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Du froid

“Weather is fate”

Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu

“Road to Versailles at Louveciennes” 1869 Camille Pissarro

Heat tracing is a process used to maintain or raise the temperature of pipes and vessels in order to prevent freezing, maintain process temperature, or ensure that products remain fluid and flow through the system properly.  Without electric heat tracing; much of the earth would be uninhabitable.

Heat tracing works by using an electric heating cable or tape that is wrapped around the pipe or vessel, and then insulated to help retain the heat. The heating cable is connected to a power source and temperature control system that maintains the desired temperature by regulating the amount of heat output from the cable. Heat tracing is commonly used in industrial applications where temperature control is critical, such as in chemical plants, refineries, and oil and gas facilities.

There are several types of heat tracing, including electric heat tracing, steam tracing, and hot water tracing, each of which have their own unique advantages and disadvantages. The selection of the appropriate type of heat tracing depends on the specific application and the required temperature range, as well as factors such as cost, maintenance, and safety considerations.

Heat Tracing for Piping SpecificationNECA Standards (N.B. Link unstable)

2026 NEC CMP-17 Public Input Report | 2026 NEC CMP-17 Second Draft Report

Northern Michigan University | Marquette County

Today we review the literature for snow and ice management (and enjoyment) produced by these standards-setting organizations:

Accredited Snow Contractors Association

American Society of Civil Engineers

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

ASTM International

FM Global

Destructive Deep Freeze Strikes Cold and Hot Regions Alike

Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers

Electrical Heat Tracing: International Harmonization — Now and in the Future

International Code Council

International Building Code: Chapter 15 Roof Assemblies and Rooftop Structures

National Electrical Contractors Association

National Fire Protection Association

Winter is Coming: Is Your Facility Protected? (Holly Burgess, November 2022)

National Electrical Code: Articles 426-427

National Floor Safety Institute

Snow and Ice Management Association

Underwriters Laboratories

Manufacturers:

Chromalox Electrical Heat Tracing Systems Design Guide



It is a surprisingly large domain with market-makers in every dimension of safety and sustainability; all of whom are bound by state and federal regulations.

Join us at 16:00 UTC with the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.


There have been several recent innovations that have made it possible for construction activity to continue through cold winter months. Some of the most notable ones include:

  1. Heated Job Site Trailers: These trailers are equipped with heating systems that keep workers warm and comfortable while they take breaks or work on plans. This helps to keep morale up and prevent cold-related health issues.
  2. Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs): ICFs are prefabricated blocks made of foam insulation that are stacked together to form the walls of a building. The foam insulation provides an extra layer of insulation to keep the building warm during cold winter months.
  3. Warm-Mix Asphalt (WMA): WMA is a type of asphalt that is designed to be used in colder temperatures than traditional hot-mix asphalt. This allows road construction crews to work through the winter months without having to worry about the asphalt cooling and becoming unusable.
  4. Pneumatic Heaters: These heaters are used to warm up the ground before concrete is poured. This helps to prevent the concrete from freezing and becoming damaged during the winter months.
  5. Electrically Heated Mats: These mats are placed on the ground to prevent snow and ice from accumulating. This helps to make the job site safer and easier to work on during the winter months.

Overall, these innovations have made it possible for construction crews to work through the winter months more comfortably and safely, which has helped to keep projects on schedule and minimize delays.

Somewhat related:

Catalog: BUILDERS HARDWARE MANUFACTURER ASSOCIATION

 

Builders Hardware Manufacturer Association Standards Catalog


ARCHIVE: April 6, 2019

The Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA) is an ANSI accredited standards developing organization for building access and egress technology that education industry real asset managers find referenced deep in the architectural and electrical sections of construction contract specifications (as in “Conform to all applicable standards”).  Architects, electrical, fire protection and information and communications technology professionals usually have to collaborate on the design, construction. operations and maintenance of fenestration technologies.

Gone are the days when a door was just a door (or “opening” or “fenestration”).   Doors are now portals; an easily identifiable control point in the Internet of Things electrotechnical transformation.  There are 100’s of thousands of them on large research university campus; for example.  As we explain in our School Security Standards post the pace of standardization in public safety management and technology has increased; driven by events.  Some of the risk management can be accomplished with integrated technical solutions that are complex and more expensive to design, build, operate and maintain.

A fair estimate of the annualized cost of a door now runs on the order of $1000 to $10,000 per door (with hospital doors at the high end).

