AIRAH has released its Design Application Manual for Building Management and Controls Systems (DA28). The manual is designed to assist building practitioners understand and manage the rapidly developing world of digital controls in the built environment.

“The motivation behind producing DA28 is to standardise and promote best practice in the controls industry,” says AIRAH CEO Phil Wilkinson, M.AIRAH.

“The manual provides an overview of the entire controls story, from first principles and fundamentals to initial concept, through design and installation to operation, maintenance, and, eventually, upgrade and commissioning.”

The manual was put together by a group of subject matter experts chaired by Jonathon Clarke, M.AIRAH, who is associate - controls and integration, for Norman Disney & Young’s Sydney office.

Clarke says controls can be a contentious subject, and that controls are often incorrectly blamed for poor building performance.

“DA28 is intended to bridge the skill gap between the controls industry, design engineers and building operators,” Clarke says.

“DA28 outlines a generic process for the design and implementation of controls systems, and includes specific detailed and technical information relating to controls systems for HVAC&R and related services.”

The principles and processes outlined in DA28 can be confidently applied to any control system and to any building, regardless of type and size.

Helping to define and standardise the way that control systems are developed, the manual also outlines the critical issues around controls, and promotes a common language.

DA28 includes subjects such as the scoping, design and procurement of systems; the issues of building services’ integration; the process and pitfalls of system installation; and system commissioning.

It also provides a series of recommended sample control routines that can be applied to a range of equipment to achieve robust and energy-efficient results.

“We set out to produce a manual suitable for an industry that’s often perceived as being full of ‘mysterious’ technology,” Wilkinson says. “With DA28, we’ve developed a guide that covers the critical issues, and is both accessible and applicable.”

Copies of DA28 are now available for purchase via the AIRAH online store at or by calling the AIRAH office on 03 8623 3000. 

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