Posted by Heidi Schwartz

In a salute to the members of the facility management profession and other skilled trades, Grainger will be sponsoring 20 concerts throughout the Florida Georgia Line summer tour. During these stops, the duo will celebrate industrial trades professionals by honoring Grainger Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship program recipients. In addition, Grainger recently launched a sweepstakes for a chance to win Florida Georgia Line tickets for these 20 shows.

“The story of Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard has similarities to many of our Grainger Tools for Tomorrow scholarship program recipients,” said Deb Oler, vice president and general manager with Grainger. “Brian and Tyler each learned the lessons of hard work and persistence at a young age, and as they got older, learned their way around a toolbox by taking on a variety of jobs during the day as they worked on their music at night. This sponsorship allows us to celebrate the American worker and raise awareness of exciting careers in the skilled trades.”

Ramon Sanchez – Grainger’s Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship recipient

The U.S. is experiencing a shortage of trained, skilled laborers in manufacturing, welding, and numerous other trades. These technical jobs are critical to the health of the economy and partnerships between industry, community colleges, and local communities are needed to support and promote workforce development.

To raise awareness of the opportunities in the trades and support students pursuing these careers, Grainger, in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), launched the Grainger Tools for Tomorrow scholarship program in 2006. Designed to help students pursuing degrees in the industrial skilled trades realize their educational and career goals, the program awards scholarships to qualified students entering the final year of their technical education curriculum. Upon graduation, each student receives a customized tool kit from Grainger to kick-start their career. Since its inception, the program has offered more than 500 scholarships to 100 community colleges nationwide, with half designated for Veterans.

“Grainger works with businesses and institutions across virtually every segment of the economy and we have seen first-hand the impact of the skilled labor shortage affecting our customers’ ability to thrive,” said Laura Brown, Grainger’s senior vice president of communications and investor relations. “We continue to invest in technical education training through the Grainger Tools for Tomorrow scholarship program and are working to elevate awareness of the need for skilled workers.”

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This emergency call service enables facility managers to constantly update a single database with property status reports during severe weather events and other catastrophic situations when communication problems triggered by downed power and phone lines are likely to occur.

Using HurricaneWatch, employees can ascertain if their facility is open. They can also update the database with their own status (whether they are safe, able/unable to make it to work, or any number of other factors the facility manager chooses to address when setting up the system). Instructional messages may be provided to employees as they call in, giving all parties consistent and timely reports about the state of their facility. In addition, Datawatch has the ability to store multiple status parameters for an unlimited number of buildings and employees. This information can be viewed online, in real time, while the Datawatch call center is manned 24/7 by calm and courteous personnel.

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Facility managers have many choices when considering ceiling products. Beyond traditional panels, “free floating” canopies reduce distracting noise while also adding a design element. (Photo: Armstrong Commercial Ceilings.)

By Sean Browne
From the May 2013 issue of Today’s Facility Manager

Regardless of whether the facility project at hand is an addition or the renovation of an existing space, selecting an appropriate ceiling system requires evaluation of a variety of factors. When selecting a ceiling, facility managers (fms) should begin with the considerations most important to the required performance in their buildings.

In many cases, visual criteria drive selection. And while visual criteria are key to the aesthetic needs of a space, it is the performance related criteria that are key to meeting the functional needs of the space.

In that regard, sound absorption and sound blocking are vital performance factors especially when dealing with commercial office space, healthcare, and educational facilities. With that in mind, there are some general guidelines fms can follow to ensure good acoustical performance in three types of spaces: closed plan, open plan, and exposed structure. It should also be noted that there are numerous options fms can implement to achieve both the desired visual and acoustical performance. There’s no need to choose between the two.

Closed Plan Spaces

In closed plan spaces, such as conference rooms and executive offices, the main function of ceilings is to limit the transmission of sound between adjacent spaces, especially when the spaces share a common ceiling plenum. Achieving speech privacy between spaces is the goal.

If partition walls go all the way up to the deck, fms should consider ceiling panels that have a Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) of 0.70 or higher. The NRC indicates the average percentage of sound that a ceiling absorbs. An NRC of 0.70 means the ceiling absorbs 70% of the sound that strikes it.

