The First Facility Management Blog

Whether you own a hotel, run a hospital, or manage a public facility, the accumulation of bird feces around your buildings is not likely to attract new business. Certainly, “curb appeal” is lost. But aesthetics aside, bird droppings are simply dangerous–posing health risks to everyone in the vicinity. Entomologist research has found more than 60 transmittable bird-borne diseases and dangerous parasitic organisms which can be fatal to some people and cause others to fall ill.

Where the avian flu typically is ingested by mouth through feces-contaminated water, other bird-borne diseases are ingested by breathing airborne spores of bird feces. When dried-out droppings are disturbed, a cloud of airborne dust carries microorganisms into the lungs, causing inhalation diseases such as histoplasmosis, which is the most common of the diseases associated with pest birds. Eating or drinking foods that have come into contact with bird-related bacteria can cause ingestion diseases such as toxoplasmosis and query fever. (Ntl Pest Control Assn Inc. 1982 Bird Management Manual.) Commonly, roosting birds will congregate on rooftops around HVAC units—a real danger to people inside the buildings, since the dust gets pulled into the HVAC system and spread throughout the building.

How can you prevent birds from roosting and leaving their disease-ridden mess on your buildings and other structures? Whether on ledges of residential buildings, monuments, parks and recreation buildings, or around food distribution centers, bird droppings are a health hazard which can be alleviated with a variety of bird control devices. The most popular is known as “porcupine wire.”

According to Cory Gellerstedt of Nixalite of America, there are several routes that can be taken to control roosting birds. “Some are more dangerous than others, like chemical repellants, which carry a host of cautions with them. The most popular deterrent by far is the “porcupine wire” strips. They last practically forever, and don’t require maintenance. Plus they don’t harm birds or people.”

Gellerstedt adds that there are many different types of porcupine wire and you should be very careful when choosing one of these products. “Some of the deterrents are constructed of all high quality stainless steel, some are made of plastic, and others use a combination of the two. The stainless steel models cost a bit more, but the longevity they provide is worth it. Plastic can become brittle when cold and soft when it is hot and will eventually deteriorate from direct exposure to sunlight.

“Most importantly, you need to pay attention to the number of wire points per inch. The best products have points that are strategically configured close together and pointing in all directions. These will control smaller as well as larger birds. Many of the porcupine wire products available have large gaps between the wires and small birds can sit or nest in between them. I recommend a 100% stainless steel product with 120 points per foot for the best protection and longevity, with little or no maintenance.”

What can a layperson do to stay safe? Since we don’t know if people can become infected through handling, eating, or getting bitten by infected host animals, care should be taken when in a potentially risky situation. Use gloves when picking up dead birds or mammals, or grab the carcass with a plastic bag and then invert it to the inside of the bag. Contact your County or State Health Department. If they want the dead bird or animal they will make arrangements to come get it. If not, it’s best to double bag it in plastic and put it in the trash. (Ntl Audubon Society, 2005 “West Nile Virus.”

As the baby boom generation slowly exits the U.S. workplace, a new survey of leaders from a consortium of business research organizations finds the incoming generation sorely lacking in much needed workplace skills—both basic academic and more advanced “applied” skills, according to a report released this past October. “The future workforce is here, and it is ill-prepared,” concludes the report.

The report is based on an detailed survey of 431 human resource officials that was conducted in April and May 2006 by The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource Management. Its objective was to examine employers’ views on the readiness of new entrants to the U.S. workforce—recently hired graduates from high schools, two-year colleges or technical schools, and four-year colleges.

The findings reflect employers’ growing frustrations over the preparedness of new entrants to the workforce. Employers expect young people to arrive with a core set of basic knowledge and the ability to apply their skills in the workplace – and the reality is not matching the expectation.

“It is clear from the report that greater communication and collaboration between the business sector and educators is critical to ensure that young people are prepared to enter the workplace of the 21st century,” says Richard Cavanagh, president and CEO of The Conference Board. “Less than intense preparation in critical skills can lead to unsuccessful futures for America’s youth, as well as a less competitive U.S. workforce. This ultimately makes the U.S. economy more vulnerable in the global marketplace.”

Business leaders report that while the three “Rs” are still fundamental to every employee’s ability to do the job, applied skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, and communication are essential for success at work. In fact, at all educational levels, these applied skills trump basic knowledge skills such as reading and mathematics in importance in the view of employers. In order to succeed in the workplace of the 21st Century, high school and college graduates need to master basic academic skills as well as a complement of applied skills. The survey also found though that too many new entrants to the workforce are not adequately prepared in these important skills.

