VR Training for Building System Engineer
Building system engineers are invaluable and play an important role in ensuring building infrastructure works efficiently. They help translate the requirements and specifications of a building and its system.
A day in the life of a building system engineer involves designing the hardware and software (sensors, controllers, network devices), installing and configuring the systems, regularly maintaining the building management system, providing ongoing support and maintenance, and training and supervising other technicians on how to use and maintain the building management system.
WHY SKILLED BUILDING SYSTEM ENGINEERS ARE NEEDED
A Building Systems engineer is well-versed in many disciplines. They are found at the intersection of engineering, technology, and building systems.
And their job is to create and maintain intelligent, energy-efficient, and sustainable buildings. They play a pivotal role in Risk Assessment and Management by identifying potential faults and providing helpful solutions to mitigate them throughout the system’s life cycle.
Some of their key roles and responsibilities are;
- Documenting stakeholder needs: A building is a complex structure that requires the expertise of different stakeholders, each with their vested interests and needs. When these needs aren’t understood, the building systems engineer designs a system that doesn’t meet expectations. These needs that should be met include functional and non-functional requirements, which are interdependent.
Functional needs highlight what the system must do, like “maintain a comfortable temperature in the building.” Non-functional needs address how the system should do it, such as “the HVAC system should be energy-efficient.” Proper documentation of both ensures the building functions as intended.
- Develop structural blueprint and system architecture: A building systems engineer links the architectural vision and building functionality. The structural blueprint is the skeletal framework of the building. It details the components (beams, columns, foundations) that will bear the weight of the entire structure and ensure its stability. The building systems engineer prioritizes design code and standards, load considerations, and framing to determine the most appropriate and secure structural system.
The system architecture defines the internal systems that bring a building to life. These include HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), plumbing works, electrical systems, fire safety, and security. The engineer designs how these systems will be laid out, interconnected, and sized to meet the specific needs of the building occupants.
- Ensure seamless operation of components: Various systems are put in place in a building and each system depends on each other. It is very important to select systems and components that are compatible to avoid components or systems malfunction which could damage the building structure and in worse case, lead to loss of life in extreme situations. For example, a faulty valve in the bathroom plumbing system could lead to flooding, damaging properties worth millions.
- Risk assessment and management: A building system engineer conducts a risk assessment to anticipate any potential threat to the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, or fire protection system and develop a strong risk mitigation strategy to handle any uncertainty. Mechanical or electrical faults are dangerous; if not properly anticipated, they could impact occupants’ safety and affect building functionality.
LIMITATIONS OF TRADITIONAL TRAINING METHODS
Becoming a building system engineer requires extensive hands-on training with proper guidance. Currently, most students are taught in a classroom setting using textbooks and lectures, and while that is good, it requires much more than that.
Real-world applications aren’t always straightforward and can be messy as unforeseen situations happen. Knowing how to navigate those waters requires sound, hands-on experience.
In a controlled environment like a classroom, mistakes are learning opportunities without any further consequence aside from low grades. However, in the real world, mistakes by a building systems engineer can have serious consequences.
As the profession progressed, on-site shadowing experience was employed so budding building system engineers could experience what it felt like working there.
Also, internships in construction companies that need this service help bridge the gap. They can understudy professionals in the built environment while gaining much-needed experience, reinforcing their beliefs, and strengthening their confidence.
LEVERAGING THE USE OF VR
Virtual Reality (VR) is a simulated 3D environment that enables the user to explore and interact with a virtual environment in a way that imitates their real-world environment with VR headsets.
VR use cases in the building system engineering field provide an immersive and interactive environment for engineers while addressing the problems faced by the traditional method. It proves valuable in the following ways:
- VR simulations provide a safe and controlled environment for hands-on practice and introduce likely site conditions or construction challenges building system engineers face. Trainees can virtually manipulate building system components, practice maintenance procedures, identify potential problems, and troubleshoot these issues.
This interactive learning develops critical thinking and problem-solving, reinforces theoretical knowledge, and develops muscle memory applicable to the field. It also makes it easy for them to make mistakes without worrying about incurring a financial loss or damage to their reputation.
- VR allows budding building system engineers to experience 3D models of building systems and perform various tasks. Some of the things they can do include walking through the HVAC ductwork layouts, inspecting and connecting electrical components, and exploring plumbing fittings and configurations. This interactive simulation solidifies theoretical concepts they must have learned in a classroom and demonstrates their practical application in a risk-free environment.
Below is a 3D model of a building structure. Imagine how it would feel to interact with this model in your physical space and examine each building component. That is what virtual reality offers.
- It can also be used to practice interview sessions about building system engineers, especially when an interviewee is asked to walk the interviewer through how to solve a particular problem. VR provides the perfect environment to do this through a built simulation while conversing with the key stakeholders on why each decision is made.
- VR simulations can also be designed to incorporate collaboration with virtual avatars representing architects, contractors, and other project stakeholders. Trainees practice communicating complex technical information, negotiating solutions, and managing conflicting priorities in a safe, controlled VR environment.
- The construction industry is always changing as new technologies, materials, and building codes come up now and then. VR ensures training programs organized by the relevant governing body can be undertaken remotely by those interested in reducing travel costs associated with traditional training methods.
TYPES OF VR TRAINING FOR BUILDING SYSTEM ENGINEERS
following:
- System installation: Building system engineers could perform a variety of installations in a simulated virtual reality. Some installations are electrical, energy, building heating systems, plumbing, and embedded systems.
- Maintenance procedures: Building system engineers could practice four different maintenance procedures in a virtual environment: corrective, preventive, risk-based, and condition-based. VR simulations of likely faults could be developed so engineers could undergo this training and learn how to solve each one.
- Emergency response: Unforeseen occurrences happen now and then, and as a building systems engineer, you should be able to handle them effectively without losing your cool. Some emergency response simulations that could be practiced are fire outbreaks to see how smoke and heat spread through the building component, how long it takes for that to happen, how the ventilation and sprinkler system put in place can halt the fire outbreak, and what steps occupants should take to control the situation. Other emergency simulations that can be practiced are natural disaster simulation and severe blackouts.
- Design review and collaboration: architects, builders, and other key stakeholders could examine a building information model together in the virtual environment while conversing virtually. This lets them think collectively and share what works and could be better, leading to effective collaboration. This also makes it easy for everyone to be carried alone with no one left behind.
- Code compliance training: Building codes are not static as they undergo continuous refinement in line with technological advancement. Building system engineers should be updated with the latest building codes. VR simulation makes it easy for them to undergo this training in the comfort of their home, saving them time and valuable resources.
CONCLUSION
Leveraging virtual reality for building system engineers is enormous as it significantly solves the issues faced by the traditional training method.
Trainees get hands-on, much-needed experience, and are free to make mistakes and learn from them without damaging implications.
It also reinforces what they’ve learned in the classroom and makes them feel comfortable performing specific tasks and emergency procedures when their services are needed.
The potential is enormous, and we’ve barely scratched the surface. In the next few years, more building engineers will leverage this technology, which will speed up the learning process.
