“Measurement and control technology has been given a pivotal role”

Installations in modern 'smart' buildings are becoming increasingly complex and intertwined. This requires specialization! With the training as a System Architect Building Automation and Management, provided by TVVL in collaboration with FHI Gebouw Automatisering, you can professionally address complex building automation issues at HBO+ level in every phase of a building's life and in every type of organization. You can now to enrol for this vocational training, where FHI members also receive an attractive discount on tuition fees.

Alfred Hop, director of Unica Building Automation and board member at FHI Gebouw Automatisering, is a passionate advocate of this function and emphasises the need for this professional course. Times are changing and Hop states that previously separate specialisms and technologies are merging, with a leading role for building automation: “If you look at the traditional construction column, then measurement and control technology from the mechanical engineering angle has increasingly come into contact with electrical engineering. In addition, the ICT component has become increasingly important in recent years in the realisation of (larger) buildings. The role of measurement and control technology has therefore acquired a pivotal role. The course to System Architect Building Automation and Management at TVVL fits in seamlessly with fulfilling that pivotal role.”

But what exactly does a system architect do? “You have to be able to develop a vision to assist colleagues, clients and suppliers in realizing a completely integrated building,” says Hop. “That starts within the construction column at the moment that you, as a system architect, think about the design in a construction or renovation process.”

Specifications
“Up until now, specifications have been written for both the mechanical and electrical installations for the realisation of a project. These specifications describe, for example, how an air treatment system should function (W specifications) and, for example, what type of lighting (E specifications) should be installed. The control system for such a project is then part of the W specifications. These specifications describe how this whole system should be controlled and switched. Ultimately, these specifications are then brought onto the market. Nowadays, people increasingly want complete smart building solutions. Here, mechanical and electrical installations are integrally interwoven with each other in terms of their operation. The ICT component in particular also plays a very important role here. And for that process, you need system architects. Unfortunately, this knowledge is currently insufficiently available in the sector.”

 “You also need to offer system architects the opportunity to have a say in how installations will work. Consultancy firms in particular have an important role in this. As Unica Building Automation, we also like to think along in the role of system integrator from the initial phase for a smart building solution.”

Architects in service
Hop already uses newly trained staff at his company: “We now have three system architects working for Unica. These are guys you can present complete issues to. They are also often used as a sounding board within an organization. So with this training as a system architect, you also learn to develop a vision yourself, viewed from a broad context.”

Communication skills are of great importance here and technically gifted talents in particular sometimes need some additional training in the social aspects of this function, Hop agrees: “People who are technically very good sometimes find it difficult or hard to transfer their knowledge to another party. Some of the students are open to learning these skills through workshops or training. System architects who progress also increasingly have to deal with communication and less with pure technology. After all, in this function you have to be able to convey and substantiate your thinking well.”

Knowledge platform
With the input from FHI, TVVL can only improve in the future, according to the Unica director: “TVVL is the knowledge platform. They invest a lot of time and money in keeping the teaching material up to date. From the trade association, we give them feedback from the market. It is important that we continue to enrich the level of knowledge.”

Register before September for the training to System architect Building automation and management! FHI members receive an attractive discount on tuition fees.