System integrators have historically been QA Graphics’ primary customers, and that will likely continue to be the case.
They have the relationship with the building owner. They understand the control system. They know the project scope, the equipment, the sequences, and how the owner plans to operate the facility.
That is exactly why we continue to ask one question:
Why are more building owners coming directly to QA Graphics after a BAS project has already been completed to have the user interface and graphics improved?
In many cases, the controls system is functioning properly. The project technically meets the specification. The equipment graphics, floor plans, alarms, and navigation are all present.
But the building owner still feels that the final user interface does not match the quality, complexity, or importance of the facility.
They are then spending additional money to modify the interface, improve the navigation, replace generic graphics, create more accurate equipment representations, and develop a more consistent visual standard.
The demand was there. The budget was available. The owner was willing to pay.
The opportunity simply was not presented during the original project.
The Integrator Does Not Need to Build a Graphics Department
The common explanation is that system integrators are already overloaded.
Their programmers, engineers, project managers, and controls technicians are focused on completing installation, programming, startup, commissioning, and closeout. Graphics are often one of the final items completed, and by that point the schedule and budget may already be under pressure.
That is understandable.
What is harder to understand is why more integrators are not using an outside graphics partner to offer a better solution.
QA Graphics already works as an extension of system integrator teams. We can complete the floor plans, system graphics, equipment graphics, navigation, dashboards, and overall visual standard without requiring the integrator to hire additional employees or pull technical staff away from controls work.
The system integrator maintains the customer relationship. The integrator controls the scope. The integrator includes the work in the proposal and has an opportunity to add margin.
QA Graphics performs the production work behind the scenes.
This is not additional work for the integrator. It is an additional service the integrator can sell.
There Is a Difference Between Functional Graphics and Owner-Specific Graphics
A BAS interface can be functional without being particularly good.
It may show the required points, allow the operator to adjust setpoints, display alarms, and provide access to trends. From a contractual standpoint, that may be enough.
But building owners are increasingly looking for more than minimum compliance.
They want an interface that reflects their buildings, their systems, their operating procedures, and the people who use the BAS every day.
That can include:
- Equipment graphics that accurately represent the installed systems
- Floor plans that match the building and clearly display zones, sensors, ductwork, and room information
- Consistent navigation across buildings and campuses
- Dashboards designed around the owner’s priorities
- Clear visual hierarchy so operators can find important information quickly
- Standard colors, typography, naming, and layouts
- Interfaces that work across different manufacturers and controls platforms
- Graphics designed for large monitors, control rooms, and command centers
- A consistent owner standard that can be reused on future projects
These are not unnecessary cosmetic upgrades. They can directly affect how quickly operators understand system conditions, find equipment, respond to alarms, and train new employees.
Data Centers Are a Clear Example
Data centers are one area where we are seeing this happen more often.
The BAS in a data center may include air handling systems, cooling equipment, electrical systems, generators, UPS equipment, pumps, heat exchangers, containment areas, environmental monitoring, and other critical infrastructure.
The facility may also have multiple buildings, equipment rooms, data halls, and layers of redundancy.
A generic manufacturer graphic may technically display the necessary points, but it often does not communicate the system in a way that matches how the facility team monitors and operates the site.
Data center owners frequently want graphics that are specific to their equipment and facility layout.
They may request:
- Custom cooling system graphics
- Data hall layouts
- Equipment status dashboards
- Redundancy and system relationship views
- Site and campus navigation
- Electrical and mechanical system overviews
- Graphics designed for network operations centers or large displays
- Consistent interfaces across multiple facilities
- Visual standards that can be used as new sites are built
These companies are making major investments in uptime, infrastructure, controls, and operational staffing. They understand that the BAS interface is part of the operating environment.
They are often willing to invest in improving it.
The issue is that the custom graphics option may not have been presented during the original controls project.
Healthcare, Campuses, and Complex Facilities Have the Same Need
This is not limited to data centers.
Hospitals, laboratories, universities, school districts, manufacturing facilities, government campuses, and large commercial portfolios often have the same problem.
