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Green Strategies For Office Buildings

Tuesday, June 16, 2009 4:11:41 AM

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By Brandon Lorenz

The interests of the developer and tenant have never aligned. Developers want to make money (by reducing construction costs) and tenants want to save it (by reducing operating costs). Because developers have historically won that battle, much of the nation’s existing office space isn’t green.

That doesn’t mean that office buildings can’t be made green. In fact, there are some of established road maps to make the process easier — the Energy Star Label for Buildings program and LEED-EB Operations and Maintenance (LEED-EB O&M).

Energy Star is the place to start for two reasons: First, Energy Star was developed initially for office space. Second, tackling energy is the best way to save money on energy costs that can be put towards other green measures.

Energy Star can also be a stepping-stone to LEED-EB O&M certification. A building must score at least 69 on the Energy Star program to get LEED-EB O&M certification. Because Energy Star uses a 100-point scale, a building with a 69 is among the top 31 percent of all buildings when it comes to energy performance. “If your building doesn’t hit 69 in Energy Star, that’s one of your first challenges out there,” says Dirk Mason, director of LEED services for consulting firm Leonardo Academy Inc.

There are many ways to increase the performance of a building in Energy Star. One of the easiest low-cost ways is to make sure that the operating schedule in the BAS/EMS matches building occupancy. “You can be conditioning empty spaces and not be aware of it,” says Camilla Gunderson, senior property manager at Opus Corp’s Crescent Ridge, a multitenant office building in Minnetonka, Minn., which earned LEED-EB Gold certification this year.

Achieving the score was also the culmination of years of work gradually upgrading building systems. Lights that began as 32-watt units are now using 25-watt lamps. “When a motor needed to be replaced, we’ve chosen the premium efficiency motor where it was possible to do that,” Gunderson says.

This leads to a broader lesson: Focus on process, not outcome. Facility staff may do the Energy Star benchmark and get a number so low they give up, says Nicholas Stolatis, director, strategic initiatives, TIAA-CREF Global Real Estate. Staff need to be told that while hitting a 75, the minimum required to earn an Energy Star designation, is ideal, not all buildings will reach that point and that the goal is continuous improvement, he says.

Once progress is made on Energy Star, consider LEED-EB O&M. In Minneapolis, working on LEED certification helped the property management team focus closely on improving operations beyond energy, Gunderson says.

Read the free LEED-EB O&M checklist offered by the U.S. Green Building Council to start thinking about what points to aim for. Determine which points the building already can obtain, which points can be obtained with minimal work, which points require capital investment, and which points are impractical, Mason says.

Some points will be difficult for multitenant buildings to get. Alternative commuting transportation and sustainable purchasing credits have reporting requirements that many property managers would find impractical, especially in buildings with more than one tenant. Offsetting that are other credits within easier reach. Earning the Energy Star label for buildings would garner four LEED points.

LEED awards points based on the level above the minimum score of 69 in Energy Star. Water efficiency points are easy to earn with faucet aerators, and low flow flush valves or diaphragms, says Mason.

Most multitenant buildings can achieve LEED-EB Silver or Gold certification even if tenants aren’t active participants, Mason says.

“What we have also found is that if you are able to engage the tenants early in the process and educate them, they are much more willing to participate,” he says. Tenants that want to go green can independently pursue LEED-CI.

LEED isn’t for everyone. Some organizations don’t want to pay the certification fees. Still, there are plenty of changes property managers and tenants can make to go green without LEED.

Hines launched a program called Hines Green Office For Tenants this year to help tenants green their operations. Among the tips in the free tenant guide Hines offers tenants: Buy recycled copy paper, and commit to recycling it. Run copies on both sides of paper. Use paper cups instead of plastic or Styrofoam. When remodeling, have the carpet sent back to the mill for recycling. Buy low-VOC wallcoverings. Buy Energy Star appliances. In the summer, draw blinds to reduce the HVAC load. Walk the building at night periodically to make sure lights and copiers are shut off.

“These are all things that can be done and make a big impact and not have an added expense,” says Ilene Allen, vice president of corporate operations for Hines.

Recycling is another way tenants can go green and cut costs. That’s because in many jurisdictions the tipping fees to collect recycling are either significantly reduced compared to trash collection, or free, says Mason.

“In Manhattan, we had a building where the trash removal contract was no cost,” says Stolatis. “The trash hauler was picking up our garbage for nothing because we were recycling and separating the paper and it had enough value to offset the cost.”

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Medical Center Undergoes Retrocommissioning

Tuesday, June 16, 2009 4:11:39 AM

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By Chris Matt
Building Operating Management

Part 1: Poor Design Leads to Retrocommissioning

When Roger Boyington and his department took control of the Maine Medical Center Research Institute in 2000, the facility was brand new. The problem was, it did not operate the way a new facility should. Instead, it was wasting energy and driving up utility costs like a building in need of repair.

So, four years after construction crews turned over the research facility, Boyington and a team of staff and consultants decided to retrocommission it, hoping to eliminate inefficiencies while improving the bottom line. As unusual as it might be to retrocommission a four-year-old facility, Boyington had no choice considering the institute never performed as intended since the day he received the keys.

“It was ineffective commissioning, and there were some design issues in the very beginning that caused the building to operate very poorly,” says Boyington, Maine Medical Center’s director of engineering services. “Initially, we had undergone the retrocommissioning process to see how much we could tweak the building before we looked at more intensive fixes for the conditions we were experiencing inside the building.”

