“Niagara” 1857 Frederic Edwin Church
Although the 2024 Revision is substantially complete there are a number of technical and administrative issues to be resolved before the final version is released for public use. Free access to the most recent edition is linked below.
TENTATIVE – 2027 UPC/UMC CODE DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE
Report on Comments for the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code
The Life Safety Code addresses those construction, protection, and occupancy features necessary to minimize danger to life from the effects of fire, including smoke, heat, and toxic gases created during a fire. It is widely incorporated by reference into public safety statutes; typically coupled with the consensus products of the International Code Council. It is a mighty document — one of the NFPA’s leading titles — so we deal with it in pieces; consulting it for decisions to be made for the following:
(1) Determination of the occupancy classification in Chapters 12 through 42.
(2) Determination of whether a building or structure is new or existing.
(3) Determination of the occupant load.
(4) Determination of the hazard of contents.
There are emergent issues — such as active shooter response, integration of life and fire safety systems on the internet of small things — and recurrent issues such as excessive rehabilitation and conformity criteria and the ever-expanding requirements for sprinklers and portable fire extinguishers with which to reckon. It is never easy telling a safety professional paid to make a market for his product or service that it is impossible to be alive and safe. It is even harder telling the dean of a department how much it will cost to bring the square-footage under his stewardship up to the current code.
The 2021 edition is the current edition and is accessible below:
NFPA 101 Life Safety Code Free Public Access
Public input on the 2027 Revision will be received until June 4, 2024.
Since the Life Safety Code is one of the most “living” of living documents — the International Building Code and the National Electric Code also move continuously — we can start anywhere and anytime and still make meaningful contributions to it. We have been advocating in this document since the 2003 edition in which we submitted proposals for changes such as:
• A student residence facility life safety crosswalk between NFPA 101 and the International Building Code
• Refinements to Chapters 14 and 15 covering education facilities (with particular attention to door technologies)
• Identification of an ingress path for rescue and recovery personnel toward electric service equipment installations.
• Risk-informed requirement for installation of grab bars in bathing areas
• Modification of the 90-minute emergency lighting requirements rule for small buildings and for fixed interval testing
• Modification of emergency illumination fixed interval testing
• Table 7.3.1 Occupant Load revisions
• Harmonization of egress path width with European building codes
There are others. It is typically difficult to make changes to stabilized standard though some of the concepts were integrated by the committee into other parts of the NFPA 101 in unexpected, though productive, ways. Example transcripts of proposed 2023 revisions to the education facility chapter is linked below:
Chapter 14 Public Input Report: New Educational Occupancies
Educational and Day Care Occupancies: Second Draft Public Comments with Responses Report
Since NFPA 101 is so vast in its implications we list a few of the sections we track, and can drill into further, according to client interest:
Chapter 3: Definitions
Chapter 7: Means of Egress
Chapter 12: New Assembly Occupancies
Chapter 13: Existing Assembly Occupancies
Chapter 16 Public Input Report: New Day-Care Facilities
Chapter 17 Public Input Report: Existing Day Care Facilities
Chapter 18 Public Input Report: New Health Care Facilities
Chapter 19 Public Input Report: Existing Health Care Facilities
Chapter 28: Public Input Report: New Hotels and Dormitories
Chapter 29: Public Input Report: Existing Hotels and Dormitories
Chapter 43: Building Rehabilitation
Annex A: Explanatory Material
As always we encourage front-line staff, facility managers, subject matter experts and trade associations to participate directly in the NFPA code development process (CLICK HERE to get started)
NFPA 101 is a cross-cutting title so we maintain it on the agenda of our several colloquia —Housing, Prometheus, Security and Pathways colloquia. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.
Issue: [18-90]
Category: Fire Safety, Public Safety
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Josh Elvove, Joe DeRosier, Marcelo Hirschler
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When lives are at stake, alternative approaches are welcome. #LifeSafety #AlternativeApproaches #Code #NFPA101 @NFPA
https://t.co/JvWyyZtuLP— ANSI (@ansidotorg) December 20, 2018
This paper introduced the concept of reliability theory and established a mathematical framework for analyzing system reliability in terms of lumped parameters. It defined important concepts such as coherent systems, minimal cut sets, and minimal path sets, which are still widely used in reliability engineering.
