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Free to AFE Members $8.00 Non-Members November/December 2009
J O U R N A L
Learn.
Lead.
Influence.
The Devil Made Me Buy it:
Some Reasons for Renting
Are Facility Managers
Outstanding or Obsolete?
Its Up to You!
Averting Common Causes
of Generator Failure (Part 2)
IN THIS ISSUE:
Financial
IMPACT AND ANALYSIS
of Equipment Inventories
www.AFE.org
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AFE12094XCEL.indd 1 10/14/09 11:47:21 AM
November | December 2009 Facilities Engineering Journal www.AFE.org
3
FACILITIES ENGINEERING JOURNAL (ISSN 1088-5900) is published bimonthly (January, March, May, July, September and November) by the Association for Facilities Engineering, 12801 Worldgate
Drive, Suite 500, Herndon, VA 20170. Periodicals postage is paid at Reston, VA, and additional mailing ofces. POSTMASTER: Send all address changes to Facilities Engineering, 12801 Worldgate
Drive, Suite 500, Herndon, VA 20170. Facilities Engineering Journal is free to AFE members, $42 annually for non-members ($60 annually for nonmembers outside of North America).
Statements in AFE publications represent the views of those to whom they are credited and are not binding on the Association for Facilities Engineering. Readers comments are invited and should
be directed to the attention of Editor, AFE Headquarters, 12801 Worldgate Drive, Suite 500, Herndon, VA 20170. Copyright 2009 by the Association for Facilities Engineering.
AFE provides education certication, technical information and other relevant resources for plant and facility engineering, operations and maintenance professionals worldwide. To learn more, call
(571) 203-7171, write to [email protected] or visit www.afe.org.
TOC
FACILITIES ENGINEERING JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009 VOL. 36 NO. 5
12 Financial Impact and Analysis of
Equipment Inventories [Part 1]
18 The Devil Made Me Buy it:
21 Averting Common Causes of
Generator Failure (Part 2)
4 AFE Focus
5 Newly Certied
6 Member Perspectives
8 Message From The CEO
9 AFE Spotlight
10 New AFE Members
25 Tech News
27 New Products
30 Industry News
32 AFE Calendar
33 AFE Marketplace
34 Information Resources
ON THE COVER: Why are equipment inventories critical? Because they
are the basic requirement for every aspect of facility management.
Equipment inventories affect facility safety, as well as how the facility
is operated, maintained and forecasted. They also have a direct impact
on facility costs. If the equipment inventory is not accurate, the facility
and the organization will not be as effective for a simple reason: The
inaccuracy is costing the organization time, manpower and money.
Large photo by Dion Javier of the U.S. General Services Administra-
tion. Center image of man with computer courtesy of iStock.com.
Features
In Every Issue
12
18
H
ave you ever seen a great movie and then try to tell someone else about it? You
start to describe a particular scene with the characters, the plot scenario and
other details. Youre remembering the experience and trying to convey it, and
then comes that moment when you realize theres no way the other person is
going to get the full impact of the movie just by you telling them about it. So you end
saying something like, Youve just got to go see this movie for yourself!
Thats what AFE Chapter meetings are like. Those who attend get it. They fully un-
derstand and appreciate the incredible value of getting together
on a regular basis and sharing knowledge and experiences with
other facilities professionals. And just like trying to tell some-
one about a great movie youve seen, others are not going to
fully get it unless they go and experience it for themselves.
You go to the meetings you can make it to. Its not a huge
commitment, and its an enjoyable learning experience.
This is how AFE is built person by person. Everyone knows
someone wholl get something out of AFE. But dont just
tell them about it, bring them with you to your local chapter
meeting. Let them experience and absorb the
benefits and the atmosphere first hand. Then
encourage them to join.
At first glance, an AFE chapter meeting may not seem like a
big deal. A group of members gather in a meeting room to hear a speaker and a presen-
tation. Maybe the group meets the next time for a facility tour, and at the next meeting
youll have a vendor member give a product demonstration. Other times, the chapter
members might gather at a local restaurant/bar just to socialize and network.
But whats happening on the person-to-person level is what makes these meetings so
valuable to you as a facilities professional. Sure, youre going to pick up a great deal of
knowledge from the presentations and tours, but when you listen to how other individu-
als deal with the same issues you deal with on a day-to-day basis, and share your own
experiences with the same issues, you learn from each other.
You share your success stories and your failures, as well. This works; this doesnt.
Soon, you find your professional network is growing, and youre coming up with better,
faster, more effective ways to accomplish things on the job.
So if you havent been attending your local chapter meetings, do it. Make the
time, make the effort. Its one of the surest things you can do to improve your
professional acumen.
And dont forget to invite others to come with you tell them theyve got to see
this movie!
FEJ
Dan P. Bittel, CPE
2008-09 Chairman
AFE National Board of Directors
P.S. If your chapter is not very active, and youre interested in getting it reactivated,
AFE National can help. Call the staff at (571) 203-7171 today for information and
help on getting started. Remember, were always looking for members wholl help
lead chapters.
AFEFocus
AFE Chapter Meetings: Go See the Movie!
By Dan P. Bittel, CPE
2009 Board of Directors
Chairman of the Board
Dan P. Bittel, CPE
Immediate Past Chair
Thomas A. Baxter, CPS
CoR Director
Wayne P. Saya, CPE
CoR Director
Jerry Biron
Vice Chair, Membership
Tony Febbraro, CIAQP
Chief Executive Ofcer
Laurence Gration, CAE
Academic Director
George Howe, PE/CPE
Industry Director
Jim Humphries, PE/CPE
Vice Chair, Finance
Kate Kerrigan, CPMM
CoR Director
Robert Shorr, CPMM
2009 Senior Editorial Board
Thomas A. Baxter, CPS
A.S. Migs Damiani, CPE, FAFE
Edmund Hulseberg, CPE
CarolAnn K. Maslanka, PE, CPE
Association for Facilities Engineering
12801 Worldgate Drive, Suite 500
Herndon, VA 20170
p: 571/203-7171 w: www.AFE.org
Jane Jacobs
Marketing & Communications
Liz Obloy, Publisher
Jim Camillo, Editor
Shannon Nieman, Art Director
Jeff Bagwell, Production Manager
For Editorial Inquiries:
Jim Camillo
p: 630/694-4011
e: [email protected]
For Advertising Inquiries:
Liz Obloy
p: 248/244-6452
For Reprint Inquiries:
Jill DeVries
p: 248/244-1726
Facilities
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J O U R N A L
http://custommedia.bnpmedia.com
2401 W. Big Beaver Rd., Ste. 700,Troy, MI 48084
630-699-7625
4
5
NewlyCertified
Certied Plant Supervisor
AFE congratulates Wilbur Garnett of NEW
Customer Service Companies, Inc., in Sterling,
VA, on becoming a Certified Plant Supervisor.
To be eligible for the program, you must have a
minimum of two years in plant/facility super-
visory capacity or a minimum of three years in
the field overall. Once you have submitted your
application and it is approved by AFE, you will
be notified and have one year to prepare for and
complete the certification examination.
FEJ
Association for Facilities Engineering (AFE) conducts the Certied Plant Maintenance Manager, Certied Plant Engineer and
Certied Plant Supervisor programs to promote world-class competence and to instill condence in organizations that their
employees are the premier professionals within the industry.
Thousands of these certied professionals are in workplaces throughout the world. To learn more, visit www.AFE.org and click
on Certication. Applications and other materials are there. Members of AFE are entitled to discounts on program fees and
materials. If you have questions, write to [email protected] or call Katrina McEwan at (571) 203-7236.
Certied Plant Maintenance Managers
Eligibility requirements for the Certied Plant Maintenance Manager course
are current employment as a maintenance professional and two years of ex-
perience. Course participants become procient in preventive maintenance,
predictive maintenance, work-ow planning and scheduling, computerized
maintenance, investment returns and Total Productive Management. Upon
successful completion of an exam, they will earn the designation of CPMM.
The following have successfully completed requirement for the
CPMM credential:
John Anderson, Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Canada
Jeffrey Jimenez, United States Navy, Santa Rita, CA
James Godshall, City of Sarasota, FL
Dmitriy Furman, Essroc, Louisville, KY
Scott McKinney, Nestle, Mooresboro, NC
Susan Long, Nestle, Gaffney, SC
Allen Marin, Nestle, Gaffney, SC
Gregory Dominick, Nestle, Gaffney, SC
Andrew Luna, ARAMARK, Houston, TX
Timothy Ramirez, ARAMARK, Houston, TX
Marc Roys, ARAMARK, Missouri City, TX
Dale Reiter, Alcoa Wheel and Transportation, Lebanon, VA
Scott Smith, Vesta Partners LLC, Hartland, WI
Certied Plant Engineers
AFE congratulates the following individuals for be-
coming Certied Plant Engineers: Rebecca Lamarre
of Process Results Inc., in Milan MI; and Kevin
OMaley of the City of Manchester, NH.
The 100-question Certified Plant Engineer
exam covers electrical engineering, mechanical
engineering, civil engineering, economics/man-
agement, environmental engineering, mainte-
nance, OSHA, energy, controls and instrumenta-
tion and HVAC.
To be eligible for the program, you must have
a minimum of four years in management in plant/
facility engineering or six years in the eld overall
with a four-year degree in engineering, architecture
or a related eld. If you do not have a degree you
must have a minimum of six years in management in
plant/facility engineering or eight years in the eld
overall. You also may be eligible for the CPE program
if you have a minimum of four years experience as a
registered professional engineer.
6
Perspectives
Here are five ways to ensure youre perceived
positively by the executive staff.
By Janet Coleman
I
f youre a senior level director or facility manager, you under-
stand that the executive staffs of our companies often view
our departments as a liability. Our departments dont generate
an income. In fact, our departments really only generate cost.
This often causes the executive staff to see the facilities depart-
ment as a burdensome drain on capital and operating funds,
which can then lead to the idea that the department needs to be
overseen by someone with a numbers background.
When finance or accounting staff are assigned to run a facility
department, well, they have no concept of the technical side.
And while those of us whove come through the ranks from
the technical side mechanics, electricians, and techs have
a better understanding of the workings of the plant, we often
either dont know enough about the financial aspects or need to
improve our effectiveness in presenting what we do know about
the financial aspect to executive staff.
So your executive staff might just decide someone with a
numbers background can best run the facilities department and
then hire or promote an accountant or finance type to straighten
out and oversee the department via the books. Suddenly, you have
someone with no technical background making decisions that can
actually end up being much more costly. This only worsens the
facility departments appearance as the never-ending black hole.
If this sounds like your company or something that could
potentially happen at your company, then its time to change your
executive staffs perception. Plus, if you want to stay competitive
in your trade, you need to learn and know both sides of this busi-
ness the technical and the financial.
Prove Your Worth
Lets say youre a technician who has worked your way up from
a first stage tech to the only one wholl come in to deal with an
emergency in the middle of the night. And you know just how
much to tweak the rubber band in order to keep any number of
units running, without generating a cost. Youve proven the value
of your knowledge, flexibility and work ethic.
Think of how to prove your value more by showing how you
help the department control costs. During an afterhours emer-
gency, do you know how to get by without calling in a contractor
wholl charge on a discretionary scale of how important the piece
of equipment is to the production line, and how important it is to
get it back up and running during those afterhours? In what other
ways do you contribute to cost control?
Work to Improve Your Departments Image
When I arrived at my current place of employment, the general
opinion of the facilities department was poor, and it took two
years to change that perception. The eStaff had been consistent-
ly misled and money had been going out in droves with no one
ensuring the work that had been paid for was even getting done.
I spent many hours at work fixing and repairing and overseeing
contractors, holding them to tasks.
At one point, we had just paid a $10,000 bill for some boiler re-
pairs and I had a state inspection coming up the following month.
When I saw the boiler, I called the contractor to see what he was
going to do to take care of the boiler and when he was planning
to do it. To my surprise, he said it had already been done.
Well, good thing I had photos with dates to document that the
opposite was indeed true. After hiring another contractor to do
the work and getting the boiler back up to inspection readiness,
we ended up recouping $12,000 in funds that had been paid
without the work being done. This is just one example that leaps
out of my memory but there are many more. For this reason,
document everything.
By getting back to the basics and getting into the trenches and
working hard, we were able to get the facilities department to a
Facility Managers: Outstanding, or Obsolete? Its Up to You!
Member
NEW
DEPARTMENT
7
place where it should be: A valued partner in the bottom line. If you
are not knowledgeable and passionate, you will not be credible.
It is up to us to change our executive staffs perceptions not
only of our departments but of us as facilities professionals. By
honing our expertise and promoting our contributions, we can
show that we are their partners in the quest for profits. If you
can show that you can effectively control and even lessen your
facilitys operating costs without sacrificing production sched-
ules and profits, you prove yourself invaluable.
Be Able to Present Your Case
With the skilled labor work force dwindling and cost savings
becoming the top goal at almost every company, more and more
executive staff feel compelled to move away from a smart,
preventative maintenance model, and move toward a minimal
maintenance model that saves money in the short term but
causes stress and worry that a catastrophic failure will send the
budget into the abyss.
As facility professionals, we know that parts availability can
turn equipment failure from hours into weeks. For reasons very
obvious to you and me, critical equipment like chillers, cooling
towers and the like should have the long lead items already sit-
ting on the shelf in the storage room. However, when you go to
your executive staff with requests for extra motors, breakers and
compressors to sit on the shelf, youve got to have the knowl-
edge and the conviction to explain why. If you are not knowl-
edgeable you will lose credibility.
Lets say that the lead time on a new motor for your chiller is
four weeks, and your chiller runs the chilled water loop for your
production floor. Your production floor is working one 8-hour shift
a day, billing at a rate of $60,000 an hour or $480,000 a day.
If you have a failed motor, and you cant get it for four
weeks, do the math. Youve lost six days a week for a month,
and that means the down time is going to cost your company
$11,520,000. Doesnt that make the cost of a $6,000 spare motor
seem like a drop in the bucket? Ask management to look at it as
an insurance policy.
We need to be well educated on both the technical and the nan-
cial sides and able to present the case for preventive maintenance
and preparedness. We need to be seen as a team player for the
success of the company and not a drain on the companys resources.
