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A greener way of getting to schoolEco-overhaul: New school construction in B.C.’s Southern Interior heats up
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4 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
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©Copyright 2010. School Plant Officials of B.C.All rights reserved. The contents of this publica-tion may not be reproduced by any means, inwhole or in part, without the prior written consentof the publisher.
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PRINTED IN CANADA 11|2010
S.P.O.A.S.P.O.A.
British Colum
bia
In this issue
DELCommunications Inc.
President’s Message – Bruce MacLean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Profile on Ron Mason. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Eco-overhaul:New school construction in B.C.’s Southern Interior heats up . . . . . . . . 10
Unanticipated consequencesof conventional school renewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Transportation Section:A greener way of getting to school. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Legal guide to special needs transportation
supports defensible decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Creating green legacies at yourneighbourhood school with Evergreen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Longer life lamps are the new ‘basic’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Tools of the tradeFirestone introduces roof modeling tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Thoughts on Ops Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Today’s workers still at risk from yesterday’s asbestos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Moisture: A natural disaster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
The RGC Guarantee Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Get out of ‘hot water’ –Design temperatures only happen a few times a year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
White reflective roof coatings:Improving the sustainability of existing roofs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Work smarter, not harderUse the new generation of sustainablygreen microbial cleaning products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Terasen Gas helping schools take big stepstowards reducing their carbon footprint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Studentawards.com:Grants programs are on the rise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Choosing the right air filter and filter media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Index to advertisers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
OpsTalkCovering all aspects of educational facilities and operations.
6 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
Here we are – autumn is fast becoming a dis-
tant memory as the brilliant array of orange and
yellow on the surrounding mountains gracefully
gives way to snow-topped trees and slopes.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank
the 2010 SPOA conference committee, as well
as those of the supporting cast who are working
behind the scenes, for pulling together yet
another terrific conference in June. Well done!
Planning for the June 2011 conference started
June 4th and is proceeding smoothly.
The Executive’s work this year will be to con-
tinue on with the development and implemen-
tation of several initiatives – the Certification
Program, Director’s Workshop, Mentorship Pro -gram, long-range plan, and the ExecutiveDirector’s position. As well, one of our majorgoals will be the planning and hosting of theannual conference.
I look forward to working with the Executiveto represent the membership, and continuingto work with our partners in education to pro-vide a stimulating learning environment foryoung minds.
Remember – it’s not the destination but thejourney that counts; take the time to enjoy theride.
Bruce MacLean
SPOA B.C. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Bruce MacLean
S.P.O.A.S.P.O.A.
British Colum
bia
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8 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
Profile onRon Mason
BY HEATHER McGOWAN
School Plant Officials Association of B.C.(SPOA B.C.) member and past presidentRon Mason retired from School DistrictNo. 67 (Okanagan-Skaha) in Penticton in1999; a district that Mason describes as“relatively small.” Almost seven thousandstudents at tend the 19 schools in the 550-square-kilometre district.
Before Mason joined SPOA and beganhis career with the school district in 1973,he worked for Cominco, a mining com-pany whose headquarters is based inVancouver. It was there that he devel-oped his management skills. He gives thecompany credit for his beginnings saying,“Whenever anyone asks me where I wentto university, I tell them I went to the‘University of Cominco’.”
Mason described the transition fromconstruction work to the school divisionas easy, and noted that the job was still
about working with people. “The only
dif ference was cleaner clothes,” jokes
Mason. “And cleaner language.”
Mason has lived in Penticton since his
start with the school district. “I remember
visiting [Penticton] before we moved
here, and thinking what a great opportu-
nity it would be to land a job and live in
the community.” As luck would have it,
that’s exactly what happened.
Mason started his 26-year career with
the school district as the superintendent
of maintenance. In the beginning, Mason
says that the district “didn’t have quali-
fied trades people – so I built a team with
the best people I could ‘steal’.” He devel-
oped quite the reputation for “stealing”
workers and bringing them to work in the
school district because Mason wanted
the best.
“The best people were already work-
ing,” he chuckles, “so I took them.”
Having a team comprised of those
people he considered the “ultimate”
allowed Mason to develop and maintain
a system for the school district that, as
superintendent of maintenance, he con-
siders gratifying.
“We never forgot why we were there,”
Mason says. “The goal was to create a
good, clean, effective learning environ-
ment and provide facilities for [school dis-
trict employees] to do their work.”
Mason notes that while all of the dis-
tricts are different, during his time with
School District No. 67, they “tried to be a
leader and, boastfully, were.”
In the fall of 1974, Mason became the
zone representative. Nine years later, he
was elected president of SPOA B.C. He
says that the highlight of his term was
preparing for the annual conference.
Mason still attends the annual SPOA
conference, and has gone every year
since 1973 – with the exception of one
year he missed out during a 50-day and
50-night road trip to Alaska.
Now that Mason is retired, he jokes
that he is “too busy to work.” He keeps
busy with fishing, skiing and his grand-
children, adding that retirement is “the
best job I’ve ever had.” �
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10 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
For the students of the new millennium,every day is Earth Day. Yet the veryschools they inhabit, though built ongood intentions, do not make the gradewhen it comes to environmental aware-ness.
That is, until now. Behind the fenced-inconstruction zones across B.C.’s South ernInterior, the hard work and labour of thepast is about to get an eco-overhaul.School District No. 19 will soon upgradetwo elementary facilities in their roster byconsolidating two older schools, and willbe replacing Revelstoke SecondarySchool; both projects will occupy thesame site.
Anne Cooper, superintendent ofschools, brims with pride over theRevelstoke project, which she labels anexemplar for 21st-century school build-ing.
“All around, it’s just a phenomenalproject,” Cooper enthuses. “I think it’sthe most exciting project in education inthis province; namely because by consol-idating two very old, inefficient elemen-tary schools into one, new state-of-the-artfacility, we’ll be able to operate more effi-ciently annually and reduce our impacton the environment.”
Construction on both projects com-menced March 2010. The secondary
school, a replacement project in planningsince 2000, is scheduled for completionNovember 2011. And the elementaryschool consolidation project – of twoolder schools, Mountain View and Mt.Begbie Elementary – will wrap up Sep -tember 2012.
In addition, the contract will includetwo on-site Neighbourhood LearningCentres (NLCs). Open 365-days-a-year,the NLCs will offer communal access toits many engaging facilities – a 275-seatcommunity theatre, acrobatics centre,the province’s first early learning hub, andthe on-site counseling and social serviceswhich better equip the 750-plus studentsand staff.
