The First Facility Management Blog

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!

Every year, fashion experts somehow decide which colors and styles will be “in” for clothes, and which will be “out”. While the workwear experts at Carhartt, Inc. generally don’t pay too much attention to these discussions, they do know that there’s going to be two colors much more “in” for 2008 than ever before: Bright lime green and bright orange.

However, these “in” colors weren’t chosen in Paris, New York or Milan. Instead, they’re the new fashionable colors in Washington, D.C. where the Federal Highway Administration’s new rules on high-visibility workwear will go into effect in November 2008. Under the new regulations, virtually all workers whose jobs take them within the right-of-way of any Federal aid highway will be required to wear high-visibility clothes in compliance with the ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 standard for safety apparel

The number of workers who will now fall under with this regulation is large, given the scope of the road system in question. A “federal-aid highway” isn’t just an interstate freeway, but rather a diverse collection of roads maintained by the federal government, states, counties or even municipalities which receive some level of federal funding. This regulation covers more than 975,000 miles of roads in the United States and their associated rights-of-way–almost one out of every four miles of all American roads combined, and enough roadway to travel to the Moon and back, twice.

Given the number of workers in question, the ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 standard will soon become popular reading across the United States. As many workers, safety officers and business owners in the highway construction and other industries already know, the complexity of the standard can make for some confusion and questions when making purchasing decisions – or even just when getting dressed in the morning.

The Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA) has announced the publication of ANSI/BHMA A156.29 - 2007 American National Standard for Exit Locks, Exit Alarms and Alarms for Exit Devices. This publication is an update of an earlier 2002 version of the standard.

Among the changes to ANSI/BHMA A156.29, the updated standard includes a revised description of the test door to coincide with the latest ANSI/BHMA A156.4 Closers standard. Tests for preload, key cylinder operation and outside pull have been added, and functions EO431 and EO451 were reinstated.

ASIS International, the preeminent organization for security management professionals worldwide, is offering all 20 public high schools in the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) system the chance to compete for $20,000 in security program funding as part of ASIS’ School Security Funding Competition.

ASIS is sponsoring the competition for the fifth consecutive year as a way of giving back to the community, and simultaneously encouraging local schools to assess the security issues that confront their buildings, staff and students every day.

“Our hope is that this competition will offer the schools’ principals and safety officers an opportunity to become more aware of what can be done to resolve security concerns as a way to improve their overall educational environments,” said ASIS Executive Director Michael J. Stack. “We have seen the success of the competition and are excited to offer APS this opportunity to provoke ideas that will have a lasting impact.”

To participate in the competition, the schools are asked to consider—through a series of short essays—their particular security concerns and how those concerns might impact their students, teachers and administrators. They are asked to describe security risks they would attempt to reduce and/or eliminate, and list specific security enhancements they would purchase with the funding. A committee comprised of security management professionals from the ASIS Atlanta Chapter and the APS director of security will judge all submissions.

The winning school will receive $20,000 in funding to develop measures to enhance its security, either through the purchase of equipment or ongoing training/education for school personnel and/or students. All submissions must be postmarked by March 28, 2008. The winning school will be announced on May 1, 2008. The winning school and its principal and school safety officer will also be recognized at a special awards luncheon during the ASIS Annual Seminar and Exhibits in September.

Last year’s winner was Sierra Vista High School in Las Vegas. Security purchases included a utility vehicle and bicycles for patrolling the sprawling desert campus. Previous winners’ purchases included perimeter fencing and security cameras.

This is according to a recent survey conducted by CDW Corporation, a provider of technology products and services to business, government, and education. The company announced the findings of its survey on local emergency alert systems this past January. The survey, which questioned 1,448 residents in the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, found that emergency notification capabilities are not evolving with advances in technology and changing information consumption habits.

To read about emergency planning measures being taken by facilities managers, read, “Emergency Measures In A Post 9/11 World,” from the January 2008 issue of TFM.

CDW notes that while wireless subscribers in America are at an all time high and 1 billion text messages are sent by U.S. residents daily, local governments still relay information largely via television and radio, which require access to electricity that may not be available during emergencies.

“In a crisis situation, the ability to receive information right away, when traditional power sources may be unavailable, is critical,” said Jim Grass, senior director of state and local sales for CDW Government, Inc. (CDW-G), a wholly owned subsidiary of CDW Corporation. “Television, radio and text messaging all have a role to play in disseminating emergency information, but only text messaging ‘pushes’ information to citizens wherever they are. A continuity of operations strategy that includes both active and passive information distribution methods is key to reaching as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.”

