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Archive for 2012

Industry Article

Building for tomorrow: Decentralized care provides model for hospital planning, design and construction

As health care grapples with lower reimbursements, an influx of newly insured patients and a value-based delivery system that is so far more theory than reality, designers, facilities managers, engineers and industry experts of all stripes are attempting to define what these changes will mean for facilities over the next five years. “Health care organizations […]

News Story

Compliance News Volume X, Issue VI

The ECRI Institute recently published a 25-page special report entitled “ECRI Institute 2013 Top 10 Health Technology Hazards” – available at www.ecri.org/2013hazards. In its introduction, ECRI encourages facilities to use the list of generic hazards as a “starting point for patient safety discussions and for setting their health technology safety priorities.” This report is comprehensive […]

Industry Article

Existing-Building Energy Modeling

An energy model is a computer-generated representation of a building used to estimate the impact of proposed changes to the building on energy use. It is a comparative tool most commonly used: New construction • To evaluate the impact of different design options (e.g., a chilled-beam system as opposed to a conventional overhead single-duct variable-air-volume […]

Industry Article

Emerging Technologies in Health Care Delivery

Managing one’s health in the future will involve an app, a “smart” device or a patient portal. The explosion of the mobile technology industry is fast and furious, and health systems are scrambling to keep up. These changes create both opportunities and risks; but by far the positives outweigh the negatives. The impact of this […]

Industry Article

Energy-Efficient Dehumidification In Health Care Facilities

With a wide spectrum of specialized spaces and particular outside air requirements, a hospital’s en-ergy-efficiency efforts start when arranging which areas go where. From there, the author leaves no technology unturned — chilled beams, geothermal, DOAS, VRF, etc. — in evaluating which ap-proaches might best contribute proper ventilation and humidity in which environments, with an […]

Industry Article

Goodbye Growing Season, Hello Knowing Season

While fall is a time of demise in the natural world and an edging toward a period of dormancy, for me it never fails to awaken my senses and rejuvenate my creative spirit. With Greenbuild just around the corner, my personal reawakening coincides with the world’s largest green building conference, which is visiting San Francisco […]

Industry Article

Memphis Area Transit Authority center earns Silver LEED certification

The Memphis Area Transit Authority’s Airways Transit Center, 3033 Airways Blvd., has gained high marks for its environmentally-friendly design. The U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit, has given the 30,000-square-foot project a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification. This makes it the first newly constructed, publicly funded building to gain this […]

Industry Article

New Era of Efficiency: Net-Zero Buildings

From multitenant office buildings to mixed-use developments, new net-zero energy buildings — buildings that produce at least as much energy as they use on an annual basis — are popping up coast to coast. Though they are still a small percentage of new construction, several factors are converging to move net-zero energy buildings from myth […]

News Story

Stadium Design Is Changing

It may no longer be called “Mean Green Stadium,” but the University of North Texas’s Apogee Stadium retains the distinguished honor of being the only LEED Platinum structure of its kind in the country.

News Story

Compliance News Volume X, Issue V

The 2013 edition of NFPA 110 was recently released by the NFPA Standards Council. Chief among the changes in this edition were several changes, including informational Annex recommendations, intended to improve emergency power supply system (EPSS) reliability through better fuel oil management processes. The excerpts below are only partial excerpts, and readers should review the […]

Industry Article

Hernando has parks plan, intends to run with it

The reality may be many laps away — ballparks at Renasant Park and soccer fields at the old North Lagoon acreage — and funding a frequent hurdle, but the vision of a wide-ranging, inclusive parks and recreation system for Hernando is here, thanks to a master plan months in the making with eager citizen input. […]

Industry Article

Geothermal Heating and Cooling Options

After reviewing basic design options, the next steps for potential geothermal designers are to challenge the common concerns and myths, study how different choices have different cost impacts, and be aware of the ways a good design can yield bad performance if the installation isn’t done well. Add the habit of turning a retrofit’s circumstances […]

