Hosting open-air celebrations such as graduations and cultural requires sensitivity to audio standards that ensure high-quality sound and audience safety. Today at the usual hour we examine the standards covering sound system design, noise control, loudness levels, equipment specifications, weather and local environmental considerations.
Surprisingly, there are many even without approaching the not insignificant cabling system standards. We pick three representatives titles which cross reference one another:
World Health Organization recommendations for limiting exposure to leisure noise (e.g., concerts) to a level exceeding 80 dBA for 24 hours or 140 dB peak sound pressure to prevent hearing loss. Recommendations for speech heavy events will defer from musical events.
Height and Angle: Line array speakers are often elevated (e.g., on trusses or poles) and angled to cover the audience while reducing sound spill to non-audience areas.
Distance: Main speakers should be placed to avoid excessive sound pressure near the front (e.g., 95–100 dBA max for audience safety) and ensure clarity at the back.
Acoustical Society of America ASA-2010 Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirements, and Guidelines for Schools. While primarily for schools, this standard’s principles can apply to open-air educational or community events, emphasizing background noise control and speech intelligibility. For open-air audiences at events like outdoor lectures or festivals, speaker placement should minimize interference from environmental noise (e.g., traffic, wind). The standard suggests maintaining a signal-to-noise ratio where speech is at least 15 dB above background noise for clarity.
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“View of the Colosseum” 1747 Giovanni Paolo Panini
Play is the making of civilization—how one plays the game
more to the point than whether the game is won or lost.
The purpose of this standard is to establish the minimum requirements to safeguard health, safety and general welfare through structural strength, means of egress facilities, stability and safety to life and property relative to the construction, alteration, repair, operation and maintenance of new and existing temporary and permanent bench bleacher, folding and telescopic seating and grandstands. This standard is intended for adoption by government agencies and organizations setting model codes to achieve uniformity in technical design criteria in building codes and other regulations.
This title is on the standing agenda of our Sport, Olahraga (Indonesian), رياضة (Arabic), colloquia. You are welcomed to join us any day at with the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
At the April International Code Council Group A Hearings there were three candidate code changes related to the safety standard of care for athletic venues:
These concepts will likely be coordinated with another ICC regulatory product —ICC 300 – Standard on Bleachers, Folding and Telescopic Seating, and Grandstands — covered here previously. ICC 300 is a separate document but some of the safety concepts track through both.
The ICC Public Comment Hearings on Group A comments in Richmond Virginia ended a few days ago (CLICK HERE). The balloting is being processed by the appropriate committee and will be released soon. For the moment, we are happy to walk through the proposed changes – that will become part of the 2021 International Building Code — any day at 11 AM Eastern time. We will walk through all athletic and recreation enterprise codes and standards on Friday, November 2nd, 11 AM Eastern time. For access to either teleconference, click on the LIVE Link at the upper right corner of our home page.
Issue: [15-283]
Category: Athletics & Recreation, Architectural, Public Safety
Contact: Mike Anthony, Richard Robben, Jack Janveja
The International Code Council has launched a new revision cycle for its consensus document — ICC 300 – Standard on Bleachers, Folding and Telescopic Seating, and Grandstands. The purpose of the effort is the development of appropriate, reasonable, and enforceable model health and safety provisions for new and existing installations of all types of bleachers and bleacher-type seating, including fixed and folding bleachers for indoor, outdoor, temporary, and permanent installations. Such provisions would serve as a model for adoption and use by enforcement agencies at all levels of government in the interest of national uniformity.
Comments are due December 4th. The document is free. You may obtain an electronic copy from: https://www.iccsafe.org/codes-techsupport/standards/is-ble/. Comments may be sent to Edward Wirtschoreck, (888) 422-7233, ewirtschoreck@iccsafe with copy to psa@ansi.org)
* With some authority, we can claim that without Standards Michigan, many education industry trade associations would not be as involved in asserting the interest of facility managers in global consensus standards development processes. See ABOUT.
May Balls are typically organized by committees of students from the hosting college, who plan and coordinate various aspects of the event, including the theme, decorations, catering, entertainment, and ticket sales.
The proceeds from May Balls go towards charitable causes or to support college funds. The event provides an opportunity for students to celebrate the end of the academic year, socialize with peers, alumni, and guests, and create lasting memories of their time at Cambridge.
The University of Wyoming Extension service provides research and education to farmers and ranchers; funded by federal, state, and local sources:
Agricultural production and management: The Extension service provides information and resources on topics such as crop production, livestock management, and farm business management.
Soil and water management: The Extension service offers expertise on soil fertility, irrigation, water quality, and conservation practices.
Pest management: The Extension service provides resources and support for integrated pest management, including information on insect and disease control, weed management, and pesticide safety.