Americans are most interested in obtaining information about weather threats, terrorist threats or incidents, major roadway closures, and health threats via emergency alerts, the CDW survey found. Despite the clear desire for information, respondents gave their cities, schools, and offices mixed reviews on their ability to deliver essential information in an emergency. Just 36% said their city is “very strong” or “good” at informing citizens, while 39% said the performance of their school or office is “very strong” or “good.” The hurricane prone Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area ranked the highest for its ability to alert citizens, earning a “fair” rating overall.

The survey also identified a critical gap between respondents’ desire for information and awareness of their communities’ emergency notification programs. Just 10% of respondents said their city has a modern emergency notification system, while two-thirds said they were unsure if their city has such a system. Fully one-third said they have no knowledge of or experience with their city emergency notification program. Of parents with children at home, 55% either could not rate their school or office emergency notification system or said the system could be improved.

“Local governments and businesses across the country face modern-day threats, yet many are hampered by emergency communications technology dating to the 1970s,” Grass said. “In today’s environment, local governments, businesses, and schools have a clear mandate to deploy systems that quickly convey relevant information to citizens during an emergency. Likewise, citizens have the opportunity—and responsibility—to learn about and participate in existing emergency notification programs.”

The survey of 1,448 residents in the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the United States has a margin of error of less than 2.5%. The full study, with comparisons of major metropolitan areas, is available for download and review at www.cdwg.com/alerts. Basic contact information is required to access the report.

About CDW Founded in 1984, CDW® is a provider of technology solutions for business, government and education. CDW is a principal source of technology products and services including brands such as Acer, Adobe, APC, Apple, Cisco, EMC, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, Panasonic, Quantum, Samsung, Sony, Symantec, ViewSonic and Xerox. CDW’s direct model offers customers one-on-one relationships with knowledgeable account managers and access to approximately 820 on-staff engineers and advanced technology specialists who customize solutions for customers’ complex technology needs. CDW also provides same-day product shipping and post-sales technical support.

When it comes to fire emergencies, Americans feel safer at home

A nationwide survey conducted by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) reveals that 79% of Americans feel safer from fires at home than in a public building with an additional 9% feeling equally safe in both locations.

These results are inconsistent with government statistics that show that home fires outnumber all other building fires by over three to one. At the same time, most fire deaths and injuries occur in the home.

Public buildings are subject to tough fire-safety regulations and inspections, whereas most homes are not.

“Most public buildings and commercial office buildings are much better protected than homes,” says SFPE’s Engineering Program Manager, Chris Jelenewicz. “This is because fire protection engineers implement fire-safety strategies and technologies into building the design and construction of commercial buildings.”

Fire protection engineers are responsible for designing ways to protect people from fire. They use the latest technologies to design systems that control fires, alert people to danger, and provide means for escape. Fire protection engineers also conduct fire safety research on consumer products and construction materials and investigate fires to discover why protective measures failed, and how those measures could have been designed more effectively.

Similar results were found in a 2005 survey conducted by SFPE, where 87% of Americans believed they were safer from fires at home than in a public building.

“It’s disheartening to see that public perception is not changing,” says Jelenewicz. In spite of this, SFPE is working hard to increase the awareness of the importance of home fire prevention. Recently, SFPE partnered with Discovery Education to create and release new high school chemistry lessons that teach students about the science of fire — a project that was funded by the Department of Homeland Security. As a result of this project, every high school student in the United States will have the opportunity to better understand the dangers of home fires.

Along with the false sense of security at home, the survey also found that 44% of Americans think about the dangers of fire once or twice a year or less.

As part of Engineering Week, February 17-23, 2008, SFPE hopes to draw attention to fire safety and the role of fire protection engineers. They will be sponsoring an award for best fire protection engineering at the 2008 National Engineers Week Future City Competition. Future City is a national competition that introduces seventh- and eight-grade students to the exciting world of engineering.

The survey, commissioned Society of Fire Protection Engineers and conducted in January 2008 by Synovate, polled more than 1,000 American adults. The findings have a margin of error of plus (+) or minus (-) four percent.

To learn more about human behavior during fire emergencies, click here.