“The community shares our excite-ment about these facilities,” Coopersays. “We’ve really been able to work col-laboratively with a number of organiza-tions in the community to design facilitiesthat both work for the community andenhance the school.”
In a recent press release, the provinceannounced 14 Neighbourhood LearningCentres in 10 school districts across B.C.All districts are being encouraged tomove toward this inclusive approach.
The Revelstoke schools are designedto achieve LEED® Gold certification – astandard aiming to reduce a building’scarbon footprint through the introduc-tion of many innovative and eco-friendlyproducts, tools and systems. One suchsystem comes from the Revelstoke Com -munity Energy Corporation ThermalEner gy Plant, which will provide theschools’ heating requirements.
Graham Contractors Ltd. is the con-firmed proponent on the build. The
ECO-OVERHAUL:New school construction inB.C.’s Southern Interior heats up
BY JILL SCHETTLER
Above:Final rendering ofRevelstokeSecondary School.
Left: Revelstoke SchoolBoard Chairman AlanChell speaks about theproject.
School Plant Officials Association of B.C. www.spoabc.org 11
Graham team consists of Ramsay Brun -
ton, senior project manager, and associ-
ates, as well as HBBH Architects, RJC
Struc tural Engineers and Cohos Evamy
for mechanical and electrical.
“The Revelstoke school projects have
developed into more of a team ap -
proach, solving problems as a team, face-
to-face with the owner, rather than
through the normal third-party approach
taken during the traditional design-bid-
build process,” Brunton says.
The project is a design-build pilot for
the Ministry of Education, which Brunton
asserts is an efficient time-saver.
“The benefits to the community will be
available at least a year ahead of a tradi-
tional design-bid-build method of deliv-
ery,” furthers Brunton. “This method of
delivery has also given the school board
a much more hands-on approach to the
design, and the design team should be
able to deliver what School District 19
wants, responding quickly to the owner’s
design changes.”
A combination of structural steel, rein-
forced concrete and structural wood will
provide the framework for the schools’
structure and finishing components – the
final design to maximize the use of B.C.
woods. A large glulam (layered laminated
timber) component will be introduced
into the build, as a result.
Adopting a “past meets present
needs” approach, the final product will
be a combination of the past’s strong
architectural vernacular merged with
today’s efficiency and functionality.
“The building itself fits into the sur-
rounding landscape and takes advantage
of the magnificent views of the surround-
ing mountains,” Brunton says. “It would
be fair to say that the architect looked fur-
ther than just the functionality of the
building and related the three-dimen-
sional space into the landscape.”
Enderby’s M.V. Beattie elementary
school is also taking steps toward a
greener future. Vicki Topping, MAIBC of
MQN Architects, the site’s project archi-
tect, adds that the project began while
school was still in session.
“The site-preparation contract en tailed
Aerial view of Revelstoke building site, August 2010.
12 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
Left: Aerial rendering of Enderby M.V. BeattieElementary School, September 2009.
Below: Exterior rendering of Enderby school.
that the civil engineer’s portion wasworked out prior to the building tender,”Topping explains. “The school needed torelocate a few classrooms so that the par-tial demolition of the existing annexbuilding could occur, and then the sitewas excavated and prepared with theproper structural soils. The relocation ofthe existing playground equipment anderection of security fencing allowed thismultiple occupancy to occur on-site atthe same time.”
The Enderby school, which will alsoincorporate a Neighborhood of Learningprogram space, will follow the LEED Goldguidelines.
“The design team for the MV BeattieElementary school was very conscious
about what was needed for the school,”
Topping says. “The idea of having a bet-
ter interior air quality was crucial.
Therefore, low VOC and mould-resistant
products and mechanical systems that
make the interior air better for the occu-
pants were utilized in the project.”
Adhering to LEED standards and the
Ministry of Education’s request, the pri-
mary resource used in the build is wood
as well – wood floors and panels, and glu-
lam beams in the corridor space. The
school will launch a geothermal system
for its heating and cooling – the first one
in the school district. And natural lighting
will allow for “free lighting” most of the
day.
The 100-year-old school will follow a
similar “past meets present” philosophy,
preserving dominant architectural fea-
tures of the original building. The city’s
First Nations culture will be incorporated
into the building – the front atrium to
resemble a medicine wheel.
Dan Horochuk, the capital projects
coordinator with School Division no. 83, is
the liaison for the Enderby build.
Horochuk has dedicated 26 years to the
school division, specifically all of the
Capital works, and now finds himself in
transition toward retirement.
The Enderby school, a project that
Horochuk will oversee until completion,
will present the 80 kindergarteners and
275 Grade 1 to Grade 7 students with a
magnitude of learning opportunities. The
Enderby school is the first to incorporate
interactive electronic Smart Boards in
every classroom, as well as a HMI (Human
Machine Interface) pad, complete with a
menu to adjust lights, roll shutters, and
thermostat, that will replace the light
switch at the door. The HMI pad will also
integrate with the audio/visual controls,
presenting energy consumption data per
classroom that will act as a valuable
teach ing tool. The pad utilizes a comput-
erized graphic – a green-leafed tree,
which turns brown during excessive ener-
gy consumption – to display the school’s
energy use.
“Energy reduction is huge right now,”
Horochuk says. “Having the kids able to
quantify something and see the results
School Plant Officials Association of B.C. www.spoabc.org 13
Right: Perspective rendering of Southern OkanaganSecondary School in Oliver.
Below: Interior rendering of multi-purposeroom at Southern Okanagan school.
will effect change. Anyone can look at [the
tree graphic] and understand it immedi-
ately. They don’t have to look at a graph or
chart. So we’re very confident this will be a
huge step in the right direction.”
On the path to a greener future, con-
struction in the Oliver community has also
helped reduce B.C.’s carbon footprint.
“We are striving to be one of the few
high schools in B.C. to achieve LEED Gold
certification,” Mitch Van Aller, director of
facilities for School District no. 53, says.
“We’ve introduced geothermal heating,
solar water and electricity, and a wind tur-
bine on site.”
Production commenced on Oliver’s
Southern Okanagan Secondary School
June 2010 and is set for completion
September 2012. The $31.8 million, eco-
friendly build is also the largest project to
use the Electronic Bidding System – a sys-
tem that allows users to view all informa-
tion related to a bid online.
