Delta Building Automation Australia had a big job renovating the headquarters for the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) at 45 Benjamin Way, Canberra.
The building owner wanted to improve the building’s energy use and increase its National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) score to more than 4.5 stars, out of a possible total of six.
Securing the network both internally and externally was a big priority, as well. Any refurbishment job comes with its own unique challenges, and this project was no different.
All commissioning information and original source code of the previous BMS system had been lost due to a lack of redundancy, making it harder to tune and achieve a higher NABERS rating.
There was no existing network infrastructure, and no management system to measure the energy performance of the building.
Additionally, the system was connected directly to the conventional ADSL modem and a series of unmanaged switches, increasing the risk of unauthorized access.
Delta Building Automation teamed up with Optigo Networks to create an entirely new Operational Technology (OT) network backbone. The Optigo Connect solution provided a high-performance system that brought IT to the building operator level.
Optigo’s robust network connected more than 700 Power over Ethernet (PoE) and Ethernet devices across multiple services, including lighting, HVAC, surveillance, and electrical meters. Using a PoE-backed design helped improve energy efficiency in a cost efficient manner.
A self-healing ring topology with redundancy reduced the risk of losing data or suffering a network shutdown. To increase security, they replaced their unmanaged switches with Optigo’s managed switches, featuring OneClick Secure.
They locked all the ports on their switches in an instant, with additional VPN access to site.
Optigo also provided network segregation through VLANs, since multiple services are connected to the same switches. The Optigo Connect solution has made integration at the field level simple and user friendly.
Now, all networking tasks can be done quickly and easily by the controls technician, while IT still provides support for firewall and server setup.
The building owner will have to wait to confirm the new NABERS rating, but signs of energy improvement are solid. The air handling units all run much quieter, and the chillers do not have to work nearly as hard even during heatwaves.
The building’s network security has also been drastically improved with Optigo Connect, as all ports can be locked with the touch of a button using OneClick Secure. The Optigo Connect solution has empowered the OT team at 45 Benjamin Way to run an efficient, secure, and future -proofed building.