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What is time?

“What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is.

If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know.”

Saint Augustine (“Confessions” Book XI)

When did time zones become a thing?

Readings / Radio Controlled Clocks

“Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.” — Groucho Marx

“Time is a great healer, but a terrible beautician.” — Unknown

“Time and tide wait for no man, but time always stands still for a woman of 30.” — Robert Frost

“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” — William Penn

“Time is the best teacher; unfortunately, it kills all its students.” — Robin Williams

“Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened.” — Jennifer Yane

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” — Mark Twain

“They say time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils.” — Louis Hector Berlioz

“Middle age is when you’re sitting at home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings, and you hope it isn’t for you.” — Ogden Nash

“The trouble with jogging is that by the time you realize you’re not in shape for it, it’s too far to walk back.” — Franklin P. Jones

“Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations.” — Faith Baldwin

Duncan Stroik Architect

 

 

“The ideal architect should be a man of letters, a skillful draftsman, a mathematician,

familiar with historical studies, a diligent student of philosophy,  acquainted with music,

not ignorant of medicine, learned in the responses of jurisconsults,

familiar with astronomy and astronomical calculations.”

Vitruvius

Duncan G. Stroik is a practicing architect, author, and Professor of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame specializing in religious and classical architecture.  Gathered here are images from Christ Chapel, Hillsdale College Michigan.  His award-winning work includes the Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel in Santa Paula, California, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

A frequent lecturer on sacred architecture and the classical tradition, Stroik authored The Church Building as a Sacred Place: Beauty, Transcendence and the Eternal and is the founding editor of Sacred Architecture Journal. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the Yale University School of Architecture. Professor Stroik is the 2016 winner of the Arthur Ross Award for Architecture. In 2019, he was appointed to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts.

Sacred Spaces

“Ten Books on Architecture” 30-20 B.C | Vitruvius

 

Church Facility Management

World Census of Agriculture

Much like its role as a discoverer of new knowledge and as a large consumer in the energy sector, education communities have a significant role in food security research and as a consumer in its school lunch programs, dormitory, athletic facility and healthcare enterprises.  Accordingly — in much the same way we follow the US Census Bureau’s monthly construction activity report — we follow a data point provided by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) as one of our stars to steer by.

The World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates  is a monthly report published by the USDA that provides comprehensive forecast of supply and demand for major crops (global and United States) and livestock (U.S. only). The report provides an analysis of the fundamental condition of the agricultural commodity markets for the use of farmers, governments and other market participants.

 

World Agricultural Supply & Demand Estimates | November 2024

 

 

 

We maintain the WASDE report on our periodic Nourriture colloquia.   See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone


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Morrill Land-Grant Act

Family of Mr. Schoenfeldt | Sheridan County, Kansas
Source: Farm Security Administration Russell Lee photographer

Food Safety

Overdoor, France, ca. 1825; | Smithsonian Design Museum

Education communities have significant food safety responsibilities.  Risk gets pushed around global food service counterparties; a drama in itself and one that requires coverage in a separate blog post.*

Since 2013 we have been following the development of food safety standards; among them ANSI/NSF 2: Food Equipment one of a constellation of NSF food safety titles whose provisions cover bakery, cafeteria, kitchen, and pantry units and other food handling and processing equipment such as tables and components, counters, hoods, shelves, and sinks.  The purpose of this Standard is to establish minimum food protection and sanitation requirements for the materials, design, fabrication, construction, and performance of food handling and processing equipment.

It is a relatively stable standard; developed to support conformance revenue for products.  A new landing page seems to have emerged in recent months:

https://www.nsf.org/testing/food

You may be enlightened by the concepts running through this standard as can be seen on a past, pre-pandemic agenda:

NSF 2 Food Safety 2019 Meeting Packet – Final Draft

NSF 2 Food Safety 2019 Meeting Summary – August 21-22 Ann Arbor NSF Headquarters

NSF 2 Food Equipment Fabrication Agenda – FEF – TG – 2021-01-12

Not trivial agendas with concepts that cut across several disciplines involving product manufacture, installation, operation and maintenance.  We find a very strong influence of organizations such as Aramark and Sodexo.   More on that in a separate post.

