Next week at AHR: Free sessions and demonstrations from LONMARK

LONMARK International will share its expertise on specifying, deploying, and maintaining open, interoperable solutions to attendees of AHR Expo taking place January 23 to 25, 2006 at McCormick Place, in Chicago, IL. LONMARK® members will be sharing their knowledge with AHR Expo attendees through live demonstrations and in-depth, free education sessions.

For TFM‘s examination of interoperable systems, see “Facility Management and the Enterprise” from the archives.

Visitors are encouraged to visit the LONMARK booth #3749 where they can see live demonstrations of open, interoperable products from industry leading suppliers. The extensive demonstration will include numerous Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs) and head-ends connected to off-the-shelf products from multiple suppliers. This live demonstration reinforces the real power of LONMARK Open Systems which allow industry professionals to purchase the “best of breed” products that are most suitable for their facilities.

Free education sessions will be held on Tuesday, January 24 in Room S101a. The free sessions will be hosted by industry experts sharing their in-depth knowledge on the following subjects:
LONWORKS® Technology 101 8:30 am – 10:00 am (Room S101a)
This session will include clarifying terms, ideas and concepts involving LONMARK Open Systems and LONWORKS technology. This session is geared for those who have heard about LONMARK and LONWORKS, but would like to receive more detailed technical information on the protocol, messaging, device profiles, product certification, wiring, network architecture, network diagnostics, network tools, programming devices and more.

How Open Systems Save You Money 10:30 am – 12:00pm (Room S101a)
This session will highlight the financial benefits of Open Systems associated with system integration, writing specifications, calculating the total cost of ownership, and sourcing product from multiple vendors. Learn how open systems can be used to reduce costs from installation and commissioning through operation.

What’s New in the World of LONMARK? 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (Room S101a)
This panel discussion will include what’s new in the world of LONMARK International/Americas, including industry initiatives, product certification, system-level standards, and integrator certification.

Specifications – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm (Room S101a)
This session will cover open systems specifications and the end-users “Bill of Rights”. Topics will include how to ensure openness; the ABCs of specifying an open system; what an end-user should expect from an open system; how to identify good and bad specifications; how the specification affects the “Bill of Rights”; tools and resources available; what to watch out for; examples of good specifications.

Networking Building Controls: the key to efficient design and implementation 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm (Room S101a)
This session will use a networking philosophy to discuss system designs for Open Systems for building automation. Attendees will learn about designing efficient network controls and systems, selecting network components, understanding network architectures, trouble shooting and diagnosing networks, selecting the right wire and cable, and documenting network design and performance.

For more information about LONMARK International, its members, the affiliation program, and LONMARK certification, visit us on the Web at www.lonmark.org .