Logistics and distribution centre · Monitoring and control
Monitoring and control in logistics and distribution centre: what the SRI measures
Monitoring and control is the building's nervous system: the building management system that coordinates installations, detects faults, reports energy use and can respond to occupancy and to grid signals.
In short
- 1This page shows how the Smart Readiness Indicator assesses the Monitoring and control domain at a logistics and distribution centre.
- 2This domain carries significant weight here, with a weighting factor of 2 out of 3, because electricity, charging and grid connection often form the bottleneck.
- 3The underlying smart-ready services cover operating hours management of installations, fault detection, occupancy detection and integration with the smart grid.
Weight of this domain for this building type
Which services count
| Service | Lowest level | Highest level | Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run time management of HVAC systems MC-3 · 4 levels | Manual setting | Heating and cooling plant on/off control based on predictive control or grid signals | – |
| Detecting faults of technical building systems and providing support to the diagnosis of these faults MC-4 · 4 levels | No central indication of detected faults and alarms | With central indication of detected faults and alarms for all relevant TBS, including diagnosing functions | – |
| Occupancy detection: connected services MC-9 · 3 levels | None | Centralised occupant detection which feeds in to several TBS such as lighting and heating | – |
| Central reporting of TBS performance and energy use MC-13 · A · 4 levels | None | Central or remote reporting of realtime energy use per energy carrier, combining TBS of all main domains in one interface | level 2 or higher |
| Smart Grid Integration MC-25 · A · 3 levels | None - No harmonization between grid and TBS; building is operated independently from the grid load | Coordinated demand side management of multiple TBS | level 2 or higher |
| Reporting information regarding demand side management performance and operation MC-28 · 3 levels | None | Reporting information on current, historical and predicted DSM status, including managed energy flows | – |
| Override of DSM control MC-29 · 5 levels | No DSM control | Scheduled override of DSM control and reactivation with optimised control | – |
| Single platform that allows automated control & coordination between TBS + optimization of energy flow based on occupancy, weather and grid signals MC-30 · A · 4 levels | None | Single platform that allows automated control & coordination between TBS + optimization of energy flow based on occupancy, weather and grid signals | level 2 or higher |
Worked example
If everything in this domain is at level 0, the domain contributes nothing. At the highest level for all services, the indicative total score for this building type rises by about 22 percentage points (from 25 to 47 percent, with all other domains at level 1).
Why does monitoring and control weigh so heavily at a distribution centre?
A logistics and distribution centre consists of large halls with few occupants, large roof area and growing demand for charging facilities for electric transport. The grid connection is often the limiting factor, not the installations themselves. The Monitoring and control domain, the building management system that coordinates installations and can respond to grid signals, therefore receives a weighting factor of 2 out of 3 possible levels.
This weighting factor determines how heavily the smart-ready services in this domain count towards the total Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) score, a score that expresses how well a building deploys smart technology. For this building type, monitoring and control weighs more heavily than for many residential buildings, because electricity management is central here.
Which services play a role in this domain?
The domain contains various smart-ready services, each with functionality levels from 0 to 4. Operating hours management of climate installations (MC-3) assesses whether heating and cooling respond to building load or to grid signals. Fault detection (MC-4) checks whether defects are visible centrally and whether the system also supports diagnosis.
Occupancy detection (MC-9) is relevant for zone-based lighting in large halls, where much space has few users. Central reporting of energy consumption (MC-13) and integration with the smart grid (MC-25) are directly linked to on-site generation via roof-mounted solar panels and smart charging of electric delivery vehicles.
In addition, MC-28 and MC-29 assess how the building reports on demand response and whether users can override it. MC-30 checks whether a single platform optimises energy flow based on occupancy, weather and grid signals.
What does this mean for the score?
A higher score in this domain requires more than isolated sensors. It is about coordination between systems and control that takes the grid into account. For a distribution centre with large charging needs and limited grid capacity, this is often the domain where the greatest improvement can be achieved.
What this means for you
- Owner
- Invest in coordinated demand response and central reporting, because the grid connection at distribution centres is often the real constraint, not the installations themselves. A higher level in this domain reduces the risk of peak load and makes on-site generation and charging infrastructure more usable.
- Tenant
- As a tenant you will notice this mainly in more stable power supply for charging electric delivery vehicles and fewer unexpected failures in climate and lighting systems. At a higher functionality level, lighting works automatically on occupancy, which improves comfort and energy use in large halls.
- Advisor
- When assessing, check whether demand response is actually coordinated across multiple systems (MC-25 and MC-30), and not just working separately per installation. Also verify that energy consumption and demand response reporting is available in real time and centrally, since this domain weighs twice as heavily here as on average.
Next step
Want to know where your building stands?