Facilities Management - News & Trends

Naptime for FMs

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Prolonged work days that often extend late into the night may cause Americans to fall asleep or feel sleepy at work, drive drowsy and lose interest in sex, according to a new Sleep in America poll released by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).

Spending an average of nearly 4.5 hours each week doing additional work from home on top of a 9.5 hour average workday, Americans are working more and are trying to cope with the resulting daytime sleepiness.
Working too much and sleeping too little takes a serious toll on people’s professional and personal lives. The poll finds that:

• 29% of those polled fell asleep or became very sleepy at work in the past month;
• 36% have nodded off or fallen asleep while driving with 32% reporting that they drive drowsy at least 1-2 times a month and 26% noting that they drive drowsy during the workday;
• 12% were late to work in the last month due to sleepiness.

Perhaps more to the point, sleepiness is affecting Americans’ ability to perform on the job. Fully 28% of those polled say that daytime sleepiness interferes with their daily activities at least a few times a month.

A busy schedule and lack of sleep can also affect people’s mood on the job. Almost half (40%) of those polled become impatient with coworkers several times a month; 27% find it difficult to concentrate at work; and 20% acknowledged that their productivity at work is often lower than anticipated.

And you know about those folks who hang out by the soda and candy machines. Fully 58% of people polled say they cope with sleepiness by drinking caffeinated beverages and 38% choose foods high in sugar and carbohydrates. For more information, see www.sleepfoundation.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=huIXKjM0IxF&b=3918065&ct=5079541

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Fast Company lists the top

NEW YORK – Fast Company magazine lists the world’s top 50 companies for innovation, which they call the Fast Fifty.

They are: Google, Apple, Facebook, GE, IDEO, Nike, Nokia, Alibaba, Amazon, Nintendo, Proctor & Gamble, News Corp., Affymetrix. Disney, Samsung, Method, Target, HP, Tesco, Ausra, Timberland, IBM, Arup, Anomaly, Autodesk, Herman Miller, Realnetworks, LG Electronics, Boeing, Omniture, Irobot, Walmart, Live Nation, Intel, Burton, Whole Foods, Cisco Systems, Corning, Toyota, Real D, Microsoft, Payless, Airasia, Current TV, Sun Microsystems, BMW, Tata Group, AKQA, Prosper, and Baidu. For more information, see the March issue of Fast Company.

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CAD standard updated

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The American Institute of Architects (AIA), Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), and National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) unveiled the United States National CAD Standard® (NCS) Version 4.0, the first update to the standard since 2005.

The latest edition, designed for owners, architects, engineers, contractors, facility managers, code officials, manufacturers, and suppliers, adds the following improvements to Version 3.1:

• Expanded and reorganized CAD Layer Guidelines make it easier to locate layer names, including new telecommunications and electrical discipline layer names.
• Updated Uniform Drawing System adds new and revised symbols for geotech, security, fire suppression, masonry, and plaster. It also updates and clarifies common drawing practices.
• Completely re-written Plotting Guidelines reflect that line widths are no longer required to be mapped to color numbers.
• Includes documents in PDF, Excel, and .dwg file formats, making it easier to search and integrate the standard into CAD, BIM, costing, and other software.

In addition, facilities managers will benefit from a consistent appearance of drawing sets for all projects, reducing errors and change orders. To order NCS Version 4.0, visit www.nationalcadstandard.org

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White paper compares low-e glasses

PITTSBURGH, Penna. – PPG Industries has published a white paper, A Comparison of Energy, Economic and Environmental Benefits of Tinted Low-E Glasses, which summarizes a comparative analysis of four commonly specified tinted, low-emissivity (low-e) glasses.

The 24-page technical document reviews a study conducted by the Architectural Energy Corporation (AEC) that compared the energy-saving performance of Solarban z50 glass by PPG to three common architectural glazings: dual-pane tinted glass, pyrolytic low-e tinted glass and Magnetron Sputtering Vacuum Deposition (MSVD) low-e tinted glass. To order a copy of the white paper, visit www.ppgideascapes.com

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Competition seeks entries

DARMSTADT, Germany – Orgatec 2008, in cooperation with WirtschaftsWoche, is soliciting nominations for its Best Office Award competition, which seeks to recognize intelligent interaction between communication and concentrated work while also contributing to employee recruitment and retention.

Companies can submit solutions up to 15th July 2008. The two best solutions will be shown and presented with awards at Orgatec 2008 from 21st to 25th October 2008 in Cologne. For more information, see www.koelnmesse.de

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Concrete code

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – The American Concrete Institute (ACI) has issued the Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete, which covers the materials, design, and construction of structural concrete used in buildings and where applicable in nonbuilding structures. The Code also covers the strength evaluation of existing concrete structures.

The document addresses a variety of topics including drawings and specifications; inspection; materials; durability requirements; concrete quality, mixing, and placing; formwork; embedded pipes; construction joints; reinforcement details; analysis and design; strength and serviceability; flexural and axial loads; shear and torsion; development and splices of reinforcement; slab systems; walls; footings; precast concrete; composite flexural members; prestressed concrete; shells and folded plate members; strength evaluation of existing structures; provisions for seismic design; structural plain concrete; and  strut-and-tie modeling. For more information, see www.concrete.org/PUBS/newpubs/318-08.htm

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