If partition walls only go up to the ceiling, and not to the deck, fms will want to select ceiling panels with an NRC of 0.60 to 0.70 and a Ceiling Attenuation Class (CAC) of 35 to 40. This combination of NRC and CAC provides speech privacy along with improved sound quality within the space. Fms should choose the lower ratings if sound masking is used; the higher ratings, if not used.

EPDs Provide The ABCs

By Dawn Chittick

In today’s schools, office buildings, and healthcare facilities, environmentally friendly construction is becoming more the rule than the exception. Facility managers (fms), along with the architects and designers they work with, are specifying building products that not only fit a project’s aesthetic requirements, but that also contribute to sustainability goals and evidence-based outcomes.

This industry trend has led ceiling panel manufacturers to improve existing products while developing new offerings designed to excel in the green building arena. And, to give end users peace of mind in knowing that they are selecting a sustainable product, an increasing number of manufacturers are verifying green attributes through Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).

Providing scientifically robust and transparent information on environmental performance, an EPD is a rigorous examination of a product’s environmental impact and is performed by a third-party certifier. Product testing is performed by certifiers in accordance with industry standard ISO 14025, Environmental Labels and Declarations—Type III Environmental Declarations—Principles and Procedures.

The evaluations products undergo are based on a life cycle assessment (LCA), an analysis of a product’s environmental impact from cradle to grave. These evaluations look at critical factors, such as production process impact; usage of raw materials and recycled content in manufacturing, packaging, and health aspects; and end-of-life impact after the product is disposed of or recycled. Each LCA is performed using established product category rules.

EPDs provide a useful tool in understanding how a product will contribute to the overall sustainability of a facility. Additionally, the EPDs serve to reduce confusion about a product’s technical information by providing a standardized format to communicate all of the impacts of a product—economic, environmental, human health, mechanical, safety, and other attributes. EPDs are also useful in providing details required in specification documents as well as by applications for green building certifications. In a sense, EPDs are to building products what nutrition labels are to food products.

EPDs are a critical component in the growth of green construction. These evaluations hold manufacturers accountable for their green claims and give fms, architects, and designers a more accurate assessment of the sustainable performance they can expect from a product they are considering for their projects. This ability promises to result in more sustainable facilities that provide healthier, more comfortable interior environments for occupants.

Chittick

Chittick is director of marketing for CertainTeed Ceilings, a manufacturer of high performance ceilings based in Valley Forge, PA.

The CAC indicates the ability of a ceiling to block sound from penetrating a shared plenum and transmitting to an adjacent space. The higher the number, the better the ceiling performs as a barrier to sound.

Open Plan Spaces

In open plan spaces, the main function of the ceiling is to absorb sound that would normally bounce off surfaces and travel into nearby spaces or cubicles. To achieve sound control and reduce distractions, fms will want to choose ceiling panels featuring an NRC of 0.80 or higher and an Articulation Class (AC) of 170 or higher.

The AC indicates the ability of a ceiling to absorb sound in the human speech frequency range that passes over open plan dividers. The higher the AC, the better the ceiling performs as a sound absorber between open plan areas.  For knowledge workers, choose an AC 200 or higher; for clerical workers, choose an AC 170 or higher.

Exposed Structure Spaces

Exposed structure spaces are those that have no ceiling and reveal building service elements such as ductwork and piping. This design style can exacerbate noise issues due to sound reflecting off the deck, resulting in excessive reverberation.

Any large space of this type will usually need some sound absorbing elements to help control noise and reverberation. In addition, if the exposed deck is less than 15′ high, reflections between open plan cubicles can cause distractions for occupants.

Noise issues related to exposed structure designs can be addressed with a number of different sound absorbing elements. Installing a low profile, discontinuous, high NRC system tight to the deck, for example, will maintain the exposed structure aesthetic while providing excellent sound absorption.

The system can be installed directly to an exposed deck (to maximize ceiling height), onto drywall, or suspended with wires. For example, if panels with an NRC of 0.90 are installed over only 20% of an exposed deck space, it can reduce reverberation up to 50%.

“Free Floating” Options

Acoustical clouds, canopies, baffles, and blades—four types of “free floating” ceilings—are another way of adding sound absorption in an open plenum space while allowing for the exposed look. Each of these options absorbs sound on both front and back surfaces.  As a result, these actually provide greater sound absorption than a continuous ceiling of the same surface area.

