The First Facility Management Blog

With the financial challenges of a recession and rising crime rates, malls and shopping centers this holiday season are, as always, targets for criminal activity and threats impacting consumers, retailers, and their employees. The latest estimate for ORC (Organized Retail Crime) loss alone is $33 billion in the United States. According to experts at Andrews International, Inc., a privately owned provider of security and risk mitigation services, the following tips can help retail operators and employees during the holiday shopping season.

Organized Retail Crime: Organized shoplifting gangs have been known to steal upwards of $200,000 in a single mall excursion. They know which retailers are unlikely to prosecute, and those that display merchandise that makes theft easy. Typical tactics include creating a diversion, such as an argument, drawing the attention of employees from others who are stealing merchandise. Retailers and employees should watch all areas of a store when there is a possible diversion. Tip offs for mall security officers are large groups repeatedly leaving and re-entering a mall, depositing merchandise in multiple vehicles usually with out of state license plates, and communicating frequently with handheld devices.

Seasonal Employees-Insider Threats: If possible, background and drug checks should be conducted on all employees, including temporary help. Organized gangs place people within retail stores as employees to facilitate robberies and shoplifting. Seasonal help should never have access to security information such as alarm codes or keys; these should be changed immediately when needed and on a regular basis.

Business Purchases and Checks: A popular scam is for a retailer to be contacted by “an area business” about a large purchase for employee gifts. They then ask if someone can pick up the merchandise and pay by check “on Saturday.” Anytime someone offers to pay with a business check during a time when it cannot be verified by the bank being drawn upon, it is a tip off that something is amiss.

Securing the Store: Criminals often enter a store through back doors left open by employees for ventilation, taking out trash, or sneaking out for a cigarette. Most outlets have back offices, so crimes can be committed without anyone in the store being aware. Doors should be checked regularly and secured at the end of the night, security cameras should be reviewed to ensure they have not been repositioned, and alarms and recording devices should be tested. Additionally, after-hours burglary is common, so there should never be more than $100 left in a cash register draw at the end of the night.

End of Night Cash Drop: Owners or employees leaving a mall alone at night with the day’s cash deposit are a prime target for robbery. If possible, an armored car service should be used for the transaction. If not, use a banking outlet within the confines of the mall. It is ill advised to have a single person carry out this function, particularly if leaving the premises, even if the bank is just across the parking lot.

Targeting of Employees: Parking for employees is often in a designated area, away from the entrance to a facility and more vulnerable. Criminals realize that vehicles in the employee parking area will be there for an entire shift, providing them with a greater window of opportunity to steal a car or merchandise within. In addition to the same precautions consumers should exercise in parking lots, employees should take special care to keep valuables from GPS units to iPods to gifts in their trunk and out of sight.

Global Spectrum, the management company responsible for daily operations at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati since 2006, was recognized on November 17, 2009 with the Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District’s Public Recycling Award. “We are honored to have received this award,” said the center’s General Manager, Ric Booth. “We feel that being good environmental stewards by reducing the amount of waste produced by events in the building is simply the right thing to do.”

Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, OH

The program began in 2008 when Global Spectrum began recycling cardboard. Cardboard is one of the largest waste materials produced at the Duke Energy Convention Center because conventions, trade shows, and other groups ship large quantities of materials to the Center for their events. A cardboard bailer was installed in order to reduce this waste and 163,800 pounds of the material have been recycled as a result.

The Center’s recycling program was expanded in 2008 with a grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. This grant helped purchase 20 recycling bins that were placed throughout the building. Since then, 81,760 pounds of paper plastic and aluminum have been recycled. Global Spectrum staff at the Duke Energy Convention Center have also recycled more than 1,000 wooden pallets, and all outdated computer equipment is recycled through the Cincinnati Computer Cooperative.

In addition to recycling, the Center has undertaken efforts to reduce its energy use. Incandescent lightbulbs have been replaced with more efficient compact fluorescent and cold cathode bulbs. This change has resulted in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 154,000 pounds (77 tons) annually.

During the November 17 event, Booth also noted that several other environmental projects are planned, such as installing solar panels on the roof that will further reduce energy use and green the building.

Click here to read TFM’s coverage of Duke Energy Center’s renovation and expansion completed in 2006.

With the growing interest to “bring nature indoors” into buildings and homes, increasingly we see measures like expansive natural daylighting and an abundance of plants inside new and existing structures.

A real estate developer incorporated a less common natural element into his home in the Catskill Mountains in New York State after harboring his idea for several decades. He just had to find the perfect rock… if that’s what it can be called. In fact, the bluestone boulder that graces his living room is 8′ high, 15′ wide, and 22′ deep.

Inspiration for a dream house?

Among other construction issues, a major question was: Would they be able to waterproof the house against the stream of water than ran underneath the boulder’s edge?