Another way to do this is to help executive staff look past the funds
needed to run PM schedules and see the cost savings as ROI.
When considering repairs/replacement or installation of large
equipment, ask these questions: Do we use a life-cycle-costing op-
tion for new equipment? Or do we get creative with all of the energy
savings money thats out there? The answer should be yes to both.
With a high emphasis on green and energy savings, many
states have energy money to assist you along your green path.
Use it along with lifecycle costing. If you do your homework
and can show executive staff that, in the long run, a significant
amount of dollars can be saved by spending X amount today,
you will soon have their attention. And over time you will gain
some well-deserved praise for being part of the overall success
of the company.
To be Your Best, Find What Motivates You
What makes you get up and go to work every day? Is it the tech-
nical side? Is it the ability to make your facility a better place
for your buildings staff to spend their day? What motivates you?
Find the aspects of your job you can be passionate about and
give everything youve got. Sitting back and waiting for it to hap-
pen for you is a waste of your time. Plus, if you dont show your
executive staff that youre the right person for the job, someone
else will, and you will be walking out the door.
There are many ways to prove your worth, but you have to
show that you have the companys best interest in everything
you do during the workday. Show that you are capable of taking
the facilities through the next 20 years and that you are the
best person for the job. If you continuously hone your technical
knowledge and find your passion for the profession, it will show.
And at the end of the day, you will know youve done a good job,
and so will everyone else.
Gauge Your Performance, Promote Yourself With AFE
With AFE, we have the tools and the support to raise the aware-
ness, understanding and appreciation of our profession! With all
of the training, webinars and professional certifications CPE,
CPMM and CPS why not be the best facilities professional you
can be?
Dont go to work and bury your head in the sand be a voice in
your company! Engage others; help raise the bar for our industry
and our profession. Assist the younger generation to look at our
profession as a possible career path. If you cant speak about it
with passion, you are in the wrong job.
How do you gauge your performance? How do you know when
your tasks are first rate? This is AFEs strength! Go to your local
chapter meetings. Participate and learn from your peers. Pick
each others brains. There will be more technical knowledge in
that room than in any place at your work location.
Were all in the same boat and deal with many of the same
issues. You cant expect to establish a true, first-rate facilities
department without continuing education or engaging with your
peers. Get involved with AFE and you will see positive results in
your career!
FEJ
Janet Coleman is senior manager, facilities
operations for North America for LTX-Credence.
She has come up through the ranks from ap-
prentice electrician, to journeyman electrician,
to project manager, to facilities manager, to her
current post. Colemans experience includes
handling facilities from a 16,000-sq.-ft, TV sta-
tion to a 23-acre, 900,000-sq.-ft. semiconductor
plant. She is currently the president of AFE
Columbia Chapter 123, Portland, OR. Coleman
lives on a horse ranch with her dog, Patriot, and
her beloved quarter horses, which she raises,
shows and breeds. She has two grown children
(daughter Jody and son Jesse) and one grand-
daughter (Sidney).
8
A
s the year draws to a close, we tend to reect back on the
12 months that have almost passed to evaluate how we did,
both personally and professionally.
At AFE, we, like so many other associations and busi-
nesses, had a tough year nancially. The recession caused companies
to drastically reduce the dollars available for advertising and sponsor-
ship, while membership renewals slowed signicantly as businesses
and individuals alike found themselves facing
increasing budgetary constraints.
This happened across industry lines, and
the facilities industry was no exception. AFEs
overall income situation for 2009 was a little
low. To this, add the challenge of the move we
were forced to make in March after terminat-
ing our contract with a management company
that wasnt meeting ex-
pectations. Getting out
and back under our own management meant
having to absorb expenditures that were not
originally budgeted, however necessary.
Will AFE be around for much longer? YES! That is the good news.
Membership is still hot, and chapter activities are hopping. Despite the
economic climate, we grew in the number of active chapters in 2009.
So, how are we doing and how do we measure it? As you can
imagine, like you, I too am a member of a professional association.
Mine is the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). I use
the resources I get from ASAE to help me manage AFE. I have all sorts
of matrices and best practices that help me evaluate where were
sitting in comparison to bigger associations, smaller associations and
like-minded associations.
What Ive learned is that associations lag in the economic cycle,
and thats why it is only just now that were feeling the worst of the
economic pinch, whereas the private sector businesses large and
small have been feeling it for well over a year.
One thing thats become clear is that, in tough times, mem-
bers look to their colleagues and their associations for guidance
and support. AFE has seen this particularly in our Career Center.
Resum and job posting and searching on our website has seen
massive growth this year. Also, while companies cut back their
training dollars, attendance at AFE Webinars doubled, tripled and
even quadrupled as members looked to convenient, affordable
ways to keep on top of their technical knowledge. And we are
pleased to have been able to help so many people through these
tough economic times.
Another way we gauge how were doing at AFE is, like many of
you, we use benchmarking standards. This helps us measure our
performance against other associations of our size. Weve found
that were tracking at about right. The entire year of 2009 was down
in most cases for income, and we fall inside the normal range for
this season.
It is important to make sure you measure against yourself, against
last year, against a variety of data which is why in 2010 AFE will be
concentrating on measurement for member services.
We are researching a benchmarking tool for facilities that we hope
to be able to offer by early 2010 if not sooner. We are also working
with Fluor and other member companies on the best practices AFE
members can use. And we have been in discussions with IFMA about
some exciting tools that the AFE foundation has already committed to
becoming involved with.
All in all, 2010 is looking better than the previous years, and we will
be helping you in every way we can to measure and support both our
success and yours.
FEJ
Laurence Gration, CAE
Chief Executive Officer
FromTheCEO
Looking Both Ways
By Laurence Gration, CAE
9
David Benner is Regional Vice President for AFEs Southeast
region. Benner is owner of Mainstay Industrial, LLC, a wholesale
distributor for industrial valves, fittings, pumps, mixers and simi-
lar products; and Mainstay Alternative, LLC, which markets al-
ternative fuels for transportation and energy. The customers his
companies serve are the same facilities managers and operators
who benefit from being part of AFE. In addition to his service
to AFE, Benner is a member of the Council of Advisors to North
Greenville University and is Board Chair for the Upstate Chris-
tians Singles Organization. He received an associates degree in
civil engineering in 1983. He and his wife Allison, a masters de-
gree teacher, and their three girls Kirby (14), Judy (5) and Lucy (3
months) live in upstate South Carolina, where they are involved
in several endeavors to benefit their local community.
What year did you join AFE,
and what were your reasons for
first joining?
I joined in 2004 to take advantage of
AFEs educational offerings and to
become part of a professional network
in the facilities industry. In the years
since, Ive become involved in helping
AFE grow its membership, as well as
promoting awareness of its profes-
sional certification program.
What do you see as the greatest
benefit of membership in AFE?
I have to list two. One is certification
and the other is up-to-the minute technical training in facility
management.
How have you seen the Association change
over the years?
AFE has become a much leaner organization over the last de-
cade, with a focus on providing the services most valued by the
membership in the most efficient way. The webinars are a great
example. We can get the latest training and information in the ar-
eas we most need while sitting right at our desks. There has also
been a marked increase in communication and support between
AFE National Headquarters and the Chapters. I see this continuing
to grow and improve to greatly benefit the entire organization.
What effects has your involvement in AFE
had on your career?
Being able to network with AFE members has helped me build
the customer base for Mainstays products and services while
using feedback to make improvements. Also, in my leadership
role at AFE, Ive been able to be closely involved in shaping the
direction and focus of the key issues facing facility management.
What led you to become a Regional Vice President?
The main reason for my being involved in AFE is to help raise
better awareness of the profession of facilities management and
operations, to help increase the education of the same group
and to help the effort to keep jobs here in the USA, primarily in
the Southeast area. It is a very rewarding experience to rep-
resent AFE on the regional level. I am able to help many of my
fellow members, and with a wider reach (than just the Chapter
level) get others involved in AFE and facilities engineering.
What do you think is special about your
region of AFE?
The Southeast Region has a large number of manufacturers that
represent a wide variety of industries. As a result, there are a
large number of facilities engineers, as well as a lot of oppor-
tunity for workers in this region to transition into the facilities
profession.
Where do you think AFE will be in 15 years?
Where do you see the Association going?
I see AFE continuing to grow its certification program and build-
ing relationships with other organizations that serve similar
industries to promote professional certification across industry
lines. I believe AFE will continue to increase and improve its
presence on the web and its use of technology.
What advice would you give to a young
professional just coming into the industry?
First, take advantage of AFEs Young Professional membership,
which is tailored specifically to their needs, and earn one of
AFEs Professional certifications. Also, learn a specific trade you
can use to market yourself in the facilities environment, such as
welding, pipe fitting, etc., and get as much technical knowledge
as you can. Also learn the management side of facilities opera-
tions when the opportunity becomes available.
FEJ
AFESpotlight
An Interview with David Benner
FIRST, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AFES YOUNG
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP, WHICH IS TAILORED
SPECIFICALLY TO THEIR NEEDS, AND EARN ONE
OF AFES PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS. ALSO,
LEARN A SPECIFIC TRADE YOU CAN USE TO MARKET
YOURSELF IN THE FACILITIES ENVIRONMENT, SUCH
AS WELDING, PIPE FITTING, ETC., AND GET AS MUCH
TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE AS YOU CAN. ALSO LEARN THE
MANAGEMENT SIDE OF FACILITIES OPERATIONS WHEN
THE OPPORTUNITY BECOMES AVAILABLE.
10
CALIFORNIA
Chapter 17: Paul Laredo, Monterey Park; Anthony
Campbell, Murrieta; Salim Elachkar, Diamond Bar
Chapter 39: Leslie Joslin, San Jose
Chapter 118: Renee Robertson, Newbury Park
Chapter 151: Miles Morris II, Sacramento
Chapter 205: Nilesh Lal, Hayward; Noel Tejano, El
Sobrante; Jian Li and David Chang-Zheng (both of
San Francisco); Leslie Joslin, Daniel Than, Alexan-
der Hashimoto, Eden Specht, and Brijesh Darji (all
of San Jose)
CONNECTICUT
Chapter 199: Patrick Cruess, Cheshire
FLORIDA
Chapter 81: Advait Mantri, Tampa
Chapter 170: Juan Lopez, Aventura
Chapter 202: Daniel Miranda, Orlando
ILLINOIS
Chapter 1: Florin Macarie, Momence
IOWA
Chapter 108: William Miller, Dubuque
Chapter 172: Bakir Wali, Gary Johnson, Timothy Lunn,
Jim Billings, and Sue Heston (all of Mason City)
MARYLAND
Chapter 3: Russell Margulis and Charles Murry (both
of Baltimore); Mark Tomassoni, Laurel
Chapter 165: Dustin Cohick, Clear Spring
MASSACHUSETTS
Chapter 33: Gerald Nadeau, Cambridge; John Cum-
mings, Plymton; Joseph Rooney, Boston
Chapter 74: Ed Hashey, Oxford; Marc Colcombe,
Palmer; Glenn Mardirosian, Oakham; Mark
Collette, Hopkinton; Brian Kowalski, Middleborough
Chapter 79: Harry Poirier, Spencer
Chapter 85: Carl Lockhart, Longmeadow
Chapter 88: Jonathan Nelson, Buzzards Bay
Chapter 199: Michael Marshalka, Marsheld; Jame-
son Buckley, Middleborough; Joshua Buckman, At-
tleboro; Michael DeCandia, Saugus; John Donaghey,
Somerset; Jason Elz, Bellingham; Colleen Fissette,
Dracut; Jacob Grundy, Berkley; Ryan Martinho, East
Falmouth; John Meagher, Worcester; Andrew Pace,
Cambridge; Jonathan Poyau, Brockton; Grant Rose,
North Attleboro; Devin Tetzlaff, Forestdale
MINNESOTA
Chapter 13: Julie Muscha, Minneapolis
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Chapter 33: Jeff Barkhouse, Manchester
Chapter 37: Dean Winkelmann, Hudson
Chapter 122: Robert Maglio, Merrimack
Chapter 140: Paul Boucher, Manchester; Glen Huntley,
Hooksett; Steven Bellemore, Nashua; Michael
Tousignant, Auburn; Carl Creighton and Steven
Warren (both of Nashua); Jake Goodyear, Jaffrey
NEW JERSEY
Chapter 19: Stephen Smedley, Warren
Chapter 199: Thomas Brow, Brick
Chapter 204: John McDufe, Metuchen
NEW YORK
Chapter 4: David Covell, Melville
Chapter 21: Michael Rumrill, Pittsford; Dennis Roote,
Rochester
NORTH CAROLINA
Chapter 62: Scott McKinney, Mooresboro
TEXAS
Chapter 22: Mona Carpenter, Carrollton
Chapter 25: Dossey Lisle, Houston; Dwayne Perry, Hawk-
ins; Fred Blanton, Humble; David Konvicka, Pearland
VIRGINIA
Chapter 96: Royal Carson, Elliston
WISCONISIN
Chapter 12: Lori Bedard, Greendale
Chapter 13: Albert Blaha, Eau Claire
Chapter 66: John Minnick, Chippewa Falls
Chapter 123: Kyle Holloway, Greendale
INTERNATIONAL
Chapter 21: Rashed AlMehthel, Riyadh
Chapter 31: Mohamed Aassal, Ontario, Canada
Chapter 46: Kehind Odusami, Ikeja,Lagos (Nigeria)
Chapter 166: Ledy Febriana, Kutai Kertanegara
Chapter 185: Ho Quang, HoChiMinh
MEMBERS AT LARGE
Chapter 207: John Anderson, Pitt Meadows, British
Columbia, Canada; Kenneth McNeal, Naples, FL
Chapter 215: Holly Perryman, Arcata, CA
FEJ
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AFE12094BLUE.indd 1 9/30/09 3:15:01 PM
12
C
O
V
E
R

S
T
O
R
Y
T
oday, it is not uncommon for
Facility Management (FM) and
Owner Organizations (herein-
after referred to as organiza-
tions) to have an incomplete
concept of equipment invento-
ries: their importance, use and
how to maintain them. Even
among the best, facility managers often differ
about what comprises an equipment inventory
and how to create, develop, establish and
maintain one.