Ranchview High School Cafeteria / Irving, Texas

This committee – along with several other joint committees –meets frequently online.  If you wish to participate, and receive access to documents that explain the scope and scale of NSF food safety standards, please contact Allan Rose, (734) 827-3817, [email protected].   NSF International welcomes guests/observers to nearly all of its standards-setting technical committees.   We expect another online meeting hosted by this committee any day now.

Keep in mind that all NSF International titles are on the standing agenda of our Nourriture (Food) colloquia; open to everyone.  See our CALENDAR for the next meeting.

University of Indiana

Issue: [13-113] [15-126]

Category: Facility Asset Management, Healthcare, Residence Hall, Athletics

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Tracey Artley, Keith Koster, Richard Robben

*See “Food Safety Risk Management: Evidence-Informed Policies and Decisions, Considering Multiple Factors, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations”


LEARN MORE:

ANSI Blog | Changes to NSF 2 Food Safety Equipment Standard

NSF International Food Safety 2018 Meeting Summary – 2018-08-22 – Final Draft

2017 Food Code | US Food & Drug Administration

Hygiene Requirements For The Design Of Meat And Poultry Processing Equipment

ARCHIVE: NSF 2 Food Safety

Inglenook

The home is the empire! There is no peace more delightful than one's own fireplace. - Marcus Tullius Cicero

An inglenook is an intimate space typically found beside a fireplace. Inglenooks often have built-in seating or benches, providing a comfortable spot for people to gather around the warmth of the fire.  Originally inspired by cooking, but over time, they became more functional as spaces for relaxation, reflection, reading and socializing.

Today at the usual hour we examine that state of best practice literature for their safety and sustainability today at 16:00 UTC.

The codes, standards and guidelines that track accepted best practice:

ASME

ASME B31.9 – Building Services Piping

ASME B31.8 – Gas Transmission and Distribution Piping Systems

ASTM

ASTM E2726 – Standard Terminology Relating to Chimneys and Ventilation Systems

ASTM E2558 – Standard Test Method for Determining Particulate Matter Emissions from Fires in Wood-Burning Fireplaces

AGA

Natural Gas Transmission & Distribution

Environmental Protection Agency

EPA Emission Standards (for Wood Stoves)

Compliance Requirements for Residential Wood Heaters

ICC

International Building Code: Chapter 21 Masonry

International Fuel Gas Code

IEEE

A Dynamic Equivalent Energy Storage Model of Natural Gas Networks for Joint Optimal Dispatch of Electricity-Gas Systems

NFPA

NFPA 221 Standard for Chimneys, Fireplaces, Vents, and Solid Fuel-Burning Appliances

Underwriters Laboratories

UL 127 for factory-built fireplaces

UL 103 for chimney systems

United States Department of Energy

Fireplaces, Proper Ventilation for New Wood-Burning Fireplaces 

“Fire at Full Moon” 1933 | Paul Klee

Representative Specifications:

University of Vermont: Ignite Your Knowledge of Fireplace Safety

City of Chicago: Gas Distribution Piping Inside of Buildings

University of Rochester: Fire Place Safety

University of Michigan

 

 

 

 

Oxford College Student Center

Emory University Facilities Management

 

Standards Georgia

Inglenook

International Fire Code

Crosswalk: NFPA Fire Code and ICC International Fire Code

2024 GROUP A PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE I-CODES

2024/2025/2026 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

ICC BCAC | Comments to be presented at October Hearings

Noteworthy Proposals:

IFC 1010.27 Locking arrangements, PDF page 252

IFC 1020.2 Corridor Fire Resistance Ratings. PDF page 356

IFC 915 More Carbon Monoxide Detection Systems, PDF page 1156

IBC 917 Mass notification for Group E occupancies, PDF page 1176

IFC 5701 More Process Hazard Analysis, PDF page 1571

The transcript (Complete Monograph) of Committee Actions should be available by September 5th.

