Author Archives: mike@standardsmichigan.com

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Laboratory Design

ISO/DIS 22544Laboratory design — Vocabulary (Under Development)

ANSI STANDARDS ACTION

International Building Code Chapter 38: Higher Education Laboratories

Update: 6 June 2024

Update: 28 September 2023

Update: 10 May 2023

Update: 27 February 2023

Updated: September 20, 2021

Original Post: May 25, 2019

 

Colleagues in the US education facility industry who collaborated with the original University of Michigan codes and standards advocacy enterprise ahead of the launch of ISO TC 276 Biotechnology standard in 2015 may recall how the University of Michigan recommended that ANSI request removal of “facilities” from the scope of the proposed biotechnology standard; administered by the Deutsches Institut für Normung committee.

Our recommendation was accepted; thereby partitioning the science of biotechnology from the facilities that supported that activity as much as possible.  Back in the early 2000’s we found the US research community in higher education was indifferent to participation in international standards of any kind; despite the concentration of chemical, energy, environmental air, electrical and fire safety risk aggregations.

Now the scope of this standard appears to recover some of the facility scope in another title; a few of the key details linked here.

CLICK IMAGE

Since the beginning of the original University of Michigan standards advocacy enterprise described in our ABOUT we found the US research community indifferent to participation in standards  development of any kind; much less international standards.  To a large degree it remains so.  Perhaps in the fullness of time, respected voices will join ours.

The Standards Administration of China is the Global Secretariat.  The American National Standards Institute participates as an Observer.  The business plan posted in 2019 is linked below:

ISO TC 336 Laboratory Design 22 March 2023 336 L

ISO TSP 290 (Laboratory Design) | 2019  (Shown for reference only)

You may communicate directly with Steve Cornish: scornish@ansi.org on any matter regarding this project.

Starting 2023  we are breaking up our coverage of laboratory-related best practice titles accordingly:

Laboratories 100 will cover all relevant standardization catalogs with special attention to titles that are incorporated by reference into public safety and sustainability laws.

Laboratories 200 will cover laboratory occupancies primarily for teaching and healthcare clinical delivery.

Laboratories 400 will cover laboratories for scientific research including medical research.

Laboratories 500 is broken out as a separate but related topic and will cover conformity and case studies that resulted in litigation.  Both Laboratories 200 and 400 will refer to the cases but not given a separate colloquium unless needed.

We maintain titles from the project on the standing agendas of our periodic Global and Laboratories conversations open to everyone.  Always at 15:00 UTC.

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Issue: [19-134]

Category: Academic, International

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Christine Fischer, Jack Janveja, Richard Robben, Markus Scheufele, Larry Spielvogel

Source: ANSI Standards Action | Page 33

ANSI-Accredited U.S. Technical Advisory Groups (TAGS) to ISO

LINK TO ORIGINAL UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ISO STANDARDS WORKSPACE

Standards für die Präanalytik

Electrical Safety in Academic Laboratories

Danse de recherche sur le cancer


Reposted by ANSI July 13, 2020

Last week the American National Standards Institute notified stakeholders that the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) — the ISO member body for China — has submitted a proposal for a new field of ISO technical activity on “Laboratory Design”.   The proposal bears resemblance to a notice of public consultation that was posted last year; now linked below:

ISO TSP 290 (Laboratory Design)

Comments on the (apparently revised) proposal are due at ANSI offices on August  3rd.

We refer you to Steve Cornish (scornish@ansi.org) and/or Henry Cheung (HCheung@ansi.org) at the American National Standards Institute.

We maintain consensus products of this nature on our Global and Laboratory teleconferences; open to everyone.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting.


Originally posted May 25, 2019

 

ISO Member Nations | Click on image

 

“Science, my boy, is made up of mistakes,

but they are mistakes which it is useful to make,

because they lead little by little to the truth.” 

― Jules Verne, Journey to the Center of the Earth

 

The Standardization Administration of China (SAC) — the ISO member body for China — has submitted a proposal for a new field of ISO technical activity on “Laboratory Design” with the following scope statement:

“…Standardization in the field of laboratory design including site selection and design planning, the functional division of experimental areas, the determination of scientific and technological processes, layouts and design of furniture, and the scientific design of the facility taking into account environmental conditions and impact.  Excluded:

– IEC/TC 64 (Electrical installations and protection against electric shock);
– IEC/TC 81 (Lightning protection);
– IEC/TC 66 (Safety of measuring, control and laboratory equipment);
– IEC/TC 85 (Measuring equipment for electrical and electromagnetic quantities).