This article series focuses on the following:
Advantages and savings of both compo-
nent-level and complete inventories versus
preventive maintenance (PM) inventories.
The benets of using industry standards
rather than a self-generated system.
Analysis of system-based versus object-
based equipment identication.
How to maintain an inventory.
Why are equipment inventories critical?
The bottom line: They are the basic require-
ment for every aspect of facility management.
Equipment inventories affect facility safety, as
well as how the facility is operated, main-
tained and forecasted. They also have a direct
By Robert A. Keady Jr. CEM, CSDM, FMP
You cannot manage what you do not know is an old adage. If the
equipment inventory is not accurate, it is costing the organization
time, manpower and money.
Y t h t d t k i ld d If th
Financial Impact
and Analysis
of Equipment
Inventories [Part 1]
13
impact on facility costs. If the equipment
inventory is not accurate, the facility and the
organization will not be as effective.
Figure 1 (page 12) illustrates the complex
relationship between equipment inventories
and nances, and how nances are directly
or indirectly affected.
Instead of fixing a common problem in
the industry of incomplete, inaccurate and
self-generated equipment inventories,
organizations will compensate by spending
millions of dollars and thousands of man-
hours. With increased global competition
where the focus is on waste reduction and
increased spending oversight, organizations
can no longer afford to consistently waste
time, manpower, and funds.
Inventory Types and Management
Before continuing on, it is important to dene
some terms and concepts related to equip-
ment inventories. When analyzing equipment
inventories, it is important to understand the
differences between the types of inventories
and how they are identied and maintained.
The four main types of inventories are as
follows:
Partial Inventory a facility equipment
list that is not tied directly to any specic
standard, maintenance schedule or controlled
process. Partial inventories can be similar
to paper or digital equipment lists given to
a facility after construction. Some common
problems related to partial inventories are;
the equipment listed may not be the equip-
ment actually installed, the equipment counts
may be inaccurate, and it may omit important
pieces of information, such as equipment
attributes or physical locations.
Preventive Maintenance (PM) Invento-
ry an inventory of all the equipment within a
facility that requires preventive maintenance.
Non-preventive maintenance equipment is not
included in this inventory.
Component-Level Inventory an
inventory that includes PM and Non-PM
equipment down to the component, or
product, level. A component-level inventory
normally consists of equipment that conveys
with the facility during transfer of owner-
ship or is tracked, serviced, repaired or
maintained by the organization. Component-
level inventories are as in-depth as possible
for an existing building without actually
performing destructive testing to determine
what is behind the walls or underground.
This type of inventory does not normally
include disposable inventories such as
supplies. For example: A component-level
inventory would contain lighting xtures but
not contain light bulbs, electrical outlets, or
mounting hardware.
Complete (Master) Inventory an
inventory that includes all equipment within
the building envelope and site boundaries.
Complete inventories capture the equipment
that a component-level inventory is not
able to capture. Complete inventories are
normally obtainable only after new construc-
tion. They are found in organizations like
nuclear power plants, oil rigs, manufactur-
ing companies, and ships, and reect the
understanding within these organizations
that equipment inventories are important to
the success of overall operations.
Equipment can be identied in various ways
within an inventory. The various equipment
identications can be broken down to the way
the identication system itself was developed
and the method in which the equipment is
then identied within that system. Identica-
tion systems are developed as follows:
Self-generated identication systems
are self-made proprietary systems developed
specically for an organization(s).
Industry-standards-based identication
systems use universal industry standards and
codes as the identication system.
The methods in which equipment is identi-
ed within a system are as follows:
System-based design is when the equip-
ment within the identication system is identi-
ed based on the relationship it has with the
building element or component system it is
associated with. For example, a system-based
approach would include both a Condensate
Return System Pump and a Condensate Sup-
ply System Pump.
Object-based design is when the equip-
ment is identied based on its design or func-
tion. An object-based approach to classifying
the above system would instead be based off
the different designs of pumps (centrifugal or
positive reciprocating) and not the systems
they are used in. The object pump would
then be linked to a system object such as the
Condensate Return or Condensate Supply
within the database. This design uses the
combination of objects to identify the relation-
ship between components and systems.
Inventories are maintained in different for-
mats and through many different processes.
Inventories are either maintained in a paper or
digital format that may or may not be updated.
The key difference is whether or not an
organization has a formal process to maintain
inventories and if they actively support and
use that process.
The following sections will provide an
analysis into the different types of inventories,
systems versus object-based design and the
proper methods to maintain an inventory.
Comparison of Inventory Types
While it would seem obvious that a complete
inventory would be the most benecial to an
organization, the reality is that most organiza-
tions do not understand the impact equipment
inventories have on their business. This is not
an uncommon reality in an environment where
most facility managers are under the impres-
sion that a preventive maintenance inventory is
14
more than sufcient to properly budget, operate
and maintain a facility.
The idea that inventory is a maintenance
function fosters this false impression. Because
of these impressions, the majority of Chief
Financial Ofcers (CFO) and Chief Executive
Ofcers (CEO) are not provided the proper infor-
mation to develop accurate budgets and make
critical decisions related to their facilities.
It is important to understand that accurate
equipment inventories affect many different
aspects of building management, including
management of energy, projects, operations,
maintenance, and customer service, and,
therefore, they affect the overall nances of
an organization. For example, if an inventory
is not accurate, an organization does not have
the ability to reduce peak load during curtail-
ment periods (Figure1), which increases the
utility bill and, therefore, increases costs.
Another example: If an accurate equipment
inventory is not maintained, the number of
man-hours needed to maintain and operate the
facility cannot be easily calculated. Therefore,
personnel must be sent to the facility every
time a project, contract, audit, or assessment of
the facility is performed to capture the equip-
ment inventory in order to accurately calculate
man-hours. This method can easily create inac-
curate costs in contracts, audits and projects,
which, in turn, create contract modications
that increase the waste of manpower and
stafng, and negatively impact the budget. This
simple example of wasted manpower shows
that accurate equipment inventories are impor-
tant to all property management elds such as
the contract ofcer, portfolio manager, human
resource manager, and nancial manager, not
just the FM.
A preventive maintenance inventory is
important for identifying equipment that
requires maintenance to ensure it is operating
properly and efciently in order to prolong its
life. Preventive maintenance inventories are
important to properly schedule and dene
labor resources, but for a more accurate
measure of cost and resources needed for the
operation of a facility, it is crucial to know
the average costs of repairs, service calls and
resources for emergency planning, regulation
compliance, energy management, renovations,
projects, and safety compliance.
The following examples will explore the
limitations of preventive maintenance invento-
ries [Refer to Appendix 1, Equipment Inventory
Summary of Cost Benets on www.AFE.org]:
Repair/Service Call Data With only a
preventive maintenance inventory, the organi-
zation can capture repair and service calls, but
they are unable to tie those costs to non-pre-
ventive maintenance equipment. For a medium
or large organization to budget for these
costs, develop business decisions, identify
overpayments, or troubleshoot their facility,
it would have to manually sort any available
existing data. This task is manpower-intensive
and an expensive cost that could be avoided.
For example, imagine a scenario in which an
8-inch isolation valve on a chiller does not
require regular maintenance and, therefore,
is not in the inventory. Its operation would be
veried when the maintenance on the chiller
is performed. The valve is repaired or replaced
three times within a two-year period.
Because the valve is not in inventory, a
repair or service call cannot be written on
the component and tracked and, therefore,
valuable data is lost. Moreover, the services
cannot be referred to in the future and no one
can answer the following questions: Was the
organization charged multiple times for a repair
not performed? Is there a problem with the type
or placement of the valve causing its failure?
Were the subsequent repairs under warranty?
Emergency Response An inventory
that does not include the component-level
equipment, as in a preventive maintenance
inventory, reduces the readiness of an
organization to respond to emergencies.
For example, a facility experiences a chilled
water line break on the 4th oor. The length
of time it takes to nd the isolation valve
for the leak increases signicantly since the
information is not readily available.
The 1-inch isolation ball valve, which
had no required maintenance, was actually
located within an adjacent room. The main
valve to the facility had to be closed, causing
the entire facility to be shut down. All four
15
oors under the break had to be renovated.
The ability and speed of recovering from
this event a fire, an explosion, or some
other emergency depends upon the
capability of determining all systems and
components affected by the event. Once
the affected components are determined,
their impact on the operations of the
facility and the speed at which the FM can
bypass or isolate those affected systems
to permit continued operations is critical to
event mitigation.
The emergency response includes the
ability to identify replacement components,
the ability to accurately scope the work to
repair teams or contractors, and the ability
to accurately estimate the project costs for
management. A facility with only a preven-
tive maintenance inventory cannot respond
as fast or as effectively.
Regulatory Compliance The organiza-
tion increases its exposure to violating regula-
tions that would be otherwise captured with a
component-level inventory. The Environmental
Protection Agency requires the continued
monitoring of all underground storage tanks.
Facilities that no longer use their tanks, and
have not for some years, might not properly
keep the component in their preventative
maintenance inventory. This action could lead
to nes and oversight by outside regulators.
Organizations have released large amounts of
oil into the environment simply due to equip-
ment not being maintained.
The equipment was not in the inventory
and on the preventive maintenance schedule
as it should have been. The clean up and
resultant nes alone would pay for an ac-
curate and quality component-level inventory.
Preventive maintenance inventories, because
they focus just on equipment that has to be
maintained, can easily miss the inventory of
critical equipment.
Component-level and complete inventories
identify all of the equipment within a facility
and there is no decision of whether or not
equipment is maintained or belongs in the
inventory. Facility managers are responsible
for ensuring the organization complies with
numerous federal, state, and local codes and
regulations. A component-level or complete
inventory assists the facility manager in en-
suring that all equipment is properly identied
for regulatory compliance.
Energy Management Managers
ability to predict, reduce, and plan the energy
usage for a facility are based upon equipment
inventories. For example, a large organization
decides that it does not perform maintenance
on motors under one horsepower or electric
duct heaters. That is because these pieces of
equipment are run-to-failure and have no actual
maintenance, as the cost for maintenance
would be more than the cost of replacement.
Because of this decision, the equipment is not
captured in the curtailment plan and the facility
staff is limited in its ability to reduce peak
load during high demand periods, increasing
electrical costs. A component-level or complete
inventory would have captured all of the
equipment within the facility, allowing proper
operational planning. The ability of the facility
to reduce peak usage, plan energy conserva-
tion methods, and predict future energy usage
is directly impacted by the type of inventory,
which, in turn, affects the nancial costs to an
organization.
Manpower The exclusion of components
from an inventory negatively affects any
manpower resource that requires an accurate
accounting of those assets. The lack of a com-
plete, or component-level, inventory, impacts
an organizations ability to successfully perform
essential tasks in an efcient manner (i.e.,
capture equipment information for building-
life-cycle costs, energy or maintenance audits,
projects, renovations, chargebacks, contracts).
These tasks then become repetitive capital
expenditures that could be avoided with a
component-level or complete inventory.
Safety When repairs are performed on
the ballast of a 277-volt uorescent light
xture, the maintenance repairer is usually
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required to turn off the power at the breaker for the ballast. There are
normally two things that occur: two personnel ip breakers [one at
the ballast and one at the breaker panel(s)] cycle the breakers until
they nd the correct source of power; or one person replaces the bal-
last live without turning off the power.
Flipping breakers for all of the repairs over the course of a year is
a signicant outlay of manpower. The industry probably spends hun-
dreds of thousands of man-hours just ipping breakers. The second
action of working the component live exposes the organization to le-
gal, safety, and regulatory ramications. A component-level inventory
that captures the electrical distribution system of a facility to include
breakers could dramatically mitigate, if not eliminate, these costs.
The Department of Energys Federal Energy Management Program
writes in Operations & Maintenance, Energy Efciency and Renewable
Energy that:
Effective O&M (Operations and Maintenance) is one of the most
cost-effective methods for ensuring reliability, safety, and energy ef-
ciency. Inadequate maintenance of energy-using systems is a major
cause of energy waste in both the Federal government and the private
sector. Energy losses from steam, water and air leaks, un-insulated
lines, maladjusted or inoperable controls, and other losses from poor
maintenance are often considerable. Good maintenance practices
can generate substantial energy savings and should be considered a
resource. Moreover, improvements to facility maintenance programs
can often be accomplished immediately and at a relatively low cost.
It has been estimated that O&M programs targeting energy efciency
can save 5% to 20% on energy bills without a signicant capital invest-
ment. From small to large sites, these savings can represent thousands
to hundreds-of-thousands of dollars each year, and many can be achieved
with minimal cash outlays. (View it online at www1.eere.energy.gov/
femp/operations_maintenance/.)
The foundation to an effective O&M strategy is a component-level
inventory. Because of the amount of equipment captured, the facility
management team is capable of identifying all components that affect
energy usage, require maintenance, and assist in safe operations.
Figure 2 (page 13) provides an estimated simple payback cost for a
contractor to capture a component-level inventory.
A component-level inventory has a positive payback to a corpora-
tion, organization, or facility. The above examples and analysis should
demonstrate that a component-level or complete inventory is critical to
the efcient operation of a facility and a signicant improvement over
that of a preventive maintenance inventory.
The choice then is whether to capture a component-level or a
complete inventory. This decision can easily be made based on whether
the building is a new facility under construction or an existing facility.
Once a building falls into an existing building status, it becomes cost
prohibitive to open up the walls or dig up the landscape to do the work
necessary to perform a complete inventory. In contrast, a component-
level inventory can and should be performed on existing facilities and
can be updated as renovations or projects are performed.
Now that the type of inventory is decided upon, the way and manner
in which the equipment is identied within the organizations inventory
system becomes very important.
Component Identication Systems
When the decision is made to capture a component-level or complete
inventory, the organization must decide how to identify the components
in a manner that is consistent and relevant. The two basic ways an
equipment identication system is developed for an organization are
self-generated based identication systems or industry-standards-
based identication systems.
Self-generated identication systems are usually proprietary
systems developed specically for an organization. As a result, such a
system is normally inconsistent with any other organizational system
in use in the industry. The system may not even be consistent with
other systems in use within the same organization. This type of system
requires frequent updates when new components come on the market
or changes are made to the identication system. For example, the
changes made to the system when one branch or region of the organi-
zation combines its identication system with another branch or region
of the organization.
