The First Facility Management Blog

UCL (University College London) is launching an MSc in partnership with the Building Construction Authority (BCA) in Singapore to encourage environmentally friendly building practices. The first Masters program at UCL to be taught outside London, the MSc in Facility and Environment Management was established with the goal of helping Singapore reach its target of having 80% of buildings in the city “Green Mark certified” by 2030.

The program is aimed at building professionals who will be taught by experts from UCL’s Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment at the BCA Academy in Singapore. Specifically tailored for Singapore students, the program will be delivered through blended learning—a combination of traditional face to face teaching by visiting UCL lecturers and distance learning using live video links, one-to-one Skype tutorials, podcasts, and video seminars.

The need for the course has arisen out of the increasing call for more sustainable cities, especially in tropical zones such as Singapore, where more than 50% of carbon dioxide emissions can be attributed to buildings. To address this issue, the government of Singapore has identified a need to train 6,000 green facility managers over the next 10 years. The top tier of these professionals will be taught in the UCL masters program, with the first students due to start in September 2010 at the BCA Academy.

Commenting on the signing of the Collaboration Agreement, BCA Academy Managing Director Benedict Tan said, “This MSc program will be an excellent avenue to nurture leaders and professionals who will one day lead us in our journey to make Singapore a sustainable city of the tropics. Graduates of this program will have the expertise to manage, maintain and operate green buildings in Singapore. Having a strong pool of these professionals for the future will take us a step closer in making Singapore’s built environment more sustainable.”

“We are privileged to collaborate with UCL a university globally renowned for its facility and environment management discipline. I am encouraged by UCL’s efforts in adapting their existing curriculum for our industry and to our local built environment and ‘importing’ it to the BCA Academy,” Tan added.

Leading experts in space and workplace management, Professor Alexi Marmot, service operations, Peter McLennan, and sustainable facility management, Dr Marcella Ucci, will be involved in teaching the course. The program also includes industry site visits to provide students with practical insights into facilities management issues first hand.

Professor Alexi Marmot, head of UCL’s Bartlett School of Graduate Studies explained, “The MSc in Facility and Environment Management at the Bartlett has been running since 1992 with many graduates from the UK and all over the world. The Singapore program is a way for us to extend our expertise globally, while at the same time bringing an international focus to our London program.”

Increasingly, college administrators understand that the first step in greening their campuses begins with addressing the energy and resource efficiency of its buildings. Through a $2.4 million energy savings performance contract now being executed by the Building Technologies Division of Siemens Industry, Inc., Florida A&M University (FAMU) is now on the path to a greener and more sustainable campus for the students and faculty.

“Through this contract with Siemens, FAMU will add a significant project to the list of measures that we will take to help improve the environment and reduce our energy consumption,” said FAMU President James H. Ammons. “Siemens is guaranteeing cost savings, providing training for our staff and helping us to monitor and maintain the equipment.  Siemens has a vested interest to see that we generate those savings.”

The Tallahassee, Fla. Campus, which encompasses 156 buildings and some 3.9 million square feet, is the largest historically black college and university in the country and home to 12,274 students. Work has already begun implementing lighting upgrades, pipe insulation, and steam trap replacements at the campus’ central plant. When work concludes in spring 2010, Siemens guarantees energy savings that will provide equivalent cost savings (depending on utility rates during the ten year contract) of more than $4.1 million, enough to cover the financing and provide a return on the overall investment.

As far as sustainability is concerned, FAMU stands to gain even more. Once implemented, the retrofits and upgrades are calculated to reduce C02 emissions by 4.5 million lbs., equivalent to planting nearly 15 acres of trees. Moreover, Siemens will deliver to students and faculty a more comfortable interior environment with better management of heating, ventilation and air conditioning and lighting. For example, the color rendering of the new lighting systems are closer to that of natural light, thus reducing glare and eyestrain. With standardized lighting across the campus, lamp and other parts inventories are less costly to manage and maintain as well.

