The First Facility Management Blog

Here are the answers to yesterday’s quiz. If you got seven or more correct, consider yourself green friendly.

1. Lighting consumes a negligible amount of energy in most buildings. True or false?
Answer: False

2. Unchecked consumption of the finite ______ ______ reserve drives more exploration and extraction at a higher economic cost, and displaces more natural resources at a higher environmental cost.
a. Solar energy
b. Fossil fuel
c. Nuclear power
d. Grain ethanol
Answer: b. Fossil Fuel

3. Energy recovery ventilators can recover ___ percent of the energy that would be lost in conditioning air.
a. 40
b. 60
c. 80
d. 100
Answer: c. 80

4. Green roofs reduce run-off and the need for greater sewage capacity. True or false?
Answer: True

5. What does USGBC stand for?
a. United States Green Beautification Committee
b. Uniform Standards for Green Buildings and Commissioning
c. United States Green Building Council
d. United Society of Green Builders and Craftspeople
Answer: c. United States Green Building Council

6. Underfloor ventilation can have advantages over overhead air flow systems because warm air rises. True or false?
Answer: True

7. The four certification levels in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) are:
a. Certified, Yellow, Blue, Green
b. Silver, Gold, Platinum, Green
c. Approved, Enhanced, Upgraded, Certified
d. Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum
Answer: d. Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum

8. When it comes to LEED® credentials, buildings and projects are certified and people are __________.
a. Graduated
b. Honored
c. Accredited
d. Approved
Answer: c. Accredited

9. Equipment in a green building cannot use CFC-based _______.
a. Refrigerants
b. Lubricants
c. Fuels
d. Illumination
Answer: a. Refrigerants

10. Rainwater can be harvested and used for which of the following purposes?
a. Watering lawns
b. Eye wash stations
c. Flushing toilets
d. A and C
e. All of the above
Answer: d. A and C

Once considered a passing fad, green building has driven its roots deep into the American landscape. City Halls in Chicago and Atlanta have green rooftops, and green building initiatives are thriving in Seattle, Denver, Dallas, and other major cities nationwide. Even the United Nations headquarters in New York will be renovated with green principles in mind.

“Green buildings are quickly becoming a marketplace requirement,” said Jeff Grossberg, Executive Director of SkySite Property, LLC, a Chicago-based company working to increase property values through fiscally sound green initiatives and investment strategies. “

According to Grossberg, Chicago provides an exemplary regional example of the significance of the green initiatives and the fiscal benefits of incorporating sustainable systems. “The success of our green initiatives provides solid evidence that sustainability will quickly become a requirement of any future building projects,” he said.

Green buildings are quickly becoming required by most municipalities across the country, Grossberg added. “The greatest percentage of savings, the best protection from impending legal penalties, such as carbon tax, and the greatest return on investment lie in the sound implementation of green building practices,” he said.

Critics of green building often balk at the perceived expense – but according to the Davis Langdon report, “Cost of Green Revisited: Reexamining the Feasibility and Cost Impact of Sustainable Design in the Light of Increased Market Adoption,” July 2007: “….there is no significant difference in average cost for green buildings as compared to non-green buildings. Many project teams are building green buildings with little or no added cost, and with budgets well within the cost range of non-green buildings with similar programs.”

How much do you know about green building? Take the following quiz and find out. The answers to this quiz came from the MCA Chicago green building Webinar, “LEED® and Sustainable Design.” Correct answers and scoring evaluations will be posted tomorrow on FacilityBlog.

1. Lighting consumes a negligible amount of energy in most buildings. True or false?

2. Unchecked consumption of the finite ______ ______ reserve drives more exploration and extraction at a higher economic cost, and displaces more natural resources at a higher environmental cost.
a. Solar energy
b. Fossil fuel
c. Nuclear power
d. Grain ethanol

3. Energy recovery ventilators can recover ___ percent of the energy that would be lost in conditioning air.
a. 40
b. 60
c. 80
d. 100

4. Green roofs reduce run-off and the need for greater sewage capacity. True or false?

5. What does USGBC stand for?
a. United States Green Beautification Committee
b. Uniform Standards for Green Buildings and Commissioning
c. United States Green Building Council
d. United Society of Green Builders and Craftspeople

6. Underfloor ventilation can have advantages over overhead air flow systems because warm air rises. True or false?

7. The four certification levels in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) are:
a. Certified, Yellow, Blue, Green
b. Silver, Gold, Platinum, Green
c. Approved, Enhanced, Upgraded, Certified
d. Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum

8. When it comes to LEED® credentials, buildings and projects are certified and people are __________.
a. Graduated
b. Honored
c. Accredited
d. Approved

9. Equipment in a green building cannot use CFC-based _______.
a. Refrigerants
b. Lubricants
c. Fuels
d. Illumination

10. Rainwater can be harvested and used for which of the following purposes?
a. Watering lawns
b. Eye wash stations
c. Flushing toilets
d. A and C
e. All of the above

Check FacilityBlog tomorrow to find out how well you scored!

