The First Facility Management Blog

From today’s Washington Post…

Beneath a Treasure of Documents, a Stinky Mess
Crews at Archives Race Against Mildew
By Paul Schwartzman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 30, 2006; Page A01

The chief archivist of the United States of America immediately seized on a single, all-important question when an aide woke him at 1:40 a.m. Monday to report massive flooding at the National Archives.Are the Charters of Freedom safe? Allen Weinstein asked groggily, referring to that venerable trio of documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Not to worry, the aide assured. The papers were dry in their vaults near the rotunda where they are normally displayed to legions of people who travel from all over to see them.

Emerging from a deep sleep in his Bethesda bedroom, Weinstein came to realize that the problem was in the building’s basement. Tens of thousands of gallons of water had gushed in from Constitution Avenue, knocking out transformers that power the building’s lights and air conditioning.

Four days after the deluge, the Archives remained dark and airless as officials took a small army of reporters and television crews on a tour of the damage, which they say will cost $2 million to repair. Only three years ago, the Archives completed a $100 million renovation.

To read TFM’s article about this project, see “Like Building A Ship In A Bottle.”

OfficeMax recently donated furniture, technology, medical equipment, as well as school and office supplies to two “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” episodes, helping a Biloxi, MS medical center damaged by Hurricane Katrina and a girl whose leukemia necessitated an in-home learning center.

Before the storm, The Coastal Community Health Center was a community cornerstone, providing health care to those without insurance or the means to pay for health care. The storm flooded the clinic from floor to ceiling, destroying it and forcing the center’s staff to provide services out of a trailer. With the assistance of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” the Biloxi community now has a fully functioning health center. The episode aired on ABC on March 23, 2006.

“Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by Hurricane Katrina, and OfficeMax is glad that it could make a difference by contributing to a health center that is doing so much good for a community that has suffered so much,” said Ryan Vero, chief merchandising officer at OfficeMax.

OfficeMax also worked with “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” to donate school supplies and computers to the Kubena family’s in-home learning center. As a result of seven-year old Tara Kubena’s leukemia relapse and bone marrow transplant, doctors insisted she live within certain strict environmental conditions. Because the Kubena’s trailer was no longer a suitable home for the recovering girl, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” built a house that provides a healthy environment for Tara and her family. Since Tara will be home-schooled, a learning center was included in the home. This “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” episode aired on Feb. 20, 2006.

OfficeMax vendors that assisted OfficeMax in contributing to “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” include: 3M, ePocrates, The Global Group, La-Z-Boy, Safeco and Sharps.

OfficeMax took charity work prime time by donating furniture, technology, medical equipment and office supplies to “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” helping a medical center damaged by Hurricane Katrina. OfficeMax employee David Bieller stands in front of The Coastal Community Health Center in Biloxi, Miss. after personally delivering donated items to the construction site.

The latest listing of fully certified infrared training courses offered by the Infrared Training Center (ITC) is now available. The courses, held at the ITC headquarters facility located a few miles north of Boston and in twenty-three other cities in the United States, Canada, and South America, offer infrared training programs, including Level I, II, and III Predictive Maintenance (PdM) Thermography, Research and Development, and applications courses in building science, roofing, and electrical and mechanical inspection.

All ITC Course Certifications meet or exceed ASNT (American Society for Non-Destructive Testing) SNT-TC-1A guidelines. Level I and Level II courses are recognized by NETA (International Electrical Testing Association, an accredited standards developer for the American National Standards Institute, ANSI). ITC is the only ISO-9001 certified infrared training organization worldwide, and is the only factory-authorized training organization for FLIR, Agema, and Inframetrics cameras. ITC instructors are ASNT NDT and PdM TIR Level III certified and have extensive field experience.

For the complete course schedule and registration information as well as information on InfraMation, the infrared industry’s premier annual Thermographers’ Conference sponsored by ITC (October 23-27 , Las Vegas, Nevada), contact Betty Taylor at (800) 254-0631, or visit http://www.infraredtraining.com/courses. For Courses in Canada please contact Nancy Edwards at (800) 613-0507 ext. 24

Located a few miles north of Boston, Massachusetts, the ITC headquarters facility offers infrared training programs including Level I, II, and III Predictive Maintenance (PdM) Thermography, Research and Development, and applications courses in roofing, building sciences, and electrical and substation infrared inspections. Fore more information contact us at 866-TRAINIR or visit www.infraredtraining.com . To register for courses, contact Betty Taylor at (800) 254-0631.