About Siemens:

Siemens Industry

Siemens Industry, Inc. (SII) is the U.S. affiliate of Siemens’ global Industry Sector business—the world’s leading supplier of production, transportation and building technology solutions. The company’s integrated hardware and software technologies enable comprehensive industry-specific solutions for industrial and infrastructure providers to increase their productivity, sustainability and profitability. The Industry Sector includes six divisions: Building Technologies, Industry Automation, Industry Solutions, Mobility, Drive Technologies and OSRAM SYLVANIA.  With nearly 222,000 Siemens Industry Sector employees worldwide, the Industry Sector posted a worldwide profit of $2.7 billion on revenues of $47.7 billion in fiscal 2009.  www.usa.siemens.com/Industry

Building Technologies

A division of Siemens Industry, Inc. (SII), Building Technologies (BT) Division is a leading provider of energy and environmental solutions, building controls, electrical distribution equipment, fire safety and security systems solutions.  BT’s solutions enable America’s buildings to be more comfortable, secure and environmentally friendly as well as less costly to operate. With a U.S. headquarters in Buffalo Grove, Ill., BT employs 7,400 people and provides a full range of services and solutions from more than 100 locations coast-to-coast. Worldwide, the company has 28,000 employees and operates from more than 500 locations in 51 countries. The Building Technologies Division posted worldwide revenues of $8.1 billion in fiscal 2009. www.usa.siemens.com/buildingtechnologies

About Florida A&M University:

Florida A&M University (FAMU) was founded on October 3, 1887. Today, FAMU offers 62 bachelor’s degrees and 39 master’s degrees. The university has 13 schools and colleges and one institute. The university also offers a juris doctor at its College of Law in Orlando. FAMU has 12 doctoral programs which include 10 Ph.D. programs: chemical engineering; civil engineering; electrical engineering; mechanical engineering; industrial engineering; biomedical engineering; physics; pharmaceutical sciences; educational leadership; and environmental sciences. Doctorates are awarded in physical therapy and public health. With an enrollment of more than 12,000 students, FAMU is part of the State University System of Florida and is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Drafters of the International Code Council’s International Green Construction Code (IGCC) are nearing completion of the first ever integrated green code for traditional and high performance commercial buildings, set for a public release in March.

“This will be the first time code officials, owners, and designers will have an integrated regulatory framework to put into practice that meets the goal of greening the construction and design of new and existing buildings,” according to Code Council CEO Richard P. Weiland. “Only a code that is usable, enforceable, and adoptable will have the capability of impacting our built environment in dramatic ways.”

The IGCC is designed specifically to integrate and coordinate with the other International Codes already being enforced by governmental code officials at all levels. All 50 states and more than 20,000 U.S. jurisdictions use the International Codes developed by the Code Council for safety and sustainability.

The International Codes also serve as the basis for construction of federal properties around the world, and as a reference for many nations outside the United States. The International Code Council is a non-profit membership association dedicated to building safety, fire prevention, energy efficiency, and sustainable building construction and performance.

The IGCC links the International Codes to a public process, bringing together diverse areas of expertise to create the first integrated, regulatory framework for green commercial buildings. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and ASTM International are Cooperating Sponsors. Other organizations with representation on the IGCC drafting committee, known as the Sustainable Building Technology Committee (SBTC), include the U.S. Green Building Council, the Green Globes Initiative, and more than a dozen others.

“We are not an industry or advocacy organization, but rather the same folks who have written the building codes used throughout the United States and around the world for decades,” said Code Council Board Member and SBTC Chair Ravi Shah. “From the beginning of our code development earlier this year, we’ve had 29 SBTC members and countless work group members from across the spectrum of government, industry, non-profit and academia weaving their views into a consensus code,” Shah said.

The Code Council’s consensus process invites continual public input from all perspectives, culminating in a final approval from code officials to ensure the best possible rate of compliance. A critical element of the IGCC is that it is consistent and coordinated with existing International Codes that span the spectrum of the industry from building, to energy conservation, fire safety, plumbing, mechanical fuel gas and existing buildings among others.

“Voluntary systems have led market transformation and paved the way for a regulatory framework that includes specialized standards addressing highly technical areas around installation and equipment performance,” Weiland said. “And with our Cooperating Sponsors at the AIA and ASTM International providing the essential perspective of the design and standards communities, there is finally an option on the table that a local, state or federal code official can actually use, enforce and adopt to impact the built environment.”