Acoustical clouds suspended above work areas provide a type of interrupted ceiling plane. As such, they help control both reflections between cubicles and distant reverberation, reducing occupant annoyance and distractions.

Acoustical canopies also reduce noise and reverberation in the space below them, but are different in size and appearance compared to acoustical clouds. Visually, clouds are flat, while canopies are curved and can be installed as hills or valleys. Meanwhile, baffles and blades are suspended vertically creating an interesting visual and provide substantial sound absorption.

Replacement And Disposal

Regardless of the type of space, at some point fms need to replace the ceiling panels in their facilities. Damage from water stains, even from a small intermittent source, can ruin panels. Dirt accumulation—perhaps from air diffusers—is another common cause for replacement. Panel damage not only detracts from appearance but can also cause a reduction in light reflectance and acoustic efficiency.

Ceiling materials play a role in the light levels in offices and other types of spaces. (Photo: Armstrong Commercial Ceilings.)

Replacing ceiling panels is relatively easy through a ceiling distributor. To replace damaged panels, fms need to remove a damaged panel to access the manufacturer, panel name, and item number on the back side. Using that information, a distributor can assist fms in obtaining the proper replacements.

Finally, when an acoustical ceiling is at the end of its useful life, fms should consider recycling the materials—rather than disposing of them in a way where they will end up in a landfill. The first ceiling recycling program in the industry was introduced in 1999, and it enables fms to ship ceilings from renovation projects to a ceilings plant as an alternative to landfill disposal. The discarded ceilings are then used to manufacture new ceilings.

Ceiling panels removed from a space are either stacked on a pallet and wrapped for delivery to the ceilings plant, or dumped into a roll-off container and collected by a construction and demolition processor that will bale the tiles for delivery.

Since this program began, more than 123 million square feet of ceiling panels have been recycled. That’s equal to 16,000 roll-off containers full of construction debris that would have normally been taken to landfills.

Browne is principal scientist, global acoustics for Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Systems.

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Posted by Heidi Schwartz

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)’s NEMA ICS 15.1-2012 is an installation guide that provides practical information concerning the general technical considerations in the installation of electric medium voltage fire pump controllers. These guidelines are provided to facilitate movement, handling, installation, and maintenance of medium-voltage fire pump controllers at the job site and to help avoid personal injury and equipment damage during these processes.

Information includes handling, storage installation of conduits, cables and wires, pre-energization and energization, care and maintenance, and required field marking.

NEMA ICS 15.1-2012 is available for download at no charge. A hard copy may be purchased for $71 by visiting this link or by contacting IHS at 800-854-7179 (U.S. only) or 303-397-7956 (international).

NEMA is the association of electrical equipment and medical imaging manufacturers, founded in 1926 and headquartered in Arlington, VA. Its member companies manufacture a diverse set of products including power transmission and distribution equipment, lighting systems, factory automation, and control systems, and medical diagnostic imaging systems.

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This Question of the Week comes from the Facilities Management Group on LinkedIn. 

As water companies crack down increasingly on FOG (Fat, Oil, Grease) waste offenders, how important to you are grease management measures within your commercial kitchens or other FOG-producing departments?

Amy Harland
Cleveland Biotech (CBio)
Cleveland, United Kingdom

Share your feedback and suggestions in the LEAVE A COMMENT section below.

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Posted by Heidi Schwartz

In 2011, they launched Plantville. Three years later, Siemens Energy introduced Power Matrix—a new online simulation game that aims to generate an understanding of the mechanisms and rules of the energy market and to provide insights into the interaction between different power generation types and power grids.

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Today’s Facility Manager: May 2013

Tricks Of The Trade: Multiple Site MRO and “In Or Out?”

FM Frequency: Warning Signs | Workplace hostility might not lead to outright conflict, but facility managers can still keep an eye out for these conditions.

Professional Development: The Energy Future | The past century has brought significant changes to how buildings operate, and the next 100 years will not doubt bring many more.

Services & Maintenance: Minimal Overhead | When choosing ceiling products, facility managers can achieve both visual and performance goals.

Furniture Trends: Productive Provisions | The way occupants work continues to guide furniture purchasing decisions. Meanwhile, GlaxoSmithKline goes “office free” at its new Philadelphia headquarters.