Loreto Secondary School | Kilkenny, Ireland

BHMA develops and maintains performance standards for locks, closers, exit devices and other builders hardware.  It has more than 40 ANSI/BHMA  standards. The widely known ANSI/BHMA A156 series of standards describes and establishes features and criteria for an array of builders hardware products including locks, closers, exit devices, butts, hinges, power-operated doors and access control products.   They are listed on the link below:

BHMA Standards Home Page

BHMA has opened one of its standards for public review that is relevant to our contribution to the security and sustainability agenda of the education facility industry; an agenda that necessarily involves a growing constellation of interacting specifics

BHMA A156.4 Standard for Door Controls – Closers.  This Standard contains requirements for door closers surface mounted, concealed in the door, overhead concealed, and concealed in the floor. Also included are pivots for floor closers. Criteria for conformance include cycle, operational, closing force, and finish tests.

Given that BHMA consensus products are largely product standards (much the same way UL Standards are product standards) it is wise to keep an eye on a related installation standards found in the fenestration sections of model building and fire safety codes and in ASTM E2112  Standard Practice for Installation of Exterior Windows, Doors and Skylights.

Comments are due May 6th.  You may obtain an electronic copies of any of the foregoing from MTierney@kellencompany.com and send comments to the same (with copy to psa@ansi.org).

Roxbury Community College | Roxbury Crossing, Massachusetts

The BHMA suite is on the standing agenda of our monthly Construction Specification and Design Guideline teleconference; an informal session that should interest building contractors and design professionals who prepare documents that use the general purpose clause: “Conform to all applicable standards”.   That usually means the latest standard.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

 

Issue: [19-129]

Category: Architectural, Electrical, Facility Asset Management, Telecommunication, Public Safety, #SmartCampus, Risk Management

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey. Jim Vibbart

 


LEARN MORE:

BHMA Standards Revision Status Tracking

 

 

Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg in 5 Minuten

Mechanical 330

During today’s colloquium we audit the literature that sets the standard of care for mechanical engineering design, construction operations and maintenance of campus district energy systems — typically miles (kilometers) of large underground pipes and wires that characterize a district energy system.  Topically, Mechanical 400 deals with energy systems “outside” or “between” buildings; whereas Mechanical 200 deals with energy systems within an individual building envelope.

2021 International Mechanical Code

Mechanical Engineering Courses

A campus district energy system is a centralized heating and cooling network that supplies thermal energy to multiple buildings within a defined area, such as a college or university campus. The system generates steam, hot water, or chilled water at a central plant, which is then distributed through an underground network of pipes to individual buildings for space heating, domestic hot water, and air conditioning. By consolidating energy production and distribution, campus district energy systems can achieve significant energy and cost savings compared to individual building systems, as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve reliability and resiliency of the energy supply.

"I've always been interested in building systems that can understand and respond to natural language. It's one of the most challenging and fascinating problems in AI" - Stephen Wolfram"The golden rule of elevator safety states 'Its either you're in or out'" - Facilities Management

School Construction News (September 24) | Arizona State University: Helping Higher Ed: Solutions to Advance Sustainability Goals in Campus Mechanical Systems

We track standards setting in the bibliographies of the following organizations:

AHRI | Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute

ASHRAE | American Society of Heating & Refrigeration Engineers

ASHRAE Guideline 14: Measurement of Energy and Demand Savings

ASHRAE Guideline 22: Instrumentation for Monitoring Central Chilled Water Plant Efficiency

Facility Smart Grid Information Model

ASME | American Society of Mechanical Engineers

ASPE | American Association of Plumbing Engineers

ASTM | American Society for Testing & Materials

AWWA | American Water Works Association

AHRI | Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute

IAPMO | International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials

IEC | International Electrotechnical Commission

Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers

Research on the Implementation Path Analysis of Typical District Energy Internet

Expansion Co-Planning of Integrated Electricity-Heat-Gas Networks in District Energy Systems

Towards a Software Infrastructure for District Energy Management

 

IMC | International Mechanical Code

IDEA | International District Energy Association

District Energy Best Practices Handbook

District Energy Assessment Tool

IPC | International Plumbing Code

ISEA | International Safety Equipment Association

NFPA | National Fire Protection Association

SMACNA | Sheet Metal Contractors National Association

UL | Underwriters Laboratories

UpTime Institute

(All relevant OSHA Standards)

It is a large domain and virtually none of the organizations listed above deal with district energy systems outside their own (market-making) circle of influence.  As best we can we try to pull together the peak priorities for the real asset managers and engineers who are responsible for these system.