Self-generated systems require capital resources, including person-
nel, to keep the system up to date and properly implemented. Preven-
tive maintenance documents are a common source used in the develop-
ment of a self-generated inventory identication system. For example,
a motor has preventive maintenance performed upon it as described in
maintenance card MTR-01. The motor is therefore identied within the
inventory system as MTR01-Sequential Number (001 for this example =
MTR01-001). Now if the organization changes the maintenance card to
a different nomenclature, all of the affected components within the or-
ganization have to be re-identied. If a second maintenance card exists
due to different maintenance required for the same motor, for example
MTR-02, the possibility of having both MTR01-001 and MTR02-001
within a database exists, even though it is only one piece of equipment.
Self-generated systems are not consistent or compliant with stan-
dards or systems used by other industries or organizations. Because
self-generated systems are not based on industry standards, it often
creates a communication gap between the construction and the opera-
tions of facilities. Organizations that build, own, and operate facilities
are consistently compensating for this gap in communications. When
a new facility is brought online, the facility has to convert the industry
standards used to organize the construction information to those used
by the FM or owner.
The cost of the conversion is a reoccurring nonrefundable one. A
million-square-foot facility, at a cost of $0.10/gross square foot [Figure
2, note (1)], equates to a $100,000 cost related to using a self-generat-
ed system. This is capital that could be used to improve the buildings
performance. Self-generated systems also introduce training and
human error costs to the organization. An illustration of the communi-
cation gap between construction and operations of facilities is provided
in Figure 3 (page 14).
Industry-standards-based identication systems use industry
standards and codes to implement a universal identication system
for components to be inventoried. The use of industry standards
to identify components helps to reduce or bridge the gap between
construction, facility management, and owners. When a new facility
is brought online, the component-level or complete data can be
transferred directly into an organizations database and is useable
immediately at little or no cost.
This would be the same cost savings realized during renovations or
projects requiring use of the standards. The use of industry standards
also ensures that various departments and branches within the
organization are using the same language. All data and metrics are
consistent. The use of industry standards facilitates communication
17
internally and with external corporations,
organizations and facilities. State and federal
agencies using the same industry standard
would effectively reduce their communication
gap, especially in emergency situations.
As discussed above, using self-generated
based identication systems is not efcient or
effective for any organization. The best option
is to use an object-based universally accepted
industry standard. In order to properly evaluate
which standards to use, it is important to
understand the difference between a system
and object-based design to identify the actual
equipment within an identication system.
System-based design is when the com-
ponents within the identication system are
identied based on the relationships they have
with the building or component systems they
are associated with. This type of approach to
identify components is expensive and compli-
cated to maintain. A centrifugal pump common
to a lot of systems would have to be replicated
in all of the different system categories.
When technology develops a new type
of pump, that pump has to be populated in
all of the relevant systems. System-based
component identication systems are normally
very large and, therefore, costly to maintain
in manpower and computing data space. This
approach is less exible than an object-based
approach. An organization does not go to a
manufacturer to buy a Condensate Return
Pump; rather, they buy a centrifugal pump and
place it into the Condensate Return System.
To be able to parse data and nd all of the
pumps within a facility or organization (Table
1, page 16), the query would have to include
all of the different system identications in the
database, or the organization would have to
perform text searches of the database.
An object-based approach is simpler and
more exible in its use, and, therefore, more
cost effective and efcient. Object-based de-
sign is when the equipment is identied based
on its design or function. The object Pump
would then be linked to a system object such as
the Condensate Return or Condensate Sup-
ply within the database. This design uses the
combination of objects to identify the relation-
ship between component and systems. This
allows the organization to parse the database
by objects or combinations of objects based on
the data needed (Table 2, page 16). Hence, they
are able to quickly nd all centrifugal pumps, all
pumps, or all of the components related to the
whole Condensate Return System.
A manager would have the capability of
tabulating all of the voltages, amps, horse-
power, efciencies, etc., of all of the pumps
within a facility or system. The data could
be quickly parsed by system or product level.
All of the components energy usage within
a system could be accurately determined for
chargeback or the development of a curtail-
ment plan.
FEJ

Part 2 of this series will appear next issue
and cover relevant standards and inventory
maintenance.
Additional Resources
Construction Specications Institute
National Institute of Building Sciences
TM
buildingSMARTalliance
TM

CIFE VDC Use in 2007
Robert A. Keady Jr. CEM, CSDM, FMP, is energy
manager and building management specialist for
the U.S. General Services Administration. Keady
also is Chairman of OmniClass Table 23, and
developer and project manager of the IFACT [Inter-
Agency Federal Asset Classification Team] project.
He has more than 20 years experience in opera-
tions, maintenance, facilities management, energy
management, training, emergency planning, and
electronics in both the private and public sectors.
Keadys experience ranges from the United States
Navy and commercial nuclear power utilities, to the
commercial retail industry and Federal Government.
He graduated summa cum laude from Barry Uni-
versity with a bachelors of science in Management
Information Systems Network Engineering.
RETHINK YOUR PLACE IN THE WORLD.
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E P U L RI BUS U N U M
18
F
E
A
T
U
R
E
I
magine the situation. You are standing in the power
tools section of your local hardware store gazing
longingly at the dazzling array of equipment with
which you could transform your home into something
worthy of a Bob Vila masterpiece. Your attention is
caught by a particularly attractive offer: a 12-inch
Dual-Bevel Compound Miter Saw (with laser track-
ing) for $449. It seems like a really good deal!
A little devil on one shoulder says Go on. No more messy
edges. Wouldnt that be great! But the angel on the other
shoulder says Hang on, havent you heard of the credit
crunch? How often are you actually going to use that saw?
Can you really afford to spend the cash? And where will you
keep it? If you really need a miter saw, why dont you just
rent one?
Luckily, your partner arrives and you dont have to make a
decision but the dilemma that you faced is one that many
of us have to deal with in our everyday working lives. In
place of the miter saw, see a thermal imager or a borescope.
In place of the angel, see your boss. In place of the devil, see
yourself. And in place of your partner, see the CFO!
Many Factors to Consider
As a business, Ashtead Technology (my employer) has
achieved considerable success, not least because it has
often viewed renting as a better alternative to buying. Most
of us buy equipment when we need it. However, how many
of us stop to consider the renting alternative and its many
advantages (see below)?
By Andy Holroyd
How to resolve that internal (and ongoing) conict between having
immediate access to something but spending heavily for that
which you rarely use.
How to resolve that internal (and ongoing) conict between having
The Devil Made
Me Buy it:
Entry level thermal imagers are ideal for simple applications such as identifying hot or cold spots in
equipment. All photos courtesy of Ashtead Technology.
19
Infrequent Use
Let us suppose that you want to carry out an intensive maintenance
check on key machinery using thermography. A thermal imager (see
photo on page 18) can be used within industry to inspect, maintain and
optimise inspections by scanning and visualizing the temperature dis-
tribution of machinery and electrical equipment quickly and accurately.
Because equipment usually gets hot before it fails, engineers are
easily able to locate problems or identify hotspots and avoid any costly
operational failures, downtime or health and safety hazards. So, you
decide that you need a thermal imager for predictive maintenance. But
since this is not a frequent occurrence, it seems logical to rent one.
However, if you and your colleagues can nd use for this equip-
ment every week, it might make more sense to buy the instrument.
So, this simple example demonstrates that the decision to rent is
often dictated by the frequency of intended use. However, there are a
number of other advantages to renting.
Fast Replacement
Suppose the thermal imager breaks down, you spend a couple of
hours trying to x it, give up and then try and convince the manu-
facturer that it should be replaced under warranty. Manufacturers
usually dont have 24-hour support lines; they are typically there 9-5
Monday through Friday. Rental companies, on the other hand, do have
on-call engineers and can assist in troubleshooting equipment at any
time or arrange for a replacement unit to be dispatched immediately.
If a rented instrument malfunctions, it is replaced quickly because
the rental company is anxious to make sure the instrument performs
to specication so that you might rent it again.
Clean and Good to Go
Thermal imagers are usually kept in pretty good condition. However,
if your instrument is a borescope and, for one reason or another,
you did not clean it adequately at the end of the last days work, you
might nd that time is wasted preparing the instrument for when you
next need it.
In comparison, rented equipment is always delivered clean,
checked and ready for use. So if you had rented a borescope, it would
have been delivered clean to the siteon the prescribed dayat the
right time.
Let us also suppose that a colleague in a different department
heard that you had your own equipment, and asked if he could borrow
it for use on a site in the next county. Will he look after it properly
and return it in its original condition? And will he return it when he
said he would?
Faster Access to the Latest Technology
The following year your colleague calls again and asks if you can
bring your thermal imager to an important site where they have a
specic maintenance issue. However, when you get there you dis-
cover that the job requires a thermal imager with a greater tempera-
ture range. So your colleague rents the latest thermal imager and
you are frustrated to discover that imager technology has moved on
since you made your purchase, and that the rented model is much
easier to use.
You would love to have the new model, but having purchased the
(now) older model, you are stuck with it, unless you can nd a way to
dispose of it. However, it did cost a large amount of money and might
be of use one day, so you keep it and lock it up in a storage area
(even though your company is still paying monthly depreciation on it).
In all of these scenarios, you would wish that you had rented
rather than purchased your thermal imager (or miter saw).
Choosing the Right Instrument
There are simple applications for which it is only necessary to
identify cold or hot spots, so an entry-level device is the most
cost-effective. However, professional thermographers require
Ashtead Technologys range of thermal imagers available for rent includes the Fluke Ti45.
20
greater detail, resolutions and features,
such as the ability to take visual images
and record audio notes with the same
instrument. Mid-level instruments are
therefore necessary.
At the top-end of the market, the most
advanced thermal cameras offer incredible
levels of resolution across a wide tempera-
ture range, which is important in applica-
tions such as research.
Each time you rent a thermal imager, or
any other piece of equipment, you have
the opportunity to choose the model that
suits your application. The next time you
need an imager, you would be able to rent
the latest, higher-quality model. Then at
the end of each renting period you simply
return the imager so you have no storage
or disposal problems.
Thermal imagers might be very different
from other instruments, but the same prin-
ciples apply. For example, within our fleet
of rental instruments there are many that
are employed for inspection and mainte-
nance. These include high-speed cameras,
borescopes, fiberscopes, pipe and cable
trackers, pipeline inspection crawlers and,
of course, thermal imagers.
Finances
The strongest case for renting is, of course,
the nancial one. Credit is in short sup-
ply, and pressure has mounted on capital
expenditure budgets, which has heightened
the need for rental equipment.
A further nancial reason for renting is
the cost of depreciation; equipment is often
written down over a three-year period (some-
times less), which can have a signicant
effect on the bottom line.
Calibration and Maintenance Skills
The case for renting technical instruments
is even stronger than it is for other equip-
ment because they often require external
calibration, or at the very least, skilful
maintenance with specialist equipment. It
makes sense for this work to be performed
by fully equipped and trained technicians,
and for this reason, the rental company
technicians have all been trained by instru-
ment manufacturers.
The expertise of the rental companys
engineers and sales representatives is also
vitally important in helping customers to
[1] select the right equipment and [2] use it
to its best effect. This type of help ensures
that once customers are comfortable with
the device, they are able to get accurate and
precise results.
Summary
The case for renting is stronger if the
equipment is expensive to buy or not des-
tined for frequent use. Renting also makes
sense for customers that need access to
the latest technology, or if they do not
wish to bear the cost and inconvenience
of storage.
Also, some equipment may require skilled
calibration and maintenance, coupled with
specialist training and the cost of this
(and all other nancial considerations re-
lated to using the piece of equipment) could
be preclusive.
So, the next time you nd yourself thinking
illogically at a hardware store or considering
purchasing a piece of equipment for use on
your job, remember to listen to the angel on
your shoulder!
FEJ

Andy Holroyd is senior vice president of Ashtead
Technologys North American operations, based in
Houston, TX. Ashtead Technology specialises in the
supply of rental equipment for offshore positioning
and surveying, remote visual inspection, non-destruc-
tive testing and environmental monitoring from its
ofces in the USA, Canada, the UK and Singapore.
For information on Ashtead Technology, visit www.
ashtead-technology.com.
Andy Holroyd is senior vice president of Ashtead Technologys North American operations.
21
F
E
A
T
U
R
E
By Darren Dembski and Sarah F. Escalante
F
E
A
T
U
R
E
Averting Common
Causes of Generator
Failure (Part 2)
Some more tips to improve your understanding,
and maintenance, of a standby power system.
The controller monitors all the engine and generator functions, such as the engine speed for hertz, oil pressure and water temperature.
Graphics courtesy of Peterson Power Systems.
22
L
ast issue, we began our
discussion of what is neces-
sary to ensure the reliability
of your companys standby
power system by address-
ing two key issues: The
importance of possessing a
comprehensive understanding
of the power equipment being utilized; and
the benets of an established baseline set of
values that can be referenced during routine
and ongoing maintenance.
We nished off Part 1 with a detailed look
at several common reasons for generator
start-failure. Reasons 1-3 we listed as battery
failure, low coolant level alarms/shutdown
and low coolant temp alarms. Reasons 4-10
are addressed below, followed by a closing
section on the power of sticking to a preven-
tive maintenance plan.
4. Leaks Oil, Fuel, or Coolant. Leaks
can be prevented by routine maintenance
planning. Most often oil leaks are not, in fact,
leaks, but the result of wet stacking (or en-
gine slobber). Wet stacking is the accumula-
tion of carbon particles, unburned fuel, lube
oil, condensed water and acids in the exhaust
system. It is caused by excessive no load
runtime or when the injection tips carbonize
and disrupt the fuel spray pattern.
Diesel engine generators are designed to
operate with a load, most effectively in the
70-80% range of rated output. When genera-
tors operate considerably below the rated
output level, the engine can start to over-fuel
or wet stack and damage the engine. Diesel
generators used for commercial purposes
undergo load applications that continuously
vary between efcient and low output condi-
tions. In these applications, the generator is
often paired with an automatic load bank,
which will place a false load on the generator
system. This keeps the engine properly loaded
and prevents a wet stack condition.