In an effort to perpetuate change, the
new science wing acts as a perspective
learning tool for staff and students, with a
complete, computerized panel that allows
access to each of the school’s systems.
Add to an already growing list of eco-
friendly schools in the B.C. Interior, Vernon
has also begun construction on a $43 mil-
lion dollar LEED-certified school renova-
tion, thus confirming the idea that ‘green’
building is no longer a small segment of
the industry, but rather a commonplace
practice. �
ROOFING CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
14 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
Facility Management Evolution
For decades, school facility manage-
ment has been guided by an engineer-
ing-based, property management model.
Within this model, school facility manage-
ment has evolved. Traditional concerns
with the health and safety of participants,
as well as operational functionality of
buildings, have been supplemented with
more recent attention to energy and
operational efficiency, as well as asset life-
cycle sustainability and carbon footprint
reductions.
Most recently, progressive schools are
moving beyond the property manage-
ment model of school facility renewal.
The latest models employ a “mission-
relevant ” perspective. The mission-rele-
vant model centres on making school
renewal investments responsible for
answering the question, “How will this
investment improve the quality of the
teaching and learning environment?”
Measuring Mission-Relevant
School Renewal
Conventional property-management
school renewal is based on measures like
the facility conditional index. These meas-
ures are useful since school buildings and
components are subject to deterioration
and, as such, need to be maintained. The
limitation of these measures, and the
property-management approach that jus-
tifies them, is that schools are not just
buildings – they are buildings with a very
important public purpose.
Mission-relevant school renewal adds
value by taking the educational purposes
of schools into account. Like all best-
practices, mission-relevant school renewal
requires valid and reliable means of meas-
uring school conditions. For Canadian
schools, I have developed two measure-
ment tools that provide this information.
The Principals’ Assessment of Schools
Survey© identifies which schools in a divi-
sion’s inventory are most in need of mis-
sion-relevant school renewal. The Learn -
ing Environment Roster© then identifies
what specific hindrances within each
classroom require remediation. Evidence
from almost a thousand schools in four
provinces demonstrates the utility and
validity of this mission-relevant approach.
What a Mission-RelevantPerspective Reveals
It should come as no surprise that when
educators provide informed assessments
of the adequacy of school facilities, their
evaluations differ from judgements made
by engineers. Different kinds of profes-
sional judgements provide different kinds
of insights.
The Learning Environment Roster© pro-
vides valid and reliable information to
facility managers about what components
are hindering effective teaching and
learning. Recent evidence from hundreds
of classrooms suggests that the following
mission-relevant hindrances are typical:
Unanticipated consequencesof conventional school renewal
BY LANCE W. ROBERTS, PhD, UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA
School Plant Officials Association of B.C. www.spoabc.org 15
Belimo Americas219-6279 Eagles Drive
Vancouver, BC V6T 2K7Tel: 604-221-6105
Fax: 604-221-6108Cell: 778-772-6273
Sammy TongWestern Region Sales Manager
Mississauga Offi ceTel: 866-805-7089Fax: 905-712-3124
Sparks, NV 800-987-9042
• Half of school classrooms have ventila-
tion issues that hinder effective teach-
ing and learning, mostly related to
stuffiness, dustiness, and allergens.
• Sixty per cent of classrooms have aes-
thetic issues related to painting, as well
as floor and ceiling finishes that hinder
optimal learning.
• Occupant safety and building security
issues are found in about thirty per cent
of classrooms, including such issues as
hazardous materials, mould, and unau-
thorized entrance.
• Natural lighting hindrances constrain
effective learning in about a third of
classrooms, including instances of both
too little and too much natural light.
• Interior lighting hinders optimal learn-
ing in a third of classrooms, with inade-
quate control and glare issues predom-
inating.
• Heating hindrances are reported in half
of classrooms, focusing on both inade-
quate control and low temperature.
• Learning hindrances connected to
cooling appear in about 40 per cent of
classrooms and, like heating, concen-
trate on inadequate control and high
temperature.
• The quality of teaching and learning
environments is compromised by
acoustic hindrances in a third of class-
rooms, with noise transfer between
rooms and mechanical, lighting, and
echoing noises leading the list.
Unanticipated Consequences
Without following a validated, scientific
protocol that investigates how school
facilities are affecting teaching and learn-
ing, facility managers have no way of
knowing how facilities are compromising
the academic mission. These findings
about the educational hindrances of
school facilities are unrelated to conven-
tional property-management assess-
ments like the facility condition index.
Worse, still, is the fact that many existing
educational hindrances are connected to
previous facility renewal projects, mod-
ernization initiatives, or energy efficiency
projects conducted in the schools.
In short, without the benefit of mission-
relevant assessments of building condi-
tions, conventional facility management
strategies will either neglect educational-
ly consequential hindrances or uninten-
tionally exacerbate or create poorer learn-
ing environments. The tools and proto-
cols for avoiding these undesirable results
are available for facility managers who are
connected to the educational mission.
About the Author: Dr. Lance W. Roberts
directs the Quality Schools Network at
the University of Manitoba. Those peo-
ple who are interested in learning more
about mission-relevant facility
management can reach him at:
16 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
A school bus is one of the safest methods
of transportation for students to get to
school. And now, because of a new,
plug-in hybrid bus, it’s making the envi -
ron ment safer, too.
Western Canada IC Bus, the only bus
manufacturer in North America that
makes plug-in hybrid school buses,
recently ran a nationwide contest looking
for “Canada’s Greenest School.” The big
prize, among other things, was a hybrid
school bus for the contest winner’s
school.
“The contest drew attention to plug-in
school buses as a green alternative for
environmentally-minded schools. There
are advantages that school buses have
over other transportation modes to get
to school,” says Keith Kladder, marketing
manager for IC Bus.
To enter the contest, which ended in
May 2010, students had to submit an
essay explaining why and how their
school could become the most environ-
mentally friendly school in Canada. Ten
finalists were chosen, and then the gen-
eral public voted online for their favourite
essays.
Jennifer Hao, from Burnaby North
Secondary in School District no. 41, beat
out around 250 other submissions and
won the grand prize – a plug-in hybrid
bus for her school – as well as a $3,000
scholarship toward her education and
$500 towards eco-friendly school sup-
plies for her classroom.
Her submission, titled Burnaby North:
Youth in Action, talked about a “Green
Rides Campaign” and other ways that
the school could reduce their green-
house gas emissions.