* Building services engineers are responsible for the design, installation, operation and monitoring of the technical services in buildings (including mechanical, electrical and public health systems, also known as MEP or HVAC), in order to ensure the safe, comfortable and environmentally friendly operation. Building services engineers work closely with other construction professionals such as architects, structural engineers and quantity surveyors. Building services engineers influence the architectural design of building, in particular facades, in relation to energy efficiency and indoor environment, and can integrate local energy production (e.g. façade-integrated photovoltaics) or community-scale energy facilities (e.g. district heating). Building services engineers therefore play an important role in the design and operation of energy-efficient buildings (including green buildings, passive houses and zero energybuildings.  uses. With buildings accounting for about a third of all carbon emissions] and over a half of the global electricity demand, building services engineers play an important role in the move to a low-carbon society, hence mitigate global warming.


More:

Practical Essay on the Stength of Cast Iron and Other Metals  Thomas Tredgold (1882)

Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research

Code ignis MMXXVII

Winter Holiday Fire Facts

NFPA Fire Protection Systems Catalog (Lorem ipsum)

Crosswalk: NFPA Fire Code and ICC International Fire Code

“Prometheus creating Man in the presence of Athena” 1802 Jean-Simon Berthélemy

Free public access to the current edition of NFPA’s parent fire safety document is linked below:

2024 NFPA 1 Fire Code 

We attend to occupancy-specific chapters (listed below) because of their significant presence in education communities.

Chapter 25: Grandstands and Bleachers, Folding and Telescopic Seating, Tents and Membrane Structures (N.B)

Chapter 26: Laboratories Using Chemicals

Chapter 29: Parking Garages

Chapter 32: Motion Picture and Television Production Studio Soundstages and Approved Production Facilities

Chapter 35: Animal Housing Facilities

Chapter 36: Telecommunication Facilities and Information Technology Equipment

Chapter 50: Commercial Cooking

Chapter 52: Energy Storage Systems

Some of the chapters reference other titles such as NFPA 45 Standard of Fire Protection for Laboratories Using Chemicals which support risk management in other occupancies.  It is noteworthy that in the 2021 revision cycle of NFPA 1 there are relatively few new concepts regarding education facilities that have been proposed.   You get a sampling of the ideas in play from the transcript of public input for the 2024 edition.

Public Input Report (525 Pages)

Use search terms such as school, college, university, dormitory(ies), laboratory(ies), classroom, children, day-care, student, et cetera for a sense of the ideas in play.

Results of the 2027 First Draft meetings have not yet been posted as on November 9, 2024.  A preview of the ideas in play can be found in the meeting minutes of the several committees linked below:

Fire Code (FCC-AAC): First Draft Meeting Minutes

First Draft: Fundamentals of the Fire Code (FCC-FUN)

Special Equipment, Processes and Hazardous Materials (FCC-HAZ)

Building Systems and Special Occupancies (FCC-OCP)

Public comment on the First Draft of the 2027 revision will be received until April 24, 2025.

We include NFPA 1 on our periodic fire safety colloquia — identified by the mnemonic Prometheus — and march along peak interests.

Campus fire safety is domain relatively well-covered by other organizations such as the Center for Campus Fire Safety and HigherEd Safety so we place NFPA 1 in the middle of our priority tier.   We are more interested in the harmonization of NFPA 1 with a competitor title International Fire Code; published by the International Code Council; to wit:

International Fire Code:   The purpose of this code is to establish the minimum requirements consistent with nationally recognized good practice for proving a reasonable level of life safety and property protection from the hazards of fire, explosion or dangerous conditions in new and existing buildings, structures or premises and to provide a reasonable level of safety to fire fighters and emergency responders during emergency operations

Fire Code: The scope includes, but is not limited to, the following: (1) Inspection of permanent and temporary buildings, processes, equipment, systems, and other fire and related life safety situations (2) Investigation of fires, explosions, hazardous materials incidents, and other related emergency incidents (3) Review of construction plans, drawings, and specifications for life safety systems, fire protection systems, access, water supplies, processes, hazardous materials, and other fire and life safety issues (4) Fire and life safety education of fire brigades, employees, responsible parties, and the general public (5) Existing occupancies and conditions, the design and construction of new buildings, remodeling of existing buildings, and additions to existing buildings (6) Design, installation, alteration, modification, construction, maintenance, repairs, servicing, and testing of fire protection systems and equipment (7) Installation, use, storage, and handling of medical gas systems (8) Access requirements for fire department operations (9) Hazards from outside fires in vegetation, trash, building debris, and other materials (10) Regulation and control of special events including, but not limited to, assemblage of people, exhibits, trade shows, amusement parks, haunted houses, outdoor events, and other similar special temporary and permanent occupancies (11) Interior finish, decorations, furnishings, and other combustibles that contribute to fire spread, fire load, and smoke production (12) Storage, use, processing, handling, and on-site transportation of flammable and combustible gases, liquids, and solids (13) Storage, use, processing, handling, and on-site transportation of hazardous materials (14) Control of emergency operations and scenes (15) Conditions affecting fire fighter safety (16) Arrangement, design, construction, and alteration of new and existing means of egress

Note that both ICC and NFPA parent fire safety documents are developed on coincident 3-year cycles.