Boyington and his team had to identify low-cost and no-cost retrofits related to the building’s components and operations, as well as the unavoidable, more expensive upgrades. The team focused its attention on the building’s HVAC and lighting systems, and the organization has reduced energy use and lowered utility costs since completing the retrocommissioning project in fall 2004. The maintenance and engineering department’s proactive approach helped eliminate inefficiencies that only would have worsened as the building aged.

Stumbling at the Start
The research facility in Scarborough, Maine, is five miles from the primary campuses that comprise the Maine Medical Center in Portland. The medical center features two campuses in Portland totaling almost 1.5 million square feet, and the Scarborough campus has four buildings totaling 320,000 square feet. Out of all that space, it was the relatively small 62,000-square-foot research facility that was giving the engineering department its biggest headache.

“At some point, it was overwhelming,” Boyington says. “You realize you need to assemble a team of folks that could really dedicate themselves to the fixes and identifying the root causes of what was going on.”

Laboratories are energy intensive in nature, due to the need for 100 percent outside air. Typical commercial and institutional facilities operate at 25 percent outside air, Boyington says. But from Day 1, he knew the institute’s high energy demand went beyond typical requirements for laboratory energy use. Unfortunately, the maintenance and engineering department did not understand the level of inefficiency until the building was occupied. Boyington and his department were not involved in the design and construction process, so their input came only after the systems were up and running.

For example, the building was designed to function off return air, despite the laboratory’s need for 100 percent outside air. Nobody changed the capacity of the chillers, the capacity of the air handler or the size of the air intakes to account for the 50 percent of air the building was not getting back.

“It took us awhile to get our handle on it, but it was clear that a lot of the bugs in the building weren’t working themselves out,” Boyington says of the mechanical and control systems. “As the building ages, a lot of those either go away or they correct themselves. (But) the bugs seemed to be multiplying.

“There were more of them, so we undertook this retrocommissioning approach utilizing a consultant. We realized we didn’t have the expertise in house to do this.”

Part 2: Retrocommissioning: Calibrating HVAC Controls Saves Energy

Boyington’s retrocommissioning team included a design engineer, a consultant, general contractors, and maintenance and operations staff. The consultant recommended 18 measures the research facility could implement to reduce energy use and costs. The medical center incorporated 15 of those measures into the renovation project and is implementing the three remaining recommendations.

The most significant retrofit came in the form of a 30-ton, 12,000 cubic feet per minute air-handling unit installed on the rooftop above the institute’s administrative offices. The facility’s original design called for the central HVAC system to cool the laboratory spaces and the administrative offices. But because the laboratories require 100 percent outside air, the administrative offices were getting that same amount of fresh air — and consequently using too much energy — even though the air was unnecessary outside the lab environment.

Fortunately for Maine Medical Center, the team could add the rooftop unit fairly easily due to the building’s design. After adding the unit, all of the central air-handling capacity was dedicated to the laboratory side of the facility, which helped achieve the original design goals. Also, the unit above the administrative spaces, unlike the central system, can function in economizer mode. So despite installing a 30-ton air-handling unit, which typically would increase a facility’s energy use, the organization actually reduced its energy consumption, Boyington says.

While adding an air-handling unit was one of the most expensive renovations resulting from the retrocommissioning process, Boyington and his team also made significant progress toward energy efficiency with a handful of low-cost or no-cost retrofits.

For example, the first measure recommended by the consultant involved calibrating enthalpy controls for the central air-handling unit. This measure cost Maine Medical Center $1,200, but the consultant estimated it would save about $26,700 annually. This action has had the biggest payback among all the retrofits because the controls had a significant impact on improving the efficiency of the air-handling units. Ironically, a low-cost retrofit had produced the biggest results.

“It was a pleasant surprise,” Boyington says. “It definitely was not expected because nine times out of ten, you want to think that the thing that’s going to make the biggest difference is also going to cost the most. That would be the typical linear thinking.

“In the retrocommissioning world, we’ve found there are low-cost, no-cost bargains out there where certain things have been bypassed or certain things are in need of minor repairs or adjustments that allow the system to function the way it should have functioned in the beginning.”

Other measures incorporated into the project include:

• changing the operating schedule on air handlers, chillers, and boilers

• instituting a lighting survey, upgrading to high-efficiency, T8 fluorescent lamps, and specifying lighting controls

• relocating static-pressure sensors on four major exhaust fans

• isolating terminal heating equipment during non-heating season.

The retrocommissioning process began in spring 2004, and the medical center completed the retrofits associated with the project in spring 2005. Most of the renovations were related to the central plant, so despite the 24-7 nature of the laboratory, the team did not face scheduling challenges because the work took place outside of occupied areas.

“It was pretty smooth once we identified the opportunities and identified the remaining members of our team, whether it was the lighting consultant, the electrical folks or the mechanical folks that were going to help us,” Boyington says. “You identify the projects and get them on board.”

Since the completion of the project, the research institute has realized savings in energy use and costs: Energy use overall is down 10 percent. Here is a look at the annual savings related to natural gas, electricity and water:

• The research facility has cut down on natural-gas use by 2.5 million cubic feet, generating $28,600 in savings.

• The organization has reduced electricity by 250,000 kilowatts, saving $30,000.

• The building has reduced its water and sewer consumption by 1.1 million gallons, saving $7,000.

“The first thing was trying to establish a baseline (for the building), and the next thing was trying to establish the operating parameters of the systems within it,” Boyington says of the team’s approach to the project. “Then trying to make those as efficient and effective as they can be. That was the path that we used, knowing full well that it wasn’t going to be as energy efficient as some of the other buildings that we had to compare it to.”