Youth education: The Extension service offers educational programs and activities for youth interested in agriculture, including 4-H clubs and competitions.
Community development: The Extension service works with local communities to support economic development, tourism, and natural resource conservation.
The Extension service also offers consultations, workshops, field days, and other events to help farmers and ranchers stay up-to-date on the latest research and technologies in agriculture.
A laboratory fume hood is a specialized ventilated enclosure designed to safely contain and remove hazardous chemical fumes, vapors, dust, and aerosols generated during experiments. It consists of a cabinet-like structure with a movable sash window at the front, internal baffles, and a powerful exhaust fan that continuously draws air inward at a controlled velocity (typically 0.3–0.5 m/s). Contaminated air is ducted outside or passed through filters before release, while clean air flows in to create a protective barrier between the user and the hazardous materials.
Today at the usual hour we refresh our understanding of the best practice literature. Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
School Educational Laboratories. In secondary and undergraduate teaching labs, fume hoods enable safe demonstration of core experiments involving acids, bases, or organic reactions. They protect students—who often have limited experience—from accidental exposure while building practical skills. They also reduce odors and airborne contaminants, creating a healthier learning environment and allowing more complex experiments to be included in curricula. In resource-limited schools, even basic fume hoods dramatically lower accident risks and support compliance with safety regulations.
University Research. In advanced research settings, fume hoods are critical for handling toxic, flammable, corrosive, or volatile substances (e.g., organic solvents, carcinogens, or reactive gases). They protect researchers from inhalation exposure, prevent laboratory fires or explosions, and maintain experiment integrity by minimizing cross-contamination. Regulatory standards like OSHA and ASHRAE require their use for many procedures. Without fume hoods, high-level chemical synthesis, nanomaterials research, or analytical chemistry would pose unacceptable health and safety risks, halting scientific progress.
These documents emphasize common themes like checking airflow before use, keeping work ≥6 inches inside the sash, minimizing clutter, proper sash positioning, and never using a malfunctioning hood.
A significant amount of research in the United States is conducted in research universities — over $70 billion annually, according to the National Science Foundation (LEARN MORE HERE). Unlike private industry, where facilities can be located away from population centers, many campus laboratories are located in dense populated areas because researchers enjoy their work in a lively campus setting. Keeping these facilities safe and sustainable is challenging anywhere but especially so in a setting where education and research takes place in close proximity.
One of the core documents for leading practice is ASHRAE 110 — Method of Testing Performance of Laboratory Fume Hoods. Keep in mind that in the emergent #SmartCampus a fume hood is part of an integrated system that not only includes environmental air systems but electrical, telecommunication, and fire safety systems.
ASHRAE 110 provides a starting point for assessing a wide variety of factors that influence the performance of laboratory fume hoods. The ability of a laboratory hood to provide protection for the user at the face of the hood is strongly influenced by the aerodynamic design of the hood, the method of operation of the hood, the stability of the exhaust ventilation system, the supply ventilation of the laboratory room, the work practices of the user, and other features of the laboratory in which it is installed. Therefore, there is a need for a test method that can be used to evaluate the performance including the influences of the laboratory arrangement and its ventilation system.
From the project prospectus:
Purpose. This standard specifies a quantitative and qualitative test method for evaluating fume containment of laboratory fume hoods.
Scope: his method of testing applies to conventional, bypass, auxiliary-air, and VAV laboratory fume hoods. (2) This method of testing is intended primarily for laboratory and factory testing but may also be used as an aid in evaluating installed performance.
The 2016 revision is the current version; made the following improvements to the 1995 edition:
• The test procedures now require digital collection of data rather than allowing manual data collection.
• Some modifications have been made to the test procedure. These modifications were made based on the experience of the committee members or to clarify statements in the 1995 edition of the standard.
• Informative Appendix A, which provides explanatory information, has been expanded.
• Informative Appendix B, a new nonmandatory section, provides guidance to anyone using the standard as a diagnostic tool in investigating the cause of poor hood performance.
ASHRAE has recently upgraded its public participation platform; available in the link below:
ASHRAE 110 is not a continuous maintenance document (that can change in 30 to 90 day intervals). We encourage our colleagues involved in university-affiliated research enterprises who have an idea, data and/or anecdotes to key in their idea, data or anecdote — particularly faculty and students. While we recognize that conformance professionals (i.e. “inspectors”) have a very informed point of view about safety; they may not place ideas for lower costs at the top of their agenda. It is a fine line we must hew in the education industry — respecting the experience and priorities of risk managers while at the same coming up with ideas that make laboratories safer, simpler, lower-cost and longer-lasting that may reduce their billable hours.
