Real estate costs money and money is the bottom line for any company. Facilities managers who recognize this can raise their profile and contribute to the success of the company by accurately establishing facility costs and positioning the information for better corporate decisions.
A challenge of mining operations and any project that disturbs large volumes of earth below grade is the potential to generate contaminated water runoff at the surface known as acid mine drainage (AMD). Precious metal and coal mine shafts traditionally require excavation below the water table, exposing metal sulfides in the disturbed earth and waste soils to the atmosphere and water. Similar exposure can occur during major highway construction projects. Stormwater runoff and water discharged from dewatering pumps related to these construction activities can be very low in pH (acidic) and can contain harmful metal ions. Eric McCleary of Greenhorne & O’Mara helped develop the successive alkalinity-producing system (SAPS) process to treat this AMD water and shares insights regarding this innovative technology with the Buildipedia audience.
FM Systems are the most important tools a facility and property manager has to manage his or her responsibilities. They provide critical visibility into the operations, information for decision making and analysis and improved processes and efficient services. All of this results in lower costs and better services.
Measuring is the best way to improve what you are doing. Doing it right is the trick.
Benchmarking is a form of measurement – where you measure something else to see where you are lagging, identify the areas and take corrective action. This is the essence of benchmarking. Incorporate this as part of your Health Check, as discussed earlier.
Life Cycle View: Total Cost of Ownership Drives Behavior
Written by Michel Theriault Thu Dec 08 2011 12:00amInitial costs represent only 15% of a building’s total cost. If you ignore this when developing a building, you are wasting the other 85% of your costs. Keeping the initial capital cost as low as possible seems right, but it’s costing you a lot more over the life of the building. Visibility into the total cost of ownership is one way to address this. Justification and decisions should be based on the total cost of ownership, not just initial costs.
Defining what a real partnership is can be tricky. Join us as we analyze Michel Theriault's Outsourcing Partnerships to find out how it's done and what the benefits might be.
Many outsourcing deals are called "outsourcing partnerships," but is the partnership a reality or an illusion? The word partnership is used by both clients and service providers, so it’s easy to believe that these outsourcing deals are about partnership.
Strait of Messina Bridge: Construction Will Begin on the World’s Largest Suspension Bridge
Written by J. Mariah Brown Mon Nov 21 2011 12:00amAfter centuries of consideration, a bridge to connect Sicily and the Italian peninsula is scheduled to begin construction in December.
For hundreds of years residents of mainland Italy and the island of Sicily have discussed the idea of a bridge that would connect the two bodies of land by spanning the Strait of Messina. However, because of the two-mile width of the strait, its depth, its current, and the fact that it frequently experiences tremors and earthquakes, a bridge seemed to be out of the question. Because of these issues, a ferry system was developed and used instead. Still, the idea of a bridge that could support both cars and trains seemed ideal for commuters.
Building Maintenance Systems: The AEC End of the Equation
Written by Marty Chobot Wed Nov 16 2011 12:00pmAEC professionals have the opportunity to pass along valuable information to their clients, and to a building’s future maintenance manager. The information sharing and storage capacity of BIM can be leveraged to help architects, system designers, and installers deliver a more complete product than was ever before possible.
Pelamis Wave Energy Converter: Renewable Energy from Ocean Waves
Written by J. Mariah Brown Thu Nov 03 2011 12:00amThe notion of harnessing energy from the sea has captured the human imagination for years. With interest in renewable energy at an all-time high, steps are being taken to turn this idea into a reality.
As the global need for renewable energy sources continues to surge, one innovative company has released technology that could have a major impact on utility and energy companies, as well as their customers, well into the future. The Pelamis Wave Energy Converter, made by Scottish company Pelamis Wave Power, is the first commercial machine that can generate electricity from offshore wave energy. Since the company first tested its prototype wave energy converter between 2004 and 2007 in Scotland, four additional Pelamis machines and two designs – the P1 and the second-generation P2 – have been created.
Downtown Toronto takes advantage of Lake Ontario's constant lake bottom temperature to operate a heat exchange system.
Toronto’s Deep Lake Water Cooling system offers the city’s downtown property owners a compelling alternative to their buildings’ air conditioning requirements. Instead of installing separate chilled water generators within their buildings, many are taking advantage of the Deep Lake Water Cooling system, operated by Enwave Energy Corporation. The Deep Lake Water Cooling system offers substantial cost savings if building operators forego a standard chiller plant and instead install heat exchangers to interface with it. We’ll overview the functional parts of the Deep Lake Water Cooling system, which has been in service since 2004: the Lake Ontario intake pipes, the Island Filtration Plant, Enwave’s Energy Transfer Station (ETS), and the closed-loop Deep Lake Water Cooling chilled water circuit that individual buildings can access with new heat exchangers.
From July 27, 2012 through September 9, 2012, millions of visitors are expected to converge in London, England, for the XXX Olympic Summer and Paralympic Games. Since receiving the winning bid in July of 2005, the London 2012 Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) have been hard at work preparing for the influx of activity that will occur on the 2.5 km2 Olympic site in East London.
Tight Construction Timelines Affect Lincoln’s West Haymarket Arena
Written by Kristin Dispenza Thu Oct 06 2011 12:00amArchitects, engineers, and contractors streamline their process to ensure a quick delivery of the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ new home
Along the western edge of downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, lies the historic Haymarket District. An industrial and commercial area in use since the 1870s, the district had nevertheless become blighted and run down. In the 1980s, the Haymarket District began to attract some mixed-use development, including art galleries, coffee houses, and residences. In more recent years, rehabilitation efforts have extended westward, and an official redevelopment plan was established.