Industry Article

The 2030 Challenge and commitment for plumbing engineers

Reducing fossil fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions are important goals for our industry; however, they are difficult to achieve and measure. Designers, contractors, owners and operators start with good intentions, but many new buildings ultimately have minimal energy-efficiency improvements over the buildings they replaced. Buildings are major consumers of energy. To decrease greenhouse gas […]

Industry Article

All systems go: New resource provides commissioning support for health facility managers

The specialized and especially demanding needs of health care facilities make them a prime environment for commissioning to net the greatest value. However, with no unilateral health care-specific standard, facility managers often were left to cobble together a number of commissioning guides to arrive at a less-than-ideal commissioning process and lingering doubt regarding the adequacy […]

Industry Article

Risk + Reward: Assessing the need for electrical system shutdown

Citing concerns for worker safety, tighter insurance requirements and Occupational Safety and Health Administration enforcement actions, most electrical contractors and electrical service companies now do their work in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace. They are no longer willing to maintain or to modify “hot,” […]

Industry Article

In engineering, what really matters?

 sometimes wonder if the specifications we create are really any different than the bricks I’ve seen used as doorstops from time to time. I also sometimes wonder what is relevant, what is related, and whose job is it, and would (should) we, as engineers, do things the same way and with the same passion and […]

Press Release

Steve Lane named Fellow of American Council of Engineering Companies

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – July 16, 2012 – Stephen Lane, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Smith Seckman Reid, Inc., has been inducted into the College of Fellows for the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). The honor recognizes an ACEC member who through their career has elevated the standards of the engineering profession. […]

Press Release

Smith Seckman Reid’s Houston office earns LEED Platinum for Commercial Interiors

HOUSTON – July 10, 2012 – The Houston office of Smith Seckman Reid, Inc.(SSR), an engineering design and facility consulting firm, achieved LEED® Platinum for Commercial Interiors, making it only the second space in Houston to achieve this designation, the highest possible certification level from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Green Building […]

Industry Article

Regulatory trends in water efficiency

The plumbing industry is slow to change. This can be a good thing, because our health and safety depend on plumbing, but it can also be frustrating when trends need to change. For example: A growing concern is that plumbing professionals design systems only for the health and safety of people at the expense of […]

News Story

Compliance News Volume X, Issue IV

In In his recent ASHE Annual Conference presentation, George Mills of TJC reminded attendees about the requirements for current LS plans. Much of this information is in a related February 2012 EC News article and is summarized below. TJC Standard LS.01.01.01, EP 2, requires an organization to have a current Statement of Conditions™ (SOC™). EP2 […]

Press Release

SSR employees dominate young achievers distinction

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – June 12, 2012 – Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. (SSR), an engineering design and facility consulting firm headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, is pleased to announce that four members of its staff have been recognized as exceptional young engineers in recent months by three different organizations. Theodore (Ted) Foster, PE, PSP, CxA, was recognized […]

Industry Article

Designing the Learning Space of the Future

The students have changed, and the way spaces get used is changing as well. How do we need think about educational environments to foster better thinking inside them? Architects and engineers are constantly challenged in the higher education market with the same goal from clients over and over again. “We want the learning space of […]

Industry Article

Water efficiency changes for LEED 2012

The USGBC LEED rating system is a guideline for building teams wanting to design, build and operate sustainable buildings that reduce energy and water consumption when compared to “average” buildings through the use of sustainable site, materials and resources practices. The LEED rating system offers a checklist of sustainable elements, called credits, which can be […]

Press Release

SSRCx Exhibits at SAME JETC in St. Louis May 22-25, 2012

SSRCx is dedicated entirely to providing building performance consulting services. SSRCx continues to assist the DoD and Federal Agencies with meeting their requirements for Executive Orders 13423 and 13514, and EISA through the services we offer: Whole Building Commissioning LEED Fundamental and Enhanced Commissioning Measurement and Verification (M&V) Energy and Water Audits Energy Modeling Net […]