Manager’s Role
Unlike the original design and construction process, Boyington and the operations and maintenance department spearheaded the retrocommissioning project.

“You have to be involved right from the very beginning, from the ground floor,” he says. “In the case of this building, there unfortunately was a lot of history that had gotten out ahead of us. We had a lot of catch-up to do as far as getting things going. Essentially, we took over an operating building.”

Boyington understood it was imperative his department get operating costs, energy use and environmental quality under control in a hurry. And despite the relatively young age of the building, Boyington did not waste any time getting the retrocommissioning project underway. During the project, Boyington remembered a quote he once heard related to retrocommissioning, which helped keep things in perspective throughout the process.

Says Boyington, paraphrasing the quote, “Every building gets commissioned eventually. Sometimes, those problems take 25-30 years to solve. Sometimes, it takes two weeks to solve them, but every building gets commissioned eventually. And this is one of those. As we started in the retrocommissioning process, we were finding opportunity after opportunity after opportunity of things to make better.”

Part 3: Retrofits Improve Occupant Comfort, Infection Control in ORs

While the retrocommissioning project at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute focused on energy efficiency, creating a healthy indoor environment was the primary driver for another project implemented on the organization’s main campus.

Maine Medical Center in Portland features 20 operating rooms designed and constructed in the 1980s. As more advanced medical equipment and technology made their way into the operating rooms, the maintenance and engineering department had to account for equipment-generated heat and infection control.

“In those 20-year-old (operating-room) suites, we were trying to accommodate 20 years of an exponential growth in technology,” says Roger Boyington, Maine Medical Center’s director of engineering services.

The medical center started retrocommissioning the operating rooms in fall 2006 and finished implementing the retrofits in summer 2007. While the renovations did address occupant comfort, they also improved energy efficiency.

Boyington and his team spent a great deal of time calibrating controls related to the operating rooms’ HVAC system, and they monitored pressure and airflow relationships associated with infection control.

“I’m trying to take something that was designed at 70-72 degrees in 1982 and running it down around 68 degrees and accommodating all the growth and technology,” Boyington says of the HVAC system.

The department specified variable-speed drives, air blenders, and occupancy controls for the operating rooms. The department also worked closely with the operating-room staff, infection-control personnel, safety staff at the medical center, and general contractors to achieve its goals of creating a comfortable, healthy indoor environment.

“Everyone had to work together as a team in order to do that,” Boyington says. “This was pure comfort. It had nothing to do with energy.”

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Environmentally friendly light bulbs ?can give you skin cancer?

Monday, April 27, 2009 3:17:50 PM

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By JENNY HOPE
Daily Mail

Energy-saving light bulbs can be bad for your skin, doctors are warning.

The fluorescent devices produce a more intense light and can aggravate a range of existing problems, especially in those with light-sensitive conditions.
Eco-bulbs are due to become compulsory in British homes within four years. But campaigners want the Government to allow an opt-out so people with health problems can still use old-style incandescent bulbs.

There have been growing concerns that low-energy light can trigger migraines, as well as dizziness, loss of focus and discomfort among those with epilepsy.
There have also been complaints from sufferers of lupus - an auto-immune disease causing many symptoms including pain.
The latest warning was issued by Spectrum - an alliance of charities working with people with lightsensitive conditions - and the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD).
Critics complain low-energy lights are either "cold" or "green," take up to a minute to warm up properly and because they are fluorescent, flicker.
Dr Colin Holden, president of the BAD, said: "It is important that patients with photosensitive skin eruptions are allowed to use lights that don't exacerbate their condition. Photosensitive eruptions range from disabling eczema-like reactions, to light sensitivities that can lead to skin cancer.
"It is essential that such patients are able to protect themselves from specific wavelengths of light emitted by fluorescent bulbs, especially as they are often trapped indoors because they can't venture out in natural sunlight."
Andrew Langford, of the Skin Care Campaign, said: "Incandescent light bulbs are the only source of electric light for many thousands of people with light-sensitive conditions.
"Add to this the thousands whose conditions or treatments may secondarily cause them to be light-sensitive, and you have a large number potentially being isolated in the dark.
"The Government simply must allow incandescent light bulbs to be available to these people, their families, friends and employers, and at a fair price."
Spectrum, which is running a campaign to raise awareness of the impact on health of switching to lowenergybulbs, says as many as 340,000 people could be affected.
Last week, the Migraine Action Association was inundated with calls from sufferers who linked attacks to exposure to the newstyle lighting.
Spectrum is urging the government to allow incandescent light bulbs to be supplied to people with health problems, which would enable protection of the environment without penalising those unable to live with fluorescent lighting.
One option could be to allow the purchase of environmentally friendly energy efficient incandescent bulbs which GE Consumerand Industrial is currently developing and hopes to market in 2010.
The Lighting Association says modern low-energy bulbs give a constant flicker-free light, although a small number of health problems have been reported by people using cheap poor-quality varieties.
The Energy Saving Trust, the Government's body to promote energy efficiency, says we should buy only bulbs with the Energy Saving Recommended - ESR - logo.

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HVAC Maintenance and Energy Savings

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 7:20:21 AM

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Staying One Step Away from HVAC Trouble Part 1
By James Piper, P.E.

In spite of years of studies, demonstration programs, and published stories to the contrary, most facility organizations today still operate in a reactive mode. Though facility executives know that is far better to schedule maintenance activities using planned and predictive maintenance tools, most continue to spend the bulk of their resources operating reactively. The most common reasons cited for this is the lack of sufficient resources.

