Behind the Scenes of Smart Building Advancements and ICT Evolution Webinar

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So , as I mentioned , there's a big event coming up that always catches my eye when anything ever happens in Costa Rica , because I have ties to Costa Rica and I'll maybe explain that later on in the episode , but that's not why this one caught my eye .

This one caught my eye because it has some powerhouse people talking at it , and those powerhouse people are going to be Kara Levitt , oliver , rcdd , dcdc . Ess . Lisa Schwartz , betty Bezos , p-e , pm , rcdd , ess , osp , dcdc right , and Miguel Ocoba I think that's how he says it last . Did I get that right ? Miguel Ochoa , okay .

And then also , finally , one other person I forgot to put their name down on my notes . Maybe they can tell me who it is . They're going to be talking about the IZT evolution in the smart building industry . So we're going to talk about that episode , and here's the thing .

It's tomorrow , so you're going to have to make sure you sign up for it , and we'll have to ask about if it's going to be recorded or not . So welcome to the show . Lisa , miguel , carol and Betty , how are you guys doing tonight ?

Carol's been on the show a couple of times and first time we're on the show . Betty Betty's on the show . All right , very good . So let's talk about this event . It's a Bixie , it's a one hour event , if I remember right , right , one hour event . And it's going to be for the Latin America market . Is it going to be recorded and broadcast globally ?

This event is going to be held on November 8th , so we planned this webinar prior to the event and it actually involves the smart building industry and the ICT side of it .

So we are bringing this interesting subject for Latin America , but it's actually going to be in English because of Carol , betty , lisa and Marta that couldn't be here today , but it is actually going to be in English . So every North American , south American , central American can enjoy the content .

So the idea is to promote education , promote this specialized subject , and it is actually supported by the TIA . It is actually being sponsored by the TIA because of this relationship we have been developing with the smart building workgroup from the TIA .

So this is bringing a lot of content from every maybe different point of view , as Carol from the cabling perspective , betty is adding the hair experience from the application side , and Marta is also bringing some of the insights about the qualification of what is a smart building , actually what is smart and what is not smart .

Lisa is also helping us with , you know , as an introduction and having managed all the Q&A , so she's also bringing her huge experience about cable testing and you know we're pretty excited about it , okay .

With the smart building , you're looking at integrating these applications Onto one IP network . So how does that happen ? And you know , the biggest difficulty we were talking about this earlier , this group is that is somebody gonna say , hey , do I need to rip and replace all my existing cable ?

And actually you don't , if you can test it and make sure that you have a headroom . But I'm gonna go over some of the standards that help the installers , as well as , obviously , the network designers , you know , figure out . How do I , how do I make my building smart ? Right now it's not smart , it's traditional . I have all these different systems .

Well , you know . So what are your goals and objectives and what kind of cabling would you need to put in its place ? And it's not gonna be , like I said , it's not gonna be a big rip and replace , but you might want to do it in such sections , depending on what the needs are for those specific applications .

So that's what I'm going to be addressing , which you know right in my wheelhouse because I've given presentations and webinars , and written articles Articles I've written articles , yeah so , basically , you know where are we at , Because here we've been talking smart buildings for years , right ? So you know what are we bringing to this webinar .

That's gonna be different than any webinar you've seen , and I think that the audience will be really thrilled to hear you know . Moving on to the next step , right .

I still get that question and rather than sit down explaining everything , I go here's the link .

So this is a whole new ballgame .

And also , we talk about some open architecture , we talk about Lawn talk , we talk about mud bus a little bit on the protocol side and that's and the fact that you need to integrate this older connectivity into the new world . That's my , that's .

I had been my task lately as a I call myself solutions manager , because Clients come in and say , okay , how can I make this building intelligent or smart ? And it's like , well , you don't do that overnight and I mentioned this in our earlier meeting and say how deep is your pocket ? Because that's pretty much . I mean , yeah , and what is your key concern ?

Is it security ? Is it the sustainability part of controlling your AC and your light ? Something that I've been doing some research for a client is how the , the lights can really modify the , the environment for school children , adhd students in hospitals , where you can modify .

I think that is so awesome that we can use technology to bring down and calm down and Individual and not trigger them . I think that that's that's something that makes us very useful in the whole context of humanity . I think that . So doing that research I was really , really impressed .

So I'm more into the protocol side what runs in tight inside cows , cabling and infrastructure .

I mean it's just a real small little tinge . My wife's a color expert because she's a photographer . We'll be watching a movie . She'll say , oh , the greens off . I'm like it looks fine to me . But there are certain colors they will choose to help promote a mood or help reduce Negative effects , and a lot people don't realize that .

solve problems together .

And you realize because you think , oh , it's just my computer and my wife's computer . No , it's the thermostat , it's your own computers , it's the security cameras you got hanging everywhere . There's a lot of devices , right .

You don't really realize how much all that adds up .

Exactly , I love the fact that Carol said about using old cabling . I get that . You know that's the age old question in the cable industry Can I use my old cable again ? And the standard response has always been no right , because we're worried about , you know , new data and stuff like that .

