The First Facility Management Blog

Every office has its own cast of characters. Take a look at this article from Laura Morsch of CareerBuilder.com., where she outlines those quirky types that make office life so frustrating.

“You’ve planned ahead, you’re organized and you’re right on track to finish your project by deadline. Then you realize Joe hasn’t given you his data, and he’s nowhere to be found.

Your phone rings — someone is passing those salesmen along to you again!

When you finally refocus, Anna pops into your office — twice — to discuss her daughter’s orchestra lessons. Enough! What does it take to get some work done around here?”

To read this article, click here.

Originally posted Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 9:04 a.m. EDT

AlliedBarton Security Services, headquartered in King of Prussia, PA, has become a Corporate Partner of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, Inc., (IACLEA), under a new program developed to honor IACLEA’s 50 years of service and to support initiatives to enhance the ability of campus public safety to protect higher education institutions in the future.

AlliedBarton is a Titanium Sponsor and, as such, has pledged a significant donation to support IACLEA’s 50th Anniversary and future initiatives. The goals of IACLEA’s Corporate Partnership program are to highlight the growth and importance of campus public safety during IACLEA’s first 50 years and to support initiatives to strengthen campus public safety and expand its impact on higher education and its service to stakeholders worldwide.

IACLEA will celebrate its 50th Anniversary with a series of events, beginning in Las Vegas in 2007 and culminating with its 50th Annual Conference and celebration in Hartford, CT, in 2008.

IACLEA is an association that advances campus public safety for its more than 1,000 educational institution members and 1,500 individual professional members by providing educational resources, advocacy, and professional development services. IACLEA is led by a Board of Directors and managed by a professional staff with headquarters in West Hartford. CT.

In a follow-up to Friday’s story, the Superdome is now open for business.

This story comes from the CTV.ca News Staff:

“Despite some who wanted to tear down the building, Governor Kathleen Blanco signed an executive order to fast track the rebuilding process, which was finished in nine months.
“This place is basically a brand new stadium at a total cost of $185 million,” said Simmelkjaer. “Most of it is coming from the federal government with the NFL kicking in $15 million.”

The Superdome, which hosted about 30,000 displaced residents after Katrina, was flooded with fans as the New Orleans Saints returned home to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 23-3.”

To read the rest of this story, visit here.

With a report from CTV’s Tom Clark and files from The Associated Press.
Originally published Monday, September 25, 2006 11:20 PM ET.

InfoComm International®, the international trade association of the professional audiovisual and information communications industries, plans to kick off a slate of AV Week events on the campus of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) on Monday, October 23, 2006, 3:00pm Central. Randal A. Lemke, Ph.D., executive director of InfoComm International will lead a panel of manufacturers’ executives discussing “AV’s Value in Education and Life-Long Learning.” The videoconference event will be streamed on the Web.

Panelists at the event include:
AMX, Scott Norder, executive vice president
Biamp, Ron Camden, VP of Sales, North America
MediaPointe, Michael Walker, chief technology officer
Shure, Sandy Schroeder, director of strategic planning and integration

Several other colleges and universities will connect to the panel event and give faculty and students on their campuses a live view of the discussion. For more details about the kick off event and other AV Week activities on the Little Rock campus, visit www.arkansasavweek.org.

AV Week spotlights the role of AV professionals who stage events, amplify music and speeches, design, and integrate sound systems and displays into public spaces from hearing rooms and boardrooms to campuses and control centers.

Infocomm will sponsor other events to raise awareness for the industry as part of AV Week. These include behind the scenes AV tours of the American Airlines Sports Center, Dallas and The Shedd Aquarium, Chicago; a videoconference connecting hospitals in Orlando and Houston illustrating the use of AV in telemedicine; and participation in the CareerBuilder job fair in Washington, DC.

InfoComm members across the country will reach out to communicate the value of AV in our lives with tours, speeches and open houses. For a complete calendar of events, see www.avweek.org/calendar.cfm.

