The Building Commissioning Association (BCA) officially released its New Construction Building Commissioning Best Practices in December 2011. Publicly available, the document is intended to distill the list of guidelines and tasks for most building types into easy-to-navigate activities that represent the ideal commissioning process.
The document represents a collaborative effort on the part of several leading commissioning experts, including leaders Bruce Pitts of Wood Harbinger, Inc. and Karl Stum of Summit Building Engineering. Its authors aim to promote commissioning in the marketplace by defining the qualities and characteristics of best commissioning practices and to raise professional standards by establishing a benchmark against which the market can gauge quality and professionalism, and which the BCA can use to objectively evaluate both its own and other commissioning initiatives.
New Construction Building Commissioning Best Practices draws upon existing resources such as BCA’s own Building Commissioning Handbook, National Equipment and Business Builders Institute Procedural Standards for “Whole Building Systems Commissioning of New Construction,” National Institute of Building Science’s “Whole Building Design Guide,” ASHRAE Guideline 0-2005, ASHRAE Guideline 1.1-2007 and the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® rating system. It is available in its entirety at website: www.bcxa.org.
Stamford Development Plans
Developer Thomas Rich has announced plans to construct a 23-story residential complex on Summer Street in downtown Stamford, Connecticut. Known as The Summer House, the complex would include apartments and retail space. Rich’s previous project in Stamford was Trump Parc, a luxury condominium that opened in 2009 and included a team of other prominent developers such as Louis Cappelli and Donald Trump.
Other developers are also turning their attention to building residential units in Stamford. In early 2011, developer Randy Salvatore opened a 94-unit rental building at 1201 Washington Blvd. and, as of December, was still building an apartment complex across the street. Further south, Greenfield Partners of Norwalk, Connecticut, is moving forward with plans to build 350 apartments in the area.
Developer Building and Land Technology (BLT) plans to construct a large-scale apartment complex in the city’s South End. Located at Pacific and Henry streets, the proposed building would be comprised of 15 stories and 226 rental units.
Leistritz Transfers Business To Mongrain
Leistritz Corp. (LC) was to transfer its hydraulic elevator business to Mongrain Vertical Transport Inc. (MVT) on January 2. LC in Allendale, New Jersey, will continue to work with MVT under a separate service and trademark agreement, where all warehouse and logistics will be performed as in the past. Administrative, purchasing, sales, engineering, contract management, production and spare parts support will be performed by Mongrain’s team in Quebec, Canada. The companies planned for a seamless transfer to be implemented in the best interest of its vendors and for the continued growth and expansion of the hydraulic elevator business.
Boston Construction On The Rise
The Greater Boston area is seeing an increase in construction of office buildings, according to a January report from The Boston Globe. The amount of office space under construction rose to 1.6 million sq. ft. during the last three months of 2011, equaling more than eight times the amount from the beginning of the year. The Innovation District on Boston’s South Waterfront has a number of buildings under construction, including Biogen Idec’s new headquarters building in Kendall Square and Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.’s tower project in the Back Bay. In addition, Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG is building an office and laboratory complex near Cambridge’s Central Square.
According to real-estate firm Richards Barry Joyce & Partners, 100% of office space under construction is already committed to tenants, compared to only 6% from the third quarter of 2007. John Miller, a senior vice president of Lincoln Property Co., which released a report during the fourth quarter of 2011, said, “It [has] been a slow climb back, but my feeling is we’re right in the middle of a recovery.”
Kone Project In Texas
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas has awarded KONE a contract to install elevators for its new hospital facility, intended to accommodate growth in patient care. The order calls for 22 elevators, including machine-room-less and overhead traction elevators. The project is expected to start in August and completion is scheduled for 2015.
KONE has a long history of designing, implementing, maintaining and modernizing elevator and escalator solutions for hospital environments. “We are pleased to be recognized by the University of Texas for our exemplary knowledge of People Flow® solutions,” said Vance Tang, executive vice president and area director of KONE Americas. “Our extensive research and focus on this area enables patients, hospital staff and visitors to move smoothly and safely in the hospital.”
Schindler To Close Plant, Change Facilities
Schindler is closing its Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, manufacturing plant, which outsources approximately half of its work, to move into a smaller facility. According to Schindler’s Vice President of Manufacturing David Thomas, the company is looking for a facility in Hanover, York or Camp Hill, all in Pennsylvania. The Gettysburg plant employs 170 people, and if Hanover or York is chosen for the new site, nearly 90 employees could be transferred to the new facility. “The work of the remaining 80 employees will be outsourced to regional suppliers, with [many] of the jobs hopefully staying in the Gettysburg area,” Thomas said.