This approach to maintenance with respect to HVAC systems is particularly troubling given the role that HVAC systems play in today’s facilities. HVAC systems in typical commercial buildings are responsible for more than 40 percent of total energy use. Keeping HVAC systems running properly and at peak efficiency is the first step in managing facility energy use.

The importance of good HVAC system maintenance goes beyond just controlling energy use. Buildings today depend on properly operating systems for more than just people comfort. For example, most telecommunications systems have requirements for specific environmental conditions to operate properly. Temperatures and humidity levels that fall outside of this range can lead to interruption in services and even costly system failures. Sometimes the difference between keeping a business running and having to shut down is nothing more than proper HVAC system maintenance.

What Goes Wrong
In spite of all the supporting data and facility executives’ efforts, most organizations underfund maintenance. Reactive maintenance remains the norm, not the exception. Maintenance is deferred. Planned and predictive maintenance remain the exception. The most commonly cited reason for not performing routine and preventive maintenance on HVAC equipment is lack of resources. The C-suite rarely has facility experience and does not fully understand the need for maintenance. To many who establish and control budgets, maintenance is an overhead cost. Like other overhead costs, steps should be taken to reduce it. Reducing overhead costs increases profit margins. And like other overhead costs, the only impact of this reduction is reduced costs. Proper maintenance of HVAC systems requires careful planning and forward thinking, both of which become lost when maintenance is considered nothing more than an overhead expense.

Contributing to this belief is the unfortunate fact that HVAC systems are not the most noticeable components in a facility. Unlike highly visible items, such as carpet or lighting systems, most HVAC systems are out of sight and out of mind, until something goes wrong. And when something does go wrong, it is too late for maintenance to be performed efficiently. Maintenance at that point becomes reactive.

Reactive maintenance is the most costly way to maintain building HVAC systems. Organizations that have implemented comprehensive planned and predictive maintenance programs show dramatic decreases in maintenance costs. And when factors are included, such as extended equipment life, reduced energy use, less frequent system downtime, and decreased interruptions to building operations, organizations that have implemented comprehensive maintenance programs find that their total costs can be as much as 50 percent lower than the costs for those organizations that continue maintain equipment reactively.

While it is easy to blame those who control the budget, facility executives themselves are at least partially to blame. If facility executives are to receive the budgetary support necessary to carry out their mission, they must present their case in the terms that are best understood by budget managers. Simply saying that money is needed to overhaul or replace a chiller, particularly when the chiller is still running, is not enough. Facility executives should be able to demonstrate the consequences of ignoring HVAC system maintenance while identifying the real cost savings associated with comprehensive maintenance. Demonstrate that dollars spent on the maintenance of these systems will result in an improvement in the bottom line.

Location, location, location. The phrase is a real estate cliché. In maintenance budgeting, the key is documentation, documentation, documentation. Funds in organizations, particularly during economic downturns, are limited. Competition for those funds is intense. Other departments have pet projects that they are promoting. They are the competition. If facility executives want to level the playing field, they should make the case that investing money in HVAC maintenance will provide the organization a rate of return that is equal to or even greater than what others are promoting. And that requires documentation.

Properly maintaining HVAC systems provides a number of benefits that facility executives readily understand. Proper documentation of these benefits will help budget managers develop the same level of understanding.

Energy Savings
One of the easiest benefits to document is how HVAC maintenance affects energy efficiency. Facilities in which proper HVAC maintenance is completed will use at least 15 to 20 percent less energy than those where systems are allowed to deteriorate.

For example, consider the operation of a central building chiller. Building chillers typically are the single largest user of electricity in a facility. To keep them operating as efficiently as possible, maintenance tasks must be performed on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. Let them lapse, and efficiency will decrease, increasing energy use.

Start with the chiller operating log. Work with the chiller manufacturer or a service company to translate the log data into an operating efficiency curve for the chiller. Develop a similar curve for what the efficiency of the chiller would be if all maintenance were performed at the recommended intervals. The difference between the two operating efficiencies can be translated into energy and cost savings. Due to the high energy use of the equipment, even small increases in efficiency will result in large savings.

While the energy savings estimates for chillers, boilers, and many other HVAC systems is straightforward, others savings estimates may not be. Consider outside air dampers. Air dampers require regular maintenance to respond properly to the temperature control system’s demand for ventilation air. If the damper linkage is out of adjustment, or if it sticks open, more ventilation air will be introduced than necessary, requiring the system to use more heating or cooling energy to condition that air.

Regular inspection, testing and maintenance of the damper will keep it operating properly, minimizing energy use. Document what needs to be done, how much it will cost, and what the cost would be for a stuck damper. Show how much a stuck open damper would cost in terms of energy use.

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Emergency Response: When Minutes Count Part 2,3

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 3:13:44 AM

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Part 2: Silent Partners In Fire Safety
Naomi Millán


In an emergency, properly maintained facility systems are allies in addressing the situation, while letting seemingly minor things slide adds to the havoc. To fully prepare a facility for an emergency, it is important to make sure the fire and life safety systems are tested and maintained to code, says David Klein, deputy fire marshal with City of Las Vegas Fire and Rescue.

“You don’t want them not to work when you need them,” he says. “There’s no obvious ROI on them, besides a break on insurance, so they tend to be forgotten.”

There are also a lot of passive fire containment features in buildings, such as fire doors, fire walls, and firestopping that should not be compromised, he says. When doing internal improvements, facility executives should be sure fire walls are not being taken down or fire-rated doors cut in half, for example.


