Assure Reliable Systems and Spaces

by the WBDG Productive Committee

Last updated: 04-30-2008

Overview

Reliability is a great concern for building occupants and organizations. Absence of reliability directly affects personal security and well-being, as well as mission critical work. As workplaces evolve in response to changes in organizational structure and work practices, reliability needs to take into consideration the multiplicity of spaces that support individual and group work. This applies to all facilities whether public or private, institutional or commercial, large or small, regardless of location, circumstance, and/or purpose. Organizations and their workers are entitled to work places that enable them to remain productive and in-touch at all times.

People increasingly expect work settings to fully support pursuit of individual, team, and organizational objectives without operational uncertainty. Building and information systems that disrupt workflow will not be tolerated. The workforce of the future will demand workspace and tools that amplify their abilities and help them compete effectively for the best work. This calls for systems that perform reliably with good maintenance support.

Building users must be able to rely on facility hardware and software for health, life, safety, power, data, and voice delivery systems (and related equipment and tools). These systems need to function consistently and be properly maintained. When the workplace is supported by high performance systems that require minimal maintenance or downtime and have back-up capabilities to ensure negligible loss of service, worker productivity can be improved or maintained.

Recommendations

• Provide freestanding (local) system alternatives for individual user access and control.
• Maximize interoperability of different manufacturers' systems and products (including parts interchangeability).
• Provide adequate training and resources to use and/or maintain systems.
• Select systems based on optimum performance, interoperability, and intuitive operation and maintenance.
• Consider dual-fuel back up for critical building systems, including fire/emergency, HVAC, lighting, power, data, voice, etc.
• Provide ease of access for maintenance and repair of systems.
• See also WBDG Functional/Operational Branch.

HVAC

• Maximize conditioning through natural means/methods (e.g. operable windows, natural ventilation, building mass, etc.).
• Consider displacement air supply system that are zoned appropriately for ventilation purposes (e.g., through raised floor system).
• Provide systems that minimize reliance on building management/maintenance personnel.
• Provide networked computerized building systems sensors to monitor and manage control of the following systems: HVAC, energy recovery, lighting, building access, security, fire suppression, and smoke alarm.
• Provide building automation systems that are remotely accessible by facilities managers to determine problem locations and monitor environmental conditions without disturbing workers.

Lighting

Workers at the Philip Merrill Environmental Center in Annapolis, Maryland, enjoy access to daylight and views from all areas of the building.

• Maximize use of daylighting and related lighting control devices (shades, light shelves, etc.).
• Utilize long-life lamps and quality fixtures.
• Zone power circuits to separate ambient and task lighting.
• Utilize occupancy and light level sensing/control devices to extend lamp life.
• Consider emergency back-up lighting systems (generator, battery, etc.) for critical function areas.
• Consider emerging lighting technologies such as low voltage lighting systems, fiberoptics, and light emitting diodes (LEDs) that provide quality lighting with greater reliability.

Power Supply

• Provide building surge protection to safeguard data systems and critical electronic equipment.
• Consider Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) or other back-up systems (e.g. solar power systems).
• Consider distributed power systems for on-site power generation (e.g. fuel cell, solar, wind, microturbines, etc.).

Telecommunication Systems/Equipment (voice/data)

• Support distributed computing (see also WBDG Productive—Integrate Technological Tools).
• Update computer hardware and software periodically.
• Provide interchangeable voice/data cabling (category 5+ or higher, plenum rated).
• Consider telecommunication equipment back-up systems (battery power, etc.).
• Consider wireless systems, where feasible, to promote internal mobility and access to emergency services.
• See also WBDG Productive—Integrate Technological Tools.

Security/Safety

• Provide identification/verification systems (such as card key, fingerprints, eye scans, etc.) to access and/or control IT, data, space, and property.
• Provide hardwired smoke alarms with back-up battery power.
• Provide low power usage emergency egress lights and LED illuminators with rechargeable battery (back-up gel cell).
• Provide security systems with back-up capability for emergency signals and communication.
• See also WBDG Secure/Safe Branch.

Emerging Issues

Fuel cell power plant installation at South County Hospital—Wakefield, RI
(Courtesy of UTC Fuel Cells)

Increasing demands for renewable, energy-efficient, and environmentally responsible back-up power sources have lead to advancements in fuel cell technology, solar, wind, hydro, and biomass power systems.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)—the integration of all departments and functions across an agency/company onto a single computer system that can serve all those different departments' particular needs.

Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM)—the concept of developing a maintenance scheme based on the reliability of the various components of the system or product in question. Implementing a preventative maintenance program using RCM can greatly reduce the cost of ownership of a product or system.

For most building owners and operators, reliability ranks almost as high as cost as a top "quality indicator" when selecting building systems and equipment. "Problem prone equipment," often selected due to lower first costs, reduces system reliability and is clearly a chief motivator for purchasing quality equipment.

Continuous Commissioning—an ongoing process to resolve operating problems, improve comfort, optimize energy use, and identify retrofits for existing buildings and central plant facilities. Continuous commissioning ensures that the building and systems operate optimally to meet the current requirements, which supports worker effectiveness.

Relevant Codes and Standards

ASTM Standard Classifications and Practices

• E 1334 Rating the Serviceability of a Building or Building-Related Facility
• E 1660 Serviceability of an Office Facility for Support for Office Work
• E 1662 Serviceability of an Office Facility for Sound and Visual Environment
• E 1665 Serviceability of an Office Facility for Facility Protection
• E 1666 Serviceability of an Office Facility for Work Outside Normal Hours or Conditions
• E 1669 Serviceability of an Office Facility for Location, Access, and Wayfinding
• E 1670 Serviceability of an Office Facility for Management of Operations and Maintenance
• E 1679 Setting the Requirements for the Serviceability of a Building or Building-Related Facility
• E 1693 Serviceability of an Office Facility for Protection of Occupant Assets
• E 1700 Serviceability of an Office Facility for Structure and Building Envelope
• E 1701 Serviceability of an Office Facility for Manageability

Major Resources

WBDG

Building / Space Types

Applicable to all building types and space types, especially those regularly occupied or visited.

Project Management

Building Commissioning

Tools

Building Life-Cycle Cost (BLCC), LEED® Version 2.1 Credit / WBDG Resource Page Matrix, LEED®-DoD Antiterrorism Standards Tool, Life- Cycle Cost in Design (LCCID)

Publications

• The Integrated Workplace: A Comprehensive Approach to Developing Workspace by Office of Real Property in the Office of Governmentwide Policy of the U.S. General Services Administration. May 1999.
• NASA Reliability Centered Maintenance Guide for Facilities and Collateral Equipment
• Nature's Power on Demand: Renewable Energy Systems as Emergency Power Sources by Roberta F. Stauffer. The National Center for Appropriate Technology, October 1995.
• Reliability-Centered Maintenance, 2nd Edition by John Moubray. Industrial Press, 2001. ISBN: 0831131462.

Others

• Blame it on Enterprise Resource Planning! by D.V. Jagadish. Indian Express Newspapers.
• Center for the Built Environment, University of California at Berkeley, The Contribution of Building Design and Operation to Productivity
• Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, The Intelligent Workplace, Carnegie Mellon University
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Supply Chain Management (SCM)
• I.T. Works' Reference Site