The First Facility Management Blog

Imagine 5th and 6th grade students donning hard hats and safety glasses, helping to design and build their own school, and then acting as energy conscious stewards for the facility. For public school children in New Haven, CT, Kids Build, an educational program developed by architecture firm Svigals + Partners, in conjunction with the New Haven School Construction Program, is allowing them to do just that. By offering participants the opportunity to gain firsthand experience working with architects, construction managers, and tradespeople, Kids Build offers career mentoring, side by side with lessons in art, science, and math.

The Kids Build program is intended to educate schoolchildren about the design, construction, and maintenance of their new schools. Students are involved in the design and ongoing maintenance, becoming “stewards” who can responsibly care for their schools and help younger students learn about these important values.

Kids Build is an energy conscious program that supports the City of New Haven’s efforts to reduce energy use in schools. It provides opportunities for schoolchildren to explore career paths in architecture, design and building/construction and is supported by New Haven Public Schools.

With two schools completed under the program—the Beecher School in 2006 and The Columbus Family Academy in 2008, participants are gearing up for a third project at the Engineering and Science University Magnate School.

Throughout the construction of each school, groups of 30 5th and 6th grade students meet for four two-hour workshops. Activities include exploring the office of Svigals +Partners, visiting construction
trailers, participating in discussions with the architects, construction managers, and tradespeople, and touring the schools at various stages of construction.

Students in past projects hailed from several New Haven Public Schools and included several of those who would be entering the new schools upon completion. Once the schools opened, these students prepared a presentation of their Kids Build experience for their classmates.

New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., has said: “Kids Build is an innovative way to introduce city students to meaningful careers in architecture and construction and also to teach them to be proud of their schools. The City’s $1.5 billion Citywide School Construction program presents a great opportunity for kids to learn more about how to care for assets like their own schools. Kudos to Svigals + Partners for their involvement.”

Two-thirds of school districts responding to a new “School Energy and Environment Survey” from Honeywell and Education Week Research have made spending cuts or modifications as a direct result of rising energy bills. Seventy-four percent of respondents also said their districts don’t have the money to pursue energy retrofit or renewable energy projects. These budgetary constraints and cutbacks, primarily in building maintenance and capital investment, are hurting efforts to boost efficiency and resolve schools’ long-term energy and financial concerns.

“The School Energy and Environment Survey reveals that increased energy spending is negatively impacting school districts’ investments, programming and priorities,” said Sean Herdman, the associate publisher at Education Week Research. “Spending cuts tied to rising energy costs include areas that impact instruction and the learning environment, including teacher staffing, maintenance and key capital investments.”

The online survey gathered input from more than 250 district administrators nationwide regarding energy management and environmental sustainability practices. More than half of respondents have scaled back, delayed or eliminated the possibility of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects due to the economic downturn. In addition, while 96 percent of survey respondents view energy management as important to their district’s long-term success, one-third reported that they do not have a strategic plan for managing energy consumption and costs.

“Many districts find themselves caught in a vicious cycle: deferred maintenance and upgrades mean less efficient equipment, which results in higher energy bills and ultimately leads to tighter budgets,” said Paul Orzeske, president of Honeywell Building Solutions. “Unless districts find solutions to address the required energy and infrastructure improvements, they’ll have to dedicate more money to utility bills, and less to teachers, supplies and other critical needs.”

Although school districts consider renewable energy sources as a potential solution, many do not have the internal resources or expertise to determine the most suitable investments for their buildings. According to the survey, 61 percent of school districts have evaluated or implemented renewable energy sources, with solar photovoltaic, wind and geothermal the most popular choices. Yet, 40 percent of these respondents said they don’t have a clear understanding of the variables that impact the economic viability of renewable technology.

“The renewable energy options that seem to be top of mind are telling,” said Jeremy Eaton, vice president of energy solutions for Honeywell Building Solutions. “Solar, wind and geothermal are the most visible, well-known technologies. However, when we analyze energy prices, resource availability, financial incentives and other factors, we see biomass thermal as having the greatest financial drivers for the education industry as a whole. And that technology is barely on people’s radar, according to the survey.”

In addition, while there is growing interest for schools to incorporate sustainability practices into their building operations and curriculum, there is a clear gap between commitment and activity. While 26 percent of districts have set goals to reduce their carbon footprints, only 7 percent have completed a greenhouse gas inventory — a necessary step in cataloging emissions and setting a baseline to gauge the impact of environmental initiatives.