When a diesel engine wet stacks, the en-
gine will need to be cleaned up by loading the
unit for a few hours and burning off the excess
fuel. If a diesel engine generator steadily runs
loads considerably below the rated output
level, it will wet stack. For this reason, it is im-
portant that you are using a generator properly
sized and designed for your needs.
Another cause of oil leak complaints is
directly related to the crankcase breathers.
Most engine crankcase breathers vent directly
under the engine. The fumes that come out
of the breather contain an oil mist, which can
produce a puddle under the engine and coat
the generator and radiator with an oil lm that
collects dirt and debris. Re-circulating breath-
ers are available that can separate the oil and
return it to the engine; remaining fumes get
returned to the engine air intakes.
The most common coolant leak occurs in the
block heater hoses. Extreme temperatures on
the outlet make block heaters hard on their hos-
es. It is for this reason that rubber hoses should
never be used for block heaters; silicon hoses
are specically designed for use with block
heaters. Isolation ball valves should always be
installed for block heater hose connections.
Cooling system maintenance will help pre-
vent leaks. Replacement of hoses and coolant
every three years is recommended. Generators
using newer extended-life coolant should still
have hoses replaced and the additive package
upgraded every three years. Cooling system
anti-freeze protection and conditioner should
be maintained to the manufacturers specica-
tions. Radiator core damage is directly related
to the coolant that is in the system. Poorly
maintained coolant will cause liner pitting,
and eventually, severe engine damage.
Most fuel leak service calls are due to
overlling of the base tank. This is due to
either human error or a failure of a pump
system. Do not try to manipulate the fuel
system into doing something that it is not
designed to do. Remote tank pump systems
and emergency shut-off systems should be
checked periodically for proper functioning.
Flexible fuel lines should be checked regularly
for cracks and signs of aging.
5. Controls Not in Auto. Ninety-nine percent
of service calls received for generator controls
not in auto are the direct result of human error.
The obvious reason for not in auto is the main
control switch is left in the off/reset position.
This usually occurs after testing or servicing of
a generator. After any service is performed on a
unit, always double check the generator system
yourself. The technicians feelings will not be
hurt by checking his work.
The control switch may have several posi-
tions, as in Off/Reset and Cool Down,
which will cause the generator not to start in
the event of a power outage. These positions
should give an alarm. Not in auto is a ge-
neric term for the unit not being shut off and
may not actually be the main control switch.
Alarms not reset, breakers open, switch gear
not reset and emergency stop buttons acti-
vated are all examples of not in auto failures.
Several generators are set up to short trip
the main circuit breaker during an emergency
fault shutdown. When the generator shuts
itself down (for any reason), someone has to
physically reset the control panel to clear the
alarm. There may be several things to check
and reset after a fault shutdown. However,
this should only be done once the cause of the
alarm has been identied and corrected.
Ground fault sensors are required by
certain building codes or engineers during
construction and must be added onto a gen-
erator. These sensors look like light switches
that are turned off. Ground fault sensor shut-
downs can be difcult to spot; they are not
always tied to an audible or visual alarm. It is
important that you determine if your standby
generator is equipped with one of these
sensors and how to reset it. If the generator
uses remote switch gear, the switch gear will
normally have to be reset. It is important to
know your system and what it does during a
fault shutdown. Simulate a fault to see what
it takes to get it running again in the event of
an emergency.
6. Fuel Bled Back Into the Tank/Genera-
tor Will Not Start. This is a common problem
with newer generators that are not run on a
regular basis. Closer tolerances within the
fuel systems to meet todays emission require-
ments make fuel systems more susceptible to
air effecting start-up. This is not as common
with older generators. Older generators that
experience this problem may have a leak in a
line or check valves that are not properly hold-
ing the fuel in the engine.
Lighter low-sulfur fuel has a lower ash
temperature, which causes the block heater to
ash off some of the fuel within the injectors.
One small bubble of air within a unit injector
solenoid can cause an injector not to re at
start-up. If enough injectors do not re, the
engine will not start. This failure is 100%
preventable by periodically running the engine
during weekly inspections. The engine does
not need to be run until the coolant temp
comes to normal. All that is needed is enough
time to verify that the engine will start, the air
is cleared from the fuel system and the gen-
erator comes up to voltage and frequency. This
can be completed in less than ve minutes.
Any additional test running would simply burn
up fuel and air quality maintenance run time.
7. Engine Ran Out of Fuel. Mechanical
fuel level gauges may not always be accurate.
Unlike a vehicle that is moving and using a
higher percentage of its tanks capacity, a
generator tank has no movement, causing the
fuel to become stagnant. Mechanical gauges
may also stick in a position until vibrations
break them free.
Low level alarms must also be addressed,
as they provide the same failure alarm. Some
generators are equipped with Low Low Level
Shutdown or Critical Fuel Level Shutdown.
These shutdowns are there to prevent the
fuel system from drawing in air when running
out of fuel is imminent. Note: This shutdown
alarm was not very popular in the Y2K days. If
your generator was installed during this time,
EDITORS NOTE: This article is adapted from Darren Dembskis seminar, Top Ten Reasons Why Generators Dont Start (And What You Can Do About Them), presented
at the Northern California Facilities Solutions for Engineering Engineer Show on Sept. 21, 2006.
Knowledge is power. -Sir Francis Bacon
23
you may wish to retrot it, as it most likely
will not have this alarm.
Bleeding air out of a fuel tank can be an ex-
tremely difcult procedure. Running out of fuel
due to plugged fuel lters can be prevented
by maintaining the fuel tanks and periodically
checking them for water and contaminants.
Water or moisture in fuel can be damaging to
diesel engines because the water properties
create advanced ignition and accelerated
detonation. It is also important to build
relationships with fuel vendors that you can
trust and rely on to deliver clean fuel. If you
use fuel polishing as an alternative to clean-
ing your fuel, check with your vendor to see
if their fuel is affected by the chemicals. Fuel
polishing may not be able to remove water.
Fuel lter plugging should be expected
with the new ultra-low-sulfur fuel, which
has a very high detergent level and will
clean out your lines and whatever else it is
in contact with.
Engines equipped with electric shut-off so-
lenoids should always have a manual bypass.
There are several reasons to have shut-off
solenoids: Large, remote above-ground tanks
can gravity feed to the engine, over-pressuring
the seals in the pumps or injectors and caus-
ing the fuel to mix with the oil. Solenoids
should be on DC power, activated at the time
of initial crank signal and remain open until
after the engine makes a complete stop.
8. High Fuel Level Alarm. High fuel level
alarms are required by government regula-
tions to prevent the overlling of a fuel tank.
The alarm should activate when the fuel tank
reaches between 90%-95% capacity. This lets
the person fueling the tank know when they
should stop lling.
Automatic transfer switch (ATS) control panel inside the front door.
24
There is normally nothing wrong with the
generator when this alarm activates. On rare
occasions, the natural thermal expansion
of the fuel will cause the alarm to activate.
This will usually occur on an extremely hot
summer day. High fuel level alarms may or
may not clear themselves when the fuel
level drops below the set point. You may
have to manually reset the alarm when the
fuel level drops.
9. Breaker Trip Not Related to the
Generator. This service call will usually come
in as We are in a power outage, and the gen-
erator doesnt start. First, verify that nobody
has accidentally pushed a remote emergency
power-off switch.
If a breaker trips after the automatic trans-
fer switch (ATS), the generator will not start.
The status of the automatic transfer switch
should be checked during a power outage. The
ATS should have some kind of lights or display
showing the switch position and source avail-
ability. The correct position in which to check
a breaker is downstream from the transfer
switch. If a breaker is found to be tripped,
make sure you can determine the cause of the
trip prior to resetting.
Never try to manually operate an auto-
matic transfer switch if you do not know
how to do so properly. Severe bodily injury
or immediate death can occur. The trans-
fer switch is smarter than you may think
and has a specic reason for being in the
position that it is in: Attempting manual
operation may drag you into a live bus if it is
done incorrectly.
10. My Generator is Running! Your
company should have an active plan in place
when your facility moves to standby power. A
well-maintained emergency or standby power
system will operate completely on its own
without any user intervention. The system
needs to be able to do its job.
After a local power outage, many service
calls come in stating that utility power is
back on and the generator is still on. There
are a couple of reasons for this. One reason is
a delay timer in the automatic transfer switch
that will keep the generator online until the
automatic transfer switch sees a steady
supply of clean power coming from the utility
grid. This timer is usually set between 15 and
30 minutes. Any glitch in power within that
time will restart the timer.
Another reason the generator will stay
online is the In Phase Monitor. The auto-
matic transfer switch may be set to have
the phase angle of the generator match
the phase angle of the utility grid prior to
retransfer. If an In Phase Monitor is used,
never set the generator frequency to exactly
60.0 Hz. If the generator and the utility are
both at exactly the same frequency, the
generator may take an extremely long time
to match phases.
The Power of Sticking to a
Preventive Maintenance Plan
A standby power system requires routine
maintenance to guarantee power security.
Writes Tim Gorman, Your generator is your
only line of defense when [your facility] loses
power. A generator usually doesnt have a
backup. A lack of generator maintenance will
result in generator failure.
Efficient performance is dependent on
regularly scheduled maintenance. The
normal maintenance requirements for a
diesel generator are about the same as the
requirements for a diesel engine vehicle:
checking oil, oil filters, air filters and fuel
filters. Standby generator engines need an
oil change annually, or every 100 to 250
hours, depending on the environment in
which the unit will be located.
The oil filter should be changed every
time the oil is changed. Air filters need to
be changed in accordance with the environ-
ment; diesel generators need a lot of clean
air to operate properly and will suction-
collapse an air filter if it is allowed to get
too dirty. It is recommended that you check
the air filter every 100 hours and more
frequently in dustier environments. Fuel
filters should be changed every 200 to 250
hours depending on environment conditions
and how clean the fuel is.
Generators should be exercised monthly
at 30% of the nameplate rating or loaded to
the minimum engine exhaust temperature
recommended by the engine manufacturer
(Consulting-Specifying Engineer magazine,
May 2005). Automatic transfer switches can
be programmed to automatically start-up
and run the standby system at predeter-
mined times.
Your standby power system will be a
long-term investment if properly sized and
designed to handle your facility or applica-
tion load requirements. It is important to
remember that a generator is a mechanical
and electrical device that will require service
and parts to maintain proper functioning.
Understanding how your standby system
operates and dedicating time to mainte-
nance today will save your company the
stress and cost of power problems in the
future. When it comes to standby continuous
power, there are two essential inuences on
the reliability of your company to stay op-
erational: how well you know your particular
system and how well you stick to a scheduled
preventive maintenance plan.
FEJ

References
PRINT
Dembski, Darren. Top Ten Reasons Why Generators
Dont Start (And What You Can Do About Them), pre-
sented at the Northern California Facilities Solutions
for Engineering Engineer Show, September 21, 2006.
Johnstad, Kai and Matt LePard. Essential Standby
Generator System Requirements for Next Generation
Data Centers. White Paper #90, American Power
Conversion, 2005.
Lane, Keith. Power Quality and Generators Part
7: Commissioning, Training and Long-Term O&M
Programs. Seattle: Engineering, SASCO, 2005. (View it
online at www.csemag.com/article/CA602440.html).
Norman, Tim. Generator and Transfer Switch Main-
tenance. The University of Delaware: Applied Poultry
Engineering News, Vol.2 No. 2, April 2004.
ONLINE
www.batterystuff.com/tutorial_battery.html
www.ibsa.com/www/faqs/tech_talk/terms/s.htm
Darren Dembski is the product support sales repre-
sentative covering the Silicon Valley area for Peterson
Power Systems, the Northern California dealership
for Caterpillar power equipment. Before serving in
this position, Dembski worked for nine years as a
eld serviceman focusing primarily on generators. He
started his diesel engine career in over-the-road truck
engineering. Dembski has an A.S. degree in automo-
tive and diesel technology from the Universal Technical
Institute in Phoenix, AZ.
Sarah F. Escalante is the Power rental adminis-
trative assistant and staff writer for Peterson Power
Systems, focusing primarily on generators and busi-
ness contingency planning. She is also the co-author
of Contingency Planning for Disrupted Electric
Power: The Case for Partnering with a Strong Rental
Power Supplier. Previously, Escalante worked as an
editorial assistant at the academic journal Critical
Inquiry. She received an A.B. in philosophy from The
University of Chicago.
A diesel generator.
25
Sterling College to Build Green Dorms in 2010
W
hen Sterling College recently set out to design its
first new student residency in more than 40 years,
where did they start? In the classroom, of course,
with a special topics course entitled Green Dorms
(taught by Sterling faculty and a Stowe, VT, architectural planner)
and funded by a $65,000 grant.
That course ended this past May with the site work determined
and three design schemes created by three teams of students.
At rst there was a tendency to be so green as to make the
place unlivable, said Sterlings president Will Wootton. But over
time everyone learned to compromise that desire with a genuine
level of green practicality. The notion from the start was build small,
tight, and smart, and thats where the class got to in the end.
Now, with a recent Vermont state grant of $350,000 and
the remaining $55,000 Canaday Family Trust grant, in addi-
tion to other funds including some matching money from a
Department of Energy grant a Sterling community building
committee will begin working with the Cushman Design Group
of Stowe to complete detailed plans and begin construction in
March 2010.
The 100-student college is determined that their completed
residency will be environmentally on par with, but considerably
less expensive than, other recent green building efforts at New
England colleges and universities.
I dont doubt thats the way it will turn out, Wootton said.
For generations, Sterlings environmental standards have far
outpaced the norm. Per person, we use half the water than most
institutions use. We have no ice machine in the dining hall, no
soda machine, no deep-fat fryer. There hasnt been a food tray at
Sterling in 30 years. We grow and raise about 25% of our own
organic food.
Environmental consciousness is ingrained at the tiny college
in the center of Vermonts Northeast Kingdom, Wootton said. In
academics and in community, he said, Sterling puts the prac-
tice back into theory and practice. Thats why we started with a
class, and Ill bet somehow we end with one, too.
Nestled in the northern Green Mountains of Vermont, Sterling
College [www.sterlingcollege.edu] utilizes its setting as a natural
laboratory offering Bachelor of Arts Degrees in sustainable agri-
culture, conservation ecology, outdoor education and leadership,
and environmental self-designed programs.