Part 3: Evacuating During A Fire



In general, facility executives can feel confident that their facility's population will not get in the way of the first responders once they're on site, says John Welling, chairman of the National Fire Protection Association's 1620 committee on pre-incident planning, director of environmental health and safety with Bristol Myers Squibb, and a municipal fire chief in New Jersey.

"What people aren't good at is realizing how devastating a fire can be," he says. Fire doubles every 30 seconds. Despite this danger, when facility occupants participate in a drill, they can have too much of relaxed attitude. The habits people form can also work as blinders in an emergency.

"People are like ants," Welling says. "They use the same stairwell, the same door every day. You block that door and they don't know what to do."

Impressing the seriousness and importance of drills on a facility's population, and not just in the wake of larger national tragedies, will help ensure a facility is truly prepared for an emergency.

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Emergency Response: When Minutes Count Part 1

Sunday, April 12, 2009 9:59:57 PM

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Naomi Millán
Building Operating Management

Part 1: Prepare for Emergencies by Networking with First Responders



The 911 call goes out. In minutes the fire engine or police cruiser tears into the parking lot. First responders rush to the building, and find — what? Crucial information at the ready? Keys on hand? A facility executive who understands that the incident commander is now in charge?

Emergency response planning goes beyond writing a plan and conducting drills, though these are crucial aspects of preparedness. Even as pre-incident emergency response planning tends to focus on getting people out, facility

executives working towards safe-guarding their facilities should also think about who needs to get in during an emergency. Doing everything possible to make the transition of control as smooth, swift and informed as possible will go a long way to improving the outcome of any emergency situation.

Being a good partner for local emergency response agencies starts with becoming more than just a street address to them. It also includes providing easy access into the facility, knowing the facility and its systems inside and out and acknowledging when to get out of the way to let the pros handle the situation.

Getting to Know You
Few facilities are islands reliant only on their own resources. For this reason it is a good idea to meet people within the community agencies who will support the facility in an emergency, before an emergency occurs.

“Too often, the first interface is during that 911 call,” says John Welling, chairman of the National Fire Protection Association’s 1620 committee on pre-incident planning, associate director of environmental health and safety with Bristol-Myers Squibb and a municipal fire chief in New Jersey. Not knowing the name of the fire chief doesn’t mean the fire department won’t come out to fight your fire. But being on a first name basis could make things smoother during an emergency. “It helps with the interaction so that we’re not in education mode,” Welling says.

In a small town, you might be able to meet up with the fire chief over breakfast, but it doesn’t have to be that intimate of an interaction. In larger municipalities, facility executives could reach out to an information contact at the fire prevention bureau.

At Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he is also chief of emergency services, Welling says he tries to meet with his emergency response contacts on a quarterly basis to refresh them on changes that have happened to his facility or touch on any areas that need special attention. Though emergency responders are constantly pulled in a hundred different ways in municipalities, even in New York City local fire engine companies are expected to physically visit the buildings for which they are responsible once or twice a year, he says.

In addition to updating the police or fire departments on facility systems and hazards, another benefit of this frequent and more personal interaction is that facility executives can get to know the limitations of the first responder organizations in regards to their facility. Hazardous materials is one area where local resources might not be available.

“The U.S. has gone a long way in putting regional resources in place to respond to hazmat situations, but that kind of response might not be available at the municipal level,” Welling says. “You may have to wait an hour for that resource to arrive. You may have to have an on-site or contracted response team for the particular situation at your site.”

When working to become familiar with local first responder organizations, facility executives can also look to broader community organizations for feedback. In Milwaukee, for instance, a downtown security network meets monthly.

“It offers a free exchange of ideas and questions between building owners and first responders,” says Mark Owen, battalion chief with the Milwaukee Fire Department. In major cities, there is often an emergency management office — an Urban Area Security Initiative office, part of the Department of Homeland Security — that could provide information on such meetings.

Another way to establish a more collaborative relationship with the municipality is to offer up your facility for a regional operational drill. There isn’t much opportunity to practice certain kinds of events, such as mass casualty or bomb threats. Even fire calls might not be as frequent as might be assumed. For example, in Las Vegas the fire department responds to around 85,000 calls a year. Of those, only 2,000 are fire calls, says David Klein, deputy fire marshal with the City of Las Vegas Fire and Rescue.

It is the responsibility of the first responder organization to have a plan for an emergency in the buildings they serve, but offering your facility for training time can really affect the quality of the response, Klein says.

“It’s not something you have to do over and over again,” he says. “Just once, to give them a chance to practice.” Plus, helping to keep first responders well-trained is good community PR for the hosting facility.

In Case of Emergency
The best thing facility executives can do during an emergency to be most useful to first responders is know their facility. Know how to locate and operate building system controls. Know where utility shut offs, like power and gas, are located.

“Have someone meet the first responders who can tell them what’s going on,” Welling says. A small emergency response team should be in place that is familiar with the HVAC system, can reroute or de-energize systems, has building plans, knows how to shut off the sprinkler system to minimize water damage, and so forth.

“There’s no expectation or desire to have the facility executive hand over the building and completely step back,” Welling says. “They know the building best and need to provide that insider information.” For example, with a chemical company, the fire team might know how 10 of the chemicals react and how to extinguish them, but not the other 40,000, he says.

Another thing to consider is that emergencies have a funny way of happening at odd hours when the facility might not be staffed. Providing information and access to first responders even when the facility is unmanned is helpful. More and more fire engine companies have mobile display terminals in the truck where they can download information on the building while en route to an incident, Welling says. Facility executives should work with municipal contacts to find out what information in what format would be most useful.

