A Building Management System (BMS), also referred to as a Building Automation System (BAS), is used to control and monitor facilities’ systems like heating, cooling, and ventilation, but also lighting, power, fire, and security systems. While a BMS focuses primarily on the real-time control aspect, one very key differentiator is that the sole purpose of an Environmental Monitoring System (EMS) is to very accurately monitor equipment and environmental conditions within the facility in real-time, and provide actionable insights through reporting and alarms. The EMS data is an invaluable tool for example to get a drug to market faster, prove compliance, and increase research reproducibility by removing variables. It’s a scientific tool built for scientific purposes – which a BMS is not.

The BMS is primarily used by facilities teams while an EMS is critical for laboratory staff and quality departments. An EMS adds additional insight and more importantly: granularity to what’s going on in your facility by very accurately and independently monitoring conditions, such as temperature, humidity, CO2, and air quality. They can also measure data from critical equipment such as fridges, freezers, bioreactors, and incubators.

In industries such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and other GxP-regulated environments, facilities require both Control (BMS) and Monitoring (EMS) solutions as they’re both essential in reducing external variables that can be detrimental to scientific work. Since Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) are based on regulatory compliance and validation, an EMS is not just helpful, but required, to adhere to strict regulations.