Nearly three-quarters of survey participants (70%) cite deficiencies among incoming high school graduates in “applied” skills, such as professionalism and work ethic, defined as “demonstrating personal accountability, effective work habits, e.g. punctuality, working productively with others, and time and workload management.”

More than 40% of surveyed employers say incoming high school graduates hired are deficiently prepared for the entry-level jobs they fill. The report finds that recent high school graduates lack the basic skills in reading comprehension, writing and math, which many respondents say were needed for successful job performance.

Furthermore, when asked how their hiring practices will change:
• 28% of employers project that their companies will reduce hiring of new entrants with only a high school diploma over the next five years.
• 49.5% said the percentages of two-year college graduates they hire would increase.
• almost 60% said their hires of four-year college graduates would increase.
• 42% said their hires of post-graduates would increase over the next five years.

“This study should serve as an alert to educators, policy makers, and those concerned with U.S. economic competitiveness that we may be facing a skills shortage,” said Susan R. Meisinger, president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management. “In a knowledge based economy, a talented workforce with communication and critical thinking skills is necessary for organizations and the U.S. to be successful.”

The findings show an especially big gap in writing skills. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of incoming high school graduates are viewed as deficient in basic English writing skills, including grammar and spelling. And when asked about readiness with regard to applied skills related to the workplace, the greatest deficiency was reported in written communications (memos, letters, complex technical reports), and in professionalism and work ethic. Eighty-one percent of survey participants say their high school graduate hires were deficient in written communications.

Poor writing skills also continued to be a problem among both two-year and four-year college graduates. Nearly half of all survey participants (47%) report that two-year college graduates are deficient in this skill.

“The basics plus an array of applied and social skills – from critical thinking to collaboration to communications – defines workforce readiness in the 21st century,” says Ken Kay, president of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

For example, over half (58%) of responding employers say critical thinking and problem solving skills are “very important” for incoming high school graduates’ successful job performance, yet nearly three-quarters of respondents (70%) rated recently hired high school graduates as deficient in critical thinking.

“Clearly, business has a stake in the problem and can play a role in helping to solve the problem,” says Donna Klein, president and CEO, Corporate Voices for Working Families. “Many business leaders across the country are already actively engaged in efforts to address the skills gap through a variety of initiatives including efforts to improve academic outcomes through partnerships with schools, partnering with schools or community based organizations that run mentoring programs, providing internships, job shadowing programs and summer job opportunities. Through these and other initiatives, business can help ensure that the workforce of the future has the full range of skills needed to be successful as they enter the workplace of the 21st century.”

Looking toward the future, nearly three-fourths of the survey participants ranked “creativity/innovation” as among the top five applied skills projected to increase in importance for future graduates.

In addition, knowledge of foreign languages, cultures, and global markets will become increasingly important for future graduates entering the U.S. workforce. When asked to project the changing importance of several knowledge and skill needs over the next five years, 63% of survey participants cited foreign languages as increasing in importance more than any other basic knowledge area or skill. And in separate questions about emerging content areas, half of the respondents noted the use of “non-English languages as a tool for understanding other nations, markets, and cultures,” while 53% selected “understanding of global markets and the economic and cultural impacts of globalization.”

Making appropriate choices concerning health and wellness is the number one emerging topic considered most critical for future graduates entering the workforce. More than three-quarters of survey participants (76%) say that “making appropriate choices concerning health and wellness, such as nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, work-life effectiveness” is an emerging content area that will be most critical for future graduates.

Interestingly, workforce readiness of high school graduates was reported as adequate by a majority of survey participants in three areas considered critical for current and future workplace needs:
• information technology;
• team work; and
• diversity.

“The adequacy of preparation in these areas is encouraging, as all three – diversity, teamwork and technology – are areas where business leaders, educators and communities have focused unified energy and resources in recent years,” says Klein. “These results suggest that when a particular skill is viewed uniformly as critical and is targeted, success and progress is possible.”

In addition, incoming two-year and four-year college graduates are much better prepared for the entry-level jobs they seek to fill, but relatively small percentages meet standards of excellence. Overall, as might be expected, survey participants considered graduates of both two-year and four-year colleges as much better prepared for their entry-level jobs, with relatively small percentages of two-year and four-year college graduates (11% and 9%, respectively) considered deficiently prepared. While the majority of employers said that both two- and four-year college graduates are adequately prepared, relatively few rated two-and four-year college graduates as excellently prepared (10% and 24%, respectively).

“One message of this study to educators, policy makers and those concerned with U.S. economic competitiveness is that new entrants to the U.S. workforce are not demonstrating levels of excellence necessary to compete successfully in the face of rising global labor market challenges,” emphasizes Meisinger. “The importance of learning to communicate in writing and orally is paramount. Communication is a critical skill in the workplace, and one that many new entrants lack.”

