Editorial
Article Type:
Editorial
From:
Facilities, Volume 32, Issue 3/4
This issue of Facilities is the first special issue that covers the geographical region of North America. This issue presents a collection of six papers on various topics: indoor environmental quality of academic libraries, design process of a colored carpet prototype for a university client, utilizing mobile technologies in a healthcare environment, using Adobe systems for the conservation of energy, building maintenance using building information modeling in the design phase, and an analysis of recurrent embodied energy in buildings.
A paper by Lee, Michigan State University, aims to identify the factors related to indoor environmental quality (IEQ) that affect performance, health and wellbeing among students conducting activities inside the library in a higher education environment. An online survey was conducted, where seven survey groups consisting of a total of more than 400 students were formed based on four types of activities involving use of common spaces. Findings in the study revealed differences in IEQ criteria among different groups of college students conducting certain kinds of collaborative activities. This study may help identify the various needs of different user groups, and may eventually assist designers and facility managers in the processes of planning, design, and management of higher education library facilities.
Kang and Hebert, Oklahoma State University, discuss a study that observed the process of designing an actual custom colored carpet prototype for a university client, and at the same time, it also evaluated sustainable sampling techniques in carpet design. A carpet pattern was selected from existing designs, which then was distributed to evaluators using three different methods: electronic (via e-mail), print (in person), and traditional (full-sized carpet samples tufted). Selecting a custom, sustainable, carpet is a complex process in which the carpet must satisfy the design requirements of the client. Additionally, another goal set in this paper was to meet performance criteria in order to obtain its “sustainable recognition. Using sustainable sampling techniques during the initial phases of carpet design may result in less waste and also have a positive effect on the environment.
A paper by Gheisari, Irizarry, Williams, and Roper, Georgia Institute of Technology, shows that facility managers can benefit from utilizing innovative mobile technologies in the work environment. The paper suggests ways in which emerging technologies can be incorporated into building operations. This was demonstrated in a healthcare facility, where several scenarios were explored, which depicted the usefulness of augmented reality in facility management. In order for this to become practical, ambient intelligence environments would need a pre-existing framework of BIM models that are constantly being updated with building data in real-time. Since BIM models are not yet a standard practice for construction, this would be challenging to achieve. In complex buildings, such as healthcare facilities, it is extremely important that a facility manager is able to access building data in real-time in order to make decisions. An ambient intelligence environment has the potential to become such a tool.
Energy conservation and sustainability is the topic of a paper by Graebert and Fischer, Stanford University, in which the authors analyzed successful examples of using Adobe systems to portray the potential, feasibility, and barriers of implementing energy conservation in buildings. The authors performed this research by conducting interviews with Adobes sustainability team members and analyzing individual projects. The study found that adopting new technologies and establishing new policies and procedures for the management of facilities are economically feasible and provide a reasonable return rate. Success factors include creating a “conservation team, persistent use of incentives such as tax credits, investment on LEED-EB certification, constant follow-ups with the client, and others. This study shows that despite the common barriers associated with energy efficiency, implementing energy conservation and sustainability principles in buildings are economically viable.
A paper by Liu and Issa, University of Florida, aims to demonstrate how possible it is to “design for maintenance accessibility using building information modeling (BIM) tools, and therefore, share overall knowledge between all entities in the design, construction, and maintenance phases of facilities. A specific case-study of an exhaust fan was used for the evaluation, with various tools being used, such as Solibri Model Checker, Revit add-in, and Microsoft Visual Studio. This research used existing tools available in the market to create a new process for adding long term value to buildings, and as a result, it points out the opportunity for implementing BIM tools to increase the life cycle value of buildings. The paper demonstrates that facilities long term costs can be reduced taking the use of BIM into consideration during its early design phases.
Embodied energy of a building is a concept that tends to be neglected in the daily discussions of facility managers. A paper by Dixit, Culp, Lavy, and Fernandez-Solis, Texas A&M University, studied this topic by analyzing the relationship of recurrent embodied energy (REE) with service life and total life cycle energy. A literature based discovery method was employed, where embodied energy in various types of buildings (commercial, residential), using different construction materials from different parts of the world, were analyzed. The study found a large variation in REE values, as well as positive correlation between REE and service life and total life cycle energy for both residential and commercial buildings. This study emphasizes the importance of REE in decreasing total life cycle energy, and if used by facility managers, it may help reduce the negative effect buildings place on the environment.
Sarel Lavy
Co-Editor
