Overview of the role

The control, performance and efficiency of energy usage in industrial, commercial and public buildings.

Details of standard

Occupation summary

This occupation is found in the building services sector. Building Energy Management Systems are implemented in buildings with mechanical, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and electrical systems to enable energy efficient control of the internal environment. The buildings themselves can vary widely in size and function.

 The broad purpose of the occupation is clearly focused upon the control, performance and efficiency of energy usage and comfort control in industrial/ commercial /public buildings of a diverse nature. It requires an associated understanding of these environments and the balance between cost, comfort, safety, health and wellbeing. It includes the specialist design, installation and commissioning expertise required to undertake this control and servicing function.

Typically a BEMS Controls Engineer will be involved initially with designing the building energy management system that controls the building services (e.g. heating, air conditioning, renewables).They may also write related software and graphics as well as installing and commissioning such systems. Another key area is connecting and integrating with other building systems (e.g. security) to create ‘Smart Buildings’. After the building is occupied and being used they may also be involved in servicing & maintenance, fault finding if there are problems with the system and energy performance reviews.

 Within the role the following skill set will be needed to cater for the range of different BEMS types:

1) Controls Hardware and Logic: Engineers will be required to select, install, configure and update control hardware platforms from the main manufacturers in the UK Market.

As well as manufacturer specific control hardware, engineers will also require generic knowledge. Particularly important is an understanding of controls principles such as logic, proportional and integral control and energy saving techniques for control strategy efficiency.

2) Field Devices: Field devices are manufactured by numerous organisations but can be, broadly speaking, categorised into Sensors, Valves, Actuators, Dampers, Variable Speed Drives, Switches and relays. The engineers will understand the controls and performance of field device types from first principles.

3) Networking: Standard network architectures such TCI/IP, MSTP and RS485 are the main stays of the industry so engineers will be required to design, install, maintain and fault find these types of networks along with more specialist sub-networks for integration of items like utility meters.

4) Communication Protocols: The engineers will be trained to a high level in the common open standard protocols in widespread use within the BEMS industry with the most common being BACNet.

5) Supervisor Software: Interaction with a BEMS is typically conducted via a ‘software supervisor’. This is, generically, a graphics based software platform aimed at providing an intuitive way for the user to find their way around their system. The engineers will be required to have a knowledge of the construction of graphics, creation of user accounts, alarm management and schedule management.

Mainstream environments/considerations for the use of these skill sets include:

  • Office buildings/Leisure centres/student accommodation/college campuses - with consideration for comfort and energy efficiency
  • Hospitals/health care – specific clinical control requirements
  • Historic buildings - internal building fabric/external building integrity
  • Theatres – audience comfort/performance special effects
  • Transport/entertainment hubs - high volumes of people in relatively short periods of time

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with a wide range of building stakeholders (e.g. owners/operators/facilities management/occupiers) in both the private and public sector. They would need to successfully liaise with both external and internal functions of their own organisation but also those of clients/key influencers (e.g. contractors/local councils/consultants) to ensure that different stakeholder needs are taken account of within the client’s controls specification.

Employees will be both office and site based.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for the delivery and performance of the BEMS and to achieve this they will have to manage budgets and teams of people, which could vary depending on the size of the business. The BEMS industry is made up of a wide range of organisation types/sizes but there are a significant number of SME’s (small/medium enterprises). Therefore employees will need to be able to work alone and under supervision.

Typical job titles include:

Bems controls engineer Bems engineer

Occupation duties

Duty KSBs

Duty 1 Design and create BEMS Technical Documentation

K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 K8 K9 K15 K19

S1 S2 S3 S4 S18

B4 B6

Duty 2 Create wiring schedule and power loadings for panel manufacture

K2 K7 K15 K17

S1 S5

B4

Duty 3 Adhere to safe working practices to ensure the BEMS elements of the electrical systems are safe to use

K2 K8 K16

S7 S8

B1 B3

Duty 4 Create Health & Safety documentation such as Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS)

K2 K10 K11 K16

S7 S8

B1 B3

Duty 5 Design and write software for control systems to an industry approved standard

K2 K5 K7 K8 K15

S1 S6

B6 B12

Duty 6 Design and create client approved user interface for plant and systems with appropriate reference to integration issues