Once the new TC is established, liaisons with other relevant ISO technical committees will be established, including ISO/TC 48(laboratory equipment), ISO/TC 212 (Clinical laboratory testing and in vitro diagnostic test systems)and CASCO as well as relevant IEC technical committees (IEC/TC 45(Nuclear instrumentation), IEC/TC 62 (Electrical equipment in medical practice), IEC/TC 65 (Industrial-process measurement, control and automation), IEC/TC 76 (Optical radiation safety and laser equipment) and IEC/TC 104 (Environmental conditions, classification and methods of test).  Note: the TC will support the contribution of the laboratory design industry to UN Sustainable Development Goals and enable countries to address a wide range of global issues including eradication of hunger and poverty, health, climate change and economic development….”

“…The new TC will stipulate technical design requirements for a diverse range of laboratories with different functions and responsibilities. It will include, but not limited to:

1. site selection and design planning;
2. layouts and design of furniture (e.g workbenches, fume hoods, safety showers, biological safety cabinets, etc);
3. electrical, water and gas supply systems, drainage, fire prevention, HVAC, auto-control and decoration;
4. laboratories featuring bio-safety, constant temperature and humidity, and other special laboratories;
5. laboratory safety, staff health, environmental protection, and energy saving;
6. Smart laboratory (use of new technologies such as big data, cloud computing, block chain, etc. to empower laboratories, e.g. increase the depth and width of services provided to clients, improve the servicing level during the consulting, design and maintenance phases.)…”

A Giant Traditional Chinese Painting | CLICK ON IMAGE

A Giant Traditional Chinese Painting | CLICK ON IMAGE

“…The setting up of laboratory design TC and establishment of laboratory design standards will benefit organizations and groups as follows:

      1. Laboratory owners (including governments, scientific agencies and enterprises, etc.): Laboratory owners will understand the principles and methods of laboratory design for better management of laboratory design, construction, acceptance and operation. The investment budget will have a reference basis; construction cost will be better controlled; investment risk will be lowered; project quality can be better evaluated; construction cycle will be shortened; capital usage efficiency will be raised;
      1. Laboratory designers: Laboratory designers will understand the principles and methods of laboratory design, and will have standards to follow and verify by, make fewer design faults and ensure laboratory design to be more scientific and professional; laboratory environmental facility will be improved in terms of safety, energy conservation, environmental friendliness, as well as impacts on human health and well-being.
      1. Laboratory constructors: Laboratory constructors will have construction and acceptance standards to refer to; the construction quality will be raised; technology advancement will be promoted; the industry will be further regulated.
      1. Laboratory users: Laboratory users will understand the principles and methods of laboratory design; stakeholders can communicate with each other in a more informed way and evaluate laboratories based on common standards, making laboratory use, operation and management more scientific and regulated. Smart laboratories will allow more functions and add value by integrating technologies of big data, cloud computing and internet of things, etc.
      1. Laboratory operators: Laboratory operators will understand the principles and methods of laboratory design, which will facilitate the maintenance of laboratories; Smart laboratories will enable the remote digital control of laboratory operation and facilitate reliable, efficient and convenient maintenance.
      1. Society:  The society will be able to cultivate more professional personnel in the field of laboratory design; a more sound and fair development of laboratory design and construction both home and abroad will be facilitated; more energy-saving and environmental-friendly design will promote the sustainable development of the society; the premium laboratories will inspire the creativity of researchers and promote the advancement and development of technologies. Smart laboratories will facilitate technological progress, product quality improvement, data recognition as well as international trade….”

“Louis Pasteur” | Albert Edelfelt (1885)

If the proposal is accepted, China is willing to undertake the work of secretariat of the new TC and will provide all necessary resources including financial and human resources as well as facility supports.   A partnership agreement between China and France at committee level is foreseen.   

Anyone wishing to review the proposal can request a copy by contacting ANSI’s ISO Team (isot@ansi.org), with a submission of comments to Steve Cornish (scornish@ansi.org) by close of business on Friday, June 28th

N.B. This proposal will be featured in an ANSI Online news story and open for public review and comments from relevant US stakeholders via notice in Standards Action. In addition, ANSI will conduct targeted outreach to gather input on this proposal.  Based on the input received from US stakeholders, a recommended ANSI position and any comments will be developed and presented to the AIC for approval before the ISO voting deadline of August 13, 2019.  Contact Steve Cornish (scornish@ansi.org)

ANSI’s due process requirements were applied to this ISO/SIA/AFNOR proposal and comment from US stakeholders were consulted.  It appears that most US stakeholders do NOT want to participate in the development of this standard as currently written.   The public comments are available from Henry Cheung (HCheung@ansi.org) who has also prepared a draft statement from ANSI.