Committee Action Hearings on Proposed Changes: October 23-31 Long Beach, California

“A Square with Imaginary Buildings” | Hendrik van Steenwijck (1614)

LIVE: I-Code Group B Public Comment Hearings

Higher Education Laboratories

“Waking Effectiveness of Alarms for Adults Who Are Hard of Hearing” 2007  Victoria University, Australia

Health Facilities: Navigating IBC and NFPA differences


Posted February 14, 2023

Free access to the latest edition of the IFC is linked below:

2021 International Fire Code

Following the ICC Group A revision cycle public consultation on the 2024 International Fire Code will begin.  The ICC will announce the development schedule sometime in 2022.

We limit our resources simply tracking the proposals that run through Group E (Educational) and Group I (Institutional) occupancies in the Group A suite with closer attention to the state they are adopted whole cloth or with local exceptions.  In many cases, IFC adoption by state and local authorities is delayed by one or more previous code revisions.  This delay in adoption may be necessary in order for jurisdictions to evaluate the impact of changes upon the region under their authority.

Public safety budgets historically support the local and state fire marshal and his or her staff.   The revenue stream of many trade associations originates from membership, conference attendance, training and certification enterprises that service the public sector stakeholder.   Manufacturer sponsorship of trade association conferences is noteworthy.

Unless there is an idea, or proposed regulation that has run off the rails (either in terms of rigor or cost increase) — we place fire safety in the middle of our ranking of priorities.  With gathering pace, we find many fires safety goals being met with electrotechnologies where we place our highest priority.

Click on image for more information. The map is updated by expert agencies frequently so we recommend a web search for an update.

Significant code changes rarely happen within a 3-year cycle so it is wise to follow ideas as they travel through the agendas of technical committees through several cycles as administered by the Fire Code Action Committee.

The ICC posts the transcripts of public proposals, technical committee responses to public proposals, public response to the technical committee response and the final balloting in a fair and reasonable fashion as can be seen in the transcripts linked below:

2021 International Fire Code Proposed Changes

2021 International Fire Code Public Comment Agenda 

A search on the terms “classroom” or “school” in any of the documents above offers granular insight into the trend of current thinking.   We find fire extinguishers placement a perennial concern across several standards suites.   You will note the careful consideration of proposals for use of the mass notification systems, now integrated into fire alarm systems and their deployment in active shooter situations.

The transcripts reveal detailed understanding and subtlety.

“The Country School” | Winslow Homer

There are many issues affecting the safety and sustainability of the education facility industry.  We add value to the industry because of our cross-cutting perspective on the hundreds of “silos”created by the competition (and sometimes cooperation) among accredited, consortia and open-source standards developers.  We have the door open every day at 11 AM Eastern time to enlighten understanding of them all.  We also host a breakout teleconference every month to drill into the specifics of standards action on fire safety for the real assets of school districts, colleges and universities.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting.

Finally, we persist in encouraging education industry facility managers (especially those with operations and maintenance data) to participate in the ICC code development process.  You may do so by CLICKING HERE.

The ICC Group B Code Meetings will be hosted soon and open to the public:   

International Code Council 2022 Group B Public Comment Agenda (September 14-21 Kentucky International Convention Center)

The Group B tranche is largely focused on energy, structural, residential and existing building concepts but all of the titles cross-reference the IFC in some way so it is wise to follow how the concepts re-arrange and cross-reference themselves with each cycle.

 

Issue: [16-169]

Category: Architectural, Facility Asset Management, Space Planning

Colleagues: Mike Anthony,  Casey Grant, Joshua Evolve, Marcelo Hirschler


More

2021/2022 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

FINAL ACTION RESULTS ON THE 2018 PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE INTERNATIONAL CODES – GROUP A

2018 GROUP A PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE I-CODES COLUMBUS COMMITTEE ACTION HEARINGS

2018 GROUP A PUBLIC COMMENT AGENDA | INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE

2018 GROUP A PUBLIC COMMENT AGENDA | INTERNATIONAL FIRE CODE

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

 

 

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