When broken down by district type, the gap becomes more evident. For example, 40 percent of urban districts have made carbon reduction commitments, yet only 9 percent have completed an emissions benchmark.

“Many schools are trying to improve sustainability, but it’s difficult to make changes without having the tools to identify the main areas of concern or measure success,” Orzeske said. “The key is establishing an accurate baseline, and finding the mix of conservation measures that will deliver not only environmental benefits, but also improve the bottom line.”

Survey Methodology
In July 2009, Honeywell Building Solutions and Education Week Research conducted an online survey of Education Week Web subscribers identified as school district administrators or school board members. The survey consisted of 253 respondents from across the United States.

For detailed survey results, please visit www.honeywellnow.com.

PlanSCAPE® is a service provided by Virco Mfg. Corporation to assist facility professionals in schools with their large scale furniture and equipment acquisitions. Through this free service, PlanSCAPE experts work with facility professionals through the stages of choosing and purchasing furnishings for their new and existing facilities. This process includes: Needs Assessment, Budget Planning, Contract Procurement, and Project Management.

When conducting the Needs Assessment, experienced PlanSCAPE® professionals work with the school to assess specific needs and requirements. And Virco’s vast product inventory provides an added advantage of desirable lead times for thousands of furniture and equipment items.

In the Budget Planning stage, the PlanSCAPE budget analysis compares the features, benefits, and prices of competing products, helping facility professionals target the specific combination of furniture and equipment that makes sense for their school. This serves to maximize financial resources.

Along with the budget analysis, a PlanSCAPE project evaluation generates a summary of all the products the facility professional has targeted for purchase. At the customer’s request, the PlanSCAPE team can also provide a reference list of competing products from other manufacturers.

For Contract Procurement, PlanSCAPE enables facilities to use the state or national contract that best suits their situation. This enables schools to purchase furniture and equipment at advantageous prices. Virco notes that compared to all the aspects involved in the bidding process, contract procurement is an effective way to save time and money.

PlanSCAPE also allows schools to purchase furniture and equipment featured on the U.S. Communities contract. As the most comprehensive, detailed contract—and the only national contract —for use by schools, U.S. Communities has more products than any other contract to address FF&E needs.

During the Project Management phase, Virco professionals work with and communicate with facilities managers to ensure a successful project.

For greater efficiency, the PlanScape professionals can consolidate products from various manufacturers at the Virco warehouse closest to the customer’s school. (These manufacturers include Community, Fleetwood Group Inc., Ghent Manufacturing Inc., High Point Furniture, Invincible, Leonard Peterson & Co., Inc., Library Bureau, Waddell, Media Technologies, Republic Storage Systems Company, Russwood Library, Sandusky-Lee, Shain Shop-Bilt, Smith Systems, Waddell, and Wood Designs.) In addition to minimizing the risk of freight damage, consolidation provides the benefit of fewer deliveries, shortening the time to completion.

For National Clean Hands Week (September 20-26) Georgia-Pacific Professional has made a poster available online to promote good hand hygiene practices among elementary school children. The poster and an accompanying handout feature Germ-Jitsu Mo, “Georgia-Pacific Professional’s VP of Hygiene and Chairman of Cool,” who teaches students how to help kick germs out of the classroom.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports hand washing as one of the most preventive measures against the spread of disease, and offering the Mo Germ-Jitsu Poster and a hand washing and drying handout is one way Georgia-Pacific Professional is taking action.

“Proper hand washing and drying with a paper towel are the foundations of successful infection control practices,” says Craig Yardley, VP and General Manager, towel category, Georgia-Pacific Professional. “As a leading provider of hand hygiene products, we feel it is part of our responsibility to promote good hand washing and drying practices, and we are proud to be taking this initiative at such a critical time in disease prevention.”

Facility managers in schools (and at any other type of facility where education might be needed) can download a copy of the hand washing poster and handout by visiting www.gppro.com/HealthSmart. (The poster’s original size is 14.75″x20.5″, but the poster scales to print whatever size the user chooses.) The Web site also offers wellness tools focusing on health and hand washing, including proper washing techniques, tips on frequency, and ways to help prevent skin damage.

When faced with disposing more than 1,000 fluorescent light bulbs a year properly, the Lake Washington School District (LWSD) in Redmond, WA has a new tool that helps to protect the environment while also reducing costs. Earlier this summer, the district purchased the “Bulb Eater,” a tool from Air Cycle Corporation to dispose of burned out fluorescent tubes. Within several seconds, fluorescent tube lights are sucked into the Bulb Eater’s 55-gallon drum and crushed, preventing mercury from escaping into the air while saving the school district the higher cost to send the bulb out for recycling.