“You shouldn’t assume they know everything they need to know,” he says. For example, aerial maps of the building could be labeled with fire hydrant locations, which are hard to see in the dark.

In some municipalities, this kind of information sharing is required by ordinance. If not, facility executives can always volunteer to provide it.

Another method to provide information to first responders is key vaults. The individual vaults (from the same manufacturer) are keyed to a master key held by the first responder department. The vaults are mounted on the outside of the facility and can contain all the necessary keys, building plans, MSDS sheets and information on shutting off systems. That way first responders have as much information as possible to respond.

“They can get in without having to bash in your $12,000 door. It’s nice to have a key,” Welling says.

Get Out of the Way
In an emergency, minutes matter. The last thing facility executives want to do is inadvertently hamper the efforts of first responders. There are a few things to be aware of to be part of the solution, instead of part of the problem.

First off, facility executives should leave rescue or suppression operations to the experts. When the situation quickly outpaces their abilities, they can become part of the incident, Klein says.

“Then you’re putting yourself at a lot of risk,” he says, though he sympathizes with the impulse to help. “It’s hard when you want to do the right thing not to do the right thing.”

Another thing to realize is that the facility executive answers to the incident commander, not the other way around. Sometimes facility executives get in the way of first responders by having an attitude that they’re in control and can decide how things will happen, Welling says.

“For example, people don’t want to shut down computer rooms for anything,” he says. Once powered down, computers become a simple fire to fight. “But people are hell bent not to shut them down because of loss of data and how long it will take to get the system back up. A lot of facilities don’t have hot spots in place where they can just switch over functions.”

Kurt Drezek, a lieutenant with the Milwaukee Police Department and program manager of the City of Milwaukee Office of Homeland Security, says he’s had building owners ask police to go back into burning buildings to rescue hard drives.

“I can’t stress enough the continuity of operations plan so the business will survive the disaster,” Drezek says. Not only is it good business practice, but it helps in an emergency. “It allows people to have the peace of mind to get up and leave. They know the work will survive whether the facility is there or not. If not, they could linger, trying to salvage what they can.”

Drezek recalls one business owner who was involved in an industrial accident. His hand was crushed, but he was more concerned with directing his staff on how to continue to fulfill an order than listening to the EMTs who were trying to help him. It’s an extreme example, but failing to create a business continuity plan prior to an emergency could be bad for everyone involved.

In the end, it’s not the facility executive’s job to be a firefighter or police officer. Ultimately, the municipal emergency response organizations are responsible for being at least somewhat familiar with the facilities they protect and prepared to address the hazards they present. But as the individual responsible for the well-being of the facility, it makes sense for facility executives to make sure all possible has been done to prepare. The moment after placing a 911 call is no time for regrets.

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Automation Roadmap

Sunday, April 12, 2009 9:59:50 PM

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James Piper
Building Operating Management


Upgrading an existing building automation system — or installing a building automation system into an existing facility — is no small undertaking. It requires a major commitment on the part of the entire organization in terms of time, resources and understanding.

Facility executives who have gone through the process know that there will be setbacks and times when they wonder why they ever started down this path. But those who understand the nature of the process and develop a comprehensive plan for implementing the upgrade find that the benefits are well worth the effort.

There are plenty of reasons for facility executives to install a building automation system in facilities that don’t have one. Increased operating efficiency, improved maintenance operations, better security control, enhanced occupant comfort and reduced overall operating costs — all are frequently cited benefits of a building automation system.

There are equally important benefits to upgrading older building automation systems. Today’s systems provide more capabilities at lower cost and more efficiency than ever before. The systems can seamlessly tie together facility operations that most older systems could only address independently. And with interoperability and adherence to industrywide standards now more common, these increased capabilities can be provided at a much lower cost both in terms of installation and operation.

As a result, facility executives can afford to tie together many building systems and components that were excluded from earlier generation systems simply because of cost. For example, studies of existing building automation system installations show that, on the average, only ten percent of a facility’s HVAC equipment has been connected to the system. An upgrade today will allow facility executives to include many more systems and components, increasing the potential benefits of the system.

Equally important, many owners of older systems are finding that their systems are reaching the end of their effective service lives. Replacement components are getting expensive and difficult to find. In the time since the system was installed, the system manufacturer has introduced one or more new generations of the system and may no longer be willing or able to support the older system.

Assemble the Team
The key to a successful upgrade program for both new and existing users of the systems is understanding the process requirements and developing a realistic plan for implementation. Successful implementation will require drawing on expertise from different areas and disciplines within an organization, including facility management, maintenance and operations, engineering, management information systems, financial management and corporate management. Depending on the level of in-house expertise and the scope of the project, outside consulting help may also be required.

When evaluating potential team members, it is important to look beyond just expertise. Team members must be able to devote a significant amount of time and energy to the upgrade project. Throughout the process, team members will be faced with a range of demands and never-ending deadlines. The most knowledgeable people in the organization will be of little value if they do not have the time or motivation to effectively participate.

Team members also must be able to communicate effectively, not only with each other, but also with others in the facility. That way, the team will be able to make use of the knowledge and experience of building occupants and others who will use the system. Effective communications will also help to reduce the chances that turf battles and fights over system features will interfere with the progress of the upgrade project.

Identify the Goals
Once the team has been assembled, their first task is to determine the automation needs of the facility. Too often this step is overlooked or bypassed on the assumption that any automation is good, and the more automation there is, the better. But all facilities are not alike, nor are their automation needs. There is no such thing as one-size-fits-all when it comes to building automation systems. Failing to consider the facility’s needs most likely will result in the organization purchasing a system that is oversized and unnecessarily expensive, or undersized and lacking needed capabilities.