For the past few days, TFM editors have been out in San Diego covering the latest announcements in security at the annual ASIS show. The big watch words have been training, convergence, and wireless, as hundreds of new products have been introduced in conjunction with these concepts.

For a full update, make sure to check TFM’s November Wireless Trends and our December Year End Trends Overview.

Proposed addendum i will be open for public comment until November 6, 2006. Interested parties can read the proposed addendum and comment on it by visiting www.ashrae.org/publicreviews.

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2004, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, specifies minimum ventilation rates and indoor air quality requirements for commercial and institutional buildings. The proposed addendum removes the existing requirement for an increase to the ventilation rates prescribed in Table 6-1 (and/or an increase in air cleaning) for smoking areas. It also strikes informative language explaining why specific rates for smoking areas cannot be prescribed, adds a reference to Section 5.18 smoking-related separation requirements, and strikes a requirement in Table 6-1, Note 2, to determine smoking-permitted area rates using means other than the table.

“The proposed changes, based in part on recent position statements issued by World Health Organization and the U.S. Surgeon General, reflect the opinion of cognizant authorities that no safe level of environmental tobacco smoke exists,” said Dennis Stanke, chair of the 62.1 committee. “Whether the proposed changes also reflect the opinions of Standard 62.1 stakeholders will be determined during the public review process. The eventual content of the standard depends on the valuable participation of all interested parties.”

ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is an international organization of 55,000 persons. ASHRAE fulfills its mission of advancing heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education.

More than 175 architecture and design professionals, customers, dealers, and vendor partners celebrated the grand opening of the KI Design Resource Center in Atlanta on Thursday, September 14. KI manufactures furniture and wall system solutions for college and universities, K-12, health care, government and, corporate markets.

The grand opening event featured a club-like atmosphere, complete with “designer” martinis served ice luge-style, hors d’oeuvres inspired by Southern cuisine, and a DJ playing tunes from the local music scene. Firms that joined KI at the event included Gensler, Heery, HOK, TVS, Cooper Carey, The Facility Group, and Gardner Spencer Smith Hench Tensley. Members of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the MISBO Purchasing Consortium, which specifies KI products for its membership of 200 private K-12 schools, also attended.

The Atlanta Design Resource Center, designed by Cecil, Pierce and Associates and KI interior designer and color forecaster Sheila LaCount, IIDA, NCIDQ certificant, showcases KI’s solutions for its core markets. Located in Buckhead, the facility includes a 6,500 square foot showroom and a 1,200 square foot training area.

Designated areas for college/university, K-12, healthcare, corporate, and government markets feature displays of furniture and applications in “real world” settings. The Design Resource Center in Atlanta serves as KI’s first showroom in the southeast. KI has 13 showrooms around the country.

“We’re thrilled to be a part of the growing Atlanta market,” said Stephen Rier, Atlanta district manager, KI. “We look forward to bringing our tailored furniture solutions that meet the needs of specific markets, businesses and organizations to customers throughout the Atlanta region.”

Turner Construction Company announced yesterday that construction costs in the third quarter of 2006 are projected to increase over the second quarter. According to the Turner Building Cost Index, the third quarter 2006 index will rise to 801, showing a 1.78% increase over the second quarter 2006 index of 787 and a 10.33% increase over the third quarter 2005 index of 726. Turner has made its quarterly forecast for more than 60 years.

According to Karl F. Almstead, the Turner vice president responsible for the Building Cost Index, “The frenzied market activity of the past several quarters appears to be stabilizing. Although the strain on skilled labor remains, a lower level of volatility in commodities has served as a stabilizing influence on construction costs. This is reducing the unpredictability of costs in the market.” He continues, “While there is a reduced level of activity in the residential markets, the commercial market remains active and is supported by sustained market strength in health care, education, science, and technology.”