The Bulb Eater processes (crushes) the spent fluorescent lamps into small fragments while capturing the mercury vapor and dust particulate in the tube. The contaminated air goes through a three-stage filtering process that captures the mercury vapor but also neutralizes it by converting the vapor to mercuric sulfide, which is non-hazardous. The crushed lamps stay in the sealed drum: once a drum is full, it is returned to Air Cycle for final disposal.

According to the district, “the product not only helps LWSD to protect the air quality in our schools from the possibility of mercury release from a broken fluorescent bulb, it also helps save the district money.” Before the Bulb Eater, the district spent about $2,500 a year to recycle fluorescent bulbs, as required by King County. Now the district says it will pay between $400 and $800 annually to replace full drums. The cost of each drum replacement is $400 and each drum can hold up to 800 bulbs before replacement is needed. The district reported that the machine itself cost the district $3,500 so the product will pay for itself in less than three years.

As parents start getting school supplies and back-to-school outfits together for their children, and administrators get their schools ready for the new year to come, NADCA (The HVAC Inspection, Maintenance and Restoration Association) reminds parents and educators of the importance of indoor air quality to student and employee performance in schools.

Government research suggests that as many as half of America’s schools have issues with poor indoor air quality (IAQ). Poor IAQ in schools, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, can lead to short- and long-term health problems such as asthma, absenteeism, reduced productivity for students and staff, higher HVAC costs, and even legal liability.

NADCA supports the EPA’s “IAQ Tools for Schools” initiative that provides educators and parents with comprehensive tools for assessing and addressing IAQ issues. As part of a proactive school IAQ program, NADCA recommends periodic HVAC system inspections by certified experts to identify and address contaminated ductwork and HVAC units as needed.

When performed to NADCA’s ACR 2006 standard, an HVAC inspection and cleaning can improve airflow, reduce energy costs and remove contaminants such as mold, dust, and other airborne particulates from HVAC components and ductwork.

“Our children and the professionals who educate them need and deserve the same kind of air quality that we would expect in our offices or homes,” said Buck Sheppard, president of NADCA and operations manager for AAA Heating and Cooling in Portland, Ore. “Our students should be breathing easy, at least until the first pop quiz of the semester.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools (TfS) Program in 1995 to reduce exposures to indoor environmental contaminants in schools through the voluntary adoption of sound IAQ management practices. This program provides IAQ guidance and resources for facility managers and others who work in K-12 public and private schools.

The IAQ TfS Awards Program was initiated to recognize schools and school districts that have demonstrated a strong commitment to improving children’s health by promoting IAQ practices. For those schools and districts just beginning to implement IAQ management plans to those who have mature, sustainable, district-wide IAQ programs, EPA provides a series of national level awards.

Up until this year, the Awards Program featured four types of awards: National Great Start Award; National Leadership Award; National Excellence Award; and National Model of Sustained Excellence Award. Additionally, for 2009 the National IAQ TfS Connector Award has been added to the program.

Since the inception of the IAQ TfS Awards Program, EPA has presented National Excellence awards to nearly 80 schools and school districts in recognition of their dedication to improving IAQ.

Description Of Awards

The IAQ TfS National Great Start Award is for U.S. schools and districts in the initial stages of implementing the IAQ TfS Program. To qualify, schools must establish an IAQ team or designate an IAQ Coordinator. Designed to recognize schools and school districts that are on their way to achieving sustainable IAQ management plans, Great Start Awards are non-competitive. Applications are accepted year round, and awards are presented throughout the year.

The IAQ TfS National Leadership Award is for U.S. schools and districts that have shown significant progress in implementing an IAQ management program. To qualify, schools must at least meet the minimum criteria for the Great Start Award and show progress towards completing IAQ walkthroughs or assessments for each school in the district that has agreed to participate in the program. Applicants must demonstrate how they are taking action to address IAQ issues and have identified and prioritized any IAQ repairs and upgrades. The Leadership Awards are non-competitive. Applications are accepted year round, and awards are presented throughout the year.

