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For building owners & facility managers

You own the building. You should own the controls, too.

If one vendor is the only company that can service your building automation system, that is not a technology problem — it is a leverage problem. Universal Controls Solution is an open, multi-line controls contractor: we represent four major lines under the Tridium Niagara framework, document what you actually have, and work as your advocate rather than a single manufacturer’s sales channel.

Sound familiar?

What owners tell us before they call

None of these are unusual. They are the predictable result of a building being handed a single proprietary system with no documentation.

Where owners get stuck

Only one contractor in the region can service the system — so pricing is whatever they say it is.
The front end is proprietary, so trends, graphics and data are hard to get out.
Nobody has an accurate points list, sequence of operations or as-built database.
Service is billed by the calendar, not by what the building actually needs.
Expanding the campus means buying more of the same locked-in hardware.

What we do about it

Multi-line: four major platforms, so the recommendation fits the building, not our badge.
Open Niagara supervisory layer — your operator experience outlives any one controller generation.
We inventory and document the installed base before proposing scope.
Analytics-driven service: we chase real faults, not scheduled visits.
Phased modernization that protects wiring, field devices and capital budgets.

Signature capability

Live cutovers in occupied buildings — without dropping the plant

Most controls work is easy when you can shut the building down. The hard version is converting a system that cannot stop running: an operating chiller plant in an occupied building, mid-season, with tenants who never find out it happened. That is the work we are known for.

What we have actually done

Converted a live central chiller plant at a State of Colorado facility from Siemens to Distech — to meet the state’s controls standard — without ever losing the plant, in partnership with US Engineering.
Multiple additional live-building cutovers, including occupied tenant spaces, using the same staged method.
Phased migrations that reuse sound wiring and field devices instead of a rip-and-replace.
Point-to-point verification before transfer, so the new system is proven before the old one is retired.

How we de-risk it

Full inventory and documentation of the installed base before a single wire moves.
Written cutover sequence with defined fallback at every step — if something is wrong, we roll back, not improvise.
Temporary control strategies and after-hours transfer windows to protect occupants and process loads.
Coordination with the mechanical contractor, engineer and facility staff as one plan, not three.

Why being multi-line matters here. That project converted a building away from a line we represent and onto Distech, because the owner’s standard called for it. A single-line contractor cannot do that — their answer is always their own product. Ours is whatever keeps your building running and meets your standard.

Open by design

Four major lines — not one proprietary system

Most controls shops in the region sell a single proprietary product line, so every recommendation points back to that one system — and once it is on your campus, you are locked to whoever sells it. UCS represents four major control lines integrated under the open Tridium Niagara framework, so the system we recommend fits your building, your team and your budget.

Lead line

ABB Cylon

Open BACnet field control under a Niagara front end.

Enterprise

Siemens Desigo

Desigo integrated under Niagara.

Broad ecosystem

Honeywell

Proven controllers and a deep field-device catalog.

Institutional

Johnson Controls

Facility Explorer and Metasys for enterprise estates.

Field-earned, not brochure-deep. Our team has installed, programmed and serviced these systems in the field — including lines we do not represent. That first-hand experience lets UCS advocate for the owner, not sell a badge.

How we work

From takeover to long-term partner

Most owner relationships start with a system nobody wants to touch. Here is the usual path.

Step 01

Assess and document

We inventory panels, controllers, field devices and the front end, and tell you plainly what carries forward.

Step 02

Stabilize

Fix what is actively costing you comfort complaints, energy or downtime — before anyone talks about replacement.

Step 03

Phase the modernization

A plan matched to your capital cycle, upgrading in stages while the building keeps running.

Step 04

Operate and improve

Analytics-driven service, benchmarking and reporting so performance is measured, not assumed.

FAQ

Owner questions we hear most

I inherited a system I can’t get anyone else to service. What are my options?

That is the most common call we get. Because we work across four major control lines and integrate on the open Niagara framework, we can usually take over an existing system, document what is actually installed, and give you a phased path forward — without ripping out equipment that still works.

Do I have to replace my whole system at once?

Almost never. We inventory what you have, identify what carries forward, and stage the work around your capital cycle — highest-risk equipment first, with the building running throughout.

What does “open” actually mean for me as the owner?

It means the next contractor can work on your building. Open protocols (BACnet, Modbus) and a Niagara supervisory layer mean your graphics, trends and data are not trapped behind one vendor’s proprietary front end — so you keep leverage at renewal time.

How is your service agreement different?

Traditional agreements bill for calendar-based visits whether anything needs attention or not. Ours are analytics-driven: we use system data to find the specific points and equipment that need work, so you pay for resolved issues and uptime instead of routine truck rolls.

Inherited a system nobody wants to touch?

Send us the building and we’ll tell you honestly what you have and what it needs. Call (720) 282-5099 or request a quote.

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