To address the water issue, workers waterproofed the rock against the stream before building the house. After completing a foundation that reached half the height of the boulder, a concrete slab was poured at the base of the boulder. Then workers applied a sealant over the slab and the rock. Radiant heat tubing was installed and a second concrete slab was poured. Thus far, according to the owner, the boulder has not leaked. It also maintains a temperature of 68 degrees throughout the winter, which the homeowner measures using a thermal imaging camera.

With some ingenuity (and a healthy project budget, no doubt), you really can bring Great Outdoors in! A New York Times story on the house can be found here…

For the protection of frontline healthcare and emergency medical workers at high risk of infection, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a compliance directive earlier this week to ensure uniform procedures when conducting inspections to identify and minimize or eliminate high to very high risk occupational exposures to the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus.The directive, which closely follows the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) guidance, is available as a PDF.

“OSHA has a responsibility to ensure that the more than nine million frontline healthcare workers in the United States are protected to the extent possible against exposure to the virus,” said acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab. “OSHA will ensure healthcare employers use proper controls to protect all workers, particularly those who are at high or very high risk of exposure.”

In response to complaints, OSHA inspectors will ensure that healthcare employers implement a hierarchy of controls, and encourage vaccination and other work practices recommended by the CDC. Where respirators are required to be used, the OSHA Respiratory Protection standard must be followed, including worker training and fit testing. The directive also applies to institutional settings where some workers may have similar exposures, such as schools and correctional facilities.

The CDC recommends the use of respiratory protection that is at least as protective as a fit-tested disposable N95 respirator for healthcare personnel who are in close contact (within six feet) with patients who have suspected or confirmed 2009 H1N1 influenza.

Where respirators are not commercially available, an employer will be considered to be in compliance if the employer can show a good faith effort has been made to acquire respirators.

Where OSHA inspectors determine that a facility has not violated any OSHA requirements but that additional measures could enhance the protection of employees, OSHA may provide the employer with a hazard alert letter outlining suggested measures to protect workers further.

The 2009 H1N1 influenza is transmitted via direct or indirect person-to-person spreading of infectious droplets passed when an influenza patient coughs, sneezes, talks, or breathes. Transmission occurs when expelled infectious droplets or particles make direct or indirect contact with the mucus membranes of the mouth, nose, or eyes of an uninfected person. The OSHA directive and other guidelines show steps to eliminate the hazard.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA’s role is to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America’s men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, outreach and education.

The Garland Company, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of roofing solutions, recently updated its GreenShield® vegetative roof technology by introducing movable, interlocking container modules that encapsulate plant material and the underlying growth layers. These product updates were aimed at easing installation and maintenance of the vegetative roof system.

The Garland Company's GreenShield Module system features 46"x46" modules.

The GreenShield Module system uses industrial grade 46″x46″ modules molded with pallet channels (for fork lifting) and drainage perforations. The pallet channels also serve as port ways for drainage and/or irrigation, and provide bair flow to the root systems. (When the GreenShield vegetative systems are paired with a waterproofing membrane from Garland’s StressPly® modified bitumen family of roofing systems, no additional drainage is needed.)

The modules can incorporate any lightweight soils, aggregates, filter fabrics, and green roof plants developed for the existing Garland GreenShield technologies, while allowing the flexibility of distinct plant media in each module. The GreenShield modules can be cut and shaped to any landscape setting, and sprinkler heads can be cut into the modules where needed.

The GreenShield Module systems retain the benefits of green roofing, including UV and heat insulation, reduced rainwater runoff, noise reduction, and membrane protection. Also, they can be loaded up with plant materials that have been growing in advance of the roofing job.

The GreenShield Module system is the latest innovation introduced under the Garland Green House, which encompasses  ENERGY STAR®* qualified roofing restoration systems.

The Forest Stewardship Council-US (FSC-US) has honored CityCenter in Las Vegas, Nev., as the best commercial project of 2009 in the fifth annual Designing & Building with FSC Awards. The awards recognize entities that are committed to using sustainably harvested wood and creating a marketplace that promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable forest management. CityCenter’s dedication to the use of FSC-certified wood products is unprecedented in scale and resulted in a significant market transformation.

“We are honored to be recognized as this year’s top commercial project,” said Cindy Ortega, senior vice president of MGM MIRAGE’s Energy and Environmental Services. “Sustainability has been at the forefront of every design and construction decision for CityCenter, and due to our high demand for responsibly harvested FSC-certified wood, numerous local companies have transformed their business practices, thereby opening channels for future sustainable projects.”

Due to its size and buying power, construction of the 18-million-square-foot CityCenter development expanded the local and domestic FSC wood supply markets, which will serve to open channels to future projects interested in purchasing FSC-certified wood. Ten local wood suppliers received their FSC chain of custody certification to supply wood to CityCenter.