Sterlings focus on experiential education the philoso-
phy of educators engaging students through direct, hands-on
experience is emphasized in their motto, Working Hands,
Working Minds. As one of the nations seven Work Colleges,
all students work on campus and in the surrounding commu-
nity for a portion of tuition cost. Academics are an integrated
aspect of daily life, both in the classroom and outside in nature
and the community.
Sterling has a student-to-faculty ratio of 7:1, and an average
class size of 10. Twenty-ve percent of all food served is grown or
raised on Sterlings organic farms. The 400-acre campus of wood-
lands, pastures, and Boreal wetlands is close to world class hiking,
biking, ski mountains, and many other recreational opportunities.
Servidyne Starts Energy Efficient Lighting Project at U.S.
Navy Base in Guam
S
ervidyne, Inc., a building performance efficiency and real
estate company, recently announced that it has started
work on a major energy-efficient lighting retrofit project
at the United States Navy Base in Guam. The company
is upgrading approximately 3 million square feet of the bases
facilities with new interior and exterior lighting systems as part
of a comprehensive, wide-ranging energy-savings performance
contract awarded to Johnson Controls Inc.
TechNews
26
TechNews
Upon completion of the lighting retrofits, it is projected that
the U.S. Navy will save $825,000 annually in energy expenses
at the base, and reduce its yearly consumption of electricity by
more than 3 million kWh, eliminating nearly 2 million pounds of
CO
2
emissions from the atmosphere, which is equivalent to tak-
ing 314 cars off the road or saving 641 acres of trees. Servidyne
anticipates completing its work in Guam in less than 8 months,
and expects the project to generate revenues of approximately
$3.1 million.
The company will be upgrading the interior lighting systems at
the base with energy efficient T-8 fixtures. Street and parking lot
lighting will be replaced with new energy efficient induction fix-
tures, and the parking lot fixtures will also incorporate automatic
shut-off controls. To reduce the amount of energy consumed at
the bases athletic fields, new lighting fixtures will be installed
and exterior lamp wattage will be reduced.
Servidyne was selected for this project based on a number of
factors, including the companys expertise in energy efficiency,
its project management skills and track record of successfully
compressing project timelines, and its long history of providing
energy efficiency services for many types of government facili-
ties. The company anticipates performing more energy savings
projects in the near future at other military bases and government
facilities, including projects funded through the recently-enacted
$100 billion federal government initiatives to improve the energy
efficiency of federal, state and local government facilities.
Servidyne has performed similar lighting retrofits and other
energy-efficiency projects for hundreds of government buildings,
which substantially reduced energy consumption and yielded
significant financial benefits for American taxpayers, said Todd
Jarvis, president, Servidyne Systems, LLC. We are proud to work
with Johnson Controls and other energy services companies
organizations we have successfully partnered with over the last
15 years on numerous energy-savings projects for the federal
government and a number of state and local jurisdictions.
Established in 1925, Servidyne, Inc. (www.servidyne.com ) is
headquartered in Atlanta, GA, and operates globally through its
wholly-owned subsidiaries. The company serves a broad range of
markets in the United States and internationally, including cor-
porate, commercial office, hospitality, gaming, retail, industrial,
distribution, healthcare, government, multi-family and education.
Software Eases Facilities Maintenance
D
esigned for easy set up and use, FastMaint CMMS
software is currently being used by a variety of
organizations big and small for their facilities
maintenance programs. FastMaint can also be used
for general equipment maintenance, fleet maintenance and
managing the maintenance needs of other enterprise assets.
A fully functional trial version can be downloaded to see how
well it meets your needs.
Facilities professionals can use FastMaint CMMS to create
and schedule all types of maintenance jobs with the same simple
interface. Unplanned maintenance due to equipment breakdowns
can be scheduled as needed, while regular maintenance on equip-
ment and facilities can be scheduled by time (e.g., every three
months) or by meter readings on the equipment (e.g., every 500
run hours, every 100 uses, etc.).
Pictures and detailed instructions can be printed on work orders
to help personnel perform maintenance jobs correctly. Use Calen-
dars to specify days off and work schedules for personnel. This
information can identify resource constraints. Regarding inven-
tory, the software can track parts used and inventory availability
to reduce out-of-stock situations.
The Workload Balancing feature helps identify and fix schedul-
ing problems in your maintenance plans. Users can also auto-
matically track maintenance costs on different equipment and
facilities. History Reports lets you review past maintenance work
done, as well as identify work that was missed. With the Equip-
ment Comments field, warranty information, pictures and links to
other documents can be entered on each piece of equipment in
each facility.
The Report Designer let you create custom reports using a
familiar WYSIWYG word processing environment. You can use
existing reports as templates to create custom reports, which can
then be made available to other users or just for your own use.
The photos (above) show an example Parts Report template and
the resulting report in FastMaint Basic/Standard/Professional.
The interface is similar in FastMaint Web.
Also, the report designer features various built-in functions
(e.g., FormatCurrency, Total, Count, Avg.) that make it easy to add
and remove tables, columns, and fields.
FEJ
Aerial view of Apra Harbor Naval Complex, a U.S. housing complex in Guam.
27
Translucent Wall Systems With
Architectural Aesthetic Options
Verti-Kal is a unique, design variation on the
traditional, rectangular grid layouts of Kalwall
Corp.s translucent wall systems. Instead of
the standard shoji or square grid layouts,
the panels incorporate internal, continuous
supports to provide a vertical emphasis. As
with all Kalwall translucent systems, an
even balance of useable, natural light lls a
buildings interior even on cloudy days
drastically reducing the amount of articial
lighting required. Shadows and glare are
eliminated, as well as stark contrasts of light
and shade. U-value options range from 0.53
to .10. Light transmission of 3% to 50% and
shading coefcient from 1.0 to under 0.4 are
possible. And at night, interior lighting through
a Kalwall system yields a warm, welcoming
and aesthetically pleasing exterior glow.
Verti-Kals unique format creates an entirely
different look while still utilizing the most
highly insulating, diffuse-light-transmitting,
structural composite technology. Unlike
conventional channel glass, Verti-Kal can be
supplied in panels up to 5 feet wide and 10
feet high, minimizing the number of joints.
Verti-Kal indeed all Kalwall translucent
systems is a clear choice for controlling
energy costs with a design exibility not found
in other products. For more information, call
(800) 258-9777 or visit www.kalwall.com.
Commercial/Industrial Electrostatic
Air Filtration
Designed for applications ranging from paper
mills on the west coast to textile mills on the
east coast, the Model IN from Permatron Corp.
(www.permatron.com) is the original industrial
workhorse of permanent, washable electro-
static air ltration. The product is perfect for
commercial ltration applications where low
resistance and washable cleanability is criti-
cal and it has outperformed and outlasted
metal mesh panel lters in many applications.
This product utilizes Permatrons exclusive
Accumulator Chamber construction, which
features multiple layers of woven industrial
polypropylene fabric with a high wafe con-
struction. The Model IN air lter is compatible
with systems where high velocity air is pushed
through limited lter surface areas. It may be
water-rinsed or vacuumed for dirt removal, and
it features FDA-approved components for use
in food service/processing applications.
Customized wire reinforcement is available
for clean-in-place maintenance programs.
Model INs average arrestance efciency is
78%, its dust holding capacity is 130 grams
and initial resistance to air ow is 0.11 inches
w.g. No system modications or electrical
hook-ups are needed. Model IN is available
NewProducts
Verti-Kal
Permatron Corp.
28
NewProducts
in standard and special sizes in a 1/2, 1 or
2 galvanized steel frame, although stainless
steel is recommended for caustic environ-
ments. The product is UL Class 1 listed and
carries a ve-year warranty.
Colorful Plastic Laminate Toilet Partitions
Bobrick Washroom Equipment, Inc., has
announced the availability of more than 400
Wilsonart, Formica and Nevamar plastic
laminate toilet partition patterns and colors
with 20-work day order fulllment. The New
FastColor Toilet Partition Program includes
Bobricks three plastic laminate toilet parti-
tions (1540 Classic, 1040 Designer and 1030
TrimLine), in three mounting congurations
(Ceiling-hung, oor-anchored, and overhead-
braced). Overall, the company offers four
different lines of toilet partitions: Sierra
Series SCRC (solid color reinforced compos-
ite), DuraLine Series (solid phenolic moisture
resistant), Classic Series (P-lam budget priced)
and Designer series (P-lam steel-core stiles).
For further product details, telephone (800)
553-1600 or visit www.bobrick.com.
Stand-Alone Controller For Motors
Crouzet North America, a company of custom
sensors and technologies, has introduced the
BDE40 Controller to complement its extensive
line of standard and custom Brushless DC
Motors. The BDE40 can be used with most
3-phase brushless Hall effect motors in a wide
range of motion control applications, and it
includes 4-quadrant functionality, convenient
packaging and load-resistor protection.
The devices 4-quadrant design is suited
for applications requiring not only standard
forward and reverse motor control, but also
closed-loop speed control for motor slowing
and stopping. Typical applications include
control for production conveyor belts, produc-
tion robot trolley wheels, medical, food mixing
machines, cutting and packaging machines,
and other applications having 12V or 24V
power supplies requiring powerful motors.
The BDE40 delivers up to 360 Watts
power with 11 to 36 VDC, 10A nominal,
and a maximum continuous current of 14A.
Resistors provide protection against over-
current, polarity inversion, and short-circuiting.
Other performance characteristics include an
absorbed current of 0.1A, temperature rise
of 50C, ambient operating temperature of
20-40C, and storage temperature of 40-90C.
Input is pull-up resistor connected to 5V Hall
effect, and output is type PNP open collec-
tor with maximum current of 0.02A. The new
device measures just 140mm x 98mm x 33mm
(LxWxH) and weighs 10.75 oz. (305 g).
Offering optimum exibility, the BDE40
can be used as stand-alone controller, con-
nected to a PLC (0-10V and PWM compatible
inputs) or driven by potentiometers. The unit
comes standard with guide, braking resistor,
protection diodes and connectors. OEMs and
manufacturers can use with an edge connec-
tor instead of ying leads for easy adaption to
production. The BDE40 meets several safety
standards including EC, EN 55022 Level B, EN
61000-4-2, EN 61000-4-3, EN 61000-4-4, EN
64000-4-6, and EN 64000-4-29.
For more information, contact Crouzet North
America at (760) 597-6322 or visit www.
crouzet-usa.com.

Four Grades of Enhanced PTFE Products
for Seals and Wear Parts
Engineers and designers have long recognized
the performance benets associated with
Quadrants venerable enhanced PTFE materi-
als, Fluorosint 500 and Fluorosint 207. Fluo-
rosint 500 is widely used for seals, shrouds
and bearings in the worlds most sophisticated
rotating equipment, while FDA-compliant
Fluorosint 207 is specied for seals, scrapers
and wear surfaces in food processing and
production equipment around the world.
Recently, the company announced two excit-
ing additions to this product family: the super
wear-resistant grade of Fluorosint HPV (now
available in full production size ranges) and the
extreme grade of Fluorosint MT-01, which is
new to the market.
Fluorosint HPV was rst discussed in 2007
and offered only in developmental sizes and
shapes. This full launch brings with it a battery
of data validating its performance advantage
over many of the lower performing PTFE mate-
rials used today. This testing found the bearing
performance or PV of Fluorosint HPV to be
more than 40% higher than other FDA-compli-
ant PTFE-based materials. This results in parts
that can withstand higher load and velocity.
In addition, the wear resistance or K factor
was found to provide longer wear life than
other existing FDA-compliant PTFE-based ma-
terials. Simply, parts machined from Fluorosint
HPV last longer than those made from many of
the lled-PTFE materials on the market today.
This testing was generated in one of Quadrants
own research laboratories using documented
test procedures. Fluorosint HPV is ideal for ap-
plications such as dynamic seals and bearings
where lubrication isnt preferred or possible.
Fluorosint HPV can replace bronze, steel and
powdered metal parts and provide performance
gains in wear life and system performance.
Fluorosint MT-01 is a unique material that
combines higher temperature resistance with
low deformation and low CLTE (coefcient of
linear thermal expansion). This combination pro-
vides engineers with design options where the
compliance of PTFE needs to be balanced with
precise control even at elevated temperatures.
Fluorosint MT-01 was developed for higher tem-
perature applications such as bearings, seals and
wear surfaces where higher loads are present.
Ovens, dryers and linear positioning equipment
exposed to elevated temperatures are all ideal
applications for this ultra-performance grade.
Quadrant offers these materials in a wide
range of rods, sheets and tubular shapes for
machining. Formed parts are also possible. To
learn more about Fluorosint, visit www.quad-
rantepp.com and download the brand new
eight-page Fluorosint Family of Advanced
PTFE Materials brochure.

Solid-State HVAC Sensors
Eliminate Freeze Stat
Facilities professionals, stop wrestling with
potentially hazardous and fragile gas-lled
capillaries and move to a greener solution!
Minco, a designer and manufacturer of critical
components for critical applications, has a
new line of heating, ventilating and air condi-
tioning (HVAC) temperature sensors designed
to protect chillers in air handling equipment in
commercial buildings. The new sensor line is
called the Chill-Out Combination Sensor.
Most schools, hospitals, ofce complexes
and other commercial buildings use a device
called a Freeze Stat, along with an averaging
sensor to protect against freezing tempera-
tures. The solid state, low temperature cut-out
Chill-Out sensor has many advantages over
traditional Freeze Stat/averaging sensor
technology. These include:
Bobrick
Crouzet
Quadrant
29
[1] Two sensors in one easy-to-install pack-
age (low-temp cut-out and an independent
averaging-temp), which delivers accurate
measurements and eliminates the need to
install a separate averaging sensor. [2] Saving
$13K-$35K over a typical Freeze Stat/averag-
ing sensor installation. [3] There are no capil-
lary tubes to break, leak or kink.
[4] It is considered a green product by the
industry as it is solid state and has no harmful
gases or chemicals. [5] Easy mounting in any
direction; horizontal orientation is not required.
[6] Relay changes state to deliver a failure de-
tection signal in the event of a power loss. [7]
Low-temp sensitivity within a 12-inch segment,
versus 18 inches with gas-lled capillary tubes.