We find that environmental air safety goals often compete with fire safety goals and both compete with sustainability goals. Conversations about the optimal approach to converting to variable volume fume hood systems from constant flow are common:
As an ANSI accredited continuous-maintenance standards developer ASHRAE technical committees receive public comment at any time; though action on revising the standard must follow the accredited process. State level adaptations — with respect to technical specifics or compliance paths or both — are always possible. As explained elsewhere, Standards Michigan generally advocates for scalable, site specific solutions to laboratory safety system operation and maintenance, though we understand that enforcement and compliance interests prefer bright-line, single-point solutions that are easy to enforce.
All ASHRAE standards are on the agenda of our Mechanical Engineering teleconference. See our CALENDAR for our next conversation on this subject; open to everyone.
NSF Internationaldevelops a standard for one of the centerpiece safety technologies for a large revenue driver in research universities. The landing page for its biosafety cabinetry product, installation, operation and maintenance standard is linked below:
This Standard applies to Class II (laminar flow) biosafety cabinetry designed to minimize hazards inherent in work with agents assigned to biosafety levels 1, 2, 3, or 4. It also defines the tests that shall be passed by such cabinetry to meet this standard. NSF 49 includes basic requirements for the design, construction, and performance of biosafety cabinets that are intended to provide personnel, product, and environmental protection; reliable operation; durability and structural stability; cleanability; limitations on noise level; illumination; vibration; and motor/blower performance.
This equipment class is the centerpiece of many research laboratories and is a multidimensional risk aggregation so NSF 49 needs to move swiftly and is listed as an ANSI Continuous Maintenance product. You can track the action at the link below:
We maintain all NSF International titles on the agenda of our Laboratory and Risk teleconferences and, because NSF runs its standards suite continuously, most of its titles are on our Nota Bene teleconferences. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone
Issue: [13-118]
Category: Risk Management, Occupational Health and Safety
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Richard Robben, Alan Rose, Mark Schaufele
After architectural trades, the mechanical technologies occupy the largest part of building construction:
HVAC:
Heating Systems: Technologies include furnaces, boilers, heat pumps, and radiant heating systems.
Ventilation Systems: Incorporating technologies like air handlers, fans, and ductwork to ensure proper air circulation.
Air Conditioning Systems: Including central air conditioning units, split systems, and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems.
Plumbing:
Water Supply Systems: Involving technologies for water distribution, pumps, and pressure regulation.
Sanitary Systems: Including drainage, sewage systems, and waste disposal technologies.
Fixtures and Faucets: Incorporating technologies for sinks, toilets, showers, and other plumbing fixtures.
Fire Protection:
Fire Sprinkler Systems: Employing technologies like sprinkler heads, pipes, pumps, and water tanks.
Fire Suppression Systems: Including technologies such as gas-based or foam-based suppression systems.
Energy Efficiency Technologies:
Energy Management Systems (EMS): Utilizing sensors, controllers, and software to optimize energy consumption in HVAC systems.
Energy Recovery Systems: Incorporating technologies like heat exchangers to recover and reuse energy from exhaust air.
Building Automation (BAS):
Control Systems: Using sensors, actuators, and controllers to manage and automate various mechanical systems for optimal performance and energy efficiency.
Smart Building Technologies: Integrating with other building systems for centralized control and monitoring.
Materials and Construction Techniques:
Piping Materials: Selecting appropriate materials for pipes and fittings based on the application.
Prefab and Modular Construction: Leveraging off-site fabrication and assembly for mechanical components.
Our examination of the movement in best practice in the mechanical disciplines usually requires an understanding of first principles that appear in the International Building Code
We are waiting for the link to the Complete Monograph for the Group A cycle in which one of our proposals (Chapter 27 Electrical) will be heard at the April 2023 Committee Action Hearings in Orlando.
Superceded:
Because of the larger, disruptive concepts usually require more than one revision cycle — i.e. 3 to 9 years — it is wise to track those ideas in the transcripts of public hearings on the revisions. For example, the ICC Group A Committee Action Hearings were completed (virtually) in May 2021. The complete monograph of proposals is linked below:
Proposals for the 2024 IMC revision will be accepted until January 7, 2024. We maintain this title among our core titles during our periodic Mechanical teleconferences. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.
A conversation with Bjorn Lomborg, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, the president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, and one of the foremost climate experts in the world today. His new book — “False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet” — is an argument for treating climate as a serious problem but not an extinction-level event requiring such severe and drastic steps as rewiring a large part of the culture and the economy.
