IFMA 2000 Golf Tournament
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| ABC Pest and Lawn Service Accent Food Services Action Propane Austin Generator Service CEI CEWard FMG Haworth and Mannington Interface Flooring Systems, Inc IPI Security Systems | KDI Facility Services Move Solutions Inc. National Instruments Corporation ReSource Technical Furniture Resources Tedco Electric Inc. Tellabs Operations, Inc. Trimbuilt Construction TruGreen LandCare |
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IFMA NEWSLETTER WANTS YOU!! In an effort to make the monthly newsletter a more effective resource for our members, we need your suggestions and article submissions. Starting with our June issue, the IFMA newsletter will be built around a given theme each month. The newsletter committee wants to know what matters to you. What topics would you like to see addressed in the coming year? Are there challenges that you consistently encounter, or strategies that you’ve developed that you want to discuss with your peers? Are there products that you have tried and would be willing to review? Would you like to be a columnist with a regular feature? If you prefer not to submit a completed article, but have collected information from other sources that might serve as research, please send it our way. Over the next few months, the IFMA newsletter will relate to the topics covered in the monthly meetings. Themes for the coming months include: 1) Energy Efficiency Send your questions, comments and research material on these topics to Roberta Schofield (robertas@ceward.com) or fax 512-327-7032. The first 50 people to submit material that makes it into the newsletter will be entered in a drawing for a REALLY REALLY great prize. |
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2000 IFMA Austin Chapter President
Ed Garcia,
` CONDEA Vista Co. 331-2327 IFMA Austin News is published monthly by members of the International Facility Manager Association, Austin Chapter |
It Depends Call to tower on a joint use civilian-military airfield:
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Golf…. Great Golf ….. VERY GREAT GOLF…. Bob Payne is putting on the show in May. It’s outside, it’s good for you, and you’ll have a lot of fun! Sign up to play ...Sign up to Sponsor …….Sign up to Volunteer April’s meeting was about planning. You plan meetings, plan to be on time, plan to do better on your diet. One of the easiest things to do is to plan for emergencies. It’s just not difficult to inventory your critical utilities, identify the single point of failures in your operation, and do a little planning to avoid operating in a crisis mode. IF we were all like John Wayne, we could overcome any adversity. For the rest of us, attending a meeting on emergency planning could give you peace of mind and a leg-up if worse comes to worse. (Six months after the last meeting on disasters, my roof fell in.) Laurie Ontjes briefed the members and guests on preparedness. It’s so easy to go through your operation and list the utilities like gas, electricity, air conditioners, compressed air, and vacuum systems. She provided a nice booklet that had the questions. Just fill in the blanks with the size of the minimum systems you would need to keep your critical operation s going. It’s not economical to have a redundant system at every location, but most of us would sorely miss the company computer system after a day or two. You need to do the math. If you can get a backup air compressor in 24 hours, maybe you don’t need redundant compressors. How long does it take to replace that old 30-hp pump for your HVAC? You do need to make a plan now. When the lights go out, you want to have some handy phone numbers and your equipment needs in your palm pilot. The yellow pages are great, but you’re taking pot-luck. If you need a little help, go to Aggreko’s web site. Please thank Laurie for the free meal. I didn’t get to sit next to the cheese block, and I still survived at the San Francisco Steak House. Amy Bowman won the raffle, a nice bag. Mike Leach spoke about the various committee openings in July. You can really have some fun and contribute to the organization by volunteering for awards, education, and purse-strings-watcher. An unexpected performance by Veronica Bailey and her motley crew almost interrupted my lunch. Everything got cold while I watched and listed to her, Cindy Stewart, and Mary Durbin talk about our “Community Service Project” for 2000. It’s going to be a Halloween party to benefit Safe Place. It was obvious that she had consumed high-octane coffee to be that wound up! She asked for volunteers to sign up and about 17 people responded. (Maybe this would have been a good time to pass the hat.) There will be a raffle, a professional Psychic/Card Reader and a cover charge, all to raise money. It’s not too late to sign up for the following committees:
The first committee meeting was May 3rd, at FMG at 10:30 a.m. at 8606 Wall Street. We are extremely excited about the positive response we received! By J. Robert Howard |
