ISHRAE

Na*onal Seminar on Health Care

September 15th, 2017, Chennai

Automa'on in Hospitals

C. R. Ashok
Ardelisys Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Agenda

•  Introduc'on
–  BAS / BMS / IBMS- the context of the nomenclature
–  Layers
•  What to measure?
•  What to control?
•  Road ahead, new technology fronts
–  Wirefree
–  IoT,cloud
•  Conclusion
 BMS / BAS / IBMS- Terminology clarified
Safety
•  Fire Detection
•  Independent or integrated is •  Fire Suppression

a choice to be made.
•  Integrated- cause and effect
between different systems
•  Depending on the nature of Integrated building automa*on &
Energy management services

the building, type of cause

and effect needs to be
designed and implemented.
Security
•  Cause and effects
Automation
•  Access Control •  Energy Management
•  Video (IP/Analog) •  Building Automation
–  Mandatory •  Intrusion
•  Perimeter
•  Building Services

–  Nice to have
The 3 layers of Automa'on

3
• Integra'on & Management

2
• Control & Monitoring

1
• Measurement
What to measure in a Hospital?

•  Treatment areas,
•  clinical laboratories,
•  A&E areas,
•  sterile theatres and
•  catering and housekeeping facili'es.
The sensor needs of each area are complex, and each one requires
unique treatment.
e.g. Areas such as opera'ng theatres require regular wash downs to
ensure steriliza'on. Sensors in these areas must be able to withstand
this procedure, so they must have protec'on of IP65 or above.

To ensure sensors are easy to use, they should be marked with either
‘raise’ or ‘lower’ or a +/- mark so the operator can easily and quickly
change the se\ngs. An analogue or digital indica'on of the
temperature is also needed on a local panel or at a staff base.
Extracted from an ar.cle by: Mr. Sandy Damm, Sontay Controls
What to measure in a Hospital? T & RH

•  A key part of providing the right comfort level in

hospitals is accurately and reliably measuring
temperature and humidity.
•  Rela've humidity can be between 35 and 70%
depending on the area.
•  The temperature can vary between individual
areas within the hospital. For example a cooler
temperature may be required in opera'ng
theatres, but a higher temperature will be
needed in wards to increase pa'ent comfort
What to measure in a Hospital? IAQ/CO2

•  Communal areas in a hospital will

require op'mal ven'la'on, which
can be achieved by monitoring air
quality and CO2 levels. With the
diverse mix of people and
procedures, the air quality could be
precy poor so by measuring it and
ven'la'ng where required, the
hospital will be a much more
pleasant place to be.
What to control / Monitor in a Hospital?

•  Star'ng, set-back and stopping the plant

(Chillers/pumps)
•  Controlling volumetric air flow.
•  System or room pressure controls.
•  Temperature control and indica'on.
•  Humidity control and indica'on.
•  Monitoring the plant’s opera'ng state and
indica'on of plant failure.
•  Low air flow and filter state.
The controls installed must be simple to use, robust
reliable & easily servicable.
Hospital* vs Other Environments-

Other
environments Comfort Energy

Hospitals* Hygiene Energy

*(Also Pharma /Clean rooms)

•  Water side controls ( Plant room / Pumping system /Control valves)

are very common for both Hospitals & Other environments
•  Air side- the balance between Comfort-Energy saving is more easier
to achieve than the Hygiene-Energy aspect in Hospitals
Hospital –Key Air side control factors

•  Proper ven'la'on rates combined with effec've filtra'on play a

key role in infec'on control by minimizing airborne bacteria and
viruses.
•  Outdoor air change rates have the greatest impact on odour build-
up within the hospital spaces (dilu'on ven'la'on) – this impacts
pa'ent well-being and the percep'on of a healthy environment
which cannot be addressed by filtra'on alone.
•  Proper humidity control in both cooling and hea'ng is required to
minimize reinfec'on, support the surgical process and to ensure
pa'ent comfort.
•  Keeping final filters dry is essen'al for avoiding a poten'al
microbial amplifica'on site
•  Medical facili'es wish to use valuable funds to heal the sick and not
on unnecessarily high u'lity bills.
Example of Automa'on- Opera'on Theatre Controls

•  Requirement
–  The OT table area should be
under posi've pressure and
no air from external
environment should get
mixed
–  The medical staff in the OT
should be able to change the
temperature se\ngs of the
supply air entering the room.
–  Since triple filters would be
used, clogging of the filters
should be monitored as it
would directly impact
quan'ty of air flow
OT Automa'on-Sensors