Financial underwriting for this report was contributed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF), Dell Inc., the Ford Foundation, Microsoft, Pearson Education, Philip Morris USA Youth Smoking Prevention, SAP, and State Farm.

Source: Are They Really Ready to Work?
Employers’ Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge And Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century Workforce , The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Society for Human Resource Management

The company has introduced this Web resource to provide information regarding the Energy Policy Act of 2005, its impact on federal agencies, and solutions that can help users achieve compliance and save energy.

The Web site, part of the Square D® Government Solutions Web site, is designed to help visitors better understand EPAct 2005, and learn about Schneider Electric’s energy efficiency solutions and how the company can help them take advantage of energy savings opportunities in their facilities.

“The new site is a powerful resource designed for federal agencies and their representatives,” said Ellen Kotzbauer, manager of Schneider Electric’s Federal Government Market Segment group. “In addition to offering easy-to-use calculators that will help users assess the possible savings gained through various energy efficiency upgrades, the site also offers detailed information on Schneider Electric energy efficiency and metering solutions.”

The site features a link to the Square D Energy Efficiency Calculators, which assist facility managers, consulting engineers, and operations managers looking for ways to reduce energy consumption without sacrificing productivity. Square D Lean Tools is a collection of Web calculators that allows users to optimize energy costs while enhancing facility performance, reliability, safety, and ease of use.

Informational articles, reference links, and case histories are available on the Government Solutions site to help explain the benefits of energy efficiency upgrades. Also included is a section on flexible procurement vehicles, available through Schneider Electric, that make procurement simple for federal agencies with a wide variety of flexible options.

A Cambridge Architectural Security & Safety mesh system defines the boundaries of the exterior dining area for the National Archives Southeast Region in Morrow, GA, complying not only with the building’s contemporary design, but also with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) security regulations.

Although the contents of the building are historical, the design of the new, 117,000-square-foot Southeast Regional Archives has a forward focus.

“We designed the building to be ‘cutting edge’ and to meet Green building standards,” explains Project Manager Carissa Faroughi of Peck Peck and Associates, the project’s architect. The whole structure is a “materials showcase,” according to Faroughi, made from durable elements such as granite, block and metal. The architects are in the process of applying for LEED accreditation for the project.

The $22 million National Archives Southeast Region is a division of NARA, the preserver of United States Federal government documents for public use. The facility maintains historical records from regional offices of Federal agencies in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee. It is a valuable resource open to academic researchers and casual browsers alike.

The Cambridge Architectural Security & Safety mesh system that surrounds the archives’ outdoor patios and connects the main building to the adjacent Visitors Center is made from Grid stainless steel woven metal supported by customized U-Frame attachment hardware. The primary function of Security & Safety systems is to provide aesthetically pleasing methods of protection for people and property.

“The Cambridge Architectural mesh system we chose meets security regulations that limit openings to no larger than one inch,” continued Faroughi. “The mesh also allowed us to enclose the patio and keep it controlled without looking boxy. It provided a clean aesthetic that goes with the contemporary design of the building.”

The archives shares an amphitheater with its neighbor, Clayton State University. Unveiled during the Archives’ grand opening ceremonies, the amphitheater will play host to public events, concerts and university events. During cooler Georgia months, Clayton State students may use the area to study. The patio is an extension of the indoor public and employee dining rooms and connects to the visitors center for catered “event” use.

The facility was also designed to meet national archival standards that regulate interior temperature, humidity, and UV-Light. It is a prototype for other NARA facilities and is the first to be built. The design works so well for NARA because it is meant to be expanded; its V-shaped bays allow for easy additions on either end. “Our intent is for the building to last as long as the archives last and to grow with them,” added Faroughi.

Some of the items held by the Southeast Regional Archives include immigration records from settlers in the 1790s, Al Capone’s draft card from World War I, and maybe even your family tree.

Peck Peck and Associates, Woodbridge, VA, is the project architect and Fabmaster, Inc., Atlanta, GA, the fabricator.

Cambridge’s Grid metal fabric pattern is a rigid open weave often used in stair rail systems and grillwork. U-frame attachment hardware was used to install the Grid product. Metal fabric is tack welded to u-binding and mitered corners are welded and ground smooth for a polished finish.

Cambridge Architectural is an American manufacturer of architectural mesh systems. The elements of a Cambridge system include the attachment hardware and the metal fabric. Systems include Façade, Space Sculpting, Corporate Branding, Security & Safety, Solar, Ventilation, and Landscape Interiors.

