What is a Building Management System?

A Building Management System is an integrated solution to monitor, control, and operate various equipment, critical in maintaining a pharmaceutical facility or building environment from a centralized location. It consists of different components, such as software, electrical systems , and instrumentation to perform its function.

The heart of BMS is a centralized control system that collects, processes, and acts based on different baseline configurations or threshold values. This allows personnel to control environmental parameters with highest possible accuracy  resulting in a quality manufacturing process and compliance.

The BMS in the pharma industry centrally controls all environmental equipment, such as AHU, Chiller, and Hot air equipment.  This eliminates human involvement and adjusts parameters for optimum area parameters.

Another main feature of BMS is its ability to digitally operate and control the entire portfolio of area equipment. Rather than individually controlling and adjusting each equipment to cater for area requirement, it utilizes control components to adjust entire suite of equipment. It can also be integrated with modern technologies such as intelligent factories and IIOT.

Components of a BMS 

Components of  BMS are the individual building blocks that help shape and perform its function. These components are standardized and remain the same for all industries, including the Pharmaceutical.

The components of BMS can be divided into three subcategories, defined as 

• Hardware

• Software

• Communication

Hardware

It includes different components that exist physically and require dedicated space in the operational area, control panel, or any other dedicated zone. They deal with the collection, transferring, and processing of different electrical & electronic signals, and include sensors, actuators, controllers, and various other components. Their selection depends on the application requirement and area under monitoring, 

Let's briefly discuss these hardware components

Temperature Sensors

Temperature sensors are hardware components that measure temperature of a given area. It can produce voltage or current values corresponding to the area temperature. 

The temperature of different areas in the pharmaceutical industry plays a vital role in the product and manufacturing operation's success and is critically monitored and maintained. Regulatory guidelines also require pharma manufacturers to maintain temperature values within acceptable ranges.

Temperature sensors are installed in all critical areas and departments, and are monitored centrally. Additionally, temperatures values are also displayed on a local display in the operational area allowing working personnel & operators to monitor them in real-time.

The BMS can also generate alerts if temperature drifts from acceptable limits. In such case, maintenance staff or relevant personnel can solve the issue or adjust, if required

The application of temperature sensors in the pharma industry depends on many factors, including process, product, and compliance requirements.

Humidity Sensors

Humidity sensors measure the humidity level in a room, area, or department. They then convert them into voltage or current values. 

Humidity sensors are also critical parameters of an environment, like the temperature values, and are controlled explicitly throughout an area or department. If its value exceeds its limit, it can result in microbial growth in an area, damaging the product and process in the area. They are monitored for sections such as manufacturing, filling, and warehouse.

BMS enables humidity levels to be centrally monitored, controlled, and adjusted from a single location. It can display the humidity levels of all departments and can also alert maintenance or production staff if it drifts from its acceptable limits.

Air Quality Sensors

These sensors measure the overall quality of the air in a room or an area, including particulates and different organic compounds. Because air quality impacts the processes being carried out and requires strict control , these sensors help measure the air quality.

The Building Management System can be integrated with an air quality sensor to monitor and generate an alert for abnormal deviations.

Pressure and Airflow sensors

Pressure in the pharma industry helps maintain area purity and operational characteristics. Different pressure profiles, such as positive and negative pressure conditions, are kept in an area to implement purity levels. 

Airflow sensors measure the rate at which airflow in and out of an area. Among others, it indicates a room's ability to maintain purity levels. 

These sensors can be linked with BMS to measure them online for monitoring and taking appropriate remedial actions if they deviate from the standard range.

Actuators

Actuators are electromechanical devices that activate mechanical action when they receive electrical & electronic signals. They are primarily used to allow/disallow any fluid in an area based on the requirement. For example, opening / closing a valve to control water in the cooling coil of AHU or adjusting dampers in an HVAC duct. 

Actuators receive signals from the central controller based on the decisions made by BMS, which in turn depends on the sensor values in an area. They then control different physical variables to control and maintain environmental parameters within limits.

Controllers

The heart of a BMS is a controller that performs the complex task of receiving sensor inputs, processing these values, and making decisions. The controller decisions depend on the software algorithm, that can be custom developed to execute the specific actions 

Software algorithm controls various output devices, such as air blower motors and actuators that are connected to the controller

Software

The software component can be divided into two sub-components, i.e., BMS software and User Interface.

BMS Software

The software algorithm is a combination of different conditions that defines the functions of various components of a BMS. It controls and dictates the function of individual components and how they respond to other physical conditions. 

The software analyzes the data received from different sensors placed at critical locations and processes it according to the predefined algorithms. It then activates/deactivates different output devices to fulfill the required conditions in an area, department, or building.

User Interface

It is the software part that allows personnel to interact with the BMS. Because software is written in a complex coding language that could be difficult to understand; secondly, it translates an entire function or module of BMS into easy-to-understand human language and can be used without complex computer or software knowledge. 

The user interface consists of 

• Different input fields to adjust operational parameters

• Monitoring fields, that indicate current physical variables in an area, such as temperature and humidity

• Output components to activate an output device, such as opening / closing a valve

The user interface can be web-based or standalone type. 

• In web-based, the interface can be accessed from any computing device with internet access. In this case, a User ID and password are required to access it. 

• In a standalone type the user interface can only be accessed on a single computer.

 Communication Network

The communication network provides connectivity between different components of a BMS, such as sensors, actuators, and central controllers. 

The communication network can be wired or wireless, depending on various characteristics, such as distance and the environment in which they are deployed.

How BMS is used in the pharmaceutical industry

The BMS can be used in the pharma industry for many applications, including

• It can adjust room or area environmental conditions according to the product or process.

• It can remotely control HVAC equipment, such as AHUs and Chiller.

• It can help detect problems with various HVAC components such as filters, blower in AHU, and Boiler by analyzing different process parameters such as airflow and area temperature.

• It enables the pharma industry to keep records of the process variables at a given time, or for a specific product/process.

Advantages of BMS in the pharma industry

Let's look at some advantages of BMS in the pharma industry

Remote operation

It enables personnel to remotely control HVAC equipment for an entire facility, which can become challenging if the facility is spread across many areas, warehouses, and production departments. 

Because it is normal for a pharma facility to consist of areas that can be difficult to access, such as technical areas. Additionally, in some cases, HVAC instruments are installed on the piping network at remote location, which could become difficult to trace when taking and keeping their records.

BMS helps to pinpoint every instrument and component location, and enables personnel to locate and perform the desired work easily

Increased Efficiency

BMS can be used to increase the efficiency of utility services by monitoring and adjusting them in a narrow range. The automated control reduces energy consumption, which is usually a traditional human-based control system.

Safe process

BMS provides a centralized location where all utility components can be monitored and detect faults. This contrasts with the traditional system, where problem detection and problem-solving take time.

As a result, the environmental parameters remain in the limit, ensuring more excellent product safety.

Efficient Maintenance

The early detection enables maintenance teams to act promptly before equipment declines due to delayed and neglected maintenance. Prompt maintenance also reduces costs and increases equipment life span.

Updated records

Documentation is very critical in the pharma industry for every process and department. All the essential variables, such as process variables and set variables, are readily stored in the software memory, which can be easily retrieved in electronic or paper records. 

About the Author:

Muhammad Asim Niazi

Muhammad Asim Niazi has a vast experience of about 11 years in a Pharmaceutical company. During his tenure he worked in their different departments and had been part of many initiatives within the company. He now uses his experience and skill to write interested content for audiences at PharmaSources.com.