The IAQ TfS National Excellence Award is one of EPA’s highest IAQ awards, presented to U.S. school districts with exemplary IAQ programs and that have shown exceptional commitment to good IAQ management. These awards are competitively judged and will be presented to the selected school districts at EPA’s 10th Annual IAQ TfS National Symposium, to be held in Washington, DC on January 14-16, 2010. Deadline: must be postmarked by September 30, 2009

The IAQ TfS National Model of Sustained Excellence Award is presented to U.S. school districts that show ongoing exceptional commitment and achievement in maintaining healthy educational facilities while institutionalizing comprehensive IAQ management practices. Recipients must have been a past National Excellence Award recipieny. Applicants must demonstrate how they have sustained their IAQ practices, established IAQ management goals, and tracked short-term and long-term progress on IAQ management. These awards are competitively judged and will be also presented to the selected school districts at EPA’s 10th Annual IAQ TfS National Symposium in January 2010. Deadline: must be postmarked by September 30, 2009

New for 2009 is the the National IAQ TfS Connector Award, which will be presented to individuals and organizations whose outstanding, innovative actions and initiatives have supported improved school indoor environments, with a special focus on activities that reflect the spirit of the IAQ TfS Connector—the central communication and networking platform of the IAQ TfS Program. These awards are competitively judged and will also be presented to the individuals or organizations at EPA’s 10th Annual IAQ TfS National Symposium in January 2010. Deadline: must be postmarked by September 30, 2009

More information, along with past winner stories, can be found on the Awards Program home page.

Or Start Now..
If you’re still in the early stages of creating a formalized IAQ program in your school, you may want to order (or download) the components of EPA’s IAQ TfS Action Kit.

Since its release in 1995 (just re-released this year), the kit (which is free of charge) instructs schools on how to carry out a practical plan to improve indoor air problems at little cost or no-cost using straightforward activities and in-house staff. The kit provides best practices, industry guidelines, sample policies, and a sample IAQ management plan.

Outgoing students from Sutton Grammar School went to new lengths to pull off a rude, but imaginative joke. The joke, which was unspotted for years, proved to be an amusing exercise in engineering and spelling, but unfortunately, it was for dubious purposes. It was recently discovered by Google Earth.

TransWorldNews reports:

Several students used bricks to spell out the word “C**K” on the school’s roof. The prank went unnoticed for years until it was spotted on Google Earth. The head of the Surrey school, Gordon Ironside, is having the bricks removed.

“It was a light-hearted act. But I’d prefer it wasn’t there - or if it wasn’t rude,” Ironside says.

 

On a personal note, my son graduated from high school this week, and of course, his class couldn’t resist its own parting prank. Apparently, members of the Ocean Township High School Class of 2009 thought it would be amusing to rearrange the library…not the furniture, but the books. Fiction was swapped with non-fiction, and Dewey Decimal organizational systems were tossed aside. Fingers crossed that my offspring took no part in this prank. Innocent until proven guilty, right? Note to facility managers in education: make sure you have CCTV in your libraries! When compared to the Sutton Grammar School, this sounds tame (but it will probably take much more time to undo).

This Friday Funny was provided by Mike Christian.

Fifty-eight trees recently planted in two schoolyards in Bacon County, GA will improve the appearance and safety of those properties. Through its Making the Shade partnership, the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) is partnered with Milliken & Company, the City of Alma, and Bacon County Board of Education to implement the program in that county.

GFC announced its first three Making the Shade partnerships, including Milliken, in 2007 on Georgia Arbor Day. Today, nearly 500 trees have been planted, with the program expanded to benefit more than 9,000 students at 14 schools in 13 counties throughout Georgia.

“We are very grateful to our partners who helped achieve healthier and more attractive school playgrounds by planting 13 species including oak varieties, maple, poplar and cypress trees,” said Daniel Westcot, Georgia Forestry Commission community forester.

The 58 trees were recently added to the Bacon County Elementary and Bacon County Primary School campuses, which had offered very limited shade areas for faculty and students. Adding shade trees to the landscapes will reduce the effects of high temperatures and related health and safety concerns, while those shading HVAC equipment will improve energy efficiency.

“As a major employer in the community, Milliken is pleased to have worked with our local schools and the state to implement the Making the Shade program,” said Vance Burkett, Bacon County Board of Education member and Milliken associate.

Milliken supports Making the Shade as part of its Trees For All initiative, reflecting concerns for healthy environments—indoors and out. Milliken demonstrates its commitment to improve Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) with its adhesive free TractionBack® modular installation system, which eliminates offgassing. Outdoors, the company nurtures millions of trees and is certified carbon negative through reduced emissions and carbon sequestration in its forests, without purchased credits.