IEEE Recommended Practice for the Design of Reliable Industrial and Commercial Power Systems
“Railroad Sunset” | Edward HopperWe are tooling up to update the failure rate tables of IEEE 493 Design of Reliable Industrial and Commercial Power Systems; collaborating with project leaders but contributing to an essential part of the data design engineers use for scaling their power system designs. The project is in its early stages. We are formulating approaches about how to gather data for assemble a statistically significant data set.
Today we introduce the project which will require harvesting power reliability statistics from any and all educational settlements willing to share their data. As the links before demonstrate, we have worked in this domain for many years.
Join us with the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
“On the Mathematical Theory of Risk and Some Problems in Distribution-Free Statistics” by Frank Proschan (1963): This paper introduced the concept of increasing failure rate (IFR) and decreasing failure rate (DFR) distributions, which are crucial in reliability modeling and analysis.
“Reliability Models for Multiple Failures in Redundant Systems” by John F. Meyer (1965): This paper addressed the problem of reliability analysis for redundant systems, which are systems with multiple components designed to provide backup in case of failure.
“Reliability of Systems in Series and in Parallel” by A. T. Bharucha-Reid (1960): This work analyzed the reliability of systems composed of components arranged in series and parallel configurations, which are fundamental building blocks of more complex systems.
“A Stochastic Model for the Reliability of Modular Software Systems” by John E. Gaffney, Jr. and Thomas A. Dueck (1980): This paper introduced one of the earliest models for software reliability, extending the concepts of reliability theory to the field of software engineering.
“Redundancy Techniques for Computing Systems” by John von Neumann (1956): This report by the pioneering computer scientist John von Neumann explored the use of redundancy techniques, such as triple modular redundancy, to improve the reliability of com
puting systems.
How does the electrical grid respond to a crisis?
If the power goes out after a thunderstorm, utility crews are on the job within hours to restore service and get the lights back on. Most electric utilities in the U.S. have a reputation for reliability and recovery from situations like this. It has been noticed as planners began thinking about increased natural disasters brought on by population migration patterns, manmade interference due to malicious cyber-attacks, and the instability brought about by adding large quantities of renewable energy.
At North Carolina State University, The Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management (FREEDOM) Systems Engineering Research Center was created through funding from the National Science Foundation in 2008 to modernize the electrical grid to accommodate sustainable energy, such as wind and solar power. The Freedom Center has been involved in developing online tools for assessing vulnerabilities to address cyber-physical security called distributed grid intelligence. The hope is that smart microgrids with sensors embedded throughout the system might be more resilient to failure and easier to bring back online and large multi-state electric grids. But the emerging smart grid, together with distributed renewable energy such as rooftop solar, presents a new set of challenges to resilience. The Smart Grid involves more distributed energy down to the home level. That kind of penetration adds a level of vulnerability to a cyber threat. Engineers will certainly have to pay attention to that as the grid gets smarter.
Sporty weather season in the United States inspires a revisit of best practice for designing, building and maintaining the systems that provide limited electricity when the primary source fails. We have been active in the development of this and related titles for decades and have presented several proposals to the technical committee. Public response on the Second Draft of the 2025 revision will be received until March 27, 2024.
Electrical building, World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago (1892)
FREE ACCESS to the 2022 Edition of NFPA 110 Standard for Emergency and Standby Power Systems
The scope of NFPA 110 and NFPA 111 are close coupled and summarized below:
NFPA 110 Standard for Emergency and Standby Power Systems. This standard contains requirements covering the performance of emergency and standby power systems providing an alternate source of electrical power to loads in buildings and facilities in the event that the primary power source fails.
NFPA 111 Stored Electrical Energy for Emergency and Standby Power Systems. This standard shall cover performance requirements for stored electrical energy systems providing an alternate source of electrical power in buildings and facilities in the event that the normal electrical power source fails.
