EMAIL INTERVIEW – Michael R. Wilson and Ken Sinclair

Business Development Manager, OEMCtrl
Marketing Committee Chair, BACnet International

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Sinclair:  What is the status of the BACnet International community?

Wilson:  The BACnet International community is a mature, thriving organization. The BACnet protocol started evolving in 1986 and BACnet International was technically formed when BACnet Interest Group North America (BIG-NA) and the more global BACnet Manufacturers Association (BMA) consolidated in 2006 to establish a new, formal test lab for global standard product testing and certification. Today, ASHRAE has issued over 600 BACnet Vendor IDs and BACnet International has over 80 member/sponsor companies that are a “who’s who” of global controls manufacturers. BACnet International also has a rapidly growing individual member community with about 7,700 participants.

Sinclair:  Was the sole purpose of creating BACnet International to create the BACnet Test Lab (BTL)?

Wilson:  That was only one of the reasons, but BACnet International, as a community, does a lot more. We support BACnet conformance certification based on ASHRAE standards and listing program that awards an interoperability mark to BACnet compliant products (the BTL mark).

We promote interoperability and compliance with the BACnet Standard by developing conformance testing software and organizing multi-vendor interoperability testing activities such as PlugFest. PlugFest 2012 will be on October 30, 2012.

We actively disseminate the latest information about BACnet technology and products and organize educational events that teach BACnet standards and best demonstrated practices. We also promote the use of BACnet to consulting engineers, end users of building automation equipment and the building automation community at large. Our latest event for this was NMFT Vegas in October 2012 and our next will be GreenBuild International Conference and Expo in November 2012.

We publicize successful BACnet implementations by way of BACnet Success Stories and annually recognize the very best projects with the Leaders of the Pack Best in Show award.

We produce three publications to meet the various needs of our growing community. The “BACnet International Journal” for general BACnet information, stories and activities; “Foundations” which is a technical, educational publication and; “Cornerstones” which serves as a monthly touchstone to keep our community appraised of the latest news.
 
We also work with other BACnet Interest Groups and other organizations to promote and improve BACnet.

Sinclair:  Is this good for the building industry?

Wilson:  Absolutely! Published, continuously refined, non-proprietary, tested standards are critical to improving the bid process and integration effort by mitigating integration uncertainty. The facility manager wins, the building owner wins, and the industry, as a whole, wins.

Sinclair:  Do you see a new Connection Community emerging?