Welcome back to How to Handshake, Optigo Networks’ podcast series on OT networking, building automation, and the conversations that actually move the industry forward.
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Everyone in this industry has a story about how they ended up here, and almost nobody planned it. This week’s guest wanted to draw video game graphics on an Atari ST. Instead, a CAD operator job at a controls company in 1990 turned into a 35-year career — and, eventually, a book.
That guest is Simon Britton, Solutions Architect at BMSI and author of the new book BMS Fundamentals: A Practical Guide for Engineers Entering the Field. Simon joins Ryan and Ping to go all the way back to basics: what is BACnet, what is a BMS actually for, and why does a system that’s supposed to be “the brain of the building” so often get treated like a black box?
Take the BACnet trivia challenge yourself: https://www.optigo.net/blog/bacnet-quiz
What is a BBMD? https://www.optigo.net/blog/what-bacnet-broadcast-management-device-bbmd/
What We Covered:
- What a BMS actually is, in plain terms — and why “box of magic” is the wrong way to think about it
- Why sensor placement and calibration quietly decide whether a BMS makes good decisions or bad ones
- The most common shortcuts (and habits) that undermine alarming and point labeling over time
- Mechanical background vs. IT background: which one gets a newcomer hired faster in 2026
- What “smart building” actually means, separate from the marketing version
- How much networking and cybersecurity knowledge a BMS engineer needs today, and where to start
- BACnet trivia: Simon vs. Ping, ten questions, bragging rights on the line