The controls system may be installed one project at a time, sometimes by different contractors and across different generations of software.
The result can be inconsistent navigation, different graphic styles, different naming conventions, and no common user experience across the owner’s buildings.
A hospital may want clearer graphics for isolation rooms, operating rooms, laboratories, and critical pressure relationships.
A university may want one navigation and graphics standard used across dozens of buildings.
A manufacturing facility may want equipment graphics that more closely match its production and mechanical systems.
A school district may want building and floor plan graphics that make it easier for a small facilities team to move between multiple locations.
The system integrator is in the best position to identify and sell these improvements because the integrator already understands the owner and the project.
The integrator does not have to perform all the design work internally to provide the solution.
The Upgrade Should Be Presented Before the Project Is Finished
The worst time to discuss the quality of the BAS interface is after the standard graphics have already been completed.
At that point, the owner may feel that they are being asked to pay twice. The integrator may be reluctant to reopen the project. The controls team has moved on to other work.
A better approach is to present the graphics options early.
For example:
Standard BAS Graphics
Manufacturer-standard graphics designed to meet the basic project requirements.
Enhanced Owner Graphics
Improved floor plans, equipment graphics, navigation, layouts, and visual consistency based on the owner’s facility and operational needs.
Owner UI Standard
A complete graphics and navigation standard that can be reused across future buildings, projects, and controls platforms.
This gives the owner a clear choice.
Not every customer will select the upgraded option. Some projects will remain driven primarily by price, schedule, or basic specification compliance.
But some owners will absolutely see the value.
We know that because they are already paying for these improvements after the project is complete.
Better Graphics Can Also Protect the Integrator’s Relationship
When a building owner seeks out another company to improve a recently completed BAS interface, it creates an unnecessary opening in the relationship.
Even when the controls system is operating correctly, the owner may associate the disappointing user experience with the integrator that delivered it.
That is avoidable.
By offering an enhanced graphics option, the system integrator can demonstrate that it understands the difference between simply completing the controls scope and delivering a better final product.
It also gives the integrator another way to differentiate itself from competitors using the same controls platform.
Most manufacturers provide access to similar standard graphic libraries and tools. A custom interface gives the integrator an opportunity to provide something specific to the customer rather than another version of the same default BAS screens.
There Is Also an Opportunity for Margin
This should not be ignored.
System integrators already have the customer relationship and are already managing the project. A graphics partner allows them to add a specialized service without adding permanent overhead.
The integrator can include the graphics work in the project, manage it as part of the overall solution, and apply an appropriate margin.
QA Graphics handles the design and production.
The integrator is not being asked to take on an entirely new type of business. It is simply using a qualified partner to expand what it can offer.
That same model is already used throughout the construction and controls industries. Specialized work is routinely performed by partners and subcontractors while the primary contractor manages the customer and overall delivery.
Custom BAS graphics should not be treated differently.
QA Graphics Does Not Compete With the Integrator
This part matters.
QA Graphics does not install controls, perform programming, complete commissioning, or provide competing controls services.
Our focus is graphics and design.
That allows us to support the system integrator without creating a threat to the integrator’s customer relationship or core business.
We can work within the integrator’s process, standards, and preferred platform. We can support a single project or help develop a repeatable graphics standard that the integrator can offer across multiple customers.
The integrator remains the controls provider.
QA Graphics becomes the graphics production partner.
The Demand Is Already Visible
Building owners are not coming to QA Graphics because they want to replace their controls contractor.
They are coming to us because they want the system they already purchased to be easier to use, more specific to their facility, and better aligned with their expectations.
That should be viewed as useful market feedback.
Owners are demonstrating that BAS graphics have value beyond simply meeting the specification.
The opportunity for system integrators is to recognize that demand earlier and include it in the original conversation.
The integrator already has the relationship.
The owner already has the need.
QA Graphics already has the production capability.
The missing step is offering the solution before the owner has to go looking for it somewhere else.