Start by listing the tasks that the upgraded system should perform. For example, one of the primary reasons systems are installed or upgraded is to improve the energy efficiency of the facility. This means that the system being installed should have the ability to control the operation of all energy-using systems within the facility, including central plant equipment, HVAC systems, lighting systems and building transportation systems. The system should be able to monitor energy use at the facility boundary and at all major energy-using systems within the facility. If the facility has multiple buildings, the system should be able to monitor energy use at each building as well.

Beyond energy efficiency, the team needs to determine what other tasks the upgraded system should perform, such as energy accounting and billing, maintenance scheduling, inventory management, security management, access control, and fire and life safety monitoring. One of the benefits of the latest generation of building automation systems is that they can integrate all of these tasks into a single information-sharing operation.

In identifying tasks that the system is to perform, team members must realistically understand the role that building automation systems can play. They must also understand that the systems are powerful but do have limitations. Expecting too little out of an upgraded system will be just as disappointing in the long run as expecting too much.

Even with very high levels of expertise in-house, most organizations will require outside assistance. There will be issues with interoperability, system architecture, communications protocol and system integration techniques that typically are best addressed by someone familiar with the options. When soliciting outside assistance, it is important that the person or organization selected be independent from all building automation system manufacturers.

Evaluate the Systems
After expectations are established, team members need to review the options. Presentations by system manufacturers can give an overview of system capabilities, but they should be approached with caution. These presentations frequently focus on bells and whistles of a particular system and often serve as a distraction from what the facility needs.

Proposed systems need to be evaluated on a number of factors that will affect performance in the facility. For example, the reputation and the level of support offered by the system manufacturer and installer are important factors to consider, but there is more than just the national reputation that is important. Equally important is the reputation of the local representatives for the manufacturer and installer. They are the ones that the facility will be dealing with during and following the upgrade process. Their performance will have the greatest impact on the project.

When the list of candidate systems is narrowed down, team members should arrange visits to sites where the systems have been operating for at least one year. Team members should speak directly with those who operate and maintain the system to gain an understanding of how well the system has met the expectations of the users and to determine how well the installation has been supported by the manufacturer both during and after installation.

Additionally, the on-site visit should be used to address other support issues that will affect the upgrade. What has been the manufacturer’s response when a problem occurs? How often have software upgrades been made available and how much have they cost? What training programs were provided by the manufacturer and how effective were they? In the long run, these issues will significantly influence the performance of any upgrade project.

Another issue to consider is how long the system has been on the market. Rapid improvements in technology are driving a fast rate of change in the industry. As a result, most building automation system models have a manufacturer’s life of about five years before they are significantly upgraded or replaced with a new generation system with additional capabilities. Facility executives do not want to be the first or the last facility to purchase a particular model. Being the first makes the facility the test case. Being the last means that investment in upgrades will be required fairly soon.

Upgrading to a building automation system or upgrading an existing system is not a task that should be entered into lightly. It is one that requires a deep commitment on the part of the organization, and the level of dedication on the part of those responsible for the upgrade. While the work may be hard, the benefits of the successful upgrade will help facilities to control costs while improving service.


PLANNING AHEAD
Installation Isn’t the Last Step

When evaluating alternatives, the building automation planning team must also consider activities that will take place once the system has been installed. One of these activities is commissioning. Commissioning offers owners a means of verifying that they are getting what they paid for. But commissioning also offers other benefits. It has been found that facilities that have gone through a thorough commissioning process for building automation systems are able to produce facility wide energy savings of 20 percent or more relative to facilities that haven’t commissioned their systems. Commissioning also reduces maintenance costs as a result of better troubleshooting capabilities.

Every item installed in or connected to the system must be tested and verified. Set points must be read and calibrated. Controls must be cycled and confirmed. The ability to share data across the system must be demonstrated. Without this testing and verification, the system probably won’t live up to its capabilities. Even worse, system operators and managers may never know that the system has the potential to perform better.

Another post-installation consideration that must be evaluated when looking at alternative systems is documentation. Team members should ask about the documentation provided with the system. That documentation should — at a minimum — include a complete set of O&M manuals, as-built drawings and manufacturer’s product information sheets. Without this documentation, it will be difficult to modify or even maintain the system over time.

Finally, the team should address the issue of change. Facilities today are not static. As a result, the systems that support the operations in those facilities cannot be static. Those who will be managing the operation of the building automation system should keep this in mind when considering staffing levels. As requirements within the facility change, the organization should have the ability to modify the system to match those changes. If not, the system can rapidly become obsolete.

— James Piper

It’s All About The People
During the planning process for a new building automation system, it’s crucial to identify staffing requirements for the system once it has been put in place. Building automation systems cannot be installed and forgotten if they are to be effective. While the systems will improve maintenance and operating efficiency, they will require staffing support. Operators will be needed to oversee the system, schedule equipment run times, change HVAC system operating parameters and access and review data generated by the system.

Maintenance technicians will be needed to fix problems with the system’s operation when they occur. Facility executives can expect that there will be ongoing problems, such as sensors going out of calibration and failed controllers. Unless these problems are identified quickly and corrected, the building automation system will gradually lose its effectiveness.

— James Piper



James Piper, PhD, PE, is a writer and consultant who has more than 25 years of experience in facilities management. He is a contributing editor for Building Operating Management.

