Closing Measures in a timely manner is important to achieve the full benefit of the Optimize software. When a measure is created for a site, Optimize will not generate another measure of the same type for that site until the current open measure has been closed. This can prevent other issues from being identified and addressed.
Example: Optimize generates an Early Start measure for Building A. It is determined that this early operation was caused by a tenant overtime request, but the Early Start measure is not closed. One month later a controller failure causes some equipment to turn on earlier than the normal occupied start time; under normal circumstances Optimize would flag this unusual operation as an Early Start, but since the prior measure has not been closed this new Early Start measure is not created, and the controller failure continues unnoticed.
Close a Measure
A measure can either be accessed by:
- Clicking the link in an email alert, or by
- Navigating to the “Measures” tab at the top of the screen and scrolling down to find a specific measure.
- Users will see all open measures for any buildings they have access to, so some users will have a larger list visible than others.
Once the correct Measure has been selected, navigate to the right-hand side of the Measure page window and find the section labeled “Measure Action”. Below this heading will be two dropdown menus for “Owner” and “Status”.
When a Measure is first created the Status will automatically be set to “Waiting for Review." If ownership of the measure is changed via the “Owner” dropdown menu, the Status will automatically switch to “In Progress”. Users can also change the status manually to “In Progress,” but this is not necessary.
A Measure is typically ready to be closed out if one or more of the following are true:
- The operation in question has been investigated and is expected or intentional.
- This includes tenant overtime requests, extremely hot or cold weather, testing of mechanical equipment, etc.
- The operation in question has been investigated and was not intentional or expected, but it was already known about.
- An AHU electric reheat coil failed in the open position on Thursday, on Friday the issue was found during regular rounds but could not be fixed, and on Monday Optimize published a Measure for the AHU’s operation.
- The operation in question has been investigated and was not intentional or expected, and was not previously known about.
- The outdoor temperature sensor is out of calibration and is reading a lower wet-bulb temperature than actually exists, but this is unknown to building staff. During building warm-up the BAS sends a signal to waterside economize based on the faulty wet-bulb reading. The cooling towers now ramp to 100% speed in an attempt to meet CW-Discharge temperature. Optimize generates an Early Start measure based on the excessive morning energy use.
When one of the above Measures is closed out, a status of “Implemented” or “Not Implemented” must be selected. This status is based on the outcome of the Measure and observed performance, and is discussed in detail below.
Implemented Measures
In the above scenarios only number three would be classified as an “Implemented” Measure - but only once the outdoor temperature sensor was fixed or replaced.
For a Measure to be correctly flagged as Implemented, all of the following must be true:
- The operation was not intentional
- The operation was not previously known of
- The root cause of the flagged operation has been fixed or addressed
If points 1 & 2 are true but the root issue has not been resolved, the measure should remain open in either “Waiting for Review” or “In Progress” status. It is also recommended to add notes to the Measure in the “Activity” section, on the right-hand side of the page, under the “Measure Action” section.
If points 1, 2, & 3 above are all true then the Measure should be closed out:
- Select “Closed” from the Status drop down menu.
- New options will appear under the Status menu: “Resolution” and “Reason”. Click on the Resolution drop down and select “Implemented.”
- Select the most appropriate reason that this Measure can now be closed. You may also choose a custom reason, but a comment will be required. Comments are not required for the pre-filled reasons (repaired equipment, updated BAS schedules, etc.) but comments are recommended to aid in future discussions and potential diagnostics.
- Once a reason has been selected and applicable comments have been added click the “Submit” button. A brief confirmation window will appear on screen. Measures can always be re-opened or have their status or reason changed at any time.
Non-Implemented Measures
The other way a Measure can be closed is to mark it Non-Implemented; referring back to the numbered list of possible Measure scenarios, above, options 1 & 2 would each qualify as “Non-Implemented.” This closing status is often more common than Implemented. Non-Implemented refers to any operation, or faulty equipment, or faulty controls that was either:
- Previously known about (Optimize was not the tool which originally brought the issue to your attention)
- Expected, planned, or requested
Closing a Measure as Non-Implemented is a nearly identical step-by-step process as for Implemented, the primary difference being different Reasons for closing the measure.
- Select “Closed” from the Status drop down menu.
- A resolution drop down menu appears, select “Not Implemented.”
- Select an appropriate reason in the drop down menu. Note that the options for Reasons when a Measure is marked "Not Implemented" are different than when marked Implemented.
- Once a reason has been selected and applicable comments have been added click the “Submit” button. A brief confirmation window will appear on screen. Measures can always be re-opened or have their status or reason changed at any time.
- If the reason selected was ‘Inaccurate Schedule’, a link will show up that can be clicked to take the user to the Operating Schedules page for the building so they can update the schedule to reflect the correct occupancy hours.