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Opportunities
EXODUS COMMUNICATIONS Exodus Communications is looking for a Facility Project Coordinator with 5 years of experience in project & facility coordination. The person should understand data center environment & communications cabling, project planning, cage ordering and inventory, equipment rack and power & cable requirements. The right candidate will have good customer contact skills and be able to develop customer requirements. That person should understand facility standards and be able to install the equipment. The education requirements are 2 years of college or technical trade school which should include AutoCAD skills. If you think there's a fit, contact: MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN Overview: Private residence in Austin seeks qualified maintenance
technician to join existing staff. Development Objectives:
Contact: Send résumé to: Joel Pafford, 3801 Capital of Texas Hwy., N,
E240-145, Austin TX 78746. |
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From the President ... Ed Garcia
Perseverance “Try, Try, and Try Again”, is a common work ethic to facility managers. And it is the trait that characterizes the individual in America. It is what makes us successful. But, how does one keep trying and not lose faith? It starts with self confidence, a little encouragement of your colleagues and the support of your peers. Self confidence is developed on successes. Successes are achieved by utilizing all your resources and being positive. The key resource is knowledge, and more important, understanding what really makes the clock tick; understanding that cooling is actually removing heat from the air, and understanding what makes blue, blue. Our education system plants the seed of knowledge, but it is up to us to nurture the seed through continuing education. Take every opportunity to learn by daily reading, thought-provoking conversations and of course true life experiences. Try, Try, And Try Again! Remember encouragement and support go a long way. Think of what you would like to hear if someone was reviewing your work. Do not be afraid to over-praise. We all try to live up to what others think about us. I know that I have worked the hardest for the boss that has made me feel like I was walking on water. There was no way I was going to let him down! IFMA provides all the tools that are needed. I encourage you to check out the IFMA.org web site. Consider taking one or more of the core courses offered. Read and contribute to the newsletter. If you really want to develop your managerial skills, volunteer as chapter officer or committee chair. As you can see from my closing, I am trying and I will continue to try to develop a truly great chapter. IFMA Newsletter I would like to welcome and thank Roberta Schofield and Kelley Sandidge for volunteering as our newsletter editor and assistant editor. During the coming months you will see a new Austin Chapter. The newsletter will follow the theme of the monthly program. This will provide you with a quick reference to information and the opportunity to contribute an article on a topic well ahead of schedule. Professional members: share your successes. Associates: you get an excellent opportunity to provide the knowledge and resources to assist the overloaded professional. How can you pass up the opportunity to share, help, and gain from this experience? Energy When was the last time you performed an audit of your facility? Too many times we just can not find the time to audit. The old adage ‘how do you eat an elephant’ applies here. You do not need to do a complete audit to start saving, but you do need to have a high level of awareness. There are usually a lot of telltale signs. A continuous flow of vapor from a roof vent may be an indication of a faulty steam trap. A door that will not close may be an indication of too much supply air entering the room. Moisture on the windows may be an indication of cooling a little too much or not having an adequate thermal barrier. Look for energy saving tips in our news letter, your utility bill brochures and the internet can provide a wealth of information. Air Quality The Austin ASHRAE (American Society of Refrigerating, Heating and Air Conditioning Engineers) Chapter hosted the 2000 Chapter Regional Conference, May 11-13, which focused on air quality. Considering the recent Austin news, it was very timely. The following is a synopsis of the event. We spend 85-90% of our time indoors. It is essential that we ensure the quality of the air we breathe. Most people and news articles focus on the air conditioning system as the culprit. In fact, the air conditioning system is seldom the root cause, but most always the implied cause or contributor…the reason, “Our comfort conditions are ideal for microbes to grow”. The following are some common causes of poor air quality: ·