The first public version of the IGCC is expected to inform many policy discussions currently underway. At the same time, the IGCC will undergo continual maintenance with the solicitation of additional public comments thru hearings being conducted in August. The IGCC will then go through another round of review, comments and public hearings in 2011 for the publication for the 2012 ICC Family of Codes.

Facility Engineering Associates (FEA), in partnership with the IFMA Foundation, has released the second guide in the Sustainability “How-to Guide” Series. The new publication, EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, was written by Maureen Roskoski, senior professional; Laurie Gilmer, associate; and Greg Hughel, project engineer, all from FEA.

EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager guide has been created to help facility professionals better understand how to maintain a successful energy management program. The guide highlights essential terms and explains monthly and annual energy consumption within buildings and how this consumption can change over time. In addition to equipping readers with the latest trends and tools needed to tackle energy management, the new guide also provides step-by-step assistance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s online tool, the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.

Teena Shouse, senior facility management consultant at FEA and past IFMA chair, comments on the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager by saying, “In this ever-changing world peppered with so much information, it is truly a pleasure to have a resource which enables one to be immediately more effective in their search of the energy efficiency holy grail.”

“We are very happy with the response received to the first Getting Started guide and look forward to an even greater response to this guide because of the traction received as a result of the initial guide,” said Will Rub, executive director of the IFMA Foundation.

“The large scale implementation of ENERGY STAR is a major priority for IFMA this year,” said Eric Teicholz, executive editor of the Sustainability “How-to Guide” Series. “We have no doubt that FEA’s guide will play a major role in its successful implementation.”

To obtain your own copy of the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager guide, please visit FEA’s Web site at www.feapc.com.

The District Of Columbia has, on average, the oldest commercial buildings among the states, according to a new study of the age of the U.S. commercial building stock conducted by SMR Research Corp. Older buildings are those most likely to be energy inefficient.

As for buildings by type, the oldest in the U.S. are mixed-use buildings, such as apartment buildings with stores on the first floor. Funeral homes are the second oldest type of commercial building, followed by churches.

SMR’s study of building construction dates used public property records from local tax assessors. The firm studied 4.61 million commercial buildings where the tax records included the year in which the structure was built. The study spanned the entire nation except for Vermont, Louisiana, and Illinois, due to insufficient available data.

Buildings in the Northeastern states have the oldest average age. Nevada has the newest buildings, followed by South Dakota, Alaska, and Arizona.

In DC, SMR tallied 31,855 buildings and calculated an average age of 69.8 years. In Nevada, looking at 67,532 buildings, the average age is only 20.5 years.

Nationally, SMR found, the average age of U.S. commercial buildings is 41.7 years. Of the 4.61 million buildings studied, 14.3% were built within the last 10 years. But 15% were more than 75 years old.

Looking at buildings by use, medical services buildings (other than hospitals) are the newest, with an average age of 34.3 years. Fully 32% of all medical buildings in the U.S. were built within the last 20 years.

The second newest building category was warehouse/storage facilities, no doubt because of the recent growth of personal storage units. The average age is 34.8 years.

Mixed-use buildings, by contrast, have an average age of 66.6 years. Funeral homes are 61.7 years old, on average, and churches average 55 years old.

Despite frequent allegations that the U.S. has a crumbling industrial base, SMR found that industrial facilities are slightly newer than most other buildings, with an average age of 40.7 years. SMR looked at 292,087 of these properties.

The study was designed to help focus the marketing programs of suppliers of energy efficient building materials, equipment, solar panels, and construction services. It includes average ages and a percentage distribution of buildings by age group for 24 categories of buildings, plus data on buildings in 47 states, DC, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The tax data include additional information on individual buildings, including assessed values, square footage, names and addresses of owners, current owners’ purchase dates, and whether the building is occupied by the owner. There are more than 9 million commercial buildings in the United States. About half had ages disclosed in the tax records.

The study results — by building type and by state — span two spreadsheets and are available through SMR’s Web site.

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.

Corporate real estate (CRE) executives, whose companies drive demand for office space, are increasingly willing to invest in refurbishing their owned assets to meet sustainability goals, according to the results of the 2009 CoreNet Global and Jones Lang LaSalle sustainability survey.