But with the smart build stuff , because it's just kind of coming online , it's not running at cat 5e speeds or cats six or cats we're usually not but you know , most of the time it's going to be some kind of an access control device or some type of a sensor that's going to be drawing very little data and very little energy , right ?

So what are some of the channels , carol ? If somebody decides they want to use their existing cable plant , what are some hurdles that they're going to have to clear ?

That's very , very small , but maybe a high definition security system that could be not only a lot of bandwidth but also it could be using a lot of power , especially that you can tilt , zoom . You know things like that . So you really have to know and retest your cable and plan , even though you've tested it before .

Right , you've probably tested it to get that warranty and you see what you have ahead of them . But you really need to do it in a real life scenario , go back and look at what that cabling can do or can't do Right .

But right now we have technology that has been able to integrate the fixtures to the structural cabling and it is much easier to deploy this kind of project and it's actually bringing more management solutions , more control , more flexibility to , you know , to max for movement and changes , and I think that is a it has been a big improvement and a big unimportant

addition from this regular commercial technology that is , you know , a lighting system into the smart building or their networking , the converge system from a smart building .

Actually , maybe 5G is more like a concept for smart cities , maybe , where you have maybe these smart poles , surveillance around the building , perimeter security , and with the 5G technologies you will be like extended the reach of your network from extended distances , maybe from private networks you know a 5G private network and it will be easier to integrate into the

smart building as a whole .

The fact that it needs more antennas in close proximity is a challenge for us , especially in those open spaces that we don't , we cannot have antennas . So right now we're having that conversation also , but certainly for me it's more on the outside of the building . That's a very good question . I have never thought about integrating inside per se .

We want to sell those cables , you know .

So I'm going to ask each of you guys I want you guys to answer this question in your , in your expertise , right ?

So what challenges do you anticipate when it comes to scaling the ICT cable plant for smart building ? So we'll start off with Lisa first .

They're not part of your regular test setup and they have to just be turned on and those parameters are pretty critical , especially if you're deploying things like digital lighting I know you guys are doing a lot with that and some of these applications so that you can test the capacity of that wire more than your typical certification measurements .

And then for us , with our equipment being very purpose built for smart buildings , aside from your certification testing with those extra parameters , there are things that test like signal to noise ratio , where we're especially in the case of cable reuse actually this is a really big one , there's a lot of cat 5e out there and to be able to push traffic on the

wire and at the same time request power load . So you're testing the wire in as much of a real world situation as possible to make sure it can support your intended application if you're thinking of upgrading . So I'd say the biggest challenge I see is just educating the contractor market on all of these different things that you should be testing .

One and two , use it as an advantage to add new service offering Charge for these services . I mean , jump on the bandwagon of it and take advantage of it to make more money .

And what people don't understand is it's the bigger thing , is it's not just the test that you got to turn on , but it's also the procedures , because when you're testing an MPTL , that's different than when you're testing a permanent link . That's a whole different show . That's a 30 minute show just by itself , exactly Right .

So , miguel , what challenges do you anticipate ?

But a smart building is more like a one on one project with the owner , the stakeholder , because it is like a boutique , a personal project , because some feature , for example hospitality , is very particular .

So I think , overlapping the customer expectation and the capacity of the technology that he is able to afford to pay , that's a challenge for companies such as integrators or designers or installers .

Let's say , well , that's easy , right , I mean you're existing cable to do that , but down the road you've got these wireless access points , you've got these extended distance WAPs out in the football field or somewhere . How are you going to know that your cable infrastructure today is going to be able to be there for tomorrow's applications ?

Nobody has a crystal ball , so we don't even know what applications are coming down the road . So just knowing , like going back to Lisa and understanding how much headroom you have in that cable . And then also , I think another challenge is you know , here are these guys going to go ? Jesus , where do I find the information ?

Again , education I'll talk about a lot of standards that are out there , not just TIA and Vixie , but there's other standards . And , oh my gosh , what about codes ? Because you're dealing with power going over the cable as well . So those are some of the things that are just a constant evolution and they just have to stay on top of the education .

It's a gym that helps at risk youth in Baltimore , so I went up there Saturday . I only got spent six hours there , but and and one of the things that they're doing is they're doing , they're doing a lot of a lot of access control . So when you're right , you know it's cat 5e today , but we don't know what those devices gonna need tomorrow .

It's funny because , as I was sitting because you mentioned it , I'm sitting I was talking to one of my patreon members , happened to be there , so we have seen he had a bunch of questions for me and him and I talking in there and they're doing some cabling right above our heads , doing a bundle cable .

They go hey , chuck , I'm , what's the bundle size for PoE ? And I said well , you want the code answered . You want the standards answer . Do you want the bigsy best practice answer , because those are three different answers . You want to be the the good contractor , the better contractor or the best contractor .

And I said you know , if you and they said we want to be the best , look , of course you do . I said 24 , don't do more than 24 because the code book allows you to have .

Well , it depends on how much , how many amps , you're putting across it , but there's a chart in the code book that allows you to have a whole bunch in there and it's like you know , just follow this practice tank is . You don't know what kind of current they're gonna be putting across that cable tomorrow . You don't know .