Yesterday on FacilityBlog, I posted a brief quiz designed to help cleaning professionals better understand how to use disinfectant cleaners safely and effectively.

And here’s what you have all been patiently waiting for–the correct answers!
Question 1: Cleaning professionals should increase cleaning frequency to reduce the risk of infection in educational and healthcare facilities. However, if this is not economically possible, they should put greater emphasis on:
Answer: Targeting high-touch areas, such as door knobs, railings, light switches, elevator buttons, etc.

Question 2: If disinfectant chemicals are used and cross contamination and infection continues to be a problem, which of the following should be scrutinized?
Answer: The cleaning techniques and frequencies used by the cleaning professionals

Question 3: A stronger concentration of cleaning chemicals, especially disinfectants, is more effective at eradicating germs and bacteria.
Answer: False

Question 4: A disinfectant:
Answer: Eliminates pathogens, organisms, germs, and bacteria listed on its label if the stated dilution rates, dwell time, and soil load conditions are met

Question 5: Which of the following are true? (To see the original quiz, click this link.)
Answer: All of the above

Question 6: Because disinfectants can be so powerful, it is recommended to use more environmentally preferable disinfectants wherever possible.
Answer: True

Question 7: One problem that can arise from using disinfectants on counters and floor surfaces over a prolonged period of time is…
Answer: The surface area can start to deteriorate or leave a film after repeated use due to the pH level of the product

Question 8: When teaching cleaning professionals how to disinfect surfaces and help stop the spread of infection, it is best to?
Answer: Form teams that specialize in specific infection risks and how to eradicate them

Do you need a lesson in cleaning? How well did you score?

The following quiz from Enviro-Solutions, a manufacturer of green cleaning chemicals, is designed to help cleaning professionals better understand how to use disinfectant cleaners safely and effectively. Answers will be presented tomorrow.

1. Cleaning professionals should increase cleaning frequency to reduce the risk of infection in educational and healthcare facilities. However, if this is not economically possible, they should put greater emphasis on:
* Maintaining hard surface floors because they can quickly get soiled
* Cleaning food service areas
* Targeting high-touch areas, such as door knobs, railings, light switches, elevator buttons, etc.
* Cleaning restrooms

2. If disinfectant chemicals are used and cross contamination and infection continues to be a problem, which of the following should be scrutinized?
* The disinfectant chemicals
* The dilution rate of the cleaning chemicals
* The cleaning techniques and frequencies used by the cleaning professionals
* It is probably no longer a cleaning problem and other possibilities should be investigated

3. A stronger concentration of cleaning chemicals, especially disinfectants, is more effective at eradicating germs and bacteria.
* True
* False
* In some circumstances

4. A disinfectant:
* Kills all known germs, microorganisms, and disease-causing bacteria
* Will kill most microorganisms (bacteria, viruses) it contacts
* Reduces the number of bacteria to a safe level, but does not completely eliminate it
* Eliminates pathogens, organisms, germs, and bacteria listed on its label if the stated dilution rates, dwell time, and soil load conditions are met

5. Which of the following are true?
* Bleach is a disinfectant, but is not a very good overall cleaner
* Some disinfectants can disinfect, but they do not clean effectively
* Cleaners clean, but they do not disinfect
* All of the above
* None of the above

6. Because disinfectants can be so powerful, it is recommended to use more environmentally preferable disinfectants wherever possible.
* True
* False, because green disinfectants are not yet certified
* False, because green disinfectants are not yet available
* False, because green disinfectants are not as powerful as conventional disinfectants

7. One problem that can arise from using disinfectants on counters and floor surfaces over a prolonged period of time is…
* Microorganisms become immune to the disinfectant on that surface
* They become less effective over time
* The surface area can start to deteriorate or leave a film after repeated use due to the pH level of the product
* They are safe to regularly and frequently use on all surfaces

8. When teaching cleaning professionals how to disinfect surfaces and help stop the spread of infection, it is best to?
* Form teams that specialize in specific infection risks and how to eradicate them
* Specialize the teaching so that some cleaning professionals specialize in disinfecting floors, for example, while others specialize in disinfecting counters and other areas
* Have some cleaning professionals taught conventional cleaning skills, while a select group specializes in disinfecting
* Teach all disinfecting skills and knowledge to all cleaning professionals

Come back tomorrow to find out how much you really know about cleaning.