 

Issue: [18-90]

Category: Fire Safety, Public Safety

Colleagues: Mike Anthony,  Joshua W. Elvove, Joe DeRosier, Casey Grant

door (n.)

ICC Group A Monograph (April 2024)

Note 80 school-related entrance and egress concepts (Search term: “School”)

2024 Group A Proposed Changes to the I-Codes (October 2024)

Note 40 school-related entrance and egress concepts (Search term: “School”)

Doors have long since been a simple “opening” or “fenestration”.   Doors are “portals”; nodes on the geometry of the Internet of Small Things.  There are 100’s of thousands of these nodes on any single college, university or school district.  First costs run from $1000 per door in a classroom to $100,000 per door in hospitals with maintenance and operation costs commensurate with complexity of the hardware and software needed to maintain integration of the door with building security and energy systems.

We find the bulk of best practice identified in the catalogs of the following accredited standards developers for the United States construction markets:

ASTM International

Conflicting Requirements of Exit Doors

Standard Practice for Installation of Exterior Windows, Doors and Skylights

Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Child Safety Locks and Latches for Use with Cabinet Doors and Drawers

Repair Methods for Common Water Leaks at Operable Windows and Sliding Glass Doors

Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association

International Code Council

International Building Code Chapter 10:

Doors, Gates and Turnstiles

Chapter 24: Glass and Glazing

Accessibility Requirements (Referenced from ICC A117.1)

Energy Efficiency (Referenced from IECC)

IEEE Current Issues and Recent Research

National Fire Protection Association

Steel Door Institute

University of Michigan Design Guideline 4.7: Building Access Control

University of Michigan Electrical Division 28: Electronic Safety and Security

The US federal government and all 50-states adapt safety and sustainability concepts from the foregoing publishers; either partially or whole cloth.

Today at the usual hour we examine the moment in the standard of care for doors in education communities in the United States.   Join the colloquium with the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

Standards Michigan Office Ann Arbor Michigan | 2723 South State Street Suite 150


Healthcare Facilities Code

“The Doctor”  1891 Sir Luke Fildes

The NFPA 99 Healthcare Facilities Code committee develops a distinct consensus document (i.e. “regulatory product”) that is distinct from National Electrical Code Article 517; though there are overlaps and gaps that are the natural consequence of changing technology and regulations.  It is worthwhile reviewing the scope of each committee:

NFPA 99 Scope: This Committee shall have primary responsibility for documents that contain criteria for safeguarding patients and health care personnel in the delivery of health care services within health care facilities: a) from fire, explosion, electrical, and related hazards resulting either from the use of anesthetic agents, medical gas equipment, electrical apparatus, and high frequency electricity, or from internal or external incidents that disrupt normal patient care; b) from fire and explosion hazards; c) in connection with the use of hyperbaric and hypobaric facilities for medical purposes; d) through performance, maintenance and testing criteria for electrical systems, both normal and essential; and e) through performance, maintenance and testing, and installation criteria: (1) for vacuum systems for medical or surgical purposes, and (2) for medical gas systems; and f) through performance, maintenance and testing of plumbing, heating, cooling , and ventilating in health care facilities.

NFPA 70 Article 517 Scope:  The provisions of this article shall apply to electrical construction and installation criteria in healthcare facilities that provide services to human beings.  The requirements in Parts II and III not only apply to single-function buildings but are also intended to be individually applied to their respective forms of occupancy within a multi-function building (e.g. a doctor’s examining room located within a limited care facility would be required to meet the provisions of 517.10)   Informational Note: For information concerning performance, maintenance, and testing criteria, refer to the appropriate health care facilities documents.

In short, NFPA 70 Article 517 is intended to focus only on electrical safety issues though electrotechnology complexity and integration in healthcare settings (security, telecommunications, wireless medical devices, fire safety, environmental air control, etc.) usually results in conceptual overlap with other regulatory products such as NFPA 101 (Life Safety Code) and the International Building Code.

