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NexusCast #2: Getting the Signals Right: How to Separate Alarms, Faults, and Bad Data
When you turn on a fault detection platform at scale, the volume of signals that come back can bury a team fast, and not all of them are real. Tearle Whitson, who spent years building Microsoft's smart buildings program alongside Darrell Smith before moving to Metronational, breaks down the difference between alarms and faults with the best analogy you'll hear: a fault is having high blood pressure, an alarm is when you've ignored it and are now having a heart attack. From there he goes layer by layer through what he calls a building's DNA (data sources and sensors, networks, and applications), showing where things break down at each level. He shares a war story about a faulty VFD that drove a CT reading error, producing a phantom $2.5 million energy savings figure that cost the team credibility with leadership. His prescription: invest in sensor calibration programs that pay for themselves tenfold, audit your alarms ruthlessly to eliminate nuisance noise, and make sure every fault your platform surfaces is specific, actionable, and tied to real dollars. He closes with advice on marrying fault data with comfort complaints in your CMMS to give technicians the full picture when they respond to hot/cold calls.
Pro members can watch the full recording below. Not a NexusPro Member? Join today.
When you turn on a fault detection platform at scale, the volume of signals that come back can bury a team fast, and not all of them are real. Tearle Whitson, who spent years building Microsoft's smart buildings program alongside Darrell Smith before moving to Metronational, breaks down the difference between alarms and faults with the best analogy you'll hear: a fault is having high blood pressure, an alarm is when you've ignored it and are now having a heart attack. From there he goes layer by layer through what he calls a building's DNA (data sources and sensors, networks, and applications), showing where things break down at each level. He shares a war story about a faulty VFD that drove a CT reading error, producing a phantom $2.5 million energy savings figure that cost the team credibility with leadership. His prescription: invest in sensor calibration programs that pay for themselves tenfold, audit your alarms ruthlessly to eliminate nuisance noise, and make sure every fault your platform surfaces is specific, actionable, and tied to real dollars. He closes with advice on marrying fault data with comfort complaints in your CMMS to give technicians the full picture when they respond to hot/cold calls.
Pro members can watch the full recording below. Not a NexusPro Member? Join today.
This is a great piece!
I agree.