The Georgia Forestry Commission research indicates compelling reasons to add shade trees to the landscape:

• Traditional elementary school campus design often eliminates the health benefits provided by shade trees.
• Children are more susceptible to ground level ozone because they often play outside on hot, muggy days.
• Children’s skin damage can occur in as little as 15 minutes of overexposure to the suns ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
• Elevated playground temperatures reduce air quality and increase risks for children with asthma and other lung related issues.
• Elevated surface temperatures of school yards and playground equipment can cause serious and painful burns to students.

To see other companies involved in planting trees, visit the Arbor Day Foundation.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) semi-annual Consensus Construction Forecast projects an 11% decline in design and construction activity in 2009. To revitalize the building sector, which accounts for about one in every 10 dollars of the U.S. GDP, the AIA developed the Rebuild and Renew Plan, which details its recommendations for the allocation of funds in President-elect Obama’s economic recovery plan. The AIA is calling on the new administration and Congress to create policies that ensure these monies are spent on the planning, design and construction of energy efficient, sustainable buildings and healthy communities that are advantageous for both the environment and economy. If implemented correctly, the nearly $100 billion plan would create 1.6 million jobs throughout the design and construction industry.

Recent reports estimate that the economic recovery package may total as much as $800 billion, with at least $350 billion dedicated to infrastructure projects. However, the AIA’s recommendations call for longer planning and design periods for projects to help ensure that they are carried out in the most effective, cost-efficient manner and that funds are not poorly spent due to the projects being hastily planned and executed. Providing funding for projects across 24 months will ensure a steady stream of funds for job creation over the likely life of the recession.

“President-elect Obama’s economic recovery package provides us with the opportunity to leave a lasting imprint on our built environment with projects that improve the safety of the existing infrastructure and increase energy efficiency, so long as these projects are undertaken with the utmost attention to smart design and planning,” said Christine McEntee, executive vice president and CEO of the AIA. “The Rebuild and Renew plan has garnered significant interest from the transition team and key Congressional leaders, and outlines initiatives to build better, safer and healthier communities while creating jobs and stimulating economic growth nationwide that can lead to long-term economic vitality.”

The plan is comprised of five key policy areas for immediate attention: 21st century schools; green commercial, residential and institutional buildings; historic preservation projects; transit, mixed use development and complete streets projects; and tax relief for businesses. Highlights from the plan include:

21st Century Schools: As the costs of energy and construction materials continue to increase and budgets get tighter, education agencies are further delaying or canceling major projects to repair and modernize school buildings. The AIA is calling for the federal government to invest $25 billion in districts across the country to repair, modernize and green school buildings.  Additionally, it is proposing $700 million for pilot programs that would provide grants for the development of model school campuses that support 21st century teaching and learning in each region of the country.  This proposal would create more than 445,000 jobs across the industry.

Green Buildings: The current economic crisis presents an opportunity to build better public, residential and commercial architectural designs.  This requires investing in the types of full-scale retrofits that can significantly reduce a building’s carbon footprint.  The AIA is calling for the federal government to provide $30 billion for energy efficiency upgrades and modernization for federal, state and local public buildings; residential, commercial, industrial and healthcare facilities; and green affordable housing. Appropriating these funds would result in the creation of 430,000 jobs. In addition, the AIA is calling for increasing the size of the energy efficient commercial buildings tax deduction from $1.80 per square foot to $3.00 per square foot and this recommendation was just endorsed by the Environment America Research & Policy Center.

Transit and Livable Communities: A lack of investment in our infrastructure system since the New Deal has limited economic growth and jeopardized the safety of American citizens. As Congress prepares to create legislation that stimulates the economy the AIA believes that it is important to invest at least $12 billion for transit facilities and  operations, since they greatly enhance the economic development, sustainability, safety and livability of communities. Funding for transit-oriented projects will create compact, walkable communities that mix housing, retail, office space and other amenities around high quality train systems and create approximately 375,000 jobs for the building and construction industry.

Historic Preservation Projects: The preservation of historic buildings already in the development phase will create more work for the building industry and generate positive economic returns in the communities surrounding them.  The plan calls for the appropriation of at least $30 million to the underfunded Save America’s Treasure program for bricks-and-mortar preservation projects. The plan also calls for another $100 million in grants to be provided through the State Historic Preservation Officers and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers for non-federal public and nonprofit historic sites.

Tax Relief for Businesses: By accelerating the depreciation of energy efficient heating, ventilation, air conditioning, or commercial refrigeration property installed in non-residential property or residential rental property, businesses of all sizes would be able to improve their operations, reduce costs, and reduce energy consumption. The AIA is also calling for elimination of a requirement that businesses that perform government work have 3% of their payments withheld.