You know what kind of daily we put across that tomorrow . So , and future-proofing is , it's unfortunately on the younger generation . It's not a concept they're ready to embrace yet . But if you've been a project manager or an estimator or in sales in this industry , future-proofing is big , it is absolutely big .

There might be no existing cable for those new points , so we need to open up the ceiling tiles , open up areas and see where are we gonna run that new pathway . And also the big misnomer that I find is that they think that , oh , the telecommunications room now can be smaller .

I don't know where they get that one , but I get that a lot , yeah , and it's like , well , not really , actually Probably a little bit larger , because now you have the power , you have other issues too . So that has been a challenge recently . And oh , so you , you don't need that tr that large anymore .

Or , since everything is wireless , you don't need the pathways .

Let's start this off with you , betty , since you're more more on the equipment side , right , do you ? How do you see AI impacting you ?

That's what we're used to and , especially through a VPN , you can do it remotely , so I think the analysis of data is going to be huge from that standpoint . Got you ?

So that I got invited to go to the to talk about the network , part of everything there , and I was like , why am I going to ? Why am I going to electrical contractors associate , I'm a low-volt guy . What are they sending me to this ? And you know what ?

There was a lot of low voltage presence there , from people selling products to test manufacturers to you know , tools , to everything . I'm just . You know those two worlds are . They've always been close to each other , but now they're starting to overlap . So it'll be interesting to see . I'm going to hold you to that . I'm going to hold you .

I'm going to say Carol said that AI was going to help us get along with electricians better . I'm quoting you on that for now . Okay okay . Please AI and testing .

I have never considered that but you know , as everyone was talking , I was thinking about it a little bit and the only thing I can kind of see right now and this would really be scary if we got to this is if people used AI to you know kind of design , architect , scope , their project and purely relied on that .

And you know , or even asking questions , I have a XYZ cable Can it support IoT devices ? And it comes back and says , oh yes , it can support devices , and they forego testing . Who knows if a mouse has been chewing on that piece of cable ? You know , over time cable degrades .

So I think that probably the thing that I would think about from the testing perspective is if people take what that says , that what that comes back with , and they start to forego testing , because so much can happen with the cable over time . Yeah yeah , because .

Ai is going to help the estimator who's trying to estimate a project , maybe help them , you know , pick the right piece of equipment or write the scope of work and stuff like that . I see it helping the back office side , but I don't really see it helping the construction portion of it .

Okay , so AI will improve the that management and it will allow to take more , maybe more precise , decisions about certain conditions , for example , lighting and energy power and energy management to make more sustainable and more less power consuming building per se .

Okay , so I think it will be more from the improve the management side of this already monitor systems Gotcha Two more questions , two more questions .

What advice would you give that young professional who's looking to get in in the ICT industry , with , with the , the context of smart buildings ?

And these kids , you know , they're like sponges I want to call them kids , but emerging professionals , you know , and they soak it in and then you know , they actually will evolve applications and find a better way to to do it , to connect their devices .

So I think that just understanding what's required and then going forward and being able to design the system and obviously install it as well , so just education

.

That's all very important , but that human connection with somebody that been there , done that , yes , Lisa , what advice would you give them ?

So you know there's a few different podcasts . Your show is fantastic . We also have a video show , podcast show , tech Talk with Steve Steve sorry , but Steve's been at this for a little over 30 years , so he's got some fantastic tips and tricks .

And then , to echo about the vendors talk to a lot of the different cable and connector manufacturers , test equipment vendors . Get perspectives from more than just one source .

Cat3 is going to be around forever , just like her for it . Exactly , exactly , miguel , what advice would you give to that young professional looking to get into this field with ? With their eye on smart buildings , they still call their ideas .

So it is so important to have a well-designed and then a well-installed , tested and all the steps forward for this system to work , reliable and to work accordingly to every technology that you are integrating there . So the RCDDs are a key part of the first steps of designing the infrastructure of the smart buildings .

You're supposed to know all of this and be able to say yes , this system , I'm going to put my stamp on it because this system is going to work now and hopefully in the future . So with an RCDD , they should know all aspects of the design and installation .

I've been lucky through all my years that I have partnered with individuals that started as installers and became techs and we can share . I can share from my designer standpoint , from my PM expertise , but without the other side , I would be nothing , guys . I would be just four letters .

Oftentimes the RCDDs I talked to in fact , I had a long conversation with somebody about this on Friday when they're looking at the specs that they're trying to bid on , it's a copy paste , copy paste , copy paste .

So my advice would be know your stuff , as everybody has pointed out , and I would say it's okay to push back . Another big piece of that spec is this is a little self fulfilling , but I'm going to say it is what test equipment can be used .

Again , it's been copied , pasted for years and there's new equipment these days that is purpose built for smart buildings , but it's not written into those specs . So , one , push back . Two , if you happen to have our equipment or others that you really want to use and it's not written into that spec , push back and say why you want to use it .

So that's one of the biggest things I'd say is it's okay , know your stuff , but it's okay to push back if you get a spec that you know is outdated .