K2 K3 K8 K9

S1 S9

B4 B6

Duty 7 Review completed control panel drawings to check, amend and approve

K1 K2 K7 K8 K10 K15

S1 S5

B4 B5

Duty 8 Install BEMS control equipment and wiring systems

K7 K10 K15 K16 K17

S1 S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 S18

B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 B11

Duty 9 Commission BEMS software and controls equipment

K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 K8 K9 K10 K11 K13 K15 K16

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S12 S18

B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 B11

Duty 10 Undertake a servicing and maintenance requirement of an existing BEMS installation

K2 K6 K7 K8 K12 K15

S1 S5 S7 S8 S9 S19

B1 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B9 B11

Duty 11 Carry out fault finding and rectification of defective control equipment or software algorithms

K2 K7 K12 K15

S1 S6 S7 S8 S9 S11 S12 S13

B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 B11

Duty 12 Carry out and produce detailed conditional site survey reports along with remedial/ enhancement recommendations

K2 K3 K5 K8

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S8 S9 S12 S14

B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B8 B9 B10 B12

Duty 13 Produce recommendations for enhancing energy performance

K2 K3 K5 K8 K13

S1 S9 S15

B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B8 B9 B10 B12

Duty 14 Carry out the electrical testing and inspection of BEMS related controls equipment

K14 K16 K18

S1 S7 S8 S9 S11 S16 S17

B3 B4 B5 B7 B9

Duty 15 Create Operation and Maintenance documentation

K1 K2 K7 K8

S1 S9

B4 B6


KSBs

Knowledge

K1: Understanding building control technologies and theory including: The primary role and function of the control system The merits of automated control over manual control methods The development of interface protocols so data can be shared and exchanged between the BEMS and 3rd party systems e.g. access systems and lighting systems. Back to Duty

K2: Understand the fundamentals of controlling HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and building technology. Back to Duty

K3: Understand hydrodynamics and hydronic systems in buildings e.g. the transfer of heat energy and cooling energy through a building using water. Back to Duty

K4: Understand thermodynamic relationships in air conditioning systems. Back to Duty

K5: Understand cooling systems, heat generation and renewable technology. Back to Duty

K6: Understand the principles and practices of measurement technology. Back to Duty

K7: Understand Control Panel wiring, construction and relay logic. Back to Duty

K8: Understand the control principles associated with the design, function, facilities management and use of the building. Back to Duty

K9: Understand communications technology protocols and media. Back to Duty

K10: Understand the practices and procedures for the installation of BEMS wiring systems. Back to Duty

K11: Understand the principles and practices for the commissioning of BEMS and associated equipment in buildings. Back to Duty

K12: Understand the principles for diagnosing and correcting faults in BEMS network systems and BEMS equipment in buildings. Back to Duty

K13: Understand the energy efficiency and comfort control requirement within buildings. Back to Duty

K14: Understand the testing, inspection and certification of BEMS related controls equipment. Back to Duty

K15: Understand the operation and application of BEMS field devices e.g. sensors. Back to Duty

K16: Understand relevant health & safety legislation and safe working practices applying to themselves and others. Give particular reference to understanding the requirements for protection of and safe working with electrical installations and BEMS impact on ‘wellbeing’. Back to Duty

K17: Understand the general characteristics of electrical installations and how to assess them. Back to Duty

K18: Understand the requirements of inspection and testing of BEMS element of electrical installations. Back to Duty

K19: Understand the principles of control logic including the fundamentals of proportional and integral control. Back to Duty

Skills

S1: Applying the control principles associated with the design, function and use of buildings e.g. to create points lists, description of operation, cable schedules. Back to Duty

S2: Incorporating hydrodynamics/ hydronic systems into designs. Back to Duty

S3: Applying the principles and practices of measurement technology. Back to Duty

S4: Incorporating cooling systems, heat generation and renewable technology into designs as applicable. Back to Duty

S5: Incorporating Control Panel wiring, construction and relay logic into the design process. Back to Duty

S6: Applying communications technology protocols and media e.g. MODBUS and BACNET. Back to Duty

S7: Applying relevant safety legislation, codes of practice and safe working practices to themselves and others. Back to Duty

S8: Identifying requirements for protection of electrical installations. Back to Duty