Comments on the draft statement are due August 2nd.  

 

Perspective:  We have been down this road before.  The original University of Michigan user-interest advocacy enterprise — through ANSI — was persuasive in having “facilities” struck from the scope of the original ISO TC/276 Biotechnology project proposal (Global Secretariat: Deutsches Institut für Normung) in 2012.  Now we circle back to a proposal that captures the facility component as an articulated enterprise which, in large research colleges and universities, is a delicate risk aggregation that generates significant revenue.

As always, we are happy to discuss any best practice title from anywhere on earth that affects the safety and sustainability agenda of education communities.   Just click the login credentials at the upper right of our home page any day at 11 AM Eastern time.    We also sweep through the status of international consensus products emerging from ISO, IEC and ITU technical and management committees.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

Issue: [19-134]

Category: Academic, International

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Christine Fischer, Jack Janveja, Richard Robben, Markus Scheufele, Larry Spielvogel

Source: ANSI Standards Action | Page 33

LINK TO ORIGINAL UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ISO STANDARDS WORKSPACE

 

 

Standards für die Präanalytik

Laboratory Chemical Safety Fixtures

Higher Education Laboratories

2024 GROUP A PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE I-CODES: Complete Monograph (2658 pages)

Note the following changes in the transcript above:

Section 702 (Rated Construction), FS44-24 Installer Qualifications (typical marketmaking), Section 3801 (Materials exceeding the Maximum Allowable Quantity), F59-24 (Battery Containment Areas), F81-24 (Health Care Facility Plugs), F112-24 (Lithium Ion Battery Labs), F197-24 (Market making, laboratory oven protection study), F235-24 (Hazardous Materials Classifications & quantity limits).


Safety and sustainability concepts for research and healthcare delivery cut across many disciplines and standards suites and provides significant revenue for most research universities.  The International Code Council provides free access to current editions of its catalog of titles incorporated by reference into public safety law.  CLICK HERE for an interactive edition of Chapter 38 of the 2021 International Fire Code.

During today’s colloquium we will examine consultations for the next edition in the link below:

2021 International Fire Code Chapter 38 Higher Education Laboratories

We encourage our colleagues to participate directly in the ICC Code Development process.   The next revision of the International Fire Code will be undertaken accordingly to next ICC Code Development schedule; the timetable linked below:

2024/2025/2026 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

We encourage directly employed front-line staff of a school district, college or university that does not operate in a conformance/compliance capacity — for example, a facility manager of an academic unit — to join a committee.  Not the Fire Marshall.  Not the Occupational Safety Inspector.  Persons with job titles listed below:

  • Fire Safety System Designer
  • Fire Alarm Technician (Shop Foreman)
  • Building Commissioner
  • Electrical, Mechanical Engineer
  • Occupational Safety Engineer

These subject matter experts generally have a user-interest point of view.

Contact Kimberly Paarlberg (kpaarlberg@iccsafe.org) for information about how to do so.

 

Related:

 2021 International Mechanical Code

2021 International Plumbing Code

2021 International Energy Conservation Code

Issue 16-69

Category: Fire Safety, Facility Asset Management

Colleagues: Joe DeRosier, Josh Elvove, Mark Schaufele

Archive / Higher Education Laboratories

Meeting Point

Danse de recherche sur le cancer

International Building Code Definitions: Chapter 2

“The Tower of Babel” 1563 | Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Widely accepted definitions (sometimes “terms of art”) are critical in building codes because they ensure clarity, consistency, and precision in communication among architects, engineers, contractors, and regulators.  Ambiguity or misinterpretation of terms like “load-bearing capacity,” “fire resistance,”  “egress” or “grounding and bonding”  could lead to design flaws, construction errors, or inadequate safety measures, risking lives and property.
“Standardized” definitions — by nature unstable — create a shared language that transcends local practices or jargon, enabling uniform application and enforcement across jurisdictions.  Today at the usual hour we explore the nature and the status of the operational language that supports our raison d’être of making educational settlements safer, simpler, lower-cost and longer-lasting.  