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China to Build First Eco-city

Saturday, April 11, 2009 6:51:28 PM

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Jean-Pierre Langellier and Brice Pedroletti
Guardian Weekly


Imagine it is 2010. The place is Dongtan, the world's first purpose-built eco-city. It stands in the middle of the marshes at the eastern tip of Chongming, China's third-largest island, at the mouth of the Yangtse river.

None of the buildings is more than eight storeys high. Turf and vegetation cover the roofs, a natural form of insulation that also recycles waste water. The town has six times more space for pedestrians than Copenhagen, one of Europe's airiest capitals. Pollution-free buses, ­powered by fuel cells, run between neighbourhoods. An intranet service forecasts travel times and connects people who want to share a car. Traditional motorbikes are forbidden, replaced by electric scooters or bicycles. The roads are laid out so that walking or cycling to work is quicker than driving.

(This artist's rendering shows what Dongtan Eco City will look like in the future. In planning stages, first phase to be completed in 2010 Developed by the Shanghai Industrial investment Corp., Dongtan Eco City, roughly the size of Manhattan, will be the world's first fully sustainable cosmopolis when completed in 2040. Like Manhattan, it's situated on an island -- the third-largest in China. Located on the Yangtze River, Dongtan is within close proximity of the bustle of Shanghai. Photo: Beijing Evening News/File)

Up to 80% of solid waste is re­cycled. Organic waste is burned in an incinerator, catering for part of the town's electricity requirements. Other burners consume rice husks, which ­produce a lot of heat and are plentiful in China. On the outskirts giant ­windmills, driven by the sea breeze, produce electricity too. Each building is fitted with photovoltaic panels and its own, smaller windmill.

Dongtan stands on the shores of a canal, in the middle of a designated nature reserve with outstanding ­biodiversity, and is one of the main attractions for visitors to the inter­national Expo in Shanghai. The ­journey to the metropolis, via a ­huge bridge and tunnel complex, takes only 45 minutes.

Returning to the present day, the Dongtan project is an attempt to solve an increasingly pressing problem. China has so far given priority to the quantity of construction, but now it must focus on quality. This means a radical change in town planning strategy and a switch to sustainable development, even though the country is in the grip of one of the most spectacular migratory movements in the history of mankind. Between now and 2020 China needs to build 400 new towns - nearly 30 a year - to accommodate more than 300 million people from the countryside. Hence the decision to build a model city on Chongming Island.

The contract for the project was awarded to the Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation (SIIC) seven years ago. It appointed Arup, a ­British-based engineering consult­ancy, to design Dongtan. Arup, which has been working in China for the past 20 years, contributed to the ­construction of amenities for the ­2008 Beijing Olympic Games. To demonstrate the political ­significance of the Dongtan scheme, the contract was signed in November at 10 Downing Street in the presence of the ­British prime minister, Tony Blair, and the visiting Chinese ­president, Hu ­Jintao. The Chinese authorities have commissioned two other eco-cities.

It is part of a plan to develop ­thousands of square kilometres of the mouth of the Yangtse, which includes building a deep-sea harbour for Shanghai 30km out in the East China Sea. This is the biggest single development anywhere in the world.

At present about half a million people live in the district of Chongming, travelling to the outskirts of Shanghai on speedboats and ferries. They occupy two small towns and a myriad of little villages, as yet spared by the building frenzy of neighbouring districts. A motorway, which is often deserted, already crosses the island. Dongtan, which will be built nearby, will have a population of 50,000 to 80,000 by 2010, rising to 500,000 by 2040.

"In 20 years," says Ma Chengliang, the manager of SIIC Dongtan, "the Chinese economy has grown so fast that we are already suffering energy shortages. To maintain our current growth rate, we must opt for sustainable development. In Dongtan we want to demonstrate what can be done in terms of renewable energy, clean transport systems and sustainable lifestyles. The model was designed so that it could be extended to the rest of Chongming, serving as a prototype for the whole country."

Standing on the site of the new town, ­Alejandro Gutierrez, Arup's senior architect, explains: "Dongtan will be compact, inspired by traditional Chinese towns in which water plays an important part. Social factors are essential. It will have a diverse population, affordable housing, at least 30,000 jobs on the spot, schools and a hospital, to ensure it is not dependent on Shanghai."

The most original feature of Dongtan is its eco-friendly design. It will have an ecological ­footprint (the total area of land required to sustain an individual) of two hectares per person, three times less than Shanghai, London or Paris.

Dongtan is surrounded by miles of wetland, vital for birds migrating between Australia and Siberia. It is determined to preserve the quality of its air, so motor vehicles must be ­carbon-neutral and the plans provide for the construction of hydrogen filling stations for fuel cells.

To meet the town planners' require­ments, Arup has even designed small, lightweight vehicles that consume little energy and travel almost bumper-to-bumper, taking up little room on the roads. Dongtan aims to be energy self-­sufficient, meeting all its requirements with renewable sources - solar, wind and biomass.

However, the design team ­realises that it will have to overcome many obstacles before achieving its ideal. "Even if, with the right design and materials, you manage to build homes that operate at only two-thirds of current energy levels, ­individual behaviour may completely upset your plans," says Gutierrez. "That is why we need a combination of rules, outreach and price incentives to educate the occupants and halt excessive consumption."

Once the authorities give the green light to Arup's master plan this year, things should happen quickly, with the town scheduled to be built in less than four years.

So, can we look forward to ­hundreds or even thousands of Dong­tans in other parts of the world? Peter Head, Arup's director, is sure it is possible. The materials and design would be different, but the under­lying principles and method would be the same. Providing, he adds, that people believe in this sort of project and support it wholeheartedly, as is the case in China.

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