FIRST DRAFT AGENDA | August 2022
Public comment on the First Draft of the 2025 Edition will be received until May 31, 2023.
We have advocated in this standard since 1996 and still use the original University of Michigan Workspace; though those workspaces must be upgraded to the new Google Sites during 2021. We provide a link to the Standards Michigan Workspace and invite you to join any of our electrical colloquia which are hosted jointly with the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee four times per month in European and American time zones. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.
Issue: [96-04]
Category: Electrical, Risk
Contact: Mike Anthony, Robert Arno, Neal Dowling, Jim Harvey, Robert Schuerger, Mike Hiler
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ITM of Emergency Power Systems
Planning for Higher Education Journal: Revisiting the Campus Power Dilemma: A Case Study
Tom is a long-time colleague and friend so Mike happily posts his content:
Maysville Community and Technical College
The IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee (IEEE E&H) tracks campus power outages (as a research project) because many large research universities own and operate power generation and delivery enterprises that run upwards of 100 megawatts — i.e. at a scale that exceeds many municipal and cooperative electrical power utilities that are regulated by state utility commissions. It has been estimated that power outages on a large research university campus — some with a daily population of 10,000 to 100,000 students, faculty and staff — have an effective cost of $100,000 to $1,ooo,ooo per minute.
The IEEE E&H Committee uses IEEE 1366 Guide for Electrical Power Distribution Reliability Indices — as a template for exploring performance metrics of large customer-owned power systems. Respected voices in the IEEE disagree on many concepts that appear in it but, for the moment, it is the most authoritative consensus document produced by the IEEE Standards Association at the moment.
According to IEEE Standards Association due processes, a revision to the 2012 version is now at the start of its developmental trajectory:
IEEE P1366 PAR Revision Approval
We will depend upon the IEEE E&H Committee to keep us informed about issues that will affect campus power purchasing contracts. (There is a fair amount of runway ahead of us.) Conversely, no IEEE technical committee ignores “war stories” and solid reliability performance data. We dedicate one hour every month to electrical power standards. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.
Issue: [11-54]
Category: Electrical, Energy
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Robert G. Arno, Neal Dowling, Jim Harvey, Kane Howard, Robert S. Schuerger
“The most important role of technology is to create time.
Information technology epitomizes this role.
And wealth creation is ultimately about time,
freeing human time from labor.”
— George Gilder
L’italiano Luca Pacioli, riconosciuto come “Il padre della contabilità e della contabilità” è stato il primo a pubblicare un’opera sulla partita doppia, e ha introdotto il campo in Italia.
“Hatred of the rich is the
beginning of all wisdom”
— H.L. Mencken
Today we break down the literature that informs the finances of the real assets of education settlements. We examine a few publicly available university annual budget documents and, lately, have been looking ahead at innovation in distributed ledger solutions, digital currencies and blue sky conceptions of a circular economy which has captured the imagination of trendsniffers in every nation.
Since our 2016 estimate of $300 billion — triangulated from several private and public databases; the number that measures construction spend coupled with operations and maintenance — a fair estimate of growth is likely closer to $500 billion now. Based upon the US Census Bureau monthly construction spend reports we have seen a slight uptick in construction spend. We still see construction activity running at an $85-$90 billion clip.
During 2024-2025 we will be breaking down this subject into manageable segments as interest in it clarifies. For now it is enlightening to approach finance standards with an examination of a few operating budgets:
University of Michigan Budget Book 2024
Harvard University Budget Overview: September 2023
University of Minnesota 2022 Final Capital Budget Requests with Governor’s Recommendations
The 2022-2023 Budget: Overview of the Governor’s Higher Education Budget Proposals (California)
Prince George County Public Schools Operating Budget 2022
University of Illinois Deferred Maintenance
Central Michigan University Capital & Deferred Maintenance Budgets
Every dollar passing through the business or academic side of the education industry has rules for how it is received and tracked.* At the moment we track, but do not dwell, on the grant management standards asserted by state and federal funding agencies. When we do, we place them on the agenda of the appropriate colloquium.