“Very few students walk or bike to
school, due to the number of cars block-
ing the main road to our buildings,” Hao
states in her winning submission. “Daily
traffic jams from 8:35-8:50 a.m. and 3:00-
3:15 p.m. make it difficult for vehicles to
enter and exit our school’s traffic zone.
“We have reached a conclusion that
using hybrid school buses is the most
effective solution for reducing pollu-
tion… Gradually we would have hybrid
school buses replace our regular school
buses and taxis for activities and field-
trips. The money our school would save
from the eco-transportation system
would be dedicated towards green proj-
ects or expanding our bus program,” she
said.
Burnaby North has not yet received the
bus, which is currently being built, as the
school and the district are still trying to
figure out a way to properly utilize the
bus.
“Technically, it was awarded to Bur -
naby North, but individual high schools
do not own anything in the district so we
haven’t found out how we will utilize it
together,” says David Mushens, vice-prin-
cipal at Burnaby North Second ary
School. “Things come up, like mainte-
nance and insurance, and if we spread
these expenses across the school district,
it makes it less expensive to deal with.”
The bus, and the contest, has brought
the topic of being greener into the
school’s agenda, for students and school
officials alike.
“It’s kind of refocused our energies on
environmental issues, which have be -
come a broader topic of conversation.
We have always had paper issues, but it’s
become a topic between student and
staff, and brought forward a much
greater awareness,” Mushens says. “The
district has also taken a significant inter-
est, looking at our schools and what we
can do differently. And it’s now on our
radar for student involvement in planning
events, and what the environmental
impact will be, whereas matters like this
weren’t there before.”
The contest helped Hao and her
school to become more environmentally
friendly, and also familiarized people
about these relatively new, plug-in hybrid
school buses. The first model, delivered
to the market in February 2007, looks
exactly like your classic school bus. The
real difference is realized in the fuel econ-
omy; an average school bus typically uses
over 6,400 litres of fuel annually, whereas
the hybrid version uses around 2,200
litres. The hybrid can also improve fuel
economy by up to 65 per cent and
reduce emissions by about 40 per cent.
So how does it work? Well, like the
name, you simply plug it in to a 220-volt
A greener way ofgetting to schoolBurnaby North Secondary studenthelps school win Canada’sfirst plug-in hybrid bus
BY SHAYNA WIWIERSKITR
AN
SP
OR
TAT
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WESTERN CANADA
BUS1-800-661-9316
Chilliwack Edmonton Red Deer Calgary Regina
www.westerncanadaicbus.com
18 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
outlet for a six- to eight-hour charge time.
The bus itself is designed for a 12-year life
span – the same as a regular school bus –
however, the batteries will have to be
replaced likely once in that time.
Another big difference between the
hybrid and standard bus version is the
price tag. According to the contest web-
site, the hybrid plug-in bus costs
$200,000 CDN, approximately double
the amount of a standard school bus.
And, ultimately, it’s the price tag that
makes some school divisions reluctant to
purchase them.
“You have to
look at the big pic-
ture, which is the
economics. The up-
front cost and battery
replacement is costly;
you really have to look
measurably at the real
economy and dollars and cents.
Environmentally it’s great, but it takes a
long time to get that $100,000 back,”
says Doug Hulse, account manager for
Wes tern Canada IC Bus.
According to Hulse, there are about
half a dozen of them in Western Canada,
with the majority of them in British
Columbia and one in Saskatchewan.
“The hybrid conversion has been very
costly in terms of an up-front capital
cost. In B.C., there has been some
provincial participation in the cost of the
hybrid bus.”
Even though the cost of the hybrid
plug-in is quite high, Kladder has been
hearing good things as well as growing
interest for them from students. And
because of this interest, he believes that
this is just the beginning for hybrid buses.
“We believe hybrid school buses are
not just a short-term fix for the school bus
industry. We see hybrids as a long-term
strategic growth in the industry. As more
automotive companies ramp up their
hybrid production, especially with cars
like the Toyota Prius, and introduce plug-
in technology to the consumer market,
we can take advantage of the cost pro-
duction of ion lithium batteries, and ulti-
mately it will drive the cost down for our
industry,” says Kladder.
For more information, please visitwww.icbus.com andwww.CanadasGreenestSchool.ca. �
ENPOINTE ENTERPRISES supplied the producers
of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the
2010 Winter Olympics with barres, flooring and
glassless mirrors. EnPointe is the manufacturer of
dance barres, brackets and sprung dance flooring
and is the distributor for Marley Flooring and the
Canadian distributor for Glassless Mirrors. Glassless
Mirrors are made of a high optical grade, very tough
film that does not shatter or break into dangerous
shards when impacted. The reflected image is super
clear and amazingly bright when compared to glass
or plastic mirrors. Universities and school districts
throughout North America purchase the high quality
dancing products from this Canadian company.
TF 866-491-9019
F 250-764-6220
www.en-pointe.com
Quality Productsdesigned by dancers for dancers
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20 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
Legal guide toSpecial needs transportation
supports defensible decisions
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August 2010 – Education Compliance Group, Inc. announced
the release of a new book by Peggy A. Burns, Esq. and Lisa J.
Hudson, Defensible Decisions about Transporting Students withSpecial Needs: Lessons Learned from Legal Disputes.
With more than 300 pages, 16 chapters, and sections includ-
ing “In Practice”, “Overview”, “Case Summaries”, and “Case
Details”, Defensible Decisions will be of value to school district
transportation professionals, bus contractors, special educators,
and school and district administrators.
“This ‘look back’ at the important cases that will define ‘the
road ahead’ for transporting students with special needs sup-
ports excellent decision-making, implementation of successful
practices, and effective training programs,” states Peggy Burns.
“Readers will understand the ways in which safety, compliance
and customer service come together to provide access to edu-
cation for our special riders.”
With access to educational programs a critical legal mandate
for students with disabilities, educators and school transporta-
tion professionals must recognize the need for individualized
decision-making about effective and appropriate transportation.
The book’s goals include preventing legal disputes and minimiz-
ing risks. It will further readers’ understanding of the ways in
which safety, compliance and customer service can be reconciled
in planning and implementing special needs transportation.
Contents include:• Tips, strategies, and methods to put “In Practice.”
• An overview of each topic to provide a snapshot of the issues,
a basic understanding of the legal framework, and a fast look
at the importance of the topic.