FacilityBlog will be taking a brief break until after the Thanksgiving holidays. We realize there is no break for the weary facility manager, but we hope your cell phones, pagers, and two-way radios stay quiet long enough to enjoy a quiet dinner with your families…or at least a drumstick and a slice of pie….

The LED lighting display by Philips Lighting is expected to lower energy consumption by 50%. Each year, luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue displays its Snowflake Spectacle–a high-tech light show that combines holiday tradition and advanced technology. Philips has replaced this year’s snowflake design with 40,400 newly upgraded LEDs (light emitting diodes) to make this year’s spectacle the brightest and most energy-efficient ever. This year’s Spectacle will use only 2600W of energy, the equivalent of just three toaster ovens.

Throughout the holiday season, millions of onlookers are expected to gaze upon 50 enormous 8-foot and 20-foot illuminated snow flakes that reach 10 stories high and feature a high-tech snowflake LED-light show choreographed to a modern version of “Carol of the Bells.”

“The LED system used to create the Saks Snowflake Spectacle is a terrific demonstration of Philips’ innovation in creating sustainable, energy-efficient lighting solutions,” said Govi Rao, vice president and general manager of Philips Lighting North America’s Solid State Lighting Business. “Philips’ partnership with Saks provides a unique opportunity to showcase our capabilities in a way that can fit simply within consumers’ lifestyle.”

Philips, which lights many of the world’s preeminent landmarks including The Eiffel Tower, The Sydney Opera House, Buckingham Palace and The Sphinx, is providing more than 40,000 LED lights that when illuminated, will give the effect of snowflakes falling and dancing across the façade of the Fifth Avenue store every fifteen minutes during the Holiday season. The Philips Lighting technology featured on the Saks Fifth Avenue exterior will also appear in the building’s 28 surrounding windows. Representations of the snowflakes will also appear in all 54 Saks Fifth Avenue stores nationwide, as well as online and in the Saks holiday catalog.

2006 Snowflake Spectacle Facts:

* 50 fully programmable snowflakes reaching 10 stories high (36 8’ and 14 20’) inspired by William “Snowflake” Bentley’s snowflake photos from the 1920s.
* The bright LED lights used to illuminate all 50 snowflakes consume only 2600W–the energy equivalency of only three toaster ovens.
* The project required 40,400 LED modules, strung at a length of 13,480 feet, or 2.55 miles, to cover 36 eight-foot diameter and 14 twenty-foot diameter snowflakes.
* Placed end to end, the lights measure more than the length of 4.5 football fields.
* The size of each LED that helps to form the snowflakes and emits light is less than the size of a pin head.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, poor indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools continually places 10% (27.5 million people) of the US population at risk for health problems, such as coughing, eye irritation, headaches, asthma, allergies, and in rare cases Legionnaire’s disease, carbon monoxide poisoning and cancer. Among those most at risk are the more than six million students who have asthma.

One of the primary culprits are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are emitted from a wide variety of solvents, construction materials, textiles, furnishings, finishes, classroom supplies, consumer products, pesticides, fragrances, personal care products, and cleaning products and copy machines. Researchers are very concerned as results from a number of recent studies are demonstrating some very alarming trends:
•Children exposed to high levels of VOCs were four times more likely to develop asthma than adults (Rumchev et al 2004).
•Self-reported asthma prevalence in school children increased with increasing VOC levels (Delfino 2002).
•Small amounts of some environmental chemicals might have a dramatic effect on hormone levels, such as estrogen, which at high levels is associated with some forms of cancer and developmental problems during puberty (Waldman 2005, Rajapakse et al 2002).
•Teacher productivity and student learning, as measured by absenteeism, may be affected by indoor air quality (National Research Council 2006).

A new report from Air Quality Sciences, Inc. (AQS), titled Reviewing and Refocusing on IAQ in Schools, summarizes these studies and offers some new resources that can help turn the tide towards healthier indoor learning environments. It can be downloaded at no cost under the White Paper tab of the Premium Content page of the AQS Aerias IAQ Resource Center.

Among the most promising is the tough new GREENGUARD Certification for Children & Schools˙, created by the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI). This standard, which is an extension of the established GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certification Programsm, takes the sensitive nature of children and the unique building characteristics and maintenance conditions found in daycare facilities and schools into consideration and presents the most rigorous product emissions criteria to date.

Air Quality Sciences, Inc. provides product evaluation testing for this program, using environmental chamber technology (ECT). This method allows a product to produce emissions similar to the way the product would emit in a school environment.