Additionally, the development supported numerous FSC-certified companies, including: 17 wood mills, 19 manufacturers and fabricators, 50 vendors, and eight sub-contractors.

“As far as a project that has driven the national demand for FSC chain of custody suppliers and products, CityCenter is it—and it deserves to be recognized for that,” said Terry Campbell of Forest Products Solutions, in Portland, Ore., and a Designing & Building with FSC Awards jurist.

The FSC is an international nonprofit organization established to promote responsible management, distribution and use of timber throughout the world. The FSC-US is recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system as the world’s only credible organization to certify responsible forestry.

CityCenter is a joint venture between MGM MIRAGE and Infinity World Development Corp, a subsidiary of Dubai World.

Requirements to “lighten up” energy use and costs through fenestration, parking lot lighting, and other proposed measures are being recommended for Standard 90.1. ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, provides minimum requirements for the energy efficient design of buildings except low-rise residential buildings. Currently, 15 proposed addenda to the standard are open for public review.

“As the industry continues to call for buildings and systems that use less energy, the Standard 90.1 committee is striving to find ways to reduce energy uses and costs,” Mick Schwedler, chair of the Standard 90.1 committee, said. “The proposed changes not only reduce energy use but move the standard closer to the workplan goal of a 2010 standard with 30 percent energy cost savings compared to the 2004 standards.”

Among the proposed addenda out for public comment is addendum cd, which would require active exterior control rather than just require the control capability; add bi-level control for general all night applications (such as parking lots to reduce lighting when not needed); and add control for façade and landscaping lighting not needed after midnight.

Eric Richman, chair of the standard’s lighting subcommittee, noted that studies from the California Lighting Technology Center at the University of California at Davis found that control strategies reduce lighting energy use by significant amounts during night time hours. A study by Polytechnic State University showed that parking lot lighting operates in a low mode 68% of the time.

Additional information from a study by Navigant Consulting shows that parking lots account for 22 Twh out of a total 57 Twh used for outdoor lighting annually nationwide. While this estimate includes all lit parking areas, the potential for energy savings in parking areas that are directly associated with specific building projects are significant and should be supported by the standard.

A second public review of proposed addendum, bn, would reduce solar loads by orienting the fenestration in more appropriate directions. Changed in response to comments during the first public review, this approach gives flexibility to building design teams to work with siting and fenestration and orientation as well as fenestration area to comply with the requirement.

Proposed addendum bb updates building envelope requirements for opaque elements, such as walls and rooms, and fenestration (windows and skylights). A number of changes were made in response to public comments during the first public review.

The proposed addenda to ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1 are available for comment only during their public review period. To read the addenda or to comment, visit this link.

The Web Exclusive comes from Doug Todd, North America market manager, Dow Building Solutions.

Continuous insulation—”ci” for short—is a term facility managers will be hearing more often in the planning stages of their new construction and major renovation projects. Like a coat that provides greater warmth when it’s zipped rather than not, “ci” covers the entire wall surround—not just the cavity spaces between the framing studs. “Ci” is a proven energy saver that is gaining attention across the U.S.

For at least 20 years ASHRAE has mandated “ci” for the coldest U.S. climate zones—places like northern North Dakota, northern Wisconsin, and Alaska. Now, changes to the ASHRAE 90.1-2007 Energy Efficiency Standard make “ci” a prescriptive requirement for above-grade, steel frame commercial construction in six out of eight climate zones, which is essentially all of the U.S. except for its southernmost points. See this link for climate zone breakdown.

In terms of LEED certification, in version 3.0 of the LEED rating system, the Energy and Atmosphere (EA) credit category now uses ASHRAE 90.1-2007 as its baseline. And the range of points for EA Credit 1 has increased from 1-10 to 1-19.

There are wall systems on the market that make it easier to integrate “ci” into building plans. These types of systems are gaining traction across climate zones as architects, contractors, and facility managers discover that they can improve thermal efficiency with less labor and cost than traditional gypsum wall systems or alternative “ci” components.

Why “ci”?
Heat transfer through steel studs can decrease effective R-value of cavity insulation by more than 50% (see Figure 1). If not addressed, the issue can overwork a facility’s HVAC system, requiring much more energy to heat and cool than it should.

Figure 1

Energy loss is most pronounced in wall systems that place batt insulation on the interior wall between the studs and use un-insulated sheathing on the exterior, such as gypsum board. This configuration, while very common in the vast majority of commercial structures, encourages heat transfer through steel studs (see Figure 2). Left unprotected by insulation, the building’s steel frame turns into a kind of thermal super highway, where indoor heat moves out during winter and outdoor heat moves in during summer.

Figure 2

Heat transfer through steel framing also encourages condensation within the cavity. The moisture build up further reduces the effectiveness of the batt insulation and if it does not dry out, can lead to mold and mildew, as well as material degradation.

