Published sample
Sample Controls Assessment
An example of the findings report a Controls Assessment produces, with prioritized issues and a roadmap.
Illustrative sample
Example data for a fictional facility, shown to demonstrate the deliverable format. Not a real building or client.
A Controls Assessment produces a written report documenting the installed equipment, its condition, and prioritized recommendations. Each finding identifies the equipment, the observed condition, and why it matters. The report is yours to keep whether or not you choose further work with us. It includes enough detail for another contractor to price the work. This fictional example shows the report format.
System inventory
The example building is a three-story office of 120,000 square feet, built in 1996. The mechanical systems are original to the building; the automation system received a front-end upgrade in 2009 and has had equipment and points added since. Roughly 2,400 points are on the system, communicating over mixed BACnet MS/TP trunks.
| Area | Equipment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Air handling | AHU-1, AHU-2, AHU-3: one VAV air handler per floor | Original 1996 units with supply fan drives added later; economizer sections on all three |
| Terminal units | 46 VAV boxes with hot water reheat | Original zone controllers; nine found overridden during the walk, most with no note as to why |
| Heating plant | 2 hot water boilers | Lead-lag configured in the BAS but rotated manually in practice |
| Cooling plant | 1 air-cooled chiller | Serves all three air handlers; enabled on outside air temperature |
| Front end | 2009-era BAS front end on a single operator workstation | Software version and operating system past manufacturer support |
| Network | Mixed BACnet MS/TP trunks | One trunk per floor plus a plant trunk; configuration reviewed as found at startup |
AreaAir handling
EquipmentAHU-1, AHU-2, AHU-3: one VAV air handler per floor
NotesOriginal 1996 units with supply fan drives added later; economizer sections on all three
AreaTerminal units
Equipment46 VAV boxes with hot water reheat
NotesOriginal zone controllers; nine found overridden during the walk, most with no note as to why
AreaHeating plant
Equipment2 hot water boilers
NotesLead-lag configured in the BAS but rotated manually in practice
AreaCooling plant
Equipment1 air-cooled chiller
NotesServes all three air handlers; enabled on outside air temperature
AreaFront end
Equipment2009-era BAS front end on a single operator workstation
NotesSoftware version and operating system past manufacturer support
AreaNetwork
EquipmentMixed BACnet MS/TP trunks
NotesOne trunk per floor plus a plant trunk; configuration reviewed as found at startup
Findings
Findings are grouped by priority. Critical items present a risk of equipment damage, data loss, or loss of building control. Should-fix items affect comfort, energy use, or staff time. Monitor items are conditions worth tracking for signs of further problems.
Critical: address these before anything else.
- No working backup of the front-end database or controller programs exists. The workstation's scheduled export has been failing silently for over a year. If the workstation drive fails, graphics, schedules, setpoints, and trend history go with it.
- The low-limit thermostat on AHU-2 is bypassed with a jumper at the safety circuit. The freeze-stat trips were treated as nuisance instead of investigated; one cold morning with a stuck economizer damper is enough to burst the coil.
- The front end still runs on the installing contractor's shared login, and the default administrator password is still active. The shared credentials from the 2009 upgrade remain active.
- The front-end software and its operating system are past manufacturer support. Not an emergency by itself, but it turns every other risk on this list into a harder recovery, because a failed component may not be reinstallable.
Should fix: address these comfort, energy, and operating issues next.
- Nine of the 46 VAV boxes are overridden at the front end or in hand at the controller, most with no record of why. Overrides this old are usually covering a failed sensor or actuator underneath, and the zones they serve are the source of most comfort calls.
- The MS/TP trunks still carry their startup configuration: Max_Master at the default and baud rates pinned to the slowest device ever installed. Graphics take several seconds to populate and trend logs show polling gaps, which gets blamed on controller age but is configuration.
- Most logged alarms do not require action. The front end logged over three thousand alarms last month and the operators have reasonably stopped reading them. The alarms that matter, including the AHU-2 freeze-stat trips above, are buried in the flood.
- The air handlers run on an around-the-clock schedule that was set years ago for a tenant that no longer occupies the building, while the building today empties by early evening. Fan, heating, and cooling energy is spent every night on empty floors.
Monitor: track these conditions in the operating log.
- The air-cooled chiller, original 1996 equipment, is aging in service. It held setpoint on the assessment day, but compressor starts are trending upward in the plant logs year over year. Include its replacement in capital planning.
- Replacement parts for the VAV zone controllers are no longer manufactured. Failure rates are still low and spares can be found on the secondary market, but every failure now costs search time on top of labor.
- Boiler lead-lag rotation is configured but has been switched manually for years, and run hours show one boiler carrying most of the load. Uneven aging in a two-boiler plant shortens the life of the pair.
- Trend coverage is thin: fewer than a tenth of the roughly 2,400 points are trended, several at intervals too coarse to diagnose anything. Useful trend coverage gives the team more information for troubleshooting.
Recommended next steps
The roadmap groups the recommended work into immediate actions, follow-up work, and capital planning.
| Priority | Action | Why now |
|---|---|---|
| Now | Export a full backup of the front-end database and every controller program, and store copies away from the workstation | A working backup is needed before the team can verify system recovery |
| Now | Remove the AHU-2 low-limit bypass, then find and fix whatever was tripping it | The bypass leaves AHU-2 without its low-limit protection |
| Now | Retire the shared login, create per-operator accounts, and change the default administrator password | The shared login and default administrator password remain active from the 2009 upgrade |
| Next | Correct the MS/TP configuration: match Max_Master to the highest device address and raise baud rates where every device on the segment supports it | Address the configuration issues affecting graphics response and trend collection |
| Next | Cut the alarm load to an actionable set and realign schedules with actual occupancy | Reduce unnecessary overnight operation and make actionable alarms easier to identify |
| Plan | Budget the migration off the unsupported front end, keeping the field controllers that are healthy | Plan replacement on the budget cycle before a failure requires urgent work |
PriorityNow
ActionExport a full backup of the front-end database and every controller program, and store copies away from the workstation
Why nowA working backup is needed before the team can verify system recovery
PriorityNow
ActionRemove the AHU-2 low-limit bypass, then find and fix whatever was tripping it
Why nowThe bypass leaves AHU-2 without its low-limit protection
PriorityNow
ActionRetire the shared login, create per-operator accounts, and change the default administrator password
Why nowThe shared login and default administrator password remain active from the 2009 upgrade
PriorityNext
ActionCorrect the MS/TP configuration: match Max_Master to the highest device address and raise baud rates where every device on the segment supports it
Why nowAddress the configuration issues affecting graphics response and trend collection
PriorityNext
ActionCut the alarm load to an actionable set and realign schedules with actual occupancy
Why nowReduce unnecessary overnight operation and make actionable alarms easier to identify
PriorityPlan
ActionBudget the migration off the unsupported front end, keeping the field controllers that are healthy
Why nowPlan replacement on the budget cycle before a failure requires urgent work
Related service
Understand what is installed, what is unclear, and what should happen next.
Next step · Walk-through
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