UI Facilities Management was recently selected for a 2018 APPA Effective and Innovative Practices Award for its Fault Detection and Diagnostics Program. The award was presented during the 2018 APPA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 3.

In 2014, University of Iowa Facilities Management began studying a growing evolution in building systems management: fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) technology. After visiting Microsoft’s Redmond Campus and seeing the substantial impact FDD had on its facilities operation, the UI embarked on a groundbreaking and large-scale effort to implement FDD in a campus environment. Since March 2017, FDD has been implemented in 49 buildings across the UI campus.

The UI’s FDD program collects and stores building data and then alerts operators and engineers when systems begin to drift out of optimal conditions. The result is early detection, diagnosis, and correction of system inefficiencies. 

“In the first year of implementation, UI’s FDD program addressed 330 work orders related to FDD, which resulted in over $750,000 in realized energy savings,” says Katie Rossmann, manager of data analytics and commissioning. “By addressing issues when they first begin to drift, FM is able to plan and schedule the work before it becomes a comfort issue for our students or an emergency call that impacts the campus learning environment.” 

Other 2018 recipients of APPA’s Effective and Innovative Practices Award are Brown University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Santa Clara University, and the Ohio State University. Each of the five schools are eligible to receive a cash award sponsored by Siemens.

Submissions are assessed on criteria measuring institutional benefit; innovation, creativity, and originality; portability and sustainability; management commitment and employee involvement; and documentation, analysis, customer input, and benchmarking. Projects displaying a high level of innovation and adaptability for implementation at other schools have the best chance of being favorably ranked.

APPA, previously known as the Association of Physical Plant Administrators, promotes leadership in educational facilities for professionals seeking to build their careers, transform their institutions, and elevate the value and recognition of facilities in education. APPA is an association of more than 12,000 educational facilities professionals from 1,300 educational institutions in North America.