Technical seminar on BIM x BMS, and Integration of PLC with Inverter System

Building information modelling (BIM) and variable frequency drive (VFD) are hot topics in the industry. They are indispensable in building and energy efficient design, operation and management. New initiatives with BIM and VFD are emerging every day.

The EL Division organized the captioned seminar on 29 November 2022 to talk about new application of BIM with building management system (BMS), and programmable logic controller (PLC) with VFD. Over 240 participants joined this seminar presented by Mr Joe Chak and Mr Francis Lok.

Mr Joe Chak is experienced in low voltage electrical installation and integration with Industry 4.0. He gave a brief introduction of BIM and BMS. He stated the benefits of BIM in construction stage and project management. However, the application of BIM after handover is rare currently. With the introduction of industrial IoT sensors, integration of BIM with BMS becomes possible. It saves manpower and energy efficiencies in facility management (FM) in long term. He then demonstrated the amazing interaction between BIM and FM in a demo unit.

The second part of the seminar was presented by Mr Francis Lok from Mitsubishi. He reviewed the latest requirements of booster pump control with VFD. Control of VFD with relay control becomes difficult, if not impossible. Instead, PLC is a must for VFD control. Francis demonstrated the unique control features of PLC integrated VFD. The applications in steel factory and data centre were also illustrated.

The seminar wrapped up with a question-and-answer session. Participants actively raised questions on technical aspects of implementation and applied cases. On behalf of the Electrical Division, we would like to express our gratitude towards Joe and Francis for their sharing.