 

2021 IBC Chapter 2: Definitions

2024/2025/2026 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

Group B Documents

Complete Monograph (2650 pages) | Note our proposal on Page 754

Child Day Care

Group B Proposed Changes to the 2024 Editions Complete Monograph (2650 pages)

For today’s session note the proposals listed below:

ADM1-25 Part I (p. 61)

G39-25 Part I (p. 522)

G40-25 Part I (p. 527)

G39-25 Part II (p. 535)

G144-25 (p. 740)

EB7-25 (p. 1438)

Z1-25 (p. 2582)

2025 ICC Leadership Week + Hearings Committee Action Hearings – Group B #1 | April 26 – May 6 | Orlando, Florida


Link to April Committee Action Hearing Videos

2024 Complete Change Monograph (2658 Pages)

 

“Kindergarten” c. 1885 / Johann Sperl

Safety and sustainability for any facility begins with an understanding of who shall occupy the built environment and how.  University settings, with mixed-use phenomenon arising spontaneously and temporarily, often present challenges.   Educational communities are a convergent settings for families; day care facilities among them.  First principles regarding occupancy classifications for day care facilities appear in Section 308 of the International Building Code, Institutional Group I; linked below:

2018 International Building Code Section 308 Institutional Group I-4 (Superseded in some jurisdictions)

The ICC Institutional Group I-4 classification includes buildings and structures occupied by more than five persons of any age who received custodial care for fewer than 24 hours per day by persons other than parents or guardian, relatives by blood, marriage or adoption, and in a place other than the home of the person cared far.  This group includes both adult and child day care.

We maintain focus on child day care.  Many educational communities operate child day care enterprises for both academic study and/or as auxiliary (university employee benefit) enterprises.

Princeton University Child Care Center

Each of the International Code Council code development groups fetch back to a shared understanding of the nature of the facility; character of its occupants and prospective usage patterns.

The 2024 revision of the International Building code is in production now.   Ahead of the formal, market release of the Group A tranche of titles you can sample the safety concepts in play during this revision with an examination of the documents linked below:

2019 GROUP B PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE I-CODES ALBUQUERQUE COMMITTEE ACTION HEARINGS

2019 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ACTION HEARINGS ON THE 2018 EDITIONS OF THE GROUP B INTERNATIONAL CODES

Search on the terms “day care” and “daycare” in the link at the top of this page to get a sample of the prevailing concepts; use of such facilities as storm shelters, for example.

“The Country School” | Winslow Homer

We encourage our safety and sustainability colleagues to participate directly in the ICC Code Development process.   We slice horizontally through the disciplinary silos (“incumbent verticals”) created by hundreds of consensus product developers every week and we can say, upon considerable authority that the ICC consensus product development environment is one of the best in the world.  Privately developed standards (for use by public agencies) is a far better way to discover and promulgate leading practice than originating technical specifics from legislative bodies.   CLICK HERE to get started.  Contact Kimberly Paarlberg (kpaarlberg@iccsafe.org) for more information.

There are competitor consensus products in this space — Chapter 18 Day-Care Occupancies in NFPA 5000 Building Construction and Safety Code, for example; a title we maintain the standing agenda of our Model Building Code teleconferences.   It is developed from a different pool of expertise under a different due process regime.   See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

 

Issue: [18-166]

Category: Architectural, Healthcare Facilities, Facility Asset Management

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey, Richard Robben

Recent concepts in play in transcripts:

  • Tempered water for public hand-washing facilities
  • Walking surfaces
  • Exit signage for non-resident, non-English speaking children
  • Fire rating of corridors 
  • Bathing privacy concepts
  • Water heater controls and monitoring; mixing valves

LEARN MORE:

cdpACCESS Hearing Video Streaming Service

 

Beef Barley Soup

https://extension.oregonstate.edu/imported-publication/beef-barley-soup

Rain & Lightning

The thunderbolt steers all things.
—Heraclitus, c. 500 BC

After the rain. Personal photograph taken by Mike Anthony biking with his niece in Wirdum, The Netherlands

Today at 15:00 UTC we examine the technical literature about rainwater management in schools, colleges and universities — underfoot and on the roof.  Lightning protection standards will also be reviewed; given the exposure of outdoor athletic activity and exterior luminaires.

