This article originally appeared in the September 2025 issue of Immobilier commercial magazine.
Centralizing building technologies is a challenge for any building manager. Imagine the extent of the work for a world-class airport!
ADM Aéroports de Montréal has teamed up with building automation firm ACCS to update the YUL Montréal-Trudeau International Airport and YMX International Aerocity of Mirabel building management system, a strategically important project that includes new software platform implementation to monitor and control the various building systems.
The project will centralize all HVAC system data and integrate existing controls and other essential systems such as electrical power management system and boarding gates. Access to historical data, smart alarms, and new dashboards will simplify building management for ADM and provide real-time visibility.
© ADM Aéroports de Montréal
Needs assessment: A key step
This project is the culmination of a best-practice process that began in 2021 with a needs assessment. According to Martine St-Arnaud, associate director of engineering for major projects at ADM, “we initially wanted to implement a platform to improve our response capacity, automate our infrastructure, and improve our energy management by bringing together different equipment on a single platform.”
To make sure the best software solution was chosen, multiple meetings were held with stakeholders from various departments, including maintenance, instrumentation, and engineering, and the thermal power plant and IT teams, to clearly identify and structure ADM’s needs.
Rigorous tender process and test runs to select the right bid
A call for tenders was issued in 2023 seeking an open centralization and targeted systems management solution for ADM. “We wanted a robust platform that was compatible with existing control equipment and local service to facilitate post-implementation technical support," St-Arnaud explains.
The call for tenders outlined several criteria: software solution and integrator quality, platform functionality, technical and operational reliability, and ironclad security, as well as implementation schedule, project management, training and support, recasting potential, responsible procurement practices, and, of course, price.
During the bidding process, bidders took part in test runs during which the Niagara platform was put online to give the airport’s technical teams a chance to get to know the platform.
Each company had to demonstrate its ability to integrate existing systems, and answer questions from the multidisciplinary selection committee. The test run was an opportunity for ADM to discover the platform’ capacity, and even to brainstorm new ideas. In the end, ACCS was selected as technology partner.
From left to right: Catherine Roy-Cardin, ACCS Associate and Business Partner – Yanik Caissy-Cyr, ACCS Smart Building and Energy Efficiency Expert – Martine St-Arnaud, Associate Director of Engineering for Major Projects at ADM – Eid Haddad, Supervisor, Building Technology Services, ADM – ©JBC Média
Promising results
The project is currently under way, with several teams hard at work:
- Integrating approximately 100,000 new and existing control points
- Optimizing the GUI to reduce the number of pages from 3,500 to 1,500
- Developing customized dashboards and reports
- Generating more than 25,000 historical data entries
- Creating approximately 10,000 dynamic, intelligent energy and operational monitoring alarms
- Migrating energy data to the new platform
“Setting standards and developing data architecture is a crucial step that lays the groundwork for a successful integration project,” says Yanik Caissy-Cyr, ACCS smart building and energy efficiency expert.
Customized training will be provided to approximately fifty people from eight different fields so that ADM teams can access the platform’s full potential.
It’s already clear that the platform will generate significant improvements. “It will optimize building management and service quality,” St-Arnaud points out, “notably by allowing us to manage our buildings proactively thanks to a unified, real-time view. By better controlling our facilities, we’ll improve comfort and energy efficiency. The system also allows for traceability, which will strengthen security.”
©JBC Média
“This project fits perfectly with ACCS’s mission: making life easier for property managers in the long term,” says Catherine Roy-Cardin, ACCS associate and business partner.
The platform will be able to keep evolving and adapting. Baggage carousels, stairways, elevators, moving walkways, automatic doors, electric meters, and charging stations will also be integrated into the platform to provide a comprehensive view and management of the entire facilities at Dorval and Mirabel.
The project is colossal, and so is our team’s ingenuity, at the cutting edge of technology.
ACCS is offering Niagara integration platform demonstrations.