Thieves in Brazil used a hydraulic car jack to bypass the pull-down metal gate and gain access to the Sao Paulo Museum of Art. Pablo Picasso’s “Portrait of Suzanne Bloch,” and Candido Portinari’s “O Lavrador de Cafe” were stolen in an apparently well planned heist.

According to Associated Press writer Stan Lehman, Sao Paulo police investigator on the case, Marcos Gomes de Moura, said:

“‘Everything indicates they [the thieves] were sent to do it by some wealthy art lover for his own collection — someone who, although wealthy, was not rich enough to buy the paintings.’”

Other famous museum thefts have included two versions of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.” One was stolen in 1994 from the National Gallery and the other was taken at gunpoint from the Munch museum in 2004. Both were recovered.

Read the rest of this story.

With the price of copper holding steady at well over $3 per pound during the last 12 months, increasing numbers of criminals are engaging in metal theft. Among the hardest hit victims of copper theft are electrical utility substations because of the large amounts of copper wire they use for electrical grounding and transmission, and because these facilities are often located remotely where theft is hard to detect. Several utility companies have recently turned to Arteco, a provider of Intelligent Video Solutions (IVS), to combat this problem.

“Utilities realize they must start treating the metal as an asset to protect,” said Steve Birkmeier, Arteco’s vice president. “The demand for copper overseas, especially in China, is driving up the price for scrap, and this security problem has to be dealt with proactively.”

Birkmeier explains that the effect of copper theft on utility companies is both costly and dangerous due to loss of materials, damage to transformers, electrocution, and possible loss of power to customers. Damaged transformers and substations can cost anywhere from $500,000 to $11 million to repair or replace.

It is also not uncommon for thieves to knock out power to thousands of customers in the process of stealing a few hundred dollars of scrap copper. More frequently, thieves are electrocuting themselves in the process and creating a hazardous environment for workers sent in to fix the problem after the fact.

Power industry executives are well aware of the problem, said Birkmeier, but they have been struggling in their efforts to combat it successfully. Few security products can deliver the right combination of real-time detection and verified response required to address the situation in a proactive manner.

Currently, solutions involve more thorough tracking of buyers and sellers of copper and implanting microscopic tags in the wires. However, both of these solutions are ineffective until after the theft has occurred, and rely on catching the criminals at scrap yards as they attempt to sell the copper.

Furthermore, there are indicators that copper theft is moving into an organized crime ring, separating the thieves from the scrap yards. This will hinder the ability of scrap yards to police the legitimacy of the scrap they are purchasing.

Birkmeier explains that utility companies typically set-up “virtual” perimeters around the fence of the substation, and areas within the substation around the transformer. Should a dog wander into this perimeter or trash be blown in it, the system holds steady.

But if a man approaches the gate of the substation with wire clippers, for example, the system detects the size and orientation immediately, and triggers an event within the IVS. At the utility control center, an alert sounds and a red box appears on a video monitor that draws attention to the violated area. Personnel double-click on the red box to instantly review video of the man entering the gate while simultaneously watching the perpetrator real-time in a second window. Security uses this information to take the appropriate countermeasure.

“Intelligent Video offers a pro-active and cost-effective solution to a problem that is growing at alarming proportions,” said Birkmeier. “Utility companies realize that they have personnel already in-place to respond to the problem but until now they haven’t had an accurate solution to alert them to the theft taking place in real-time.”

A new, free white paper, titled “A `Six Step’ Process to Investigate and Prevent Laboratory Accidents,” is now available for download here from EH&E.

InvestigatePreventLabAccidents.pdf

This white paper will be applicable to all those that work in laboratories, including managers, technicians, laboratory safety directors, and environmental health and safety officers.

Laboratories are potentially dangerous work environments and often contain a wide variety of toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive compounds. Accident prevention is imperative for any proactive health and safety program, and accidents themselves, while unfortunate, present an opportunity to improve the performance of the laboratory safety program.

This white paper details the six key components of an accident investigation and mitigation program that are necessary to provide improvements in the overall safety program and prevent future accidents. The steps the white paper discusses include:
•Notification and Response
•Site Investigation and Interviews
•Root Cause Analysis
•Report of Findings and Review
•Implement Corrective Measures
•Monitoring

The author, Kevin Coghlan, M.S., C.I.H., director of EH&S, Compliance & Strategic Support at EH&E, a Newton, MA-based environmental engineering and consulting firm, has over 18 years of experience in assessing, evaluating, characterizing, and solving environmental problems in laboratories.