In a survey of CRE executives responsible for real estate portfolios totaling billions of square feet across the globe, 70% said that sustainability is a critical business issue for CRE today. Although most executives view sustainability as a priority, only 37% would consider paying a premium (between 1% to 10%). Meanwhile, 46% always consider energy labels (such as Energy Star or HPE), and 41% always considering green building certifications (such as LEED, BREEAM, IEMA, NABERS Energy, Green Star, GreenMark or CASBEE).

A significant 89% consider sustainability criteria in making leasing decisions, although 21% indicated that they would only be willing to pay a premium rent if it was offset by lower operating costs.

Even though obtaining funds to implement sustainability strategies is a difficult or an extremely difficult challenge for 67% of respondents, 74% would pay a premium (generally 1% to 5%) to retrofit owned space for sustainability criteria, up from 53% in 2008.

CoreNet Global and Jones Lang LaSalle 2009 sustainability survey key findings:

• 74% say they are willing to pay a premium to retrofit space that they own for sustainability criteria;
• Sustainability is a critical business issue today for 70% of respondents and 89% consider sustainability criteria in their location decisions;
• Green building certifications are always considered by 41% and energy labels by 46% in administering their portfolio; and
• 60% are adopting workplace strategies to meet sustainability goals while reducing overall occupancy costs.

“These results clearly show that sustainability as an issue is here to stay, but companies are increasingly aware of the commercial realities,” said Dan Probst, chairman of energy and sustainability at Jones Lang LaSalle. “It is no longer enough to simply be ‘green’; organizations want to see the benefits to the bottom line.”

“The survey results show that corporate real estate executives continue to be very focused on sustainability,” said Michael Anderson, Research Manager at CoreNet Global. “Despite the economic challenges of the past year…nearly three-quarters would pay to retrofit properties they own.”

The focus on cost reductions is seen in the 60% that are adopting workplace strategies to meet sustainability goals while reducing overall occupancy costs, up from 54% in 2008. CRE executives also continue to focus on strategies that are easy to implement and provide short-term cost savings, such as energy efficiency programs and waste recycling.

In terms of metrics, companies want to see bottom-line outcomes, with energy costs ranked as the most important portfolio metric by 37%, followed by employee health and productivity at 29%; 45% are highly involved in providing sustainability performance data.

However, making targeted investments in sustainability initiatives can be challenging. More than 50% said that insufficient industry metrics, difficulty in calculating ROI and lack of tools for collecting necessary performance data are difficult or extremely difficult challenges.

“Companies are looking for help in making targeted sustainability investment decisions and measuring the results in terms of both environmental and financial performance,” Probst said. “Clarification of industry metrics globally, tools that collect data and turn it into information, and clear methodologies for calculating project ROI will be critical to overcoming these challenges.”

The global survey of 231 corporate real estate executives was conducted in September and October 2009. A copy of the summary report is available here.

ASHRAE has always prided itself on providing the gold standard in research, standards writing, publishing, and continuing education. However, when it came to energy efficiency and sustainability, gold just wasn’t good enough. That’s why the ASHRAE Headquarters has gone a step further and has been awarded a LEED Platinum Certification in the New Construction 2.2 rating system.

The Society’s office building in Atlanta, GA, which underwent a major renovation in 2008, is one of only six buildings in the state of Georgia to receive a LEED Platinum rating, the highest certification the program offers. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a program of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), a non-profit which seeks to promote green building practices.

“While our first objective was to provide a healthy, comfortable, and productive environment for our staff, we also wanted to set an example of what can be done to renovate existing buildings,” ASHRAE President Gordon Holness said. “Given that 75% to 80% of all existing buildings will still be around in 2030, our greatest opportunity for a sustainable future is through the upgrade and retrofit of these buildings. It is extremely gratifying to achieve the USGBC’s highest rating and confirm ASHRAE’s leadership and commitment to supporting a sustainable built environment.”

LEED takes into account five key measurements when evaluating new construction: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. Bonus points may be obtained through innovation in design and regional priority.

In order to qualify for the highly sought-after Platinum certification, ASHRAE took into consideration a number of concerns such as energy use, heat island reduction, water efficient landscaping, material reuse and water use reduction, to name just few.