• Case summaries and rulings to give readers quick insights into
the cases and choose key issues for focus and further detail.
• Case details to serve as comparisons to readers’ own dilem-
mas, motivation of creative strategies for achieving compli-
ance, and true stories to base scenarios for training and in-serv-
ices.
From “Appropriate Method,” “Dis cip line and Behavior” and
“Length of Ride,” to “Student Information” and “Transition
Services” – and each topic in between – Defensible Decisionsfocuses on the subjects that reach court dockets and state and
federal agency agendas.
In addition, you’ll find a Glossary, Table of Cases, Index, and a
newly revised edition of Peggy’s useful Q & A document, “Where
Does It Say That?”
The price per copy is $75.00 (USD), plus $9.95 for shipping
and handling. Order by calling toll-free at (888) 604-6141, or
visit the Education Compliance Group, Inc. website at:
www.educationcompliancegroup.com, or send an email to
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School Plant Officials Association of B.C. www.spoabc.org 21
Evergreen is the leading national environmental organizationthat makes our cities more liveable. Through our urban sustain-ability programs – “Evergreen Common Grounds” and “ToyotaEvergreen Learning Grounds” – we are the leading national fun-der and facilitator of local sustainable greening projects inschoolyards, parks and communities across Canada.
Since its inception in 1995, the British Columbia division ofEvergreen has engaged, educated and inspired over 10,000 stu-dents at 250 schools by deepening their individual connectionswith nature. Students and schools engaged in Evergreen’sLearning Grounds program learn practical, on-the-ground solu-tions for the restoration and care of their school and local com-munity’s green spaces.
The School Plant Officials Association of B.C. (SPOA) is recog-nized by Evergreen as a key stakeholder when it comes to plant-ing and greening our school districts. Strong relationshipsbetween Evergreen, like-minded associations such as SPOA, andleaders in the B.C education system are seen as integral to ourvalues of bringing students and nature together.
How Does Learning Grounds Work?Learning Grounds experts work closely with school principals,
district officials, teachers and students to create outdoor class-rooms that provide students with a healthy place to learn, playand develop a genuine respect for nature. Our expert LearningGrounds consultants are based across the country, including theVancouver region.
We provide up to $3,500 in start-up funding for individualschools and up to $2,000 for daycares, subject to a grant appli-
cation process beginning September of each year. Funding isdistributed on a first-come, first-serve basis. The LearningGrounds program also encourages a spirit of fundraisingthrough the local school district and broader community.
One entrepreneurial school in the Vancouver area successfullyraised over $300,000, in both cash and in-kind donations, to cre-ate a vibrant natural space in a high-density inner-city neigh-bourhood. This greening project also interwove culture andplace through the creation of a wild bird habitat and ethno-botanical garden featuring plants traditionally used by FirstNations for food, materials and medicinal purposes. A variety ofdetailed case studies and success stories are available on theEvergreen website.
Evergreen also maintains a comprehensive database of nativeplants, providing detailed information on a variety of plants suit-able to your school’s ecozone. We provide a range of designservices and resources that will help get your school greeningproject off the ground – and native plants into the ground.
Summarizing the success Evergreen has had with schools inBritish Columbia, Learning Grounds coordinator Dolores Altinsays, “Schools appreciate the support they get from their schooldistrict and ground maintenance staff. It is about workingtogether to develop guidelines and processes for approvals andlong-term stewardship that don’t just build projects, but leavegreen legacies.”
Along with Learning Grounds, Evergreen continues to be anational leader in all matters of urban sustainability. In B.C.,alone, we are actively engaging municipal and provincial gov-ernment, the business community, a broad network of volun-teers, the non-profit sector and our key stakeholders to developan environmental legacy within the province. As a result, we con-tinue to deliver an exciting and diverse range of projects includ-ing community gardens, farmers’ markets, urban orchards, park-land and riparian zone restoration, as well as a range of educa-tional workshops for members of the community.
To learn more about Evergreen, Learning Grounds, funding andgrant opportunities for your school, and the leading urban sus-tainability charity in Canada, please visit our website atwww.evergreen.ca. �
Creating green legacies atyour neighbourhoodschool with EvergreenBY ADRIEN BYRNE, ADVISOR, STRATEGIC RELATIONS
A group of school children learning about plants via Evergreen’sLearning Grounds program.
22 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
It’s no secret that LED technology is going to be the lighting
solution of the future. With approximately 75 per cent of light-
ing systems today using outdated, inefficient technology, LED’s
superior energy efficiency and up to 25-year life expectancy has
created an excitement in the market to adopt the technology.
The next few years are going to see rapid change in the indus-
try with the introduction of LEDs, and already early adopters in
commercial settings are starting to install the technology.
Philips is excited about the future of lighting, and has dedi-
cated substantial resources to ensure that they are at the fore-
front of LED product development. Nevertheless, until the
lumens per watt and the colour consistency of indoor LED light-
ing has been developed to op timum standards, and until the
longevity far outreaches traditional linear fluorescent lamps,
replacing an entire operation with LEDs is still a few years away.
Even factoring in the energy savings with LEDs, the technology
is still so new that replacing T8 tubes with the latest LED linear
fluorescent replacement products could have a unit cost nearly
50 times that of a standard T8 lamp, and would likely deter the
average individual from a substantial investment that’s yet to be
“tried, tested and true.” In other words, linear fluorescent lamps
still offer many advantages today in terms of light quality and
total cost of ownership that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Sustainability Stepping StoneAs LED technology in the indoor arena improves, and its use
becomes more widespread, Philips Lighting Canada is bridging
the gap between linear and LED with an industry exclusive – the
company’s 32W T8 and 34W T12 lamps manufactured to have 20
per cent longer life are now being offered at the base model
price.
“The vision for tomorrow’s lighting is LED technology, but we
need to be capitalizing on what’s valuable today for an efficient
and sustainable approach,” says Philips Lighting Canada’s
Sharon MacArthur.
Essentially, the basic versions of both the T8 and T12 product
categories have been eliminated and, as a complimentary
upgrade to end users, the longer life versions are the new entry-
level lamp. They’re launching this initiative with a campaign enti-
tled “There’s a New Spec In Town.” What’s more, Philips’s indus-
try-leading three-year, out-of-the-box warranty applies to the
new base models, and performance characteristics such as
lumens, lumen maintenance, colour temperatures, mercury con-
tent and CRI are equivalent in the longer-life lamps.