To learn more, phone (763) 571-3121 or
visit www.minco.com. While there, check out
Mincos Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Calcula-
tor to determine your true savings if you install
both a freeze stat low limit device and an
averaging sensor.
Very Efcient Gas-Fired Unit Heater
Modine Manufacturing Co. has introduced
its Efnity93 with Conservicore technology,
which is designed to be the most efcient
gas-red unit heater in North America. A
full line of six models ranging from 135,000
to 310,000 BTU/hr all operating at 93%
efciency gives commercial HVAC users a
more efcient way of heating their buildings
so they can dramatically lower their energy
bills, decrease fuel consumption, and keep
their environments controlled for optimal
comfort and safety.
We developed the Efnity93 line to provide
commercial HVAC users an option that meets
the energy needs of tomorrow, drives down
energy costs and creates a substantial return
on investment benets that are clear to the
end user, said Matt McBurney, director of
Modines Commercial Products Group.
Conservicore technology includes a
high-grade stainless steel secondary heat
exchanger specically designed to withstand
the acidic condensate that is a byproduct of
the combustion process. This technology offers
greater durability than standard aluminum
secondary heat exchangers offered by other
manufacturers.
Users of the Effinity93 will also benefit
from a design that promises faster installa-
tion with lower installation costs. It can be
vented as either a two-pipe or concentric
vent system for maximum flexibility with
either 3- or 4-inch PVC vent piping for quick,
simple and cost effective installations. The
Effinity93 delivers 93% efficiency in the
same box size as Modines 80% efficient
PTS model line. Another standard feature of
the Effinity93 is a contractor convenience
package that allows for easy connectivity
and troubleshooting.
The new efciency standard were unveil-
ing is a major bottom-line advantage for cus-
tomers, but this is also a feature-driven unit,
says Richard Boothman, director of North
American Sales for the commercial products
group. The 93% efciency standard means a
substantial energy savings. Its environmen-
tally friendly, pocket-book friendly and user
friendly. For more information, visit www.
ModineHVAC.com.

Bottle-Less Coolers Offer Quality Water for
Manufacturing Facilities
Culligan Intl., a leader in water treatment
solutions for more than 70 years, has intro-
duced its new line of Aqua-Cleer Point of
Use (POU) bottle-less coolers. These coolers
are perfect for small and large manufactur-
ing facilities that tend to have particulates
oating in the air that can get inside bottled
water coolers. Dirt from the plant oor often
can become trapped inside because the gap
between the bottle and water reservoir is not
airtight. This leads to a build-up of particulates
and bacteria in the water basin.
In addition, manufacturing facilities typically
have large workforces that drink a lot of water
after doing vigorous, manual labor in hot
environments. With the bottle-less cooler, the
water comes directly from the buildings exist-
ing water source and is automatically ltered
for drinking saving costs on delivery charges
and storage. Plus, there is no need for heavy
lifting of ve-gallon bottles. And because
bottle-less coolers dont use water bottles,
they offer manufacturers an unlimited supply
of high quality drinking water on demand.
Culligan bottle-less coolers use the
companys newest and most advanced
Aqua-Cleer filtration system. This next-
generation filtration technology features
13 filter options that can be custom-
tailored to local water conditions and
individual needs. Customers can choose
from a simple sediment or carbon filter up
to a multi-stage reverse osmosis system.
The Aqua-Cleer family also includes spe-
cialty cartridges for such contaminants as
arsenic, perchlorate and volatile organics.
Culligans Aqua-Cleer bottle-less coolers
are available in four models suited to different
business sizes and drinking water needs.
These include: CC Ultra, CC Custom, CC Plus/
Plus UV and CC Basic. Available as a free-
standing tower or mini countertop system, the
CC Ultra provides state-of-the-art features.
With its lighted push buttons, electronic
controls, biological growth resistant bio-
cote exterior, UV light and energy-saving hot
tank sleep mode, its the ideal choice for any
business setting.
The large internal storage reservoir of CC
Custom makes this free-standing cooler a great
option for applications requiring reverse osmo-
sis or nanoltration. Designed to work with ve
stages of treatment, this system includes built-
in automatic leak detection and shut-off.
CC Plus/Plus UV is a popular, mid-range
cooler that offers a sleek style for basic water
dispensing needs. With hot and cold dispens-
ing ability, a hot water safety lock and a large
four-liter cold water tank, this workhorse
dispenses drinking water with ease.
As for CC Basic, its an economical bottle-less
cooler option. This sturdy tower provides hot/
cold water, a single Aqua Cleer head for remote
mounting and a dual-oat device shut-off for
enhanced safety making this ideal for smaller
areas such as employee lunch or break rooms.
Culligans new Aqua-Cleer POU bottle-less
cooler product line is currently available,
except in California. For more information, visit
www.culligan.com or call (800) 285-5442.
FEJ
Minco
Modine
Culligan
30
IndustryNews
Frost & Sullivan Awards Johnson Controls
for Market leadership
B
ased on its recent analysis of the
building automation system (BAS)
controls industry, Frost & Sullivan (www.
frost.com) has recognized Johnson
Controls (www.johnsoncontrols.com) with the
2009 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for
Market Leadership of the Year. The companys
agship Metasys building management system
embodies the companys core competencies
and high standards of technical innovation. The
Metasys system provides customers with a
set of comprehensive tools to improve building
efciency, maximize cost savings and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
The Metasys building management system
offers greater control and easier access to
information contained within a building. With
parallel advancements in building controls
and the IT realm, technologies such as remote
monitoring and diagnostics, real-time manage-
ment, and predictive maintenance of buildings
are experiencing unprecedented demand. By
embracing interoperability with IT standards,
Johnson Controls is prepared for the future of
the BAS industry, as it can offer a more open
approach for control solutions.
Metasys comprehensive line of system
integration solutions provides interoperabil-
ity between supervisory controllers, worksta-
tions, and islands of automation from diverse
manufacturers communicating over proprietary
protocols. The system is also fully compatible
with the Internet Protocol, facilitating the sharing
of the enterprise IT infrastructure. Meanwhile,
the Metasys line of supervisory controllers sup-
port the operations of a wide variety of building
systems (including monitoring, control, and man-
agement of information ow across the network)
and function as Web servers for publishing Web
pages to be viewed over the Internet.
Johnson Controls has addressed most chal-
lenges of real-world integration and enterprise
connectivity, allowing building owners and man-
agers to control cost and energy consumption.
Thus, whether from a green building or energy
management perspective, Johnson Controls
technology in controls and user interface enables
more efcient real estate portfolio management
with benets of optimum cost savings, process
improvements, and improved occupant comfort.
As it is more economical to get buildings auto-
mated with wireless network infrastructure, the
costs of wiring drop by 30%, thereby allowing
Johnson Controls to justify providing enhanced
sensing and control capability in the building.
Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award
to the company that has exhibited market share
leadership through the implementation of market
strategy. The recipient has displayed excellence
in all areas of the market leadership process,
including the identication of market chal-
lenges, drivers and restraints, as well as strategy
development and methods of addressing these
market dynamics. Furthermore, the recipient has
continually demonstrated solutions for monitoring
market changes and for implementing superior
market strategies. By utilizing these strategies for
success, the company has established itself as
the market share leader in its respective industry.
ICC Launches Green Code Initiative
T
he International Code Council
launched its International Green
Construction Code (IGCC) initiative,
which it hopes will reduce energy
usage and the carbon footprint of commercial
buildings. Titled IGCC: Safe and Sustainable
By the Book, the initiative develops a model
code focused on new and existing commercial
buildings design and performance.
Buildings consume approximately 40%
of energy used and produce about the same
amount of the nations carbon emissions, says
ICC. We believe the time has come for us to
develop a code that will stand as a useful and
credible regulatory framework for creating a
greener commercial building stock, said Code
Council CEO Richard P. Weiland. We applaud
and plan to utilize the good work of those
who have developed systems, guidelines and
standards to address green buildings.
At the announcement, ICC included a number
of organizations, including noting special roles for
the American Institute of Architects and ASTM as
cooperating sponsors for this project. Weiland also
acknowledged the presence of many organizations
that have developed green tools impacting the
built environment and welcomed their support and
assistance in crafting the new initiative.
In the past, ICC members have played a role in
the development of codes such as the International
Energy Conservation Code, Weiland said, and
also in the rapid evolution of new systems and
guidelines to address green technology. [It is] time
to move into a new era of codes that specically
focus on green buildings and high performance.
We are now at a place in the evolution of the
sustainability movement that requires the
specicity, the reliability and the enforceability that
only a code can bring, he stated.
The timeline for the new IGCC includes public
meetings of the Sustainable Building Technology
Committee, a public comment period on the
committees initial draft, and a nal draft that will
be made available in 2010 as a resource document
before it moves through the development hearing
and nal action hearing stages. The AIA and ASTM
will have visible participation in the development
process, Weiland said, and he referenced the
compatibility of the AIA 2030 carbon neutrality
goals with the green code initiative.
The rst public (open) meetings of the SBTC
were held July 28-30 in Rosemont, IL.
Visit the IGCC online at www.iccsafe.org/
IGCC or get more information on supporting
publications and services for green activities
by reviewing the Code Councils green pages at
www.iccsafe.org/green.
AMT President Urges Congress to Assist
Small Manufacturers
Testifying before the House Small Business
Committee, Douglas K. Woods, President of
AMT The Association For Manufacturing
Technology, recently told members of the com-
mittee that the effects of tax breaks and other
provisions within the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 the stimulus law
have so far been minimal on the struggling
manufacturing industry.
Woods (photo) said that
AMT supported several
business tax provisions that
were included in the Ameri-
can Recovery and Reinvest-
ment Act. The top two
were a one-year extension
through 2009 of the 50%
bonus depreciation on new
equipment purchases, and the enhanced Section
179 expensing on new and used investments.
Our companies have been faced with cus-
31
tomers who normally might be encouraged by
these provisions to invest in equipment, but who
either cannot get the working capital to do so,
have sunk into loss positions this year and no
longer qualify, or who are just too reluctant to
make investments until they have a better sense
of where the economy is headed, he said. We
really need the depreciation incentives extended
through at least 2010 to get the intended stimu-
lative effect from them.
I truly do believe that the future holds promise
and opportunity if our industry can make it
through the next six months, Woods said. But
without a strong manufacturing technology base
in America, the United States will end up trading
our dependency on foreign oil for a new depen-
dency on foreign technology. And that prospect is,
for the future of our country, frightening.
Woods expressed optimism that another pro-
vision included in the stimulus bill the expan-
sion of the Net Operating Loss carryback from
two to ve years would offer some relief to
companies that fell into loss positions in 2008.
However, Woods observed that many of AMTs
member companies did not fall into loss posi-
tions during 2008, and that the provision would
only help if it were extended to companies that
experienced losses in 2009 and 2010.
To further assist these companies, Woods
proposed that Congress and the administration
give small businesses a six-month reprieve from
paying certain federal business taxes, such as
the payroll tax. Woods also urged Congress to
act immediately to help loosen credit for small
businesses, particularly manufacturers.
At the same time, Woods cautioned against
enacting any new taxes against American
businesses, as it could mean that Congress will
undo virtually everything it has been trying to do
now to put our economy into recovery.
The latest industry report shows that
consumption in the machine tool sector of the
manufacturing technology industry is down 70%
year over year. Many manufacturing technology
providers are at risk of going out of business by
years end if circumstances dont improve. Both
the industry report and Woods full testimony are
available at www.AMTonline.org.
Dornbracht Focusing On Core Product
Assortment Following Fire
A
serious overnight re in July 2009 at
a neighboring factory to Dornbrachts
production facilities and worldwide
corporate headquarters did inict
several million Euros worth of damage. But
the bath and kitchen ttings manufacturer has
wasted no time in minimizing the impact.
According to Matthias Dornbracht, a principal
of the company who is responsible for opera-
tions and production and is now also heading
the recovery, the electroplating department is
being rebuilt, as well as one of the assembly
areas that was most affected by the blaze.
He explained that, for the past several months,
the company has focused on producing a core
assortment that consists of the key units from
the most popular designs: MEM, Tara, Tara Logic,
Meta.02, Symetrics, Lulu, and Madison series in
polished chrome nish. It is anticipated that by
the end of the year, other production will resume
on other nish offerings for this core group.
Its also estimated that the complete
product range will be available again during
the rst quarter of 2010. While orders from
existing stock are being immediately serviced,
with availability within about four weeks,
delivery delays are to be expected during the
rebuilding period.
Renovation teams have worked day and
night to quickly repair the affected buildings
and machinery, with the help of more than 70
specialists. Additionally, surface nishing and
assembly productions are continuing with the
help of external chrome-plating facilities where
several of Dornbrachts own trained and experi-
enced employees are temporarily relocated.
To ensure that the companys customer base,
including the architectural and design commu-
nity, is fully informed and aware of these new
challenges, Andreas Dornbracht, who continues
to head the development of brand and product
innovations, now also is leading the communi-
cations and strategy team.
FEJ
|
31
Get Published in Facilities Engineering Journal!
AFE is looking for members to write content for future issues of FEJ. This is a great opportunity
for you to get published, get noticed and advance your career in the facilities engineering eld!
We will consider white papers, technical articles, personal perspectives anything geared
toward the facilities engineering profession. Lengths may vary up to 2,000 words. Please include
graphics and/or color photos with text. For more information, please contact Jane Jacobs at AFE:
(571) 203-7171 or email [email protected].
32
NOVEMBER
4-5
World Energy Engineering Congress
(WEEC).
Location: Washington, D.C.
Description: Comprehensive national
energy event for end users and energy pro-
fessionals in all areas of the energy field.
Includes multi-track conference agenda,
seminars on a variety of current topics
and a comprehensive exposition of new
technologies. Conducted by the Association
of Energy Engineers.
Information: www.energycongress.com.
11-13
Greenbuild International Conference
& Expo.
Location: Phoenix, AZ.
Description: Major international green build-
ing conference and expo.
Information: www.greenbuildexpo.org.
12-13
8th Annual Advanced Facilities Management
and Engineering Conference.
Location: Denver, CO.
Conducted by: The Denver Chapter of IFMA.