Money, money, money… 😳 pic.twitter.com/Ssyz5PQPVV
— Agnieszka Herrmann (@AgaHerrmann) February 4, 2022
Appropriate use of public funding underlies some — but not all — of the accounting burden of the education industry. We steer clear of the grant management requirements public funding agencies place upon the education industry; maintain focus on the titles developed and published by organizations that have a due process platform. For example:
Accredited Standards Committee X9
Financial Industry Standards: Program of Work
Data Center OIX-2 Certification
Sustainability Accounting Standards Board
There are several trackworthy non-ANSI accredited standard developing organizations:
Sustainability Accounting Standards Board
Real Estate Information Standards Board
Kuznets curve
Send bella@standardsmichigan.com an email for a detailed advance agenda. To join the colloquium today use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
“De armen en het geld” 1882 Vincent van Gogh
More:
Community FY22 Appropriations Request Letterdocx
Letter-Tax-Provisions-American-Jobs-Families-Plans-061421
Half the people working in schools aren’t classroom teachers—so what?
CLICK ON IMAGE FOR DOWNLOAD
Giovanni Paolo Panini, An architectural capriccio with figures among Roman ruins
The post-pandemic #WiseCampus transformation requires significant capital to meet the sustainability goals of its leadership. Campuses are cities-within-cities and are, to a fair degree, financed in a similar fashion. Tax-free bonds are an effective instrument for school districts, colleges and universities — and the host community in which they are nested — for raising capital for infrastructure projects while also providing investors with, say $10,000 to $100,000, to allocate toward a tax-free dividend income stream that produces a return in the range of 2 to 8 percent annually.
An aging population may be receptive to investment opportunities that protect their retirement savings from taxation.
Curious about the municipal bond market? Check out the MSRB’s new resource “Municipal Market Basics” to start your journey through the MSRB’s newly updated Education Center: https://t.co/BIMBxWpKGkhttps://t.co/PLhtaXzdD9 pic.twitter.com/FVARkkYZAD
— MSRB (@MSRB_News) November 28, 2023
Once a month, we walk through the prospectuses of one or two bond offerings of school districts, colleges and universities and examine offering specifics regarding infrastructure construction, operations and maintenance. We pay particular attention to details regarding “continuing operations”. Somehow the education industry has to pay for its green agenda. See our CALENDAR for the next Finance colloquium; open to everyone.
The interactive map provided by Electronic Municipal Market Access identifies state-by-state listings of tax-free bonds that contribute to the construction and operation of education facilities; some of which involved university-affiliated medical research and healthcare delivery enterprises.
CLICK ON IMAGE FOR INTERACTIVE MAP
If you need help cutting through this list please feel free to click in any day at 11 AM Eastern time. Use the login credentials at the upper right of our hope page. We collaborate with subject matter experts at Municipal Analytics and UBS.
Issue: [Various]
Category: Administration & Management, Finance, #SmartCampus
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, John Kaczor, Liberty Ziegahn
*We see the pandemic as a driver for a step-reduction in cost in all dimensions of education communities. We coined the term with a hashtag about two years ago.
*College and university infrastructure projects are classified with public school districts under the rubric “municipal bonds” at the moment. CLICK HERE for more information.
More:
Duke Law Review: Don’t ‘Screw Joe the Plummer’: The Sausage-Making of Financial Reform
Sui Jie, et al
Department of Economics and Management, Tianjin Normal University of Vocation and Technology
University endowment fund archives are very valuable document collection in the development of the University Foundation. With the advent of the era of big data, the management of university endowment fund archives presents many features, such as intelligence, convenience and high efficiency. We analyze problems about the management of university endowment fund archives under the background of the era of big data. Finally, the suggestion is put forward how to promote the efficiency of university endowment fund archives under the background of the era of big data.
CLICK HERE to order complete paper
New update alert! The 2022 update to the Trademark Assignment Dataset is now available online. Find 1.29 million trademark assignments, involving 2.28 million unique trademark properties issued by the USPTO between March 1952 and January 2023: https://t.co/njrDAbSpwB pic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T
— USPTO (@uspto) July 13, 2023
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