Purpose
The purpose of this Order is to uphold consistency in the application, evaluation and implementation of smart buildings (SB) system technology, consistent with the following SB program’s strategic goals:
a. Modernize facility management operations and maintenance to generate cost savings and best value for the taxpayers;
b. Support energy conservation and limit environmental impact;
c. Use technology to quantify and manage drivers of building occupant comfort to improve building occupant satisfaction;
d. Empower U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) staff and contract employees with data to make informed facility management decisions;
e. Promote interoperability between devices through open protocol systems with the objective of converging normalized data on, at least, a facility-wide tool;
f. Implement and maintain cybersecurity best practices within GSA national, regional and local offices for consistency within GSA Internet Protocol (IP) network based systems, including downstream devices; and
g. Protect against threats to the U.S. Government through the inclusion of cyber supply chain risk management (C-SCRM) principles.
Consistency achieved through this Order will enable opportunities in resource sharing, propagating best practices and advancing appropriate guides for project delivery of innovative new systems.
Background
Starting around 2005, GSA’s SB program focused on advanced metering and fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) technology, with an emphasis specifically on GSA’s FDD application, GSALink. Advancements in operational technology and broader implementation of computer-based building control systems has propagated opportunities in SB technologies. A group of SB specialists within the GSA SB community identified the need for a directive to support consistency within the program and to achieve alignment on the implementation approach as technology offerings continue to be adopted within the Public Buildings Service (PBS) portfolio. This Order is needed to incorporate consistency across the inventory of federally owned buildings under GSA’s jurisdiction, custody and control for effective long-term support and adherence to enhanced security requirements. This Order assists in the modernization and unification of GSA’s building control systems portfolio, and applies not only to GSALink facilities, but also to other facilities with new emerging IP-based technology, building automation systems (BAS), device-based control systems, or any combination of the foregoing.
U.S. General Services Administration