We draw from previous standardization work in titles involving water, roofing systems and flood management — i.e. a cross-cutting view of the relevant standard developer catalogs.   Among them:

American Society of Civil Engineers

American Society of Plumbing Engineers

ASHRAE International

ASTM International

Construction Specifications Institute (Division 7 Thermal and Moisture Protection)

Environmental Protection Agency | Clean Water Act Section 402

Federal Emergency Management Agency

FM Global

Sustainable Sites Initiative

IAPMO Group (Mechanical and Plumbing codes)

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

Heat Tracing Standards

International Code Council

Chapter 15 Roof Assemblies and Rooftop Structures

Why, When, What and Where Lightning Protection is Required

National Fire Protection Association

National Electrical Code: Article 250.16 Lightning Protection Systems

Lightning Protection

Underwriters Laboratories: Lightning Protection

Underground Stormwater Detention Vaults

United States Department of Agriculture: Storm Rainfall Depth and Distribution

Risk Assessment of Rooftop-Mounted Solar PV Systems

Readings: The “30-30” Rule for Outdoor Athletic Events Lightning Hazard

As always, our daily colloquia are open to everyone.  Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

“Rainbow Connection”

The “lightning effect” seen in carnival tricks typically relies on a scientific principle known as the Lichtenberg figure or Lichtenberg figure. This phenomenon occurs when a high-voltage electrical discharge passes through an insulating material, such as wood or acrylic, leaving behind branching patterns resembling lightning bolts.

The process involves the creation of a temporary electric field within the material, which polarizes its molecules. As the discharge propagates through the material, it causes localized breakdowns, creating branching paths along the way. These branching patterns are the characteristic Lichtenberg figures.

In the carnival trick, a high-voltage generator is used to create an electrical discharge on a piece of insulating material, such as acrylic. When a person touches the material or a conductive object placed on it, the discharge follows the path of least resistance, leaving behind the branching patterns. This effect is often used for entertainment purposes due to its visually striking appearance, resembling miniature lightning bolts frozen in the material. However, it’s crucial to handle such demonstrations with caution due to the potential hazards associated with high-voltage electricity.

 

Flood Abatement Equipment

Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie | Dutch East India Company

FM Global is one of several organizations that produce technical and business documents that set the standard of care for risk management in education facilities.   These standards — Property Loss Prevention Data Sheets —  contribute to the reduction in the risk of property loss due to fire, weather conditions, and failure of electrical or mechanical equipment.  They incorporate nearly 200 years of property loss experience, research and engineering results, as well as input from consensus standards committees, equipment manufacturers and others.

In July FM Global updated its standard FM 2510 Flood Abatement Equipment which should interest flood barrier manufacturers, standard authorities, industrial and commercial facilities looking to protect their buildings from riverline flooding conditions.

The following updates were proposed and mostly adopted:

  • Modifications to the opening barrier protocol to include water performance testing at lower depths;
  • Additional tests that apply to open-cellular rubber compounds (i.e., foam-type rubber) which are commonly used as gaskets on flood barriers need to be added to the Standard to sufficiently assess their quality;
  • Addition of adhesive testing. Many barrier designs use adhesives to bond the gasket material to the barrier. Adhesives are not addressed under the current protocol;
    Modify the flood abatement pump section to clarify approval of pump packages vs. wet-end only;
  • Additional requirements for electric drive and submersible flood pumps;
  • Modifications to backwater valve section to be inclusive of all types of “backwater valves” besides the traditional check valve.
  • Additional requirements for waterproofing products for building penetrations. Products in this category include collars, plugs, elastomeric seals, and types of putty.

This standard also contains test requirements for the performance of flood barriers, flood mitigation pumps, backwater valves, and waterproofing products for building penetrations, as well as an evaluation of the components comprising these products to assure reliability in the barrier’s performance.

While there are a number of noteworthy colleges and universities that have grown near rivers and lakes — twenty-five of which are listed HERE — severe weather and system failures present flooding risks to them all.

Another Data Sheet — I-40 Floods — was updated in October.   Both Data Sheets are available for download at the link below:

FM GLOBAL PROPERTY LOSS PREVENTION DATA SHEETS

You will need to set up (free) access credentials.

You may contact FM Global directly: Josephine Mahnken, (781) 255-4813, josephine.mahnken@fmapprovals.com, 1151 Boston-Providence Turnpike, Norwood, MA 02062

Our “door” is open every day at 11 AM Eastern time to discuss any consensus document that sets the standard of care for the emergent #SmartCampus.  Additionally, we dedicate one session per month to Management and Water standards.  See our CALENDAR for the next online teleconference.   Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

Issue: [Various]

Category: Risk Management, Facility Asset Management

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jack Janveja, Richard Robben

Property Loss Prevention

 

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