Project Haystack has developed a standardized approach to semantic modeling for data produced by devices and equipment, addressing the challenge of poor descriptive information. It enables easier and cost-effective data analysis through the use of 'tags' that describe attributes and relationships within operational data. The initiative, supported by a global open-source community and applied in over 30,000 facilities, simplifies data management and promotes interoperability, ultimately aiding in the smart building initiative.

1. h
PROJECT HAYSTACK
10 Years of Bringing Data Semantics to the Built
Environment

2. 2
Making Data from Diverse Systems
Easy to Work With

3. The Challenge
3
• Data produced by devices and equipment has poor descriptive
information to define what the data means
• Names can’t do the job
• Manual, labor intensive processes are required to add
semantic definitions to data before analysis, presentation and
other value creation can begin
• This barrier adds cost and slows the process of generating
value from data
• The Haystack community has been addressing this problem
by developing a standardized approach to “semantic
modeling” of equipment systems since 2011

4. How Project Haystack Solves the Challenge
4
• Provides a standardized methodology for describing the meaning of data that
makes it easier and more cost-effective to analyze, visualize and derive value
from our operational data
– Built around “tags”: snippets of information that document attributes of any entity
that we wish to describe
– Tags work together within a data model to describe systems, devices and their
relationships in a logical, replicable way that is easily understood by machines and
humans
• Think of it as a “MARKUP LANGUAGE” for data
• Developed by a global open-source community over the last 10 years
• Deployed in over 30,000 facilities

5. Benefits and Value
5
Owner/Operator Facility Management SI/MSI OEMs
• Faster time to
outcomes
• Control and
understanding of
information
• Data uniformity
• Common schema
between and formats
and data exchange
• Data interoperability
• Tagging in accordance
with agreed-upon
industry definitions
• Consistent data
throughout your
facilities
• Integration of data into
one place to deploy
common applications
• Cost-effective to
perform analytics
• Less time curating and
formatting data
• Simplifies workflow
when processing data
• Data portability;
repeatable across all
building types
• Common schema
towards making all
buildings smart
• Deliver value added
services
• Consistent and faster
data configuration
tasks
• Assurance of data
interoperability
• Unified data
communication
Anyone can use Haystack – open source, no cost

6. Enabling a Future Where a Push of a Button
Can Turn Device Data into True Intelligence
6

7. Haystack 4 (2019 - 2021)
7
• Based on a collaboration effort and 8 years of experience by the
worldwide community in applying Haystack across thousands of
buildings worldwide, Haystack 4 extends the model to the next level of
sophistication in semantic modeling
• Developed a taxonomy and an ontology to support the ability to
represent machine-readable relationships of things, their data and each
other
– Taxonomy - Defining the relationships of things; think of a classification tree
– Ontology - Capturing relationships between things
• Support for RDF/Linked Data
– Resource Description Framework - a family of World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C) specifications for metadata data models – extensively used in software
development

8. Applying Haystack – Architectural Flexibility
8

9. The Event
9
Haystack Connect
May 4-6, 2021
A global virtual conference
FREE for all attendees!
www.HaystackConnect.org

10. 10
• Haystack in Practice - Success Story - Coster
Group
• Haystack Benefits in the K-12 Education Market
• Making Data Work for You – How Does Haystack
Help to Ease Concerns with Today’s Ever-Growing
IoT Movement?
• Analysis of Tagged Energy Data Via Machine
Learning
• Recognizing Haystack Permanence – What is the
Next Step?
• Applying Haystack 4 in a Residential Analytics and
Control Application
TRACK 1 - Haystack in Practice

11. 11
• State of the Union for Haystack 4
• Open-Sourcing a Comprehensive Haystack
Def Compiler
• Haystack Core TypeScript Library
• Update from WG#798 - Haystack JSON
Encoding
• Tridium’s Haystack Tag Dictionary
• Dynamic Integration in Digital Twins
TRACK 2 - Technical Track