“Four-foot T8 linear fluorescent lamps are still a very viable
product category, and we see it as a stepping stone as moving
to the future of lighting,” says MacArthur.
Less Waste, Less Money WastedLighting alone accounts for around 50 per cent of the energy
bill in most commercial buildings, so for the end user, extended
lamp life reduces significant costs for labour and lamp replace-
ment, as well as disposal costs associated with recycling. Philips
offers the longest-life four-foot fluorescent lamps in the industry,
with no lamp now rated at less than 30,000 hours*. This is a mon-
umental shift when you consider that Philips has historically sold
Longer life lampsare the new ‘basic’
BY KATE CALDER
Lighting alone accounts for
around 50 per cent of the
energy bill in most
commercial buildings,
so for the end user, extended
lamp life reduces significant
costs for labour and lamp
replacement, as well as
disposal costs associated
with recycling.
www.GreenCapSpec.com
Demand it. Meet it. Wear it.
There’s a new spec in town
Get more for your money. The Philips 32W T8 PLUS lamp is the
longest-life base-model lamp in the industry. At 36,000 hours rated life*,
you get an extra year of lamp life - guaranteed.
And we do this with the lowest mercury content in
the industry. All at a base-model price.
www.GreenCapSpec.com*12 hours per start, instant start.
Contact 1-877 WESCO CA (937-2622) or visit www.wesco.ca
T
.GreenCapSpecwwww.
All at a yy.the industr
.comc
.icebase model pr
instant stat,s per star12 hour*
Contact 1-877 WESCO CA
t.ar
esw.ww.A (937-2622) or visit ww
.caoc
24 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
millions of the basic 24,000 hour 32W T8 lamps into theCanadian market over the past few years. (*Refers to T12 longlife, 12 hours per start, instant start ballast. T8 PLUS model has alonger life.)
“We’ve just added a year to the life to all of those lamps,”says MacArthur. “That means we’re producing less lamps, dis-posing less and introducing less mercury into the whole process– the ripple effect is pretty tremendous.”
T8 Green TechnologyBesides energy efficiency and long lamp life, the third factor
in Philips’s position as a sustainability leader is the low toxicity ofits products. Philips’s longer life four-foot T8 PLUS and T12 LongLife lamps use the company’s patented ALTO technology, whichboasts the industry’s lowest mercury content. And this technolo-gy extends to the remainder of Philips extensive fluorescent
portfolio of value-add products, including their EnergyAdvantage 25W T8 Extra Long Life lamp, rated at 46,000 hours,with a 48-month warranty. In fact, if you couple the Philips 25WT8 with the Philips Advance Optanium ballast, Philips will furtherwarranty the system for a staggering seven years to educationalinstitutions!
In 2007, Philips reduced the mercury content in its T8 lampsdown to only 1.7mg of 100-per-cent recycled mercury – half thecontent from its leading competitors. Since its launch in 1995,more than 1.5 billion fluorescent lamps with ALTO low-mercurytechnology have been produced, with 24 tons less mercury thanprevious non-ALTO lamps.
Philips’s philosophy, “prevention is better than cure”, drivesthe company to lead by example with solid strategies that willlight a greener future. Strategies that reduce energy demands,reduce toxins, and reduce operating costs and waste with supe-rior long-life products. Strategies that make it simple to switchto green. In the end, we all want to save money. And save theearth. It just makes sense.
About the Author: Kate Calder is a trade journalist in Toronto.She has written articles for various industries including electri-cal contracting, manufacturing , commercial printingand television production. �
David Day ...........604-690-7016Dave Torrance .....604-690-6511Verne Dion ..........604-690-7015Jeff Dean ............604-690-4911Kinson Chan .......604-690-7063Jay Blaak ............604-690-7024Laurie Fehlauer ...604-690-2315Philip Maxwell ....604-868-0560Eugene Kim ........604-309-4109Bob Potts ............604-290-2355
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We think long-term. You want a floorcovering that lasts. Erv Parent Group represents world-class flooring products from Tarkett, Johnsonite, Mondo, Altro and others to offer you the best balance between performance, maintenance, sustainability, durability and value. Whether it’s vinyl, linoleum or rubber, in areas from classrooms to corridors, gyms or labs, we have a solution for your floorcovering needs.We cover walls too - ask us about Altro Whiterock hygienic wall systems, an alternative to traditional wallcovering systems.Visit ervparent.com for more information.
Flooring Solutions for over 50 years
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VancouverCalgaryEdmontonReginaWinnipeg
26 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
The role of technology in the building design process has comea long way since the early days of using CAD systems to auto-mate the drafting process. In the last twenty years, buildinginformation modeling (BIM) has transformed the way consult-ants, architects and contractors work together to bring ideasfrom concept to reality.
Firestone Building Products recognized the need to giveroofing professionals an easy-to-use roof modeling tool thatseamlessly integrates with popular BIM programs likeAutodesk® Revit® Architecture building design software.RoofGenuity™, the first-of-its-kind roof modeling tool for thecommercial roofing industry, was introduced this summer at theAmerican Institute of Architecture’s 2010 National Conventionand Design Exposition in Miami.
RoofGenuity enables architects, consultants, roofing contrac-tors and building owners to populate the roof area on theirbuilding designs with various configurations of Firestone roof-ing system BIM objects to create the optimal model for theircommercial building needs. It can used for a wide range of
building types, including educational facilities; commercial,
industrial and office buildings; entertainment venues; health-
care facilities; and government buildings.
To use RoofGenuity, roofing professionals can visit www.roof-
genuity.com and register for a free account. After entering
optional project location information, the tool determines the
appropriate product recommendations and begins the roof
assembly process.
Available in pre-configured or fully customizable systems, the
modeling tool prompts users to select their preferred assembly
features, including system type, attachment method, R-value,
deck type and desired warranty. They also can choose options
such as a cool roof, coverboard or vapour retarder. Based on
the responses, a list of potential roof assemblies is generated,
complete with product details and 3-D models.
RoofGenuity also features links to product (http://firestonebp-
co.com/roofing/) and technical (http://firestonebpco. com/tech-
nicalinformation/) information on the Firestone Build ing Prod -
ucts’s website. After final customizations are made, a 2-D CAD
drawing or 3-D model of the finished assembly can be down-
loaded to a computer or exported to another BIM program.