Industry Article

Baptist and Vanguard Health Strike Gold in Texas

As the first LEED Gold certified hospital in the state of Texas,Mission Trail Baptist Hospital is set to save $150,000 in annual energy costs and $1.1 million gallons of potable water per year. Giving the project a jump start toward LEED certification was the selection of the previously developed Brooks Air Force Base site in San […]

Industry Article

Lighting It Up: LED fixture manufacturers target health care facilities

Light-emitting diode (LED) technology offers hospitals many advantages over traditional lighting, such as energy savings, longer life, lower heat output and design flexibility. Little wonder that it can be found everywhere from parking lots to surgical suites. During the past decade, most health care facil­ities upgraded their lighting to energy-efficient fluorescent technology, industry experts say. […]

Industry Article

2012 White Paper: High-Performance Reconstructed Buildings: The 99% Solution

Reconstruction in its many forms—tenant improvements, retail fitouts, adaptive reuse, historic preservation, gut rehab, and so on—is keeping many design and construction firms solvent. The collapse of the U.S. housing market in 2007-2008 precipitated a nearly commensurate downturn in new nonresidential construction in the United States. Filling the gap, at least to some extent, has […]

Industry Article

Making the Most of It (feature on Stones River Water Treatment Plant in Murfreesboro, TN)

When superintendent Alan Cranford looks out at his upgraded 20 mgd Stones River Water Treatment Plant in Murfreesboro, Tenn., he may be viewing the facility of the future. Membranes. Granular activated carbon filters. High-tech lime system. On-site sodium hypochlorite generation. Sophisticated SCADA system, including portable data tablets. But he knows it takes more than state-of-the-art […]

Industry Article

Energy-efficient plumbing technologies of the future

Some energy-efficient technologies are the holy grail of the plumbing industry. These technologies would allow a building to be a comfortable, safe place to live or work while using only the energy it generates, with no connections to the utility grid. Like the Holy Grail of history, however, these desirable technologies are just out of […]

News Story

Compliance News Volume X, Issue III

In its March 20, 2012 press release and conference call, OSHA announced revisions to its Hazard Communication Standard to align it with the United Nations’ global chemical labeling system, known as the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. OSHA stated that this change is intended to improve understanding and “will improve […]

Industry Article

Mind the Gap Between Construction and Occupancy to Preserve Efficiency

In the pursuit of a high-performance building, LEED certification or net-zero design, there is no guarantee that the resulting performance will persist for more than a short period of time. Something happens between the end of a facility’s construction and the beginning of its operations. Even if the teams have miraculously bundled forward-thinking mechanical and […]

Industry Article

The Top 500 Design Firms Start to Rise Above Economic Woes

After four years, it appears the U.S. construction market has bottomed out and is beginning the slow climb out of recession. For many large U.S. design firms, this development is cause for both relief and celebration. But for other design firms, particularly in the public infrastructure markets, uncertainty about the future remains a constant. The […]

News Story

Firm says being first is key to adding new service

It often pays to get in on something early. Today engineering firms are all about building commissioning — a rapidly growing process that ensures electrical, mechanical and heating/ air conditioning systems are working the way they should. But 12 years ago, when Nashville-based Smith Seckman Reid first started offering the service, the company had to […]

Whitepaper

Sustainability is a Journey, Not a Destination

Cx Monitor Newsletter, Issue 6.1 Companies that get serious about improving sustainability soon discover there is always something else to do to achieve greater efficiencies. They quickly learn that sustainability is a journey, not a destination. Spectrum Properties | Emery has taken this message to heart, leading the charge in the Southeast for ongoing sustainable […]

Industry Article

40 Under 40, the Class of 2012

The 40 young AEC professionals featured here represent the Class of 2012 in Building Design+Construction’s “40 UNDER 40” competition. They were chosen from among 223 applicants to join the 240 previous recipients of this honor, dating to 2006. They range in age from 27 to 39 (as of December 31, 2011, the contest deadline), with a median […]