Turner is managing the escalation risk that is prevalent in the construction industry through performing 90% of its work under contract arrangements where Turner provides extensive preconstruction planning services before the contract price is fixed and before construction begins. Turner also utilizes procurement strategies to improve predictability in this volatile market. These services and strategies are mitigating risk for both the client and Turner.

Used widely by the construction industry and Federal and State governments, the building costs and price trends tracked by the Turner Building Cost Index may or may not reflect regional conditions in any given quarter. The Cost Index is determined by several factors considered on a nationwide basis–labor rates and productivity, material prices and the competitive condition of the marketplace. This index does not necessarily conform to other published indices because others do not generally take all of these factors into account.

Turner is the leading general builder in the U.S., ranking first or second in the major segments of the building construction field. During 2005, Turner completed $7.4 billion of construction. Turner is the only builder offering clients a nationwide network, with 46 offices across the U.S. Founded in 1902, the firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of HOCHTIEF, one of the world’s leading international construction service providers.

Cummins Power Generation, a division of Cummins Inc., announces price increases for its commercial generator set products between 15 kW and 2700 kW. Prices of EPA Tier 3-certified generator sets will rise by up to 10% while prices of EPA Tier 2-certified generator sets will rise by up to 7%.

Prices have been raised in part due to market conditions and the rising cost of raw materials. The higher prices also reflect the advanced technology used to achieve the lower emissions levels mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take effect on January 1, 2007.

“These adjustments are part of Cummins’ strategic response to market conditions,” said Tony Satterthwaite, vice president of the Commercial Generator Set Business at Cummins. “With even more stringent EPA emissions regulations coming, we will continue to reinvest in our leading technology and operations to serve our customers well.”

Cummins Power Generation commercial generator sets are used for continuous, prime and standby power in a variety of commercial and industrial applications. These sets are also used for electrical power in nonroad applications, such as temporary rental solutions.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized eight small businesses and two congregations for their energy efficiency efforts that have prevented over one million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions and saved $66,000 in annual utility costs. The agency gives Energy Star awards to small businesses, congregations, institutions, and associations that promote energy efficiency in their facilities.

“Whether you are running a place of business, or a place of worship, getting the most out of your energy dollars just makes sense,” said U.S. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson.

Small businesses and congregations that invest strategically can cut utility costs 25%-30% without sacrificing service, style, or comfort, while making significant contributions to a cleaner environment. The efficiency improvements made by the 10 winners are wide ranging, and include lighting upgrades, improved insulation, installation of door and window seals, purchase of Energy Star qualified appliances and equipment, and use of daylighting. The savings from some upgrades paid for themselves in as little as three months.

In addition to the small business and congregation winners, Michigan Interfaith Power and Light (MiIPL) received a special award for its efforts to promote energy efficiency among its members. MiIPL is one of 18 state affiliates of the national IPL organizations and includes nearly 100 Michigan congregations. Among its programs MiIPL provides free energy audits and operates an online store to facilitate bulk purchasing of Energy Star qualified equipment at discounts of up to 30% off average retail costs. Participants in MiIPL’s programs have saved approximately $775,000 annually in energy costs.

The 2006 Energy Star small business winners are:
* Basil Bandwagon Natural Market and Basil Brook Organic Farm, Flemington, NJ
* Gehman & Company, Mechanicsburg, PA
* Myobz LLC, Carlsbad, CA (operator of three Shell gasoline stations and convenience markets in Yuma, AZ)
* RBR-Recumbent BikeRiders, Inc., State College, PA
* Susquehanna Fire Equipment Co., Dewart, PA
* The Music Mart, Inc., State College, PA
* T.J.’s Market, Hughesville, PA
* Tripps Grill and Six Pack, North Bend, PA

The congregation winners are:
* Keystone Community Church, Ada, MI
* San Francisco Zen Center, San Francisco, CA

Energy Star is a voluntary, market-based partnership designed to offer business and consumers effective energy efficiency solutions for saving energy, money, and the environment. More information about the 2006 Small Business and Congregations Award Winners is available at the EPA Web site.