FM Issue: Chemical Safety Changes | OSHA’s revised Hazard Communication Standard impacts many facility managers. Plus, roof safety that adheres to OSHA standards protects workers.

Hospital Case Study: Healthy Focus | In Tyler, TX, a new heart hospital is designed to ease the patient experience. Meanwhile, facility managers preparing for The Joint Commission should check their documentation.

Renewable Energy: Waste As Power Source | For many materials, there’s a second life to be had with the proper processing.

To subscribe to TFM, visit this link.

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Posted by Heidi Schwartz

Davies Office, based in Albany, NY, has earned another level Sustainability Certification from the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA). This time the recognitions goes to the company’s remanufactured Steelcase Answer Panels Systems line. This is Davies Office ninth BIFMA level certification.

According to BIFMA, the level conformance mark ensures a comprehensive, independent, and impartial assessment of the environmental and social impacts of a product’s manufacture. Level makes it easy to identify products that have been evaluated against a consensus-based, multi-attribute sustainability standard.

“Davies Office has been and will always be about sustainability. The Steelcase Answer Panel System offers a structurally sound and high-performing product. What we have done at Davies is extend the life of the panel by remanufacturing and repurposing the core product with aesthetically pleasing, cost effective solutions that work to optimize office space and support collaboration all while making a positive impact on the environment,” commented Bill Davies, president of Davies Office.

“Davies Office is now offering clients several green choices in office panel systems that are level certified. This is all part of the continued commitment Davies Office has for environmental—responsibility. We want companies to recognize that you do not need to buy new office workstations to get a modern solution—remanufactured product is not only of the same (if not better quality) but by repurposing product you are helping to sustain people, profits and the planet.”

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The effective date is fast approaching for the new federal mandate for lead-free plumbing products — and decisions made now by facility managers and everyone else involved in the specification, purchase, installation, and design of plumbing systems can be impacted by it.

The Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act (42 USC 300G–6) complements the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). It requires any valve, fitting, or fixture coming in contact with potable water to be lead-free.

Specifically, the affected plumbing products must have a weighted average of no more than 0.25% lead content, as per NSF International/American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standard 372, Drinking water system components–Lead Content.1 The previous allowable lead content level was  8%. This new law takes effect January 4, 2014.

The Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act states that exemptions include “pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, or fixtures, including backflow preventers, that are used exclusively for nonpotable services such as manufacturing, industrial processing, irrigation, outdoor watering, or any other uses where the water is not anticipated to be used for human consumption.”

The law does not require existing installations to be replaced, but its general language has many professionals in the plumbing and water systems industries wondering if even end-users could be held liable – along with manufacturers, contractors, specifiers, and others – for the distribution or installation of products that do not meet the new standard. Some wonder about hypothetical possibilities in which plumbing products could be installed, but later repurposed in a different way than the “anticipated” use. Should the repurposed use have been anticipated?

This lead-free valve is designed for installation on potable water lines to protect against both backsiphonage and backpressure of polluted water into the water supply.

Further complicating things, the law does not address enforcement or compliance certification, although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to eventually issue regulations governing the new law. Thus far, however, no timetable for them has been disclosed.

So, what is a facility manager to do? First, be sure that any current or near-future job bids that include “standard” lead-containing products can, in fact, be installed prior to the law’s effective date of January 4, 2014. Otherwise, it will be illegal to sell or install them.

In addition, pricing expectations for many plumbing products will need to be adjusted because lead-free products are often more expensive to manufacture. If it is required to install lead-free products on a job after less expensive leaded products were bid, the project could cost more to complete than budgeted.

Removing Uncertainty
It’s recommended that every facility manager, building owner, contractor, and specifier make certain they know where each other and their plumbing sources stand on this issue.

Some manufacturers have taken aggressive, proactive measures to convert their product offerings to comply with the law. In addition, manufacturer efforts can take extend to order processing —  by including lead-free part numbers for ease of doing business and to avoid mix-ups, for instance. Companies can also initiate education by reaching out to business partners — contractors, wholesalers, and distributors — by providing them tools to assist with their inventory conversions; meanwhile, engineers can be notified to update their specs.

It’s also important to keep in mind that, in addition to lead-free products, some manufacturers will continue making standard products for uses exempted by the new law. Facility managers should check with vendors to be certain they have manufacturing measures in place to avoid cross contamination of even minute levels of lead into the lead-free products.