•  Sensors
–  OT Room T & RH Sensor
with set point override
–  Differen'al pressure sensor
(OT Room/Exterior)
–  Differen'al pressure sensor
across pre filters and HEPA
filters
–  Switch for enabling
‘Surgery Mode
–  Exhaust air temperature &
RH sensors
–  Supply Air T & RH sensor
OT Automa'on-Control Logic

•  The trigger for ‘Surgery Mode’ will

ac'vate the following sequence:
–  Speed of supply air fan will be
ramped up
–  Based on differen'al pressure
between OT room and external,
exhaust air fan speed will be varied
to keep the desired posi've pressure
inside the OT room
–  Chilled water valve will be opened to
allow for maximum cooling, based on
the set point change / override made
by the OT staff and keep it below the
space T &RH se\ng
OT Automa'on-Management

•  All values will be logged

•  Any devia'ons from desired
values of Temperature,
Humidity, Pressure will be raised
at the Control PC and logged for
audit trail.
Serviceability of Controls

•  The loca'on of controls is extremely

important in hospital and healthcare
buildings. Whether they are placed within the
rooms, plant equipment or ducts, the
controllers must be easily serviceable


The road ahead for

automa'on
•  Sensors
•  Controls
•  Management
Sensors-From Wired to Less Wires to wireless

•  Mul'ple Signal cables replaced with single

cable carrying mul'ple informa'on ( less
wires)
•  Wireless field equipment ( with / without
baceries) now available
–  Retrofit buildings
Which wireless technology?

Image Courtesy: Siemens

Comparison of technologies

By Armin Anders, head of product marke*ng, and Frank Schmidt, CTO,

EnOcean GmbH
Wireless, but not worriless!

Cau'on! Indian Government approvals must be in place for impor'ng wireless equipment
If they are not in the free frequency range. Image Courtesy: enocean White paper
Some wireless /baceryless field equipment
The thing about IoT!
IoT-Smarter buildings & Smart Ci'es
More power at the edge!

“By 2020, component costs will have come

down to the point that connectivity will
become a standard feature, even for
processors costing less than $1,”
“This opens up the possibility of
connecting just about anything, from the
very simple to the very complex, to offer
remote control, monitoring, and sensing.”

–  Peter Middleton, Research director at Gartner
Impact on the ecosystem

•  Presently BMS is involved in data collec'on, by

using controllers / interface /gateway units.
BUT,
•  this will change as field level will start
communica'ng directly to the cloud.
•  This could be great or chao'c…!

•  How the present BMS industry will adapt and find

a place in the new scheme of things is to be seen.
Technology

Web /
Hardware Integra'on
1990’s driven 2000 driven 2010 Sooware
driven

Hardware is now no longer a discussion point. Its all about data visualiza'on , remote
Access and mobility of opera'on
Managing the Data Challenge

Pic Courtesy: Ar/cle by Rita Tatum June 2016 - Building Automation   

 Mobile Command Centre

•  The mobile phone will soon become

–  the creden'al for access control (NFC)
–  the BMS ‘worksta'on’
–  Alarm no'fica'on device for security
Mobile ready Thermostats!
Cloud Comfort
 Energy-Remote Monitoring
Building Porrolio controlled via BAS Preven'on of Building Drio

Performance Graph

Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Future

Design Intent
Actual Performance

Remote Energy Bureau | Con'nuous Commissioning Educated Energy Conscious Public

Demand Response | Smart Grid
Cloud Based Virtual Energy Manager
24/7 Access with Web Enabled Devices

Logo hi
der
Sooware as a Service Model
Customized Data Dashboards
Benefits

•  Outsourcing and leveraging exper'se instead

of building / maintaining in house
competency
•  Higher accountability

Technology-People Integra'on
Its not all Only about Technology….

•  Technology is the founda'on

for Intelligent Buildings,
But
•  Its not only technology that
makes a building intelligent.
•  Technology
–  not designed to suit
environment
–  Not deployed by the right
people
–  Operated without a clear plan
Will NOT deliver desired results
Enhancing the TQ* of the BMS Industry

•  Building People Competency

–  A large amount of work needs to be done to
enhance people competency in the BMS world.
–  Significant industry ini'a'ves are already in place
–  New models of training and development have to
be evolved.

*Technology Quo'ent!