Expected to start operating during the fourth quarter of this year, the new site will focus on fabrication of finished parts such as jambs, walls and doors, in addition to assembly and engineering operations. The company believes the changes, which are part of a larger plan for its North American operations, will improve growth and flexibility.
WTC to Achieve Leed Gold Status
Once complete in 2013, New York City’s One World Trade Center (WTC) will be among the most environmentally friendly buildings of its size in the world. One WTC is expected to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® (LEED) Gold status and exceed energy code performance requirements by 20%. The tower will derive approximately 35% of its power from renewable energy sources, in addition to boasting a rainwater recycling program, which is incorporated into the WTC memorial waterfalls. According to an online report, 75% of material used to construct One WTC is recycled. In addition, the building is being equipped with elevators protected by a central building core, pressurized stairwells, protected tenant collection points on each floors, a dedicated stairwell for use by fire and other emergency crews and a specially designed emergency communications system.
ECNY Scholarships
The Elevator Conference of New York (ECNY) recently announced two US$5,000 scholarships available to any daughter, son, stepchild or grandchild of an ECNY member in good standing. If the committee receives more than 10 applications, it will add two scholarships, each worth US$2,500 to high school seniors. Individual ECNY members are allotted one application per household, and corporate members are allotted two applications per household. The deadline for submissions is March 31. For more information, contact ECNY at e-mail: info@ecnyweb.com or website: www.ecnyweb.com.
Lift Solutions Hires
In January, Lift Solutions, Inc. reported its hiring of two new employees, Michael Coombs and Dan Liening, as Sales representatives. Coombs’ region is the western U.S. He has had a long career in the automotive industry. John Castaño, president of Lift Solutions, said of him: “His mechanical and mathematical aptitudes serve our customers very well by providing and verifying the correct elevator equipment for our customers and
their several projects.”
Liening will take care of the northeastern U.S. He joins Lift Solutions with several years of commercial construction experience, having worked closely with the mechanical, electrical and elevator trades on commercial high-rise projects. “He learns quickly and can swiftly identify our customers’ needs to provide them with the best customer support available,” Castaño said of Liening.
New Construction Process Touted
According to Purdue University, future skyscrapers could be built faster and made safer using a new construction process two of its Civil Engineering professors, Mark Bowman and Michael Kreger, are promoting. In it, the structure would be built around a core wall, or “vertical spine,” which also enhances structural resistance to earthquakes and high winds. Instead of making core walls one at a time, the new technique would sandwich concrete between steel plates, making the hollow structure strong enough to allow other construction on several floors at once to proceed around it. It is estimated that on 40- to 50-story buildings, the core wall system could save three to four months of construction time, leading to cost savings.
Adams Launches Online Store
In January, Adams Elevator Equipment Co. announced it would launch its online store (shop.adamselevator.com) in early 2012. Through it, customers can search and purchase more than 20,000 parts and expect the same delivery service as with orders from the company’s print catalog. Adams will also continue to add to its online inventory from the nearly 50,000 elevator and escalator items it sells.
NEII Safety Committee Meets In Mobile
Members of the National Elevator Industry, Inc. (NEII®) Safety Committee met in Mobile, Alabama, in January to review the Elevator Industry Field Employees’ Safety Handbook for revisions and discuss industry accidents. The two-day meeting saw Ivan Andrews elected chairman for 2012. Andrews is Field Development director for Mitsubishi in California and has more than 20 years of experience in the industry. He succeeds Fred Wilt of Schindler, who was temporary chair.
In addition, two new members joined the NEII committee: Jay Small, director of EH&S, who will serve as the Otis representative; and Corey Ward, vice president of EH&S, who will join Nate Miller to represent KONE on the committee. A full complement of attendees was present, and much work was accomplished.
During the meetings, several changes to the handbook were made, and a discussion was held concerning the impact of new arc-flash/electrical rules from the National Fire Protection Agency and a new position from OSHA on confined space. Supplements to the handbook will be printed in the near future, and as always, will be available online at the Elevator World, Inc. safety website: www.safety.elevatorworld.com. The committee will meet again in May in Louisville.
Chicago Building Receives LEED Platinum
The Greenhouse Loft in Chicago has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® Platinum certification, making it one of the nation’s few buildings to receive such a rating. The five-story building serves as an event venue and has several sustainable features, including an escalator that employs sensors to control speed, using 30% less energy than conventional escalators. The building also features recycling programs, an energy-efficient heating and cooling system, and energy-efficient windows.
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