Clasma, Inc. recently announced a plan to expand their network of technical expertise with the appointment of industry stakeholder, Paul Ehrlich, to program development director to create objective and relevant material for the organization's numerous buildings industry events that include BuilConn, BuilSpec, XML Symposium and M2M Expo and Conference. Ehrlich's initial responsibility will be to develop the curriculum for BuilSpec, a series of regional seminars speaking directly to the consulting, specifying and in-house engineer on how convergence, open systems and whole building integration will directly impact their profession, their business and them personally.

"The addition of Paul Ehrlich to Clasma's team of building specialists strengthens our commitment to providing critical information to the buildings industry community," Anto Budiardjo, Clasma president, said. "Clasma's overall goal is to communicate the countless benefits of whole building integration, and Paul's technical expertise and passion for this industry will allow us to make great strides in this effort."

Ehrlich had previously been with Trane where he served as business development leader guiding the direction and development of Trane's line of building control products. In this role, Ehrlich focused on determining customer needs as it related to potential technologies that will be used for Trane's current and future generations of building control products. Prior to working for Trane, Ehrlich worked for Johnson Controls providing solutions to building owners.

Throughout his career, Ehrlich has been actively involved with various industry groups involved in the creation of new automation standards and technologies. Previous roles include chairing the ASHRAE Guideline 13 committee on how to specify DDC controls and acting as the inaugural chair for the oBIX committee to establish XML standards for building controls.

At BuilConn 2004, Ehrlich was honored with a Buildy Vision Award for his perseverance in promoting whole building integration and interoperability through advocacy, promotion, educational and training endeavors.

Ehrlich's activities with Clasma mirror his plans of an independent consulting company whose primary focus will be helping building owners and managers maneuver their operations through the vast changes prompted by enterprise building management. The main focus will be in the areas of facility and IT integration, convergence and intelligent buildings with additional plans of exploring options related to next-generation real estate and technology development.

"Clasma is involved in so many activities within the buildings industry, and that provides unique access to a network of invaluable resources all dedicated to furthering the move toward whole building integration," Ehrlich said.