Adding thicker insulation between the studs will not significantly improve thermal performance. In fact, it’s physically impossible to design an R-19 steel stud wall system with R-19 rated batt insulation alone.

A Different Approach
Wall systems that integrate “ci” represent a fundamentally different approach to steel frame wall construction. Those that combine “ci,” an air barrier and moisture-resistant barrier in a single-source solution can help to reduce materials and labor costs, as well as installation time.

One system, the THERMAX Wall System from Dow Building Solutions, integrates an acrylic-coated polyisocyanurate foam sheathing, flashing and spray polyurethane foam in a single-source solution.  Lightweight, rigid foam insulation panels installed outboard of the stud deliver a high level of heat resistance to the entire envelope—not just between the studs. The effect is to shut down the thermal superhighway of heat transfer. The sheathing’s facer protects against moisture intrusion. Seams, windows, doors and other thru-wall penetrations are taped with flashing for further moisture protection. Sealing the interior wall cavity with spray polyurethane foam effectively reduces air infiltration through building gaps, cracks and pinholes that can account for up to 38% of heat transfer in a typical building.

Whether it’s for new construction or a major re-model, the choice of insulation affects a facility’s energy efficiency long after construction ends.  By combining “ci” with air sealing, these types of wall systems go beyond the ASHRAE 90.1 standard and moves closer to the ultimate goal of carbon neutrality in building operation.

Many members of the facility management profession have a natural knack for engineering. Along with that knack comes an enthusiasm for D-I-Y projects both in the workplace and at home. For those folks, this humorous list of toolbox items may sound frustratingly familiar…

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, ‘Oh sh — ‘

ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age.

SKILL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER:An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VICE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to round off bolt heads entirely. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity. (And the inside of my garage can prove it.)

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.

BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50¢ part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short.

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object you are trying to hit.

UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.

DAMM-IT TOOL: Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling ‘DAMM-IT’ at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need.

NSF International is celebrating 65 years of protecting and improving human health and safety worldwide. Over the past six decades, the organization has established itself as one of the most trusted names in public health, writing national human health standards and certifying products to help ensure the safety of food and drinking water, dietary supplements, and consumer goods. NSF is a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Food and Water Safety, and Indoor Environment.

NSF’s heritage dates back to November 1944 when two professors from the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, and a public health official from nearby Toledo, OH, saw a need to standardize the health requirements for commercial foodservice equipment. The transparent, consensus-based process they established to develop NSF’s first standards for the sanitation of soda fountain and luncheonette equipment became the process by which NSF developed other human health and safety standards. Today,the organization has more than 850 employees, operating in more than 120 countries, with certification programs for multiple products. Global headquarters are located in Ann Arbor, MI.

Since that time, NSF has developed more than 72 American National Standards to protect food and water, dietary supplements, pools and spas, and consumer goods. NSF also tests and certifies a wide range of products including foodservice equipment, organic foods, plastic and plumbing products, water filters, nutritional ingredients, home appliances, kitchen utensils, green building materials, pool and spa equipment, and more.

Milestones In NSF’s History

1952: NSF Test Laboratories chartered.
First food equipment standards introduced (NSF standards 1 and 2).
Food equipment certification program launched.
1980: NSF International creates the water treatment and distribution systems program to assist the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to improve drinking water standards. A majority of states now require drinking water products, such as plastic, plumbing and water filters, be certified to NSF standards.

The NSF International Annual Meeting, November 20, 1946—63 years ago to the day.

1985: NSF International opens European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Drinking water additives program launched.
1990: NSF and NSF Testing Laboratories merge to form NSF International.
1991: NSF Certification programs are accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
1996: NSF receives designation as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for food safety and drinking water safety and treatment. This designation was renewed in 2009.
2001: NSF International launches dietary supplement certification program.
2004: NSF acquires Quality Assurance International (QAI, Inc.), organic certifier based in San Diego, CA
2005: NSF expands testing operations in Taiwan with new lab in Taichung.
2006: NSF establishes NSF Shanghai Co. Ltd. in the People’s Republic of China to enhance food and water quality throughout Asia.
2007: NSF completes an 80,000 square-foot laboratory expansion at their headquarters in Ann Arbor, MI, to increase its engineering, microbiology, chemistry, and toxicology laboratory capabilities, bringing its headquarters and lab facility to a total of 150,000 square feet.
2008: NSF launches the Environmental Sustainability Program that provides carbon footprinting and accredited, third-party verification of environmental claims and greenhouse gas emissions. This program also includes standards development and certification for sustainable products, such as carpet, furniture, and other building materials, as well as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
2009: NSF opens office in India.
NSF acquires Surefish, a recognized leader in seafood quality, with offices in Seattle, Alaska, Vietnam and South Korea.