Several issues were recently debated by the Article 517 technical committee during the 2023 National Electrical Code Second Draft meetings

  • The conditions under which reconditioned electrical equipment be installed in healthcare settings; contingent on listing and re-certification specifics.
  • Relaxation of the design rules for feeder and branch circuit sizing through the application of demand factors.
  • Application of ground fault circuit interrupters.
  • “Rightsizing” feeder and branch circuit power chains (Demand factors in Section 517.22)
  • Patient care space categories
  • Independence of power sources (517.30)

There are, of course, many others, not the least of which involves emergency management.  For over 20 years our concern has been for the interdependency of water and electrical power supply to university hospitals given that many of them are part of district energy systems.

We need to “touch” this code at least once a month because of its interdependence on other consensus products by other standards developing organizations.  To do this we refer NFPA 99 standards action to the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee which meets online four times monthly in European and American time zones.

The transcript of NEC Article 517 Public Input for the 2023 revision of NFPA 70 is linked below.  (You may have to register your interest by setting up a free-access account):

Code-Making Panel 15 (NEC-P15) Public Input Report

Code-Making Panel 15 (NEC-P15) Public Comment Report

Technical committees will meet in June to endorse the 2023 National Electrical Code.

Public consultation on the Second Draft closes May 31st. Landing page for selected sections of the 2024 revision  of NFPA 99 are linked below:

Electrical Systems (HEA-ELS)

Fundamentals (HEA-FUN)

Health Care Emergency Management and Security (HEA-HES)

Second Draft Comments are linked below:

Electrical Systems (HEA-ELS)

Fundamentals (HEA-FUN)

Health Care Emergency Management and Security (HEA-HES)

NITMAM closing date: March 28, 2023

We break down NFPA 70 and NFPA 99 together and keep them on the standing agenda of both our Power and Health colloquia; open to everyone.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting.

"The trained nurse has become one of the great blessings of humanity, taking a place beside the physician and the priest" - William Osler"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about" - Angela Schwindt "The true art of pediatrics lies not only in curing diseases but also in preventing them" - Abraham JacobiGermany

Issues: [12-18, [15-97] and [16-101]

Contact: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey, Robert Arno, Josh Elvove, Joe DeRosier, Larry Spielvogel

NFPA Staff Liaison: Jonathan Hart

Archive / NFPA 99

 

 

 

Bangers and Mash

University of New England Financial Report 2022 | ($30.81M)

Classic British comfort food.  The origin of the recipe can be traced back to the United Kingdom in the mid-20th century. The dish’s name, “bangers,” comes from the habit of sausages bursting open (banging) while cooking due to their high water content, particularly during World War II when meat was scarce, and fillers were added to sausages.

The popularity of sausages and mashed potatoes as a meal likely dates back much further in British culinary history. Sausages have been a part of British cuisine for centuries, and mashed potatoes have been consumed in the UK since potatoes were introduced to Europe in the 16th century.  It has long since become the go-to meal for college students seeking a satisfying, simple, and budget-friendly option during their academic years.

Ingredients:

Pork sausages (traditional British bangers)
Potatoes (such as Russet or Yukon Gold)
Butter
Milk or cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Onion gravy (optional, for serving)

Instructions:

Start by preparing the sausages. You can grill, pan-fry, or oven-bake them until they are cooked through and nicely browned.

While the sausages are cooking, peel and chop the potatoes into chunks. Place them in a pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender and can easily be pierced with a fork.

Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Mash the potatoes using a potato masher or a potato ricer.

Add butter and a splash of milk or cream to the mashed potatoes, and continue mashing until you achieve your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the cooked sausages on top of the mashed potatoes, and if desired, pour onion gravy over the dish.

The History of “Bangers and Mash” as a College Meal:

Simplicity: The dish is easy to prepare, requiring basic cooking skills and readily available ingredients, making it ideal for students who may have limited cooking facilities or time.

Affordability: Sausages and potatoes are often budget-friendly ingredients, making “Bangers and Mash” a cost-effective meal for students on tight budgets.

Comfort and Nostalgia: The dish’s hearty and comforting nature brings a sense of nostalgia and home-cooked goodness to college students, especially those living away from home for the first time.

Social Meal: “Bangers and Mash” is a dish that can be shared with friends or hallmates, making it a popular choice for communal meals in college dormitories or shared kitchens.

Overall, “Bangers and Mash” has not only been a staple in British cuisine but also a go-to meal for college students seeking a satisfying, simple, and budget-friendly option during their academic years.

Standards Australia

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