· Specification starter / BMS — building management system
BMS — building management system
scope outline.
BACnet / Modbus building bus integrating HVAC, lighting, energy, fire-alarm status, generator and UPS into a single supervisory dashboard. Operator-facing.
In scope
Point-list design across HVAC, lighting, energy, fire interface • Schedule design — occupancy, set-point, holiday calendars • Trend and alarm-routing config • Dashboard design per operator role • Energy submetering integration
Out of scope
HVAC equipment supply and ducting • Field instrumentation supply where not part of the BMS package • Energy audit and ECBC compliance certification
· Documents required
Materials the consultant needs before specification starts.
HVAC scheme and equipment schedule
Lighting circuit and DALI / KNX gateway list
Energy metering scope
Operator team profile and shift schedule
· Site survey
Pre-design walk-through verifications.
Existing BMS scope if retrofit — point list, vendor licence position
Riser space for BMS controller cabinets
Network availability at each controller location
· Deployment checklist
Engineering items every install of this discipline carries.
BACnet-IP backbone with Modbus / proprietary islands at the field layer
Schedule per operating zone with holiday override
Alarm-routing with escalation rules per role
Trend logging for every energy meter at 15-min intervals minimum
Operator dashboard role-based access
· Coordination with other trades
Works owed to / from other disciplines.
Fire: read-only fire-alarm zone status into the BMS supervisory layer
Networking: VLAN segregation; controller-server on dedicated rail
UPS: status from UPS / generator into BMS for operator awareness
Lighting: DALI / KNX gateway integration
· Commissioning
Measurable artefacts produced at handover.
Schedule test against a holiday-week scenario
Alarm-routing test per alarm class
Energy meter calibration against external reference
Dashboard role test per operator profile
Database snapshot baseline
· Handover
What the building team takes ownership of.
Point-list and schedule documentation
Dashboard layout files
License keys and renewal schedule
Operator training certificate
· Risk register starter
Risks worth tracking from day zero.
Vendor major-version upgrade requiring full license renegotiation
Field sensor drift silently degrading control loops
Schedule misfires after holiday-list updates
· Exclusions and assumptions
What is not in scope; what we assume to be true.
Excludes HVAC equipment and field instrumentation supply
Assumes building has a stable network backbone
· Where to go next