The First Facility Management Blog

Safety Technology International, Inc. has introduced the Fire Extinguisher Theft Stopper® (STI-6200). This battery operated alarm offers a steel cable operated switch mechanism to help stop theft and vandalism of fire extinguishers.

The STI-6200 is designed to prevent theft and vandalism.

If the protected fire extinguisher is moved from its normal position, the device emits a piercing alarm (either 95dB or 105 dB). The alarm is easy to install and comes complete with a 9 volt battery, anchors, and screws. Also supplied is a short cable to deactivate the alarm for service personnel to perform maintenance on the fire extinguisher. (End user must verify the alarm and battery every six months and replace battery annually or as required.) Additionally, the highly visible stop sign design and the words “STOP, EMERGENCY USE ONLY” on the STI-6200 discourages wrongful use.

Self contained, the device does not interfere with fire fighting in any way. With a recommended operating range of between 32ºF to 120ºF (0ºC to 49ºC), the STI-6200 features a compact patented design of 5” (127mm) in diameter and 1.875”(48mm) deep.

There is a remote powered 12 VDC model available for special applications (STI-6200R). Also available in green housing to comply with newer standards (STI-6200G). Housing is molded of super tough polycarbonate and is UV-stabilized. Lifetime guarantee against breakage of polycarbonate housing (one year on electronic components).

For fire extinguishers housed in cabinets, STI offers its STI-6255 Mini Theft Stopper®.

SWN Communications Inc., a provider of emergency notification and other on-demand alerting and response services, recently announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has expanded its use of the New York City company’s Send Word Now for emergency communication across the organization. The NIH will extend its use of the SWN Alert Service across its main campus in Bethesda, MD and to NIH facilities in the Washington metropolitan area and around the country. The system will be used to communicate time-sensitive and critical events to 35,000 emergency response personnel, employees, contractors, and other users of the system.

Read TFM’s July 2008 coverage of emergency notification in “Getting The Message” by Columnist Tom Condon.

The NIH includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  The agency has used the Send Word Now solution since 2005 for urgent and emergency communication. This latest expansion will increase usage of the system organization-wide, enable rapid response in the event of a crisis, provide the ability to mobilize staff and emergency response resources during a critical incident and facilitate secure and auditable information exchange enterprise-wide.

“The National Institutes of Health joins a growing list of federal agencies that rely on Send Word Now for secure, reliable communication daily,” says Tony Schmitz, CEO of SWN Communications Inc. “Send Word Now has been battle tested by high-level federal agencies, and has passed stringent federal software security checks and independent audits. Our federal government clients look to Send Word Now to play an important role in supporting continuity of government planning, emergency management, regulatory compliance and protection of critical infrastructure.”

Among its clients, Send Word Now provides smart messaging platforms to the City of New York, Monster Worldwide, Inc., and the United Network for Organ Sharing.

* NIH Disclaimer: The NIH does not endorse or recommend any product, service, or enterprise.

Rolf Jensen & Associates, Inc. (RJA) has published a five-page paper on “The Challenge of Mass Notification on American Campuses.” Written by William Sako, founder of Sako & Associates and part of the RJA Group, the document discusses five steps campus planners should take when evaluating this approach. 

The paper is available for download on the RJA Web site.

In the July issue of TFM, “The Facility Technologist” Tom Condon wrote on the topic of mass notification. Read “Getting The Message”.

The 2008 Olympic Games officially begin tonight, and over the next 16 days millions of people will converge in the city of Beijing. In the lead up to this global event, we’ve heard about the numerous venues built to supplement China’s existing sports facilities. This year’s Olympic Games will take place across 31 competition facilities (12 new, 11 pre-existing, and 8 temporary). There are also three non competition facilities–Olympic Village, Olympic Media Village, and the Olympic Main Press Center.

National Stadium aka "Bird's Nest"

Managing and securing all of those spaces will no doubt require diligence by the various facility, security, and hospitality staffs. Following are some of the companies involved in the activities.