The alarmist reddening of weather maps is a perfect visualisation of how 5th generational warfare works. We’re dealing with an information war and the battlefield is our mind. @RWMaloneMDpic.twitter.com/nTBv5yhYbS
Water is essential for sanitation and hygiene — and proper sanitation is essential for protecting water sources from contamination and ensuring access to safe drinking water. Access to safe water and sanitation is crucial for preventing the spread of waterborne diseases, which can be transmitted through contaminated water sources or poor sanitation practices. Lack of access to safe water and sanitation can lead to a range of health problems, including diarrheal diseases, cholera, typhoid, and hepatitis A.
On the other hand, poor sanitation practices, such as open defecation, can contaminate water sources, making them unsafe for drinking, bathing, or cooking. This contamination can lead to the spread of diseases and illness, particularly in developing countries where access to clean water and sanitation facilities may be limited.
We track the catalog of the following ANSI accredited standards developers that necessarily require mastery of building premise water systems:
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers: ASHRAE develops standards related to heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration systems — and more recently, standards that claim jurisdiction over building sites.
American Society of Mechanical Engineers: ASME develops standards related to boilers, pressure vessels, and piping systems.
American Water Works Association: AWWA is a standards development organization that publishes a wide range of standards related to water supply, treatment, distribution, and storage.
ASTM International: ASTM develops and publishes voluntary consensus standards for various industries, including water-related standards. They cover topics such as water quality, water sampling, and water treatment.
National Fire Protection Association: NFPA develops fire safety standards, and some of their standards are related to water, such as those covering fire sprinkler systems and water supplies for firefighting within and outside buildings. We deal with the specific problems of sprinkler water system safety during our Prometheus colloquia.
National Sanitation Foundation International (NSF International): NSF International develops standards and conducts testing and certification for various products related to public health and safety, including standards for water treatment systems and products.
Underwriters Laboratories (UL): UL is a safety consulting and certification company that develops standards for various industries. They have standards related to water treatment systems, plumbing products, and fire protection systems.
‘Weird, totally unnecessary, and absurd’ — UVA students raise concerns over tampon dispensers in men’s restrooms
* The evolution of building interior water systems has undergone significant changes over time to meet the evolving needs of society. Initially, water systems were rudimentary, primarily consisting of manually operated pumps and gravity-fed distribution systems. Water was manually fetched from wells or nearby sources, and indoor plumbing was virtually nonexistent.
The Industrial Revolution brought advancements in plumbing technology. The introduction of pressurized water systems and cast-iron pipes allowed for the centralized distribution of water within buildings. Separate pipes for hot and cold water became common, enabling more convenient access to water for various purposes. Additionally, the development of flush toilets and sewage systems improved sanitation and hygiene standards.
In the mid-20th century, the advent of plastic pipes, such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and CPVC (chlorinated polyvinyl chloride), revolutionized plumbing systems. These pipes offered durability, flexibility, and ease of installation, allowing for faster and more cost-effective construction.
The latter part of the 20th century witnessed a growing focus on water conservation and environmental sustainability. Low-flow fixtures, such as toilets, faucets, and showerheads, were introduced to reduce water consumption without compromising functionality. Greywater recycling systems emerged, allowing the reuse of water from sinks, showers, and laundry for non-potable purposes like irrigation.
With the advancement of digital technology, smart water systems have emerged in recent years. These systems integrate sensors, meters, and automated controls to monitor and manage water usage, detect leaks, and optimize water distribution within buildings. Smart technologies provide real-time data, enabling better water management, energy efficiency, and cost savings.
The future of building interior water systems is likely to focus on further improving efficiency, sustainability, and water quality. Innovations may include enhanced water purification techniques, decentralized water treatment systems, and increased integration of smart technologies to create more intelligent and sustainable water systems.
The first mover in building interior water supply systems can be traced back to the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley. However, one of the earliest known examples of sophisticated indoor plumbing systems can be attributed to the ancient Romans.
The Romans were pioneers in constructing elaborate water supply and distribution networks within their cities. They developed aqueducts to transport water from distant sources to urban centers, allowing for a centralized water supply. The water was then distributed through a network of lead or clay pipes to public fountains, baths, and private residences.
One notable example of Roman plumbing ingenuity is the city of Pompeii, which was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The excavation of Pompeii revealed a well-preserved plumbing system that included indoor plumbing in some houses. These systems featured piped water, private bathrooms with flushing toilets, and even hot and cold water systems.
The Romans also invented the concept of the cloaca maxima, an ancient sewer system that collected and transported wastewater away from the city to nearby bodies of water. This early recognition of the importance of sanitation and wastewater management was a significant advancement in public health.
While the Romans were not the only ancient civilization to develop indoor plumbing systems, their engineering prowess and widespread implementation of water supply and sanitation infrastructure make them a key player in the history of building interior water systems.
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/njrDAbSpwBpic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T
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