Until fairly recently, automated central control of building-wide systems was found only in larger commercial buildings and expensive homes. Typically involving only lighting, heating and cooling systems, building automation rarely provided more than basic control, monitoring and scheduling functions and was accessible only from specific control points within the building itself.

Whilst full integration of these technologies is some way off, automation increasingly gives access to control devices from a mobile device anywhere in the world. The term may be used for isolated programmable devices, like thermostats and sprinkler systems, but more accurately describes buildings in which nearly everything – lights, appliances, electrical outlets, heating and cooling systems are hooked up to a remotely controllable network. From a security perspective, this also includes the alarm system, and all of the doors, windows, locks, smoke detectors, surveillance cameras and any other sensors that are linked to it.
The other main characteristic of cutting-edge building automation is remote monitoring and access. While a limited amount of one-way remote monitoring has been possible for some time, it’s only since the rise in smartphones and tablets that we’ve had the ability to truly connect to our business networks while we’re away. With the right home automation system, you can use any Internet-connected device to view and control the system itself and any attached devices.
But how much thought have you given to the vast potential this advanced online connectivity also brings you for a more efficient workflow and added value for businesses?

Building Management and Fire Safety
The potential for Fire Safety solutions being integrated with building systems management and maintenance is immense. Its purpose is to control, monitor and optimize building services whose scope you encounter every working day: Lighting, Heating, Security, CCTV and Alarm systems, Access Control, Audio-Visual and Entertainment systems, Ventilation, Filtration and Climate control. Even Time and Attendance control and reporting (notably staff attendance, movement and availability) fall in that area.
And it is this potential for integrating Fire Safety System design and Building Management that has driven the latest development in Life Safety System Management.

Seamless Integration and Interconnectivity
With the Taktis fire safety technology, which is already exciting fire professionals, building systems and facility managers, Kentec are taking a step forward to make complex solutions simple and understandable. This new management platform combines the latest hardware and software to produce a control and indication system that’s designed to add value to System Designer, Integrator, Service provider and the end user. The platform brings a greater flexibility to allow users to reconfigure a system with ease to realize many control and indication applications, with future direct integration into ‘intelligent’ buildings. The Taktis Fire range is an all-new range of fire detection control equipment. It includes Taktis Vision, which provides a means of allowing full display and optional control of the Taktis fire alarm control panel from a small and unobtrusive local control station. Based on an all new hardware and software platform, the large, full colour graphical display with touch screen functionality, delivers information on the status of the fire alarm system to single or multiple locations.
There’s more to come with the Taktis Virtual Resource suite of software tools, which will be able to deliver a whole new dimension in Life Safety System Management, giving System Designers, Integrators and Service Companies the ability to remotely access and comprehensively manage any system using intelligent analysis of data collected with those systems. End-users and Facilities managers will also greatly benefit from the powerful application-based tool set featured by Virtual Resource.

Scaleable, Future-proofed Solution
Taktis fire systems are scalable with Taktis Net Enhanced High Speed Networking. This allows up to 128 panels to be connected together as a fully fault tolerant networked system with rapid inter panel communications and up to 1.2km of standard two core fire resistant cabling between nodes. Each panel can be configured to display all or any events from any other panel allowing master/slave, multiple master/slave or peer-to-peer configuration.
Sophisticated network analysis tools provide the ability to identify connection problems instantly and the commissioning mode allows individual panels to be prevented from transmitting events to the network while maintaining communications.