The First Facility Management Blog

With the calendar poised to enter a new year, facility management professionals in cold climates are working daily to keep their buildings in proper and safe working order. This article discusses ideas on keeping both facility workers and occupants safe throughout the coming months.

——-

Take The Chill Out Of Mid-Winter Facility Management
By John W. Conover IV, President, Trane Americas

During the mid-winter months when the heating season is in full swing, facility managers face a variety of challenges related to the cold weather. Facility operators and managers must ensure that occupants are comfortable, healthy and productive and that energy costs are low, despite elevated oil, gas and electricity prices.

No matter how cold it gets outdoors, high-performance building practices ensure cost-effective and comfortable conditions indoors. There are several steps facility managers can take this winter to ensure optimal building performance.

Maintain a comfortable, productive building environment
It is essential for facility managers to closely monitor temperatures through building control systems and avoid temperature swings during the heating season. Research by Alan Hedge, Professor in Cornell University’s Department of Design & Environmental Analysis, found a clear association between office work performance and indoor environment conditions. He found that worker performance decreases when occupants are too hot or too cold and that performance improves as conditions approach a predicted thermal comfort zone, typically between 69 to 73°F. Professor Hedge’s results suggest that raising the temperature to a more comfortable thermal zone saves employers about $2 per worker, per hour.

In addition to occupant discomfort, building temperature fluctuations also cause illness, waste energy and increase utility costs. Building occupants are a great source of whether the heating system is set at an appropriate level. Therefore, facility operators should listen to workers’ concerns about the temperature and indoor air quality.

To avoid problems with inefficient heating, facility managers should adjust thermostat controls, resolve heat loss programs and stay smart about temperature control.

Don’t let the heat get away. In order to identify weaknesses in your HVAC system, pick a cold day to do a heat-loss check on the building envelope, including the roof, windows, doors and insulation. Infrared thermography is an easy, inexpensive way to get to the bottom of heat loss. Facility managers should hire a professional thermographer or rent an infrared camera, which provides visual images to reveal temperature variations of object surfaces. This analysis will detect such inefficiencies as cold air leaking through windows, roofs or doors and hot spots created by machinery or people.

Stay smart about temperature control. In order to reduce energy costs, thermostats should be set to the lowest temperature that will maintain occupant comfort. Facility operators should avoid heating unoccupied spaces and make sure thermostat controls and equipment sequencing stay in line with occupancy and daylight conditions.

It is also essential to pay attention to the other features of the building that might affect the temperature. For instance, employees who work near outside walls and windows may get colder easier. Worn-out weather stripping should be replaced and insulated curtains should be used to keep the cold air out. Also, furniture should not block warm air registers and exhaust fan dampers should close properly to prevent cold air from entering. Any spaces that block heat or obstruct air vents, radiators or baseboard heating elements should be identified and corrected. Also, to ensure an accurate reading, thermostat sensors should always be located in the center of the area, away from drafts or areas of excessive body heat.

High-performance energy efficiency. The heating season has a major impact on a building’s overall operating costs. According to the Energy Information Administration, space heating comprises over 30 percent of commercial buildings’ energy use. To avoid sky high bills in the wintertime, facility managers should take a close look at their energy bills.

Natural gas utility companies usually base costs on how much energy is delivered to the building. Electricity is charged on both consumption and demand. Consumption includes how many kilowatt hours are consumed in a given period, such as per month. Demand involves the peak demand within the month, or during the previous twelve months. Therefore, reducing peak demand costs can lead to major savings.

Some measures to reduce peak and non-peak energy use include:
* Avoid operating HVAC and lighting systems at full load when not needed
* Maintain minimum temperatures in areas with low occupancy, such as warehouses
* Program temperature setbacks during off hours
* Avoid letting temperatures drop too low or occupants may turn to using their own space heaters or engaging in “thermostat wars”
* Get building occupants involved in turning off lights, shutting doors and alerting facility management to any problems, such as cold spots
* Rather than leaving the heat on all night, set controls to pre-condition the space before occupants arrive
* Upgrade to more efficient lighting

Mid-winter maintenance
Monthly checkups ensure building systems uphold performance and efficiency through the cold days and nights of winter. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR reports that a maintenance program that keeps equipment functioning properly can reduce heating costs by at least 5 percent. Even more significant energy savings can be seen if major problems are found and corrected.

During the heating season, facility managers should monitor measures taken in the fall to prepare for the heating season, including inspecting boilers, domestic water heaters and pumps, insulating piping, checking antifreeze levels, etc. Heating and cooling coils and water pipes are especially vulnerable to freezing and should be monitored regularly. Coils that are exposed to the elements should be regularly checked to make sure the antifreeze levels will hold up at the lowest possible temperatures in the area.

Facility managers should also monitor steam traps, condensate return systems and valves to make sure water circulates to the boiler properly and pressures are correct.

Winter indoor air quality. The heating season can dry out indoor air. If you detect high static levels or other indicators of low humidity, check that there is proper humidity transfer in the air-handling unit. In general, humidity should be held at about 50 percent, though this varies with the facility’s use.

The EPA also recommends testing for radon in the winter. During the heating season, ventilation is lower and there is a larger differential between outdoor and indoor pressure, which can lead to higher entry of radon.

Think ahead to maintain cooling systems. Although cooling systems have been shut down and drained, they should not be neglected. Use the winter months to conduct any repairs, improvements or equipment replacements.

Test your contingency program. Make regular checks on the backup equipment and generators and conduct a trial run with the staff. Make sure everyone clearly understands his or her role during a winter emergency, and that systems and evacuations will operate as planned. Update all phone numbers of emergency service providers, such as HVAC service, the utility company and medical response team.

Management and occupant safety
Safety is a paramount concern for building occupants and those working on facilities in the winter. Technicians and facility personnel should be aware of threats to safety and follow basic guidelines for injury and incident prevention.

Slips, Trips and Falls. A major concern for anyone working in or around a facility is the slippery conditions created by ice and cold. Workers should be especially careful on roofs and when climbing ladders to avoid injury. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that 65,000 people every year receive emergency room treatment because of ladder accidents.

Lifting and Material Handling. Proper lifting, climbing and material handling techniques should be practiced when dealing with equipment. Some of the most common injuries to service technicians and maintenance personnel involve muscle, joint or disc injuries to the back. To avoid these accidents, it is critical to understand correct positioning when lifting or moving heavy equipment. Some tips include bending at the knees, keeping the chest forward, leading with the hips, and keeping the weight close to the body.

Heating Concerns. Facility personnel should take care when working with heating equipment and gas lines to avoid burns and gas leaks.

Training. Everyone involved in maintaining building systems and equipment should be trained regularly on winter safety to avoid incidents and injuries.

In conclusion
Although the winter months pose a variety of challenges for facility operators, the right approach to winter facility management will keep your building and its occupants on top of performance goals. The main tips for facility managers during the winter months are:

1. Regularly monitor building systems and document energy consumption to ensure the facility is not using too much electric power, gas or oil
2. Building occupants should be checked in with frequently to identify problems and to avoid workers making their own adjustments to thermostats or plugging in space heaters
3. Perform a heat-loss check to identify and correct any weaknesses in the HVAC system or building layout
4. Take measures to reduce energy consumption during peak hours and to avoid operating systems and lighting during non-peak hours, as much as possible
5. Regularly check parts of the building system that are exposed to the elements, as well as backup equipment and generators in case of a winter emergency.

John W. Conover IV is the president of Trane’s commercial systems business in the Americas region. He is responsible for growing the sales and distribution of Trane’s indoor comfort systems and comprehensive facility solutions, and is driven by a vision of being accountable to customers.