ASHRAE addressed these issues, among others, by installing a cool, white reflective roof membrane to minimize heat island effects; updating the landscaping and eliminating the need for landscaping irrigation; retaining more than 75% of the existing building structure as part of this renovation; and reducing its estimated overall annual water consumption per year by almost 50% by using low-flow fixtures throughout building. Additionally, the ASHRAE headquarters received bonus points for innovation and design.

As a leader in energy efficient technology, ASHRAE viewed its headquarters renovation as the perfect way to “walk the talk.” The 34,500 square foot office building, built originally in 1965, now acts as a showcase of energy efficiency and sustainability through its living lab—which provides recourses on building, system and equipment performance—and learning center.

The LEED Platinum Certification acts as third-party verification of ASHRAE’s efforts to create an environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, sustainable workplace.

Jeffrey A. Horn, president and CEO of BOMI (Building Owners and Managers Institute) International, has announced that the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has approved BOMI’s Design, Operation, and Maintenance of Building Systems, Part II (Design II) course. This is the third BOMI class that USGBC has approved in the past two months.

As an approved USGBC Education Provider, BOMI is a third-party organization that offers peer-reviewed classes accepted by USGBC for its credentialing maintenance requirements. Design II underwent a rigorous review process in which a team of subject matter experts evaluated the course based on its content and instructional design quality.

Horn says the USGBC’s approval “reinforces BOMI’s consistent emphasis on providing property and facility managers with critical technical expertise in energy management and sustainability. We were teaching ‘green’ long before the subject became popular.” He attributes BOMI’s foresight to its 40 year history of developing property and facility management courses. “We trace our origins to the energy crisis of the 1970s and the birth of the environmental movement.”

The other BOMI courses that have received USGBC approval are The Design, Operation, and Maintenance of Building Systems, Part I, and Energy Management and Controls.

Design II provides information that property and facility managers need in order to make management decisions about various building systems and sites. Making these decisions correctly will increase occupant safety and comfort while facilitating building efficiency to meet the business goals of an organization.

Design II helps students understand electrical systems and lighting, elevator maintenance and modernization, and pest and solid waste management. Other areas of interest covered in this course include security issues, fire and safety systems, and energy management concerns. Students learn how to analyze and manage building systems, maintain property in top condition, both inside and out, and maintain a secure, safe building.

Because of USGBC’s status as an approved Education Reviewing Body (ERB) for the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), all approved courses—including those from BOMI—will be assigned GBCI Continuing Education (CE) hours, which will help Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Professionals satisfy their credentialing maintenance requirements.

GBCI launched the LEED Professional Credentialing Maintenance Program (CMP) on August 3, 2009. The program requires LEED Professionals to maintain their credentials by staying current and relevant in a constantly transitioning marketplace. Currently, there are over 130,000 LEED Credentialed Professionals in the United States.

Facility Engineering Associates (FEA), in partnership with the IFMA Foundation, has released the first of the Sustainability “How-To Guide” Series. Chris Hodges, principal of FEA and an active member of IFMA, has authored this first guide, entitled Getting Started.

The Getting Started guide was created to assist facility managers with a step-by-step process for assessing an organization; finding a starting point; identifying initiatives; evaluating their value; and implementing, measuring, and monitoring their effectiveness. With more than 30 years of experience in engineering and facility management, Hodges has served on the IFMA board of directors, as chapter president of the IFMA Capital Chapter, and in many other roles within IFMA, giving him the necessary experience and expertise to provide beginners with the essential tools they need to get started with sustainability.

“In IFMA’s quest to equip and enable facility management professionals through education, this guide will clarify and lead them through what can be a very complex issue,” said Teena Shouse, senior facility management consultant at FEA and a past IFMA chair. “Now, when someone asks you ‘How do I get started?’ you can refer them to this informative and well designed guide to sustainability.”

“This is the first of the Sustainability ‘How-To’ Guide Series to be published by the foundation, and we’re very excited to see its release and know it will be a success,” said Will Rub, executive director of the IFMA Foundation. “Hodges’ Getting Started guide provides the perfect approach to start out this important series on sustainability.”

There will be a minimum of four additional guides hosted on the Foundation’s Web site, with another eight scheduled for completion in 2010.