Johnson Controls has installed sustainable building solutions in 18 Olympic stadiums and supporting facilities. The company’s installation covers 123 million square feet of Olympics grounds, monitoring more than 58,000 points in stadiums and office buildings. Venues containing Johnson Controls products include:

*National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) with a YORK dual-duty brine centrifugal chillers, ice thermal storage system and chiller plant automation system

*National Indoor Stadium, or Turtle’s Back, with YORK centrifugal chillers connecting to Metasys building management system

*CCTV Headquarters Building, or collaboration building: YORK centrifugal chillers, dual-duty brine centrifugal chillers and ice-thermal storage system, connected to Metasys building management system

*Beijing Olympic Tower: YORK centrifugal chillers and a variable speed drive

*Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Court: Metasys building management system

*Beijing Olympic Forest Park: Metasys building management system

Meanwhile, GE Energy is providing long-term services for a new power plant that will supply electricity for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, as well as heat and power for the city of Beijing in the future. Under a 10-year contractual services agreement (CSA) signed with Beijing Taiyanggong Gas-Fired Thermal Power Co. Ltd (Taiyanggong) of China, GE will provide all parts, repairs and services for two GE Frame 9FA+e gas turbines at the new plant. The agreement also includes risk-sharing mechanisms and performance guarantees to help ensure that the 750-megawatt facility provides reliable and cost-effective heat and power to Beijing.

Taiyanggong is owned by Beijing Energy Investment Holding Co. and SP Power Development Co. Ltd.

GE is a worldwide partner of the Olympic Games. The company has provided support for more than 400 infrastructure projects such as Taiyanggong in and around Beijing, including work at all 37 official Olympic Games competition venues and 168 commercial buildings.

Olympic Village is using Echelon’s LonWorks® technology to create an energy efficiency lighting control system. The smart LonWorks based control system integrates all lighting subsystems to optimize energy usage while maintaining a safe and aesthetically pleasing environment.

The Olympic Village is the largest non-competition venue in Beijing, and will accommodate over 23,000 athletes and team officials for both the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Village has over 370,000 square meters of apartment space, including 22 six-floor buildings and 20 nine-floor buildings, and facilities such as general information centers, meeting rooms, medical clinics, religious centers, multiple restaurants, a library, parking areas, and entertainment and leisure activity centers.

The smart lighting control system integrates lighting subsystems for the apartments, public areas, car park areas, and all landscape and beautification lighting. The system was installed by Lang Meng Technology, Inc., a firm that provides smart home and lighting control solutions based on LonWorks technology.

Panasonic ASTROVISION large display screen systems and enhanced RAMSA professional audio systems will be used across the Olympic venues. Twin 152 square meter ASTROVISION LED screens and 264 RAMSA WS-LA3 large format array loudspeakers will show the action in the “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium.

An official worldwide partner of the Olympic Games, Panasonic is also involved in the security operations. More than 2,000 AV surveillance cameras are installed to help ensure safety and security.

Also involved in security at the Games is Vicon Industries. The producer of video surveillance systems has had its camera domes and pan-and-tilt drives chosen to be part of an integrated video surveillance system to be installed at the “Bird’s Nest.” The opening ceremony tonight and the closing ceremony on August 24 will take place in that facility, which seats 91,000 people.

Vicon China, headquartered in Hong Kong with offices throughout China, is providing local support for this project.

In other security measures, ICx Technologies, a developer of advanced sensor technologies, won the contracts to supply IdentiFINDERs to the Government of China for use at the Olympics. IdentiFINDERS are handheld, radioisotope identification devices (RIID) that are able to locate, measure, and identify sources or contaminations from gamma and neutron radiation.

The units are able to differentiate between dangerous radioactive materials, medical and naturally occurring radioisotopes, such as bananas. This type of equipment is being deployed to detect radioactive materials that might be used as a weapon by terrorists in a radiological dispersal device, a so-called “dirty bomb”.

All the people involved in the Olympics will need to eat, and ARAMARK Corporation will meet those needs as the official catering service provider for 2008 Summer Games. The Beijing Organizing Commmittee (BOCOG) chose the company in May 2008. The signing of the contract with BOCOG marks the 14th time ARAMARK has been selected to serve at the Olympic Games.

ARAMARK, together with its partner Beijing Tourism Group, is providing catering services for the Athletes’ Village, Media Villages, International Broadcast Center, and the Main Press Center at the 2008 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing. ARAMARK will serve more than 3.5 million meals throughout the 60-day duration of both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In addition, ARAMARK managed the design and construction of the kitchen and dining facilities for the Olympic catering venues.

Let The Games Begin!