Lack of Policy Management A common root cause is an incident or phenomena that introduces moisture and fails to be corrected. Examples are wet carpet that is not properly and quickly dried, building walls that are soaked by leaking water from pipes, condensate, or poor cleaning. One of the leading causes is the improper application of a vapor barrier in the walls and floor slab. Most people do not realize concrete floors act as a sponge and holds moisture which can lead to problems. And tight buildings are not the problem if ventilated properly. And once an air quality problem has been identified, more ventilation may not be the solution. So what is our safety net? Education, understanding how to review construction drawings, knowing that retrofits have not been very successful, and knowing where to find the applicable information. ASHRAE Guidelines for commissioning, operation and maintenance are essential not to mention their excellent design guidance. The following definitions will aid in your understanding of discussions of “Air Quality”. Acceptable Air Quality: ASHRAE 62-1999: “ Air in which there is no known contaminants at harmful concentrations as determined by cognizant authorities and with which a substantial majority (80% or more) of the people exposed do not express dissatisfaction.” Sick Building Syndrome: A condition in which occupants experience symptoms that can be alleviated or can temporarily disappear when leaving for the day or on weekends. The specific casual agent(s) are not usually identified. Building Related Illness: A condition in which occupants have a more serious illness that fails to improve when leaving the building, requires medical attention, can be clinically diagnosed, and can usually be traced back to specific agents. Visit the www.ashrae.org for more information or feel free to contact me. Energy Savings The Cost of Over Sizing or “To Engineer or Not To Engineer” Ever wonder if everything on an airplane were oversized whether or not the plane would truly fly? Your facility is no different. How many times do we add safety factors? Consider a small office building: Safety factors are commonly added in design temperatures, insulation values, piping losses, air flow requirements etc. But it does not end here. As an example, the energy to drive a chilled water system was calculated to be 4.5 hp. Many engineers would round this to 5 hp, then look in a pump catalog and find a pump and maybe decide on a little safety factor; thus a 7.5 hp pump is selected. A pump is usually only about 60% efficient at best. In the above example the pump would have to be throttled and the result would be a pump of about a 30-40% efficiency. Ever wondered about the impact? Higher initial cost for equipment, electrical wiring, electrical starters. Higher operating cost due to extra horsepower and the extra heat generated by the extra horsepower. Engineer the system and save. |
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ADA News
May 16, 2000 edition of Facility Fast Facts®,
This information comes from the Accessible Design Handbook <
http://www.cashcallahan.com/pubs.htm>
folks at Cash-Callahan <
http://www.cashcallahan.com>& Co., Inc.
Handrails
When thinking about accessibility, there is a tendency to focus primarily on the
needs of people in wheelchairs. This narrow focus can result in non-compliance
and missing barriers that pose problems for other individuals with disabilities.
With limited mobility or balance, there is an increased risk of falling at the
top or bottom of a staircase. So for individuals who use crutches or a cane, or
for people with mobility or balance difficulties, the handrail design is
important. This is both an accessibility and a safety issue.
To address this, the ADA has very specific requirements for handrail design.
These include the size and shape of the handrail, the mounting distance from the
wall and the height above the finished floor.
One area that is often incorrectly handled is the transition point at the end of
a handrail. To comply with the ADA, handrails must extend beyond the top riser
to allow a safe transition from the stairs to the landing at the top. The
handrails also must continue for a specific length beyond the last tread at the
bottom of the stairs and be parallel with the ground.
Proper handrail design not only allows for accessibility, but promotes safety
for everyone using the stairway.
Stay ADA compliant - order the 2000 edition of the Accessible Design Handbook
<http://www.cashcallahan.com/pubs.htm>
today. This new edition includes all changes to the ADA since 1991 ($149.95 plus
$7.95 shipping).
Check out their new web section
www.cashcallahan.com/accesslinks.htm
for accessible product links.
Provided by Bob Payne |
| The Austin IFMA Chapter Meetings will fall on the dates listed below, the 2nd Thursday of each month. The meetings will be luncheon meetings at Old San Francisco Steak House........ unless otherwise...... |
| Jan 13 Feb 10 Mar 9 Apr 13 May 18 Jun 8 | Y2K... What problem
Space-Smart Moves Do you need an AED Emergency Planning Guide; Golf Tournament Austin Energy | July 13 Aug 10 Sep 14 Oct 12 Nov 9 Dec 14 | Round Rock Express Evening meeting at SAS Tour Best Practices Christmas Party |
Bob Payne