Industry Article

Retrofitting plumbing fixtures in existing buildings for water efficiency

As reported by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) last December, for the first time “LEED-certified existing buildings are outpacing their newly built counterparts … square footage of LEED-certified existing buildings surpassed LEED-certified new construction by 15 million square feet on a cumulative basis.” Water efficiency is an important part of upgrading existing buildings. The […]

Industry Article

Improvements in HVAC Technology Boost Indoor Air Quality

Air control, filtration and ventilation technologies can improve the health care environment and help facility managers meet the special performance considerations inherent in hospitals. Hospital facility managers must deal with rigorous performance requirements when it comes to improving indoor air quality (IAQ). What’s more, these design considerations are regulated by organizations that write codes and […]

News Story

Compliance News Volume X, Issue II

Many hospitals are installing new or replacement emergency power systems. NFPA 110 requires a special testing sequence before the system may be used. Although the NFPA 110-2005 edition is referenced by the 2010 FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction of Healthcare Facilities, readers should review the updated and considerably improved Installation Acceptance Test in Section […]

Industry Article

Classrooms that Work

For most of us, a conversation about school brings back memories of our earliest and oldest friends, a childhood crush, going to lunch and recess, learning about government, having “fun” with algebra, or pretending to play this week’s gym class game in front of huge crowds on television. The thought that may not surface while […]

Press Release

Four from Smith Seckman Reid to speak at ASHE PDC Summit

NASHVILLE, TN – February 13, 2012 – Nashville based engineering design and facility consulting firm Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. (SSR) will have four employees speaking during three sessions at the upcoming American Society for Healthcare Engineer’s (ASHE) Planning, Design, and Construction (PDC) Summit in Phoenix, Ariz. Clay Seckman, SSR Executive Vice President, will lead a […]

Whitepaper

Understanding What an Energy Model Can and Can’t Do

Cx Monitor Newsletter, Issue 5.4  WITH FUEL PRICES RISING, ENERGY EFFICIENCY HAS BEEN TOP-OF-MIND FOR FACILITY MANAGERS. And, state and nationwide energy-saving programs, mandates and incentives have increased dramatically. These include increasingly stringent energy codes and standards, green building rating systems, federal tax deductions, numerous state-or utility-specific rebates and incentives, building labeling programs, and more. All […]

Industry Article

In Case of Fire

In a February 2009 report, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) identified that during 2003-2006, municipal fire departments responded to an estimated 3,750 structure fires in medical, mental health, and substance abuse facilities, annually. These fires resulted in one civilian death, 57 civilian injuries, and $26.9 million in direct property damage. While no amount of […]

Press Release

Mission Trail Baptist Hospital is First LEED Gold Acute-Care Hospital in Texas, First LEED Certified Hospital in San Antonio

NASHVILLE, TN – February 13, 2012 – Nashville based engineering design and facility consulting firm Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. (SSR) will have four employees speaking during three sessions at the upcoming American Society for Healthcare Engineer’s (ASHE) Planning, Design, and Construction (PDC) Summit in Phoenix, Ariz. Clay Seckman, SSR Executive Vice President, will lead a […]

Industry Article

Smooth Start: Ensuring Emergency Power System Performance

Like all other mission-critical systems, emergency power systems should be commissioned to attain the necessary operational reliability. Emergency power system commissioning (Cx) can be considered a documented quality assurance program that finds and resolves potential emergency power system-related problems before patients are admitted and procedures are performed. Emergency power system Cx is not the same […]

Industry Article

Using On-site Systems to Help Offset Combined Sewer Overflows

More than 770 communities across the country are implementing long-term control plans to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s requirement to reduce the number of combined sewer overflows (CSO). Most communities with CSOs are located in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions and the Pacific Northwest (see Figure 1), affecting approximately 40 million people. The […]

News Story

Compliance News Volume X, Issue I

Health care organizations should already be familiar with the current code-based requirements of NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code® and The Joint Commission (TJC) regarding the placement of Alcohol-Based Hand-Rub (ABHR) Dispensers. TJC is now allowing ABHR dispensers to be placed according to the requirements of the 2009 and 2012 editions of NFPA 101®,Life Safety Code®. […]