Professionals involved in roofing decisions are invited to visit
the RoofGenuity website (www.roofgenuity.com) to view a tuto-
rial of the tool’s capabilities and begin creating exceptional roof
assemblies to top off their next building project. �
Tools of the tradeFirestone introduces roof modeling tool
INSIDE: SOLARWALL SYSTEMS MAKING SCHOOLS’ FUTURES BRIGHT
28 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
Thoughts onOpsTalk BY CHUCK MORRIS
Publ
icat
ions
mai
l agr
eem
ent #
4093
4510
It has been quite a few years now since Ernie Lambert and I, as
well as a few others, met with David Langstaff from DEL
Communications Inc. It was a cool and rainy fall day in a hotel
in Richmond that David flew out to meet with us. We were look-
ing for something to present our association to the province
with, something that would be our ‘flagship’, so the province
knew who we were.
Discussions about what it could and would look like took
place, as well as brainstorming for a name. We were familiar
with DEL Communications as we had seen a number of their
publications for other associations. It looked like a good venue
to expose more of our association to our members and more
importantly, to others in the education facilities management
sector.
An idea was conceived, a platform devised, a name was cho-
sen, and that was the start of a beautiful relationship. From the
first issue we, as the executive of the association, saw what DEL
could provide to us. We began working with them on each and
every issue to enhance the magazine, to broaden our audience,
to address our supporters, and to strengthen what we saw as an
association of educational facility managers – a body of profes-
sional people working together ensuring safe and healthy facil-
ities for education.
Over the course of its life, Ops Talk has evolved as an associ-
ation trade magazine to something that provides more than the
usual. That evolution is because of the great work DEL
Communications has devoted to the magazine and the energy
our association continues to pursue. It is because of its rele-
vance, its current topics, and how Katrina Senyk, our editor,
helps us keep it pointed in the right direction! Katrina, who is
based out of Winnipeg, exemplifies and confirms what our
desires were a number of years ago when we first met with
David. It is because of her and her team that the magazine has
truly grown to reflect who we are and what we are here for. It is
a true collaboration between SPOA and DEL that we have a
magazine that truly is our flagship!
Ops Talk not only features articles about important issues for
readers, but also allows for input from our members on topics
with which we deal on a daily basis. That provides a great
opportunity for sharing of knowledge and experience amongst
all of us.
Ops Talk goes to every public school district in British
Columbia, to many private schools, colleges and universities,
the Ministry of Education, and a number of other relevant
addresses outside of B.C. It is a source of current information
and offers direct solutions for members, all the while acting as
a marketing messenger for our association. What could be
better?
When you read your next issue of Ops Talk, give some
thought to what goes into making this magazine. Think about
the articles and the other contributions you see between the
covers. Give thanks to the vendors we all deal with, as without
their support, we would be very hard-pressed to continue with
such a flagship for the association!
As one of those who sat in on the inaugural meeting to
develop this magazine, and as someone who reads it cover to
cover each issue, I am proud of it. I encourage all of you to think
about what you are reading, what it means to your daily life, and
what it means to SPOA. Thank you for continuing to support
Ops Talk, thank you for contributing articles, and thank you to
David and Katrina and their team at DEL Communications for
showing us off! Well done! �
School Plant Officials Association of B.C. www.spoabc.org 29
If your workers are on the job at an older
building, help make sure they're being
properly protected against the deadly
mineral known as asbestos. When its
invisible fibres are released into the air,
asbestos can be inhaled by unsuspecting
workers and cause serious health prob-
lems – or death – years after exposure.
Workers, many of them in the construc-
tion industry but also those in related
industries, have died from asbestos-
related diseases like mesothelioma and
asbestosis.
For decades, asbestos was used
everywhere in construction because of
its strength, heat-resistance, and sound-
proofing properties. Asbestos was so
integral to the building process that it
was added to many common materials,
including: flooring, cement, ceilings,
plaster, vermiculite, caulking, roofing felt
and sheets as well as pipe and electrical
insulation.
Though it is no longer used in con-
struction, asbestos continues to cast its
deadly shadow well into the present. In
the last decade, asbestos has killed more
workers in B.C. than any other type ofworkplace injury or disease. Becauseasbestos attacks slowly, many who havedied were older or retired workers. It'sexpected that asbestos will remain a topkiller for the next several years as moreworkers get sick and die from decades-old exposures.
Asbestos only becomes dangerouswhen disturbed, like when handled,drilled, or sanded during renovations.Once released, asbestos’ microscopicfibres can stay suspended in the air forhours, ready to be breathed in by theunaware and unprotected. Onceinhaled, the fibres then lodge them-selves into the respiratory system, caus-ing irreversible damage to lung tissuewith symptoms of asbestos-related dis-eases not appearing until years later.
Today's workers are still at risk of beingexposed to asbestos during demolition,salvage or renovation projects. As part ofthe construction industry, sheet metaland HVAC workers are at a higher risk ofexposure as they are more likely to comeinto contact with asbestos while on thejob.
Because structures built before 1990are likely to contain asbestos, knowbeforehand if the jobsite has undergonea site survey specifically for hazardousmaterials like asbestos. Make sure thatthe hazard assessment is done by a qual-ified professional, as only proper labora-tory results will determine if workers areat risk of exposure.
If asbestos is present, it must be prop-erly removed before any other work canbegin. Because asbestos removal is acomplex and hazardous process, leave it
to the professionals who have the prop-er training, experience, and equipmentto do the job well and safely.
Respirators and secured work zonesare not the only elements required to dothe job right; without proper work proce-dures and tools like special protectivegarments or a decontamination room,asbestos removal could hurt more thanjust those who are doing the work. Notonly can asbestos fibres move intoanother work area if not properly con-tained, but they can also be transportedto other locations by attaching onto peo-ple’s clothing. Later, the fibres detachand re-circulate in the air of the new envi-ronment – like the office or at home.
Before any work starts, written confir-mation that the asbestos has been prop-erly removed and disposed of should bereceived and available on the jobsite.
If any asbestos is found while a job istaking place – even after the removalprocess – stop work immediately toavoid risking further exposure.
Helping to ensure workers don't sufferfrom the devastating effects of anasbestos-related occupational disease isworth the extra time required for properassessment or asbestos removal. Unlikemost on-the-job accidents, asbestos isan invisible danger whose effects don'tbecome apparent until much later –sometimes long after workers haveretired from their careers.
