BACnet B-AEWS Advanced Elevator Workstation Profile

B-AEWS is the BACnet Advanced Elevator Workstation profile (Annex L): what it is, where it's used, and the services it requires.

What B-AEWS Is

A BACnet device profile is a standardized capability level: a checklist of things a device must be able to do before it can wear the label. B-AEWS (BACnet Advanced Elevator Workstation) is the full elevator operator interface, defined in Annex L of ANSI/ASHRAE 135-2024 (clause L.12.1) as an advanced elevator operator workstation that provides full support of the elevator features of BACnet. It supports limited configuration and ongoing commissioning in addition to monitoring and event handling.

The checklist items are BACnet Interoperability Building Blocks (BIBBs), each a named unit of capability such as “can send a read request” (DS-RP-A). B-AEWS is an operator-side (client) profile: it initiates reads, writes, COV (Change of Value) subscriptions, object creation, and device management against other devices, and it receives event notifications rather than generating them. A device documents its profile claim in its PICS (Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement); to verify a claim, ask for the PICS and check the profile line.

Where It’s Used

B-AEWS is the engineering-grade elevator seat, targeted at an operator or technician with a higher level of technical ability.

  • Elevator command workstations. A head end (the central BMS server) console where operators watch Lift and Escalator status, acknowledge alarms, and subscribe to live car data.
  • Elevator commissioning stations. A workstation used at startup to adjust elevator alarm and fault parameters, create notification objects, and back up device configuration.
  • Integrated elevator consoles. A supervisory station that presents elevator events, trends, and event logs across the elevator system.

Required Services

The table below is the exhaustive service set required by the B-AEWS BIBBs. Initiates means the device sends the request or notification; Executes means the device receives and acts on it (responding, for confirmed services). BIBB codes encode the same split: a -A BIBB is the initiating side, a -B BIBB the executing side. A - means the profile does not require that direction; a device may still support it. A service can appear under two capability areas when two different BIBBs use it.

Capability areaServiceRequired by BIBBInitiatesExecutes
Data sharingReadPropertyDS-RP-A, DS-RP-B, DS-EAV-AYesYes
Data sharingReadPropertyMultipleDS-RPM-AYes-
Data sharingWritePropertyDS-WP-A, DS-EAM-AYes-
Data sharingWritePropertyMultipleDS-WPM-AYes-
Data sharingSubscribeCOVPropertyMultipleDS-COVM-AYes-
Data sharingConfirmedCOVNotificationMultipleDS-COVM-A-Yes
Data sharingUnconfirmedCOVNotificationMultipleDS-COVM-A-Yes
Alarm and event managementConfirmedEventNotificationAE-N-A, AE-EAVN-A-Yes
Alarm and event managementUnconfirmedEventNotificationAE-N-A, AE-EAVN-A-Yes
Alarm and event managementAcknowledgeAlarmAE-ACK-AYes-
Alarm and event managementGetEventInformationAE-AS-AYes-
Alarm and event managementGetAlarmSummaryAE-AS-AYes-
Alarm and event managementReadRange (event-log view)AE-ELVM-AYes-
TrendingReadRange (trend-log view)T-AVM-AYes-
Device and network managementWho-IsDM-DDB-A, DM-DDB-BYesYes
Device and network managementI-AmDM-DDB-A, DM-DDB-BYesYes
Device and network managementWho-HasDM-DOB-B-Yes
Device and network managementI-HaveDM-DOB-BYes-
Device and network managementDeviceCommunicationControlDM-DCC-AYes-
Device and network managementTimeSynchronizationDM-MTS-AYes-
Device and network managementUTCTimeSynchronizationDM-MTS-AYes-
Device and network managementReinitializeDeviceDM-RD-A, DM-BR-AYes-
Device and network managementCreateObjectDM-OCD-A, AE-EAVM-A, SCHED-AVM-A, T-AVM-AYes-
Device and network managementDeleteObjectDM-OCD-A, AE-EAVM-A, SCHED-AVM-A, T-AVM-AYes-
Device and network managementAtomicReadFile (backup)DM-BR-AYes-
Device and network managementAtomicWriteFile (restore)DM-BR-AYes-

The view, modify, and management BIBBs add no wire service beyond the rows above. DS-EAV-A (Elevator Advanced View) and DS-EAM-A (Elevator Advanced Modify) read and write elevator-object properties; AE-EAVM-A and AE-ELVM-A adjust elevator event parameters and event-log settings; SCHED-AVM-A views and modifies schedules and calendars; T-AVM-A adjusts trend-log parameters; DM-ADM-A enumerates objects; DM-ANM-A adjusts alarm routing by writing Notification Class recipient lists. Each is carried by the ReadProperty, WriteProperty, ReadRange, CreateObject, and DeleteObject rows above.

ProfileHow it differs from B-AEWS
B-EWSElevator Workstation: one step down. Monitors and controls, but no object creation, event-log modification, or backup and restore
B-EDElevator Display: the basic indicator. Presents elevator status and events with no scheduling, trending, or configuration
B-AECAdvanced Elevator Controller: the device side. It generates the elevator events a B-AEWS handles and serves the live data it subscribes to

What Chipkin Provides

B-AEWS is an operator-side profile: its initiating and notification-receiving behavior is implemented in Chipkin’s BACnet test tooling rather than the shipping device stack, which targets the server-side profiles. Talk to us about building or integrating a B-AEWS operator interface.