Introducing OTTO - Automated FPT
November 2020 - After a long time developing and testing the concept, HP Buildings is ready to come out of stealth mode and spread the love. Commissioning is fun, but it gets kind of tedious when you find yourself running the same test over and over again. You’re a professional, and so is everyone else on your team, so why not focus your time and expertise where you add the most value… let OTTO™ take on the boring stuff. If something needs attention, OTTO™ will find it for you.
Introducing OTTO™, Automated Functional Performance Testing software by HP Buildings. Increase your profits by saving time and money, eliminate tedious and mundane work, all while providing a broader, more thorough testing regimen than you would ever normally do. Manual vs OTTO™? It’s time to get automated!
OTTO™ is software for commissioning professionals and controls contractors. You tell OTTO™ what to do for you: Automated Functional Performance Testing, Seasonal Testing, Ongoing Monitoring-Based Commissioning, HVAC/Controls Health Checks, Remote BAS Access.
OTTO for Existing Buildings
October 2020 - In Newport Beach, California, OTTO™ is executing functional performance testing on nearly 50 VAV boxes with hot water re-heat in a multi-tenant office building.
In a project being developed by a national energy solutions company, OTTO™ is seen as a great way to extend their capacity. According to the owner of the company, “being able to handle a greater workload while keeping your team small means that you can be more profitable and serve larger clients.”
Most existing building energy retrofits will include upgrades to the HVAC control system, so this energy solutions company can count on OTTO™ to be an incremental resource to handle the testing load each time. Standardizing around best practice controls sequences enables additional cost savings since OTTO™ doesn’t have to relearn it’s testing script each time. It also means that high performance is assured on every piece of equipment, not just a sampling of equipment as is often done due to testing costs.
Mazzetti’s Cx Group Joins the Effort
October 2020 - The Commissioning Group at Mazzetti is working with HP Buildings to test out “OTTO™-mated” functional performance testing on a new patient tower for a major healthcare owner. OTTO will automate functional performance testing on over 200 VAV terminal units with both hot water re-heat and radiant heating panels.
The amount of time budgeted to spend on-site testing these units is incredible. Experts from both Mazzetti and Honeywell (the controls contractor) expected to spend days together to execute this highly repetitive testing. Now, OTTO™ will complete the testing through an automated testing script, applied to each VAV box, quietly from afar.
According to John Dombrowski, Associate Principal and Senior Commissioning Agent at Mazzetti, “There are literally over 8,000 functional performance questions to answer for these 200-odd VAV boxes. We would love to automate this process so we can spend more time focusing on higher value activities.”
Not only is OTTO™ programmed to complete the original functional performance testing script that Mazzetti had prepared, but the testing is more rigorous because OTTO™ allows you to see how all of the points are reacting over a period of time.
Mazzetti is a global provider of MEP engineering design, commissioning, and technology consulting. Their vision is to make the world a better place by creating better, healthier environments. Though Mazzetti’s deepest expertise is in Healthcare—energy-intensive, critical systems–they are also skilled in a wide range of technically complex environments, from data centers to airports to clean rooms.
Mazzetti’s commissioning experts are an integral part of the project team, not just a “third-party” review agency. They strive to “make everyone look better” and to actively participate in solutions, not merely point out problems.
Collaboration with Platinum Building Automation
September 2020 - HP Buildings is pleased to be working with Platinum Building Automation in North Carolina to develop remote testing solutions for their BAS integration and service work. Platinum Building Automation is a master systems integrator with a strong reputation for delivering quality outcomes. They find themselves working on projects that are formally commissioned by third party commissioning agents and pride themselves on being well prepared for the testing phase.
“If we can automatically run each HVAC device through its sequence of operations to find errors, we can save tons of time when it comes time to turn the system over to the owner,” says Jason Williams, Co-Founder and Director of Business Operations at Platinum Building Automation. “For buildings we service, OTTO™ can take on some of the more tedious testing we find ourselves doing to make sure our clients’ systems are working the way they should be working.”
Platinum Building Automation seeks to change the way building automation is delivered: by providing technical expertise, superior service, and open-sourced products.