S9: Incorporating the needs of a variety of building stakeholders (e.g. owners/ operators) within the design of the BEMS system. Back to Duty

S10: Applying the practices and procedures for the installation of BEMS wiring systems. Back to Duty

S11: Interpreting the requirements for the BEMS element of electrical installations. Back to Duty

S12: Applying the principles and practices for the commissioning of BEMS systems and equipment in a variety of building types and environments. Back to Duty

S13: Applying the principles, for diagnosing and correcting faults in BEMS network systems and BEMS equipment. Back to Duty

S14: Applying the principles for completing conditional site surveys, along with associated recommendations. Back to Duty

S15: Applying knowledge of energy efficiency to optimise comfort in buildings whilst minimising energy usage. Back to Duty

S16: Identifying the requirements of inspection and testing of BEMS element of electrical installations within relevant legislative requirements, specifications, codes of practice and industry recognised practices. Back to Duty

S17: Carrying out the testing, inspection and certification of BEMS related controls and equipment. Back to Duty

S18: Applying the principles and practices for the design and commissioning of standard network architectures e.g. Ethernet TCP/IP, MSTP and RS48. Back to Duty

S19: Carrying out updates to BEMS system hardware to ensure compatibility with latest products. Back to Duty

Behaviours

B1: Be aware of the needs and concerns of others, especially in relation to diversity and equality. Back to Duty

B2: Create maintain, and enhance productive working relationships. Back to Duty

B3: Commit to compliance with health and safety. Back to Duty

B4: Strive to communicate effectively with work colleagues and clients using oral, written and electronic methods to communicate technical and other information. Back to Duty

B5: Take responsibility for working independently and completing work to the appropriate specifications and codes of practice. Back to Duty

B6: Solving problems within their own scope of responsibility, by applying technical and behavioural skills and knowledge to define the problem, identify, evaluate and select alternatives and implement solutions. Back to Duty

B7: Accepting responsibility for their own work and actions and that of others in their team. Back to Duty

B8: Accepting, prioritizing, delegating and undertaking technical and other tasks effectively. Back to Duty

B9: Committed to working effectively with colleagues, the public, clients and other stakeholders. Back to Duty

B10: Take responsibility for personal development, demonstrating commitment to learning and self-improvement. Back to Duty

B11: Exercise responsibilities in an ethical manner. Back to Duty

B12: Undertake work in a way that contributes to sustainable development. Back to Duty


Qualifications

English and Maths

Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the End-Point Assessment. For those with an education, health and care plan or a legacy statement, the apprenticeship’s English and maths minimum requirement is Entry Level 3. A British Sign Language (BSL) qualification is an alternative to the English qualification for those whose primary language is BSL.


Additional details

Occupational Level:

4

Duration (months):

36

Review

this apprenticeship will be reviewed in accordance with our change request policy.

Status: Approved for delivery
Level: 4
Reference: ST0629
Version: 1.1
Date updated: 03/04/2024
Approved for delivery: 3 February 2020
Route: Construction and the built environment
Typical duration to gateway: 36 months (this does not include EPA period)
Maximum funding: £15000
LARS Code: 544
EQA Provider: Ofqual
Employers involved in creating the standard: In Tandem Systems Ltd, Global Associates, Clarkson Controls, Imperium Building Systems, Detail Design Engineering, Kendra Energy Solutions, E.ON Control Solutions Ltd, Trend Control Systems, Mitie, Boss Controls Ltd, Schneider Electric, AIS BMS, Siemens Building Technologies, Crown House Technologies, Chartwell Controls, BMSI, Controlco, Priva UK, Comfort Controls, Eton Associates, Impact Controls, Integrated BMS, Next Energy, Management, SCS Group, Tridium Europe, Schneider Electric, ABB, Essential Controls, Beckhoff Automation, ebm-papst, BCIA Ltd, Sontay, Bath College, Capital City College Group, National Electrotechnical Training (NET), JTL, Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA), Keystone Communications, BuroHappold, theBESA

Version log

Version Change detail Earliest start date Latest start date Latest end date
1.1 End-point assessment plan revised 03/04/2024 Not set Not set
1.0 Approved for delivery 03/02/2020 02/04/2024 Not set

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