The EPA itself acknowledges that many uncertainties arise from the way the law is written. As one example, during a public meeting last summer at EPA headquarters, one agency engineer gave voice to an issue many have wondered about: “Can the product in the [water] system or facility be repaired using lead-free component parts and returned to service, even if the other component parts that are not repaired do not meet the definition of lead-free?” He said the EPA gets a lot of questions like that related to water meters: does the entire meter have to be replaced or just a component part?

Thus far, no definitive decision on that issue, among others, has been made.

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Sullivan (left) and McDonald (right)

By Kevin Sullivan, P.E. and Jeff McDonald
From the May 2013 issue of Today’s Facility Manager

The environmental movement in the United States has reached a point where it has permeated many facets of everyday life. Nonetheless, the U.S. still ranks as one of the most wasteful countries in the world. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average American generates 4.6 pounds of waste per day.

In recent years, however, many towns and cities have begun to find new purposes for the seemingly endless amounts of refuse produced. Thanks to a number of waste-to-energy projects, communities are reusing solid waste to produce clean, renewable energy. Theirs is an example that institutions and communities across the U.S. can learn from when seeking sustainable strategies.

Waste-to-energy projects not only promote “green” initiatives in the environmental sense, but also green initiatives in the more traditional sense—saving municipalities thousands of dollars each year. Without a doubt, U.S. communities are proving that it’s possible to become not only an ecological steward, but an economical one as well.

One alternative source that municipalities are embracing is landfill methane gas. In many instances, landfill methane is burned off, or flared, to minimize its release into the environment. However, that approach is fast becoming archaic, as operators of landfill facilities are coming to realize this is a waste of potential energy. Capturing that gas and using it to generate electricity and heat is becoming a popular alternative.

In landfill gas energy projects, towns and cities purchase methane gas from nearby landfills. The municipality constructs a processing facility at the landfill. Then, extraction wells (along with a series of collection pipes) capture the methane-rich natural gas—a naturally occurring byproduct of decomposition. The gas is cleaned of compounds such as siloxanes (typically produced by decomposition of various materials, most notably health and beauty products) through a variety of different methods. These methods include compression refrigeration and heating, and activated charcoal. The now enriched and purified gas is then odorized at the landfill site before distribution.

According to the EPA, there are approximately 560 landfill gas energy projects operating in the U.S. An additional 510 landfills currently present opportunities for development.

Another waste-to-energy opportunity lies in discarded food, which ranks as the second largest category of municipal solid waste in the U.S. All told, food waste accounts for approximately 18% of the waste stream, with over 30 million tons sent to landfills each year. Unfortunately, very little is recycled; only 3% is diverted from landfills, with most of it composted to produce fertilizer.

But many municipalities are discovering the enormous energy potential of food waste. A recent study conducted by East Bay Municipal Utility District revealed that this material has up to three times as much energy potential as biosolids.

Towns and cities are constructing anaerobic digesters to harness the energy found within food waste. In this process, haulers collect food waste and deliver it to an anaerobic digester, where various bacteria break down the food waste and produce biogas. That biogas is captured and used to produce electricity and heat. Once the digestion process is completed, leftover materials can be composted and used as a natural fertilizer.

Finally, by using food waste as a fuel source, communities are reducing the amount of waste that reaches landfills, while producing energy that’s both clean and cost-effective.

Whether using landfill gas or discarded food, waste-to-energy projects implemented in the U.S. are providing communities with increased energy security. Replacing commercial gas with renewable gas as the primary fuel can help stabilize costs and ensure a dependable source of fuel for decades to come. At a time when many are facing budget cutbacks, these savings are invaluable. In fact, many waste-to-energy projects have brought an anticipated payback within 10 years of completion.

Besides decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, waste-to-energy reduces carbon dioxide emissions. In taking the lead to pursue these sources of renewable energy, municipalities demonstrate it’s possible to protect the environment while enjoying cost savings. Waste has long been regarded as a necessary evil, but waste-to-energy is helping to change that perception.

Sullivan is a vice president at Fuss & O’Neill, Inc., a full service engineering consulting firm based in Manchester, CT. McDonald is an associate at the firm.

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