TIA revising, renaming Building Automation Systems Cabling standard

The Telecommunications Industry Association's (TIA) TR-42.1 Subcommittee on Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling has reopened the TIA-862-A Building Automation Systems Cabling standard in an effort that likely will result in an 862-B standard. At its June meeting, TR-42.1 unanimously agreed to create a task group that will address revising 862-A. The group is chaired by Julie Roy, who made the proposal to reopen the standard.

According to minutes from that June meeting, "The task group will initially be charged with developing recommendations for the scope for TIA-862-B and possibly create an outline for the revision. The group's next meeting is the week of October 1-5.

In a conversation with TIA representatives, Cabling Installation & Maintenance learned that one of the initiatives in the task group's revision efforts will be to rename the standard. Specifically, it is likely that the words "building automation" will be removed from the title and either "intelligent building" or "intelligent buildings" (plural) will become part of the moniker.

Recently we reported on the signing of an honorary and friendship agreement between the TIA and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) "to exchange information and promote harmonious standards development in the areas of intelligent building systems, energy efficiency and sustainable initiatives." At the time that agreement was signed, TIA president Grant Seiffert said, "Convergence is here, today, and is extending well beyond the traditional phone and data services into others, like illumination."

We have no official word on the extent to which the TIA and IES will collaborate on the revision of TIA-862-A. We will continue to follow the development of this standard.