Description: The Advanced Facilities Manage-
ment and Engineering Conference is dedicated
to increasing the skills and knowledge of
facility managers and engineers in the Rocky
Mountain Region, preparing them to meet
the demands of their occupation. An educa-
tional and networking event for both facility
professionals and those who provide products
and services to facility managers and facility
engineers. Seminar topics will include green
sustainability in existing buildings, energy op-
timization, and water and utility rebates. A full
list of available seminars is available at www.
afec.biz. An exhibition by product and service
providers will also take place along with con-
tests, prizes and other interactive activities.
Information: Mark Cramer at (303) 771-2000 or
[email protected]; www.afec.biz.
17-19
International Maintenance Conference
(IMC-2009); Operations Performance
Summit (OPS-2009); Predictive Mainte-
nance Technology Conference (PdM-
2009); and LubricationWorld.
Location: Daytona Beach, FL.
Description: This unique event is for profes-
sionals from both the operations and main-
tenance/reliability sectors. Titled Reliability
& Operations Solutions Supporting Organi-
zational Performance, Solutions 2.0 offers
actionable ideas, professional networking,
and renewed inspiration.
Information: http://maintenanceconference.
com/solutions/index.htm.
17-21
Maintenance Welding Class.
Location: Cleveland, OH.
Conducted by Lincoln Electric Co.
Description: Designed to instruct welders
in welding safety and maintenance welding
utilizing various processes like shielded metal
arc welding, gas metal arc welding, gas tung-
sten arc welding and oxy-fuel cutting.
Information: www.lincolnelectric.com/
knowledge/training/weldschool/courses.asp.
DECEMBER
7-10
Ecobuild America.
Location: Washington, DC.
Description: Sponsored by the National In-
stitute of Building Sciences, this conference
and exhibition offers sustainable, green,
and high performance solutions for the built
environment.
Information: www.aececobuild.com/index.html.
JANUARY 2010
25-27
International Air-conditioning/Heating/
Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo).
Location: Orlando, FL.
Description: The worlds largest HVAC&R
marketplace.
Information: www.ahrexpo.com.
FEJ
AFECalendar
33
AIR FILTERS AND AIR INTAKE PROTECTION
Permatron Corporation
1180 Pratt Avenue, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
Phone: 847-434-1421 Toll Free: 800-882-8012 Fax: 847-434-1429
[email protected] www.permatron.com
PreVent
Equipment Protection Filter stops debris before it enters the air

intake. Preventive maintenance with proper ltration optimizes HVACR system
and equipment air inlet operations. Minimize
compressor failure, reduce maintenance costs/
labor, extend interior lter life and decrease
energy consumption. Since 1957, Permatron has
manufactured custom & standard lters. Innovative
washable electrostatic lter designs give you
least cost over useful life, custom ltration without
costly modications to existing systems and
environmentally friendly ltration solutions. Visit our
website for interesting product application articles
to see how we can be of service to you.
Contact your sales rep to
place a marketplace ad.
248-244-6454
M
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REPRESENT AMERICA AS A FACILITY MANAGER
U.S. Department of State
careers.state.gov/fm09
[email protected]
Foreign Service and Civil Service
professionals work to achieve the goals
and implement the initiatives of our foreign policy as they represent America to
the world.
The Foreign Service is Americas voice overseas serving our countrys diplomatic
needs at over 265 embassies, consulates and missions. Foreign Service Specialists
provide specialized expertise, knowledge and skills in areas such as Facilities
Management and Construction Engineering. Foreign Service Ofcers advocate
Americas values and protect our citizens and business interests overseas.
Apply now to become a Facility Manager, visit careers.state.gov/fm09 for details.
U.S. citizenship is required. An equal opportunity employer.
WINDOW, WALL, SKYLIGHT SYSTEMS
Kalwall Corporation
PO Box 237, Manchester, NH 03105
800-258-9777 [email protected]
www.kalwall.com
www.daylightmodeling.com
Kalwall is the most highly insulating, diffuse-light-transmitting, structural
translucent system in the world, providing the best quality of usable natural light.
Eliminate glare and shadows with walls, Curtainwalls, skylights, replacement
windows, canopies and walkways. Up to R-20 available. Explosion Venting Wall
Systems. FM 4881 approved. Nationwide building code compliant, including ASTM
hurricane standards, GSA and DoD Anti-Terrorism Standard compliant. Sustainable,
LEED
and green. Daylight modeling available.

IMPROVE YOUR ENERGY SAVINGS UP TO 20%
BY UPDATING OLD COOLING EQUIPMENT.
Xcel Energy
Phone: 1-800-481-4700
www.ResponsibleByNature.com
Even in the winter its
important to manage
your cooling efciency.
With todays advances
in HVAC technology
and energy codes,
any new equipment is going to be at least 20 percent more efcient than units just
15 years old. Xcel Energys Cooling Efciency program offers cash rebates to make it
easier to afford a system that ts your needs and budget. Find out how your company
can benet by calling our Business Solutions Center at 1-800-481-4700 or by visiting
ResponsibleByNature.com.
AdvertisingIndex
The Blue Book Network .........11
Department of State .............. 17
Kalwall Corporation ................ 15
Spacify, Inc. ........................... 33
Unicco .................................... 36
Xcel Energy .............................. 2
34
Mainstream Engineering, Rockledge, FL, a manufacturer of aftermarket service/
maintenance and education/certication products, introduces Green HVAC/R
Certicationthe industrys only free green training program. This program
does come with an optional $49.95 certication for building engineers, consult-
ing engineers, contractors and other trade professionals that service, sell, design
or maintain HVAC/R applications. Green HVAC/R Certication is the only com-
bination training/certication where users know exactly what the certication
manual consists of before making a time/money investment in the program.
Aspiring green technicians begin by downloading (from www.epatest.com)
the free 85-page desktop manual, Green HVAC/R Technician Certication: A
Desktop Reference & Training Guide for Implementing Green Practices in Building Thermal
Control in Residential/Commercial/Industrial Refrigeration. This manual is written by Robert P.
Scaringe, P.E., Ph.D.
A test of 25 questions based on the manual can be taken online without a proctor to receive
the optional certication, which also includes: a wallet-sized certication ID card; a ready-for-
framing 8x11-inch certicate of completion, and a16-inch-diameter truck decal and 4-inch-diam-
eter arm patch with the title of Green Certied by Mainstream Engineering.
One of the manuals most unique sections trains technicians for performing energy audits on
insulation, heating, motor, lighting, cooling, vapor compression and other building systems, which,
when upgraded, can improve a facilitys energy conservation. Besides building envelopes, the chapter
HVAC System Design explains basic operating principles of todays HVAC equipment so technicians
can upgrade and/or improve them. Because energy efcient buildings dont always have optimum
ventilation conditions for occupants, the manual also details indoor air quality (IAQ) methodology.
The New Standard Institute presents a computer based training module called Shutdowns,
Turnarounds, and Outages, which is extracted from the Institutes two-day seminar of the same
name. A shutdown, turnaround, or outage can be the biggest and most complicated demand on
maintenance resources. Using modern project management methods can enable a maintenance
professional to identify, plan, staff and coordinate the effort of hundreds of workers and their
support equipment while minimizing downtime and costs.
This program includes interactive critical path method training in identifying needed work,
dening its scope and planning and scheduling the shutdown. Activities related to identifying
the needed work include: setting up shutdown les; backlog, PM, and PDM record review; prob-
ing equipment history, making checklists and action item lists, and soliciting the input. When
dening the work scope, youll learn about dening the constraints, establishing a shutdown
budget, people management, prioritizing the proposed work, determining whats allowed in new
work, contracting the work, and creating efcient shift and crew schedules.
As for planning the shutdown, the training will cover determining lead time required for
successful project planning, the shutdown organization, planning and estimating jobs, work
packages, materials management, risk management, and accounting for shutdown costs.
Finally youll learn about shutdown scheduling as it relates to critical path scheduling,
InfoResources
GREEN TRAINING
CERTIFICATION
PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
AFE Publication Showcase: CPMM Review Pack
The Certied Plant Maintenance Manager designation is part of the industrys most recognized and respected certica-
tion program for facilities professionals. This book covers all 13 topics included on the CPMM exam: Maintenance
Management; Preventive Maintenance; Inventory and Procurement; Maintenance Planning and Scheduling; CMMS;
Maintenance Training and Work Cultures; Predictive Maintenance; Reliability-Centered Maintenance; Total Produc-
tive Maintenance; Maintenance ROI: Safety and Health; Indoor Air Quality; and Documentation. Equally important, all
forms and applications you need to enroll in this certication program are included in the book, which runs 350 pages.
Cost: $125 for AFE Members, $150 for non-members. To order, call (571) 203-7171 or go to www.AFE.org, mouse over
Certication and click Order Review Materials.
AFE
The
tion
Ma
Ma
tiv
fo
Co
C
35
PRIMER ON VALVES
AND ACTUARY
SUSTAINABILITY
AIR TEMPERATURE
CONTROL
resource load leveling, uncertainty in job estimates, project management software, tracking
shutdown materials, and coordinating support equipment.
Aware that many new faces have entered the valve and actuary industry the last few decades, the
Valve Manufacturers Association (VMA) has developed a Back to Basics publication on valves, ac-
tuators and controls. The 80-page publication consists of 17 educational articles that have appeared in
Valve Magazine (VMAs quarterly magazine) over the last ve years in a series called Back to Basics.
The article series received so much attention and so many requests for reprints that VMA
decided to make it the rst in a series of planned editorial efforts that are part of the associa-
tions new educational and training initiative. This spiral-bound publication was put together
with support from Friends of the Crawford Library, the associations educational foundation.
The Back to Basics educational series is designed to meet the hunger for knowledge about
the basics of the industry by helping those who are new to the industry as well as professionals
who want to refresh their knowledge. It is also a handy reference tool and handout for end-user
companies to provide new hires in plants and facilities.
The new book begins with an overview of basic valve types, a materials primer and valve
specifying guidelines. It then covers a wide range of product types, including gate, globe, check,
pressure-seal, plug, hydrant, ball, buttery, diaphragm and pinch, safety-relief, and control valves
and systems. The book also covers the fundamentals and different selections of electric actuators.
It also has tools for day-to-day operations in the valve industry such as a checklist for specify-
ing valves and tables on standards in the industry, as well as background information on the
history of various types of valves and common applications for different types. The compilation
is a full-color book loaded with useful diagrams, photographs and other visual aids that can help
both new staff and old-timers in the industry.
The articles are written by seasoned professionals in the valve and actuator industries. The compila-
tion is available for $79 each ($69 for VMA/Valve Repair Council members) + $3.50 shipping/handling.
A free copy is provided for every ve copies ordered. For more information, visit www.vma.org.
Farr Air Pollution Control (APC), a producer of dust and fume collectors to clean up
industrial processes, has published a new Lean Green Manufacturing brochure
that summarizes the companys green and sustainable initiatives.
The new six-page brochure outlines the various ways in which Farr APC is
a sustainable supplier from the manufacturing techniques employed by the
company, to the clean-air benets of the dust collection equipment, to energy-saving
and environmentally friendly features of key products. These include HemiPleat,
DuriPleat and the Gold Cone Filter.
Farr APC is a subsidiary of Caml Farr, the worlds largest air lter manufacturer. Caml Farr
has established a program called Camlcairing to develop and maintain sustainable business
practices on a global basis. The Farr APC sustainability brochure may be downloaded from the
company web site at www.farrapc.com/about-us. For general information, visit www.farrapc.com.
MovinCool
offers a new free guide for IT managers, facility managers and mechanical contractors
called, Reducing the Cost of Keeping Ofce Data Centers Cool: Portable Spot Air Conditioners as
Permanent Cooling Solutions. Cooling todays ofce data centers presents some difcult challenges,
said John Doran, senior manager, Heat Management and Customer
Service. Using a buildings central air-conditioning system to cool an
ofce data center can be very costly. Installing a permanent, precision-
cooling system or mini-split can also be expensive, and in leased spaces, is
usually prohibited. The new eight-page guide addresses these problems
by examining the benets of using portable spot air conditioners as a less-
expensive, permanent cooling solution. The guide is available as a free
download from www.movincool.com/pdf/permanentportables. MovinCool,
the worlds largest manufacturer of spot air conditioners, is a brand of DENSO Corporation, which is
headquartered in Kariya (Aichi prefecture), Japan. Worldwide, the company employs approximately
120,000 people in 32 countries and regions, including Japan.
FEJ
IF YOUR JOB IS MAKING SURE A
FACILITY IS RUNNING AS EFFICIENTLY
AND EFFECTIVELY AS POSSIBLE,
YOU NEED AFE.
For over 50 years, facilities engineers and maintenance
and operations professionals have looked to AFE for the
technical information and important resources they need
to get the job done.
JOIN ONLINE AT WWW.AFE.ORG
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US TODAY.
-ANUFACTURING 0LANTS s (OTELS s /FlCE #OMPLEXES s #ONFERENCE #ENTERS s 3CHOOLS AND 5NIVERSITIES s 'OVERNMENT !GENCIES
s 3HOPPING -ALLS s !PARTMENT "UILDINGS s (OSPITALS AND -EDICAL #ENTERS s !IRPORTS s !RENAS AND 3TADIUMS s #HURCHES
AND #OMMUNITY #ENTERS s #OMMERCIAL 0ROPERTIES AND )NDUSTRIAL "UILDINGS s #OUNTRY #LUBS s 4RANSIT !UTHORITIES s 5TILITIES
Herndon, VA 20170
(571) 203-7171
Q
www.AFE.org
Short-term maintenance never sticks.
STRATEGIC PLANNING I ENGINEERING I FACILITIES MAINTENANCE I ENERGY MANAGEMENT I SUPPORT SERVICES
Enter UGL Unicco Plant Services. Our approach to facilities maintenance helps you proactively avoid operational
failures instead of reacting to them. For any industry, our skilled teams get the job done right the rst time
with process-focused, long-term solutions that minimize rework and downtime to reduce operating costs. Visit
UGLUniccoPlantEngineering.com and download the FREE whitepaper: Pursuing Manufacturing Excellence
Through Real-time Performance Management and Continuous Improvement. UGL-UniccoPlantServices.com

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Equipment Protection Filter stops debris before it enters the air

and green. Daylight modeling available.

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