Measured emissions data are then used to determine exposure concentrations expected by use of the product in many different indoor environments, including schools. Exposure concentrations are used in various risk models to predict cancer and non-cancer health effects, including expected odor and irritation responses.

AQS has assisted numerous manufacturers in achieving GREENGUARD certification for products used in today’s schools, including classroom furniture, adhesives, flooring, thermal insulation and flooring, and stands ready to partner with the school districts to create and maintain healthy indoor environments.

For a listing of products that are certified to emit low levels of VOCs and more information on GREENGUARD Certification for Children & Schools, visit the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute.

According to new research, most companies are unprepared for workplace violence.

“Over 70% of United States workplaces do not have a formal program or policy that addresses workplace violence, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

In establishments that did report having a workplace violence program or policy, those in private industry most frequently reported addressing co-worker violence (82%). Customer or client violence was the next most frequent subject of private industry policies or programs (71%), followed by criminal violence (53%) and domestic violence (44%).”

Click here to read the rest of this story.
Originally published on the Reliable Plant magazine website.

Having conducted a successful Building Information Modeling (BIM) pilot program, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is now mandating BIM be used in its new buildings.

To read TFM’s coverage of this topic in the November 2006 issue, see “Building Information Modeling” by Tom Condon.

An article written by Michael Hardy for Federal Computer Week yesterday began:

The General Services Administration has mandated that new buildings designed through its Public Buildings Service use building information modeling in the design stage.

BIM is an emerging technology that involves creating a structure as a 3-D virtual model and linking it with data. GSA’s mandate covers the design phase, but advocates of the technology say it has far-ranging potential for use in ongoing facility management.

“We are making this fiscal ’07 requirement as a minimum requirement,” said Calvin Kam, GSA’s BIM project manager. “We are encouraging [people], project by project, to go over and above the minimum.”

The 3-D design is the most visible and striking aspect of BIM, but it is only one manifestation, Kam said. By connecting the spatial representation to data, agency officials can quickly calculate a building’s heating costs or see where design elements don’t correctly fit together.

“Were we add the most value is working with customers to leverage the data they already have,” said Juliana Slye, director of government solutions in the infrastructure solutions division at Autodesk, a BIM vendor.

GSA is just dipping its toe into the water, said Deke Smith, chairman of the National BIM Standard Project Committee.

“Where they’re now requiring BIM is on space planning,” Smith said. “It’s only a piece of what BIM could be, even for a new building. It’s a very small first step. The long-range benefits are just huge.”

GSA’s Office of the Chief Architect began working with BIM in 2003 and has completed 10 pilot projects, with 25 more under way, said Charles Matta, director of the Center for Federal Buildings and Modernizations.

Technology has become increasingly important as GSA’s workforce has shrunk from more than 40,000 to about 12,500, Matta said. “When an [architect or engineering firm] brings in a design and says ‘Yes, it does have the efficiencies we require,’ we don’t have the means to go into their documents and confirm,” he said. “We don’t have the resources and staffing to do so. When they present a model to us, it’s easy.”

Read the rest of the article here…

As Green cleaning’s popularity continues to soar, a new poll appears to question if using environmentally preferable cleaning products is of greater interest to jansan manufacturers and distributors than to the customers of building service contractors (BSCs).

The poll is the first Tornado e-Poll conducted by jansan manufacturer Tornado Industries. According to Jolynn Kennedy, Tornado’s marketing director, one of the goals of the e-Poll is to survey industry members regarding trends and developments in the industry.

Participants were questioned as to how many of their customers have asked to switch from conventional to Green cleaning products. Sixty percent responded “very few;” twenty percent indicated more than half; and 20% reported that a “quarter to about half” of their customers request environmentally preferable cleaning products be used in their facilities.

The Tornado e-Poll also asked BSCs if their customers were aware of certifying organizations, such as EcoLogoM and Green SealR or the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Green Label and Seal of Approval Programs. The results are as follows:

Almost all: 20%
Quiet a few: 20%
Very few: 40%
None: 20%

Similarly, when asked if their clients were seeking LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, the cleaning professionals answered:

Yes: 20%
No: 40%
Do not know: 20%

“It almost makes you wonder if Green cleaning is of greater interest in the boardrooms of manufacturers and distributors than in the millions of facilities cleaned every day,” says
Jim Hlavin, head of Tornado’s Business Development division. “However, we know the interest in Green cleaning, sustainability, LEED certification, and similar measures are growing considerably. It is just beginning to blossom.”

The final question asked the BSCs about their sources of information about Green cleaning. According to the survey, 80% indicated they get most of their information from jansan trade publications. The remaining 20% answered that their information source is primarily their
local jansan distributor.