web.

RealComm|IBcon 2017 Sets New Industry Precedents — DAY 3, Smart Buildings Best Practices Showcase, Vendor Show, & Educational Breakouts. Jim Young, Howard Berger, Lisa Woods, and team RealComm continue to set the new and significant standards in the Professional Trade Show, Networking, and Educational environment. It was all there, teed up for your ease of attenance: Cyber – IT and Real Estate Information, Real Estate Investment Management, The Changing Workforce, Innovation Tech Tours, and so much more! Stay tuned for more ControlTrends video coverage of this amazing event.

ControlTalk NOW first interview is muRata’s Tom Takesian. Murata is a global leader in the design, manufacture and supply of advanced electronic materials, leading edge electronic components, and multi-functional, high-density modules. Murata innovations can be found in a wide range of applications from mobile phones to home appliances, and automotive applications to energy management systems and healthcare devices.

ControlTalk NOW second interview is with Memoori’s Jim McHale, the Managing Director, Owner & Founder. Memoori is a consultancy company based in Stockholm providing independent market research, business intelligence and advice on Smart Building technologies. Memoori presents a brand new report, building on our portfolio of building technology related research. This independent study makes an objective assessment of the Prospects for the Internet of Things market in Smart Buildings from 2016 to 2021.

ControlTalk NOW’s third interview is Rob Murchinson of Intelligent Buildings, LLC. Intelligent Buildings, LLC is a Smart Real Estate professional services company. About Intelligent Buildings, LLC: We provide planning and implementation management of next generation strategy for new building projects, existing portfolio optimization and smart community development. Additionally, we consult with future-minded solution providers who seek to be more attuned to owner’s next generation strategy, including product development and go-to market strategy.

RealComm|IBcon 2017 Sets New Industry Precedents — DAY 3, Smart Buildings Best Practices Showcase, Vendor Show, & Educational Breakouts

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Jim Young, Howard Berger, Lisa Woods, and team RealComm continue to set the new and significant standards in the Professional Trade Show, Networking, and Educational environment. It was all there, teed up for your ease of attenance: Cyber – IT and Real Estate Information, Real Estate Investment Management, The Changing Workforce, Innovation Tech Tours, and so much more! Stay tuned for more ControlTrends video coverage of this amazing event.

RealComm|IBcon 2017 General Session Conference Kickoff: Technology – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow – The Pace Increases!

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Keynote speaker Larry Smarr gave a humorous and mind-blowing summary of technology’s past, present, and future. Larry is the founding Director of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), a UC San Diego and UC Irvine Partnership. He began his research career nearly 50 years ago in relativistic astrophysics and in 1985 became the founding director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at UIUC, birthplace of NCSA Mosaic which drove the Web. He has served on the NASA Advisory Council to four NASA Administrators, was chair of the NSF Advisory Committee on Cyber Infrastructure. He is currently the Principal Investigator on the NSF Pacific Research platform.

ControlTrends had the opportunity to assist with the RealComm Conference Live 2017 and we are honored to announce that Eric Stromquist and Ken Smyers won the prestigious Julie Devine IBcon Digie Award for Digital Impact! Our heartfelt appreciation to Jim Young, Howard Berger, and Lisa Woods.

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