For more information, additionalresources, or asbestos-specific require-ments found in the Occupational Healthand Safety Regulation, please visitwww.WorkSafeBC.com. �
Today’s workersstill at risk fromyesterday’s asbestos
BY MIKE MCKENNA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, B.C. CONSTRUCTION SAFETY ALLIANCE
30 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
Moisture: A natural disasterBY DARRYL WILSON, MAPEI TECHNICAL SERVICES
View of moisture issue with wood flooring.
View of moisture underneath carpet moisture.
Moisture issue underneath tile.
Vinyl sheet glue re-emulsification through seam.
There are many types of beautiful and stylish floors in schools
– marble foyers in school entrances, ceramic tile in laborato-
ries, coloured and crafted sheet vinyl in hallways and class
rooms, hardwood floors in gymnasiums, carpet in adminis-
trative offices, and rubber flooring in areas surrounding
aquatic centres. The average cost for installed flooring runs
around $4 to $15/square foot for carpeting; $10 to
$14/square foot for hardwood; $19 to 60/square foot for
marble; $7 to $14/square foot for tile and $3 to $7/square
foot for vinyl (according to www.costhelper.com). When work
is complete, the flooring represents a significant investment
by school facilities’ management. In certain circumstances,
the concrete subfloor can compromise this investment, caus-
ing costly defects in the floor covering.
If the water-to-cement ratio in the concrete mix is too high,
or if the concrete slab does not cure properly, it can become
overly porous. As a result, the tiny channels within the con-
crete may remain permanently connected, increasing the
permeability of the concrete slab and the likelihood of mois-
ture movement up through the slab to the flooring. In the
absence of a vapour barrier/retarder, natural moisture such
as ground water can become a problem. Artificial sources of
moisture like irrigation problems, incorrect exterior grading
or broken plumbing can also lead to problems with moisture
control. The result can be serious failures in the flooring.
In wood floors, moisture could lead to wood crowning or
cupping, making that smooth gym floor more like an obsta-
cle course. Carpet could start to buckle and smell due to
excess moisture, mould and mildew. Moisture could cause
efflorescence of cement-based grout in tile joints, leaving
unattractive salt deposits in the grout lines separating the
tiles. Stone is known for being sensitive to moisture and
could sometimes change colours and/or curl in the presence
of too much moisture. When sheet vinyl and other resilients
are installed in conditions of excess moisture, adhesives will
emulsify, turning gooey and losing their bonding strength.
These conditions occur because moisture vapour is gov-
erned by the laws of physics.
Water vapour travels from one area to another whenever a
vapour pressure difference exists. In a controlled climate
(HVAC), the temperature in a room is usually 70 to 80
degrees Fahrenheit, and the relative humidity is 30 to 50 per
cent. Under these conditions, the air above the water-laden
slab wants to hold more moisture and satisfies itself by
pulling moisture from the slab. The warmer the room is, the
more water is absorbed. Calcium chloride testing, which is
School Plant Officials Association of B.C. www.spoabc.org 31
used to measure moisture vapour emission rates, indicates thatacceptable MVER should be in the range of three pounds (1.36kg) of moisture vapour per 1,000 square feet (92.9 m2 ) of spacewithin a 24-hour period. Moisture issues beneath the concreteslab can cause significant increases in the MVER – sometimesas high as 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet, per 24 hours.
Surface preparation can be critically important to the MVEReffect on the floor covering, whether it is tile, stone, carpet,wood or resilient. One of the essential components of surfacepreparation is the specification of the right moisture barrierbetween the concrete sub-floor and the floor covering. MAPEIsupplies two types of moisture remediation, depending on aproject’s needs:
Planiseal™ Easy incorporates an acrylic polymer, which canbe used on fresh, green concrete that is undergoing standardmoisture dissipation. It has been specifically designed to treatinterior concrete slabs from 14 days to one year old that exhib-it MVER up to eight pounds or 90 per cent relative humidity andreduce transmission rates to three pounds or less. This productcan be specified to significantly reduce the time from installa-tion of the concrete sub-floor to installation of the floor cover-ing under ordinary circumstances.
Planiseal™ EMB is a single-coat 100-per-cent-solids epoxymoisture barrier system for concrete slabs that exhibit MVER up
to 20 pounds and reduces transmission rates to less than threepounds. Planiseal™ EMB's high-performance formulation pen-etrates into the concrete substrate while creating a solid filmlayer on the surface for the ultimate in moisture transmissionreduction. Because of its reduced-odour formula, specifiers canchoose this solution when a project involves a concrete sub-floor with a serious moisture problem in an occupied building.
Safeguarding installations with the proper moisture barrierswill result in sustainable, beautiful flooring that will see studentsthrough all their years of schooling. �
EMB application at Frank Hurt Secondary School in Surrey, B.C.
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32 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
What is the RGC Guarantee Programand Why Specify It?
The RGC Guarantee Program is a quality assurance
program that promotes sustainability by using materials
that meet or exceed national standards. The program
does this by following industry-leading application stan-
dards published in the RGC Roofing Practices Manual,
and by delivering a nationally recognized roofing appren-
ticeship program that requires a strict ratio of journeyper-
sons to apprentices while the roof is being in stalled.
Professional roofing consultants and inspectors provide
independent third-party oversight on every roofing job
that specifies the RGC Guarantee.
How Much Does theRGC Guarantee ProgramAdd to the Cost of the Project?
The cost of an RGC Guarantee is straightforward and
depends on whether it is a five- or 10-year term. The cost
of a five-year guarantee is five and a half per cent of the
contract value (three and a half per cent for independent
inspection and two per cent for guarantee coverage). The
cost of a 10-year guarantee is eight per cent of the con-
tract value (four and a half per cent for independent
inspection and three and a half per cent for guarantee
coverage). Using the example above ($100,000 contract),
the cost of the five year RGC Guarantee is $5,500 (for the
five years or about $1,100 per year). For 10 years, the cost
would be $8,000 or $800 a year, which is an even greater
saving and certainly worth the peace-of-mind. The cost
includes all inspections as the work progresses, as well as
all re-inspections at two years (on a five-year term), and
two, five and eight on the 10-year guarantee.
The RGC Guarantee Includes:• All the administrative oversight required as the job
progresses (receiving, data entry, and filing).
• Notifying the roofing contractor of any deficiencies
(recording completion). RCABC holds $50,000 perform-
ance bonds on probationary members for two years
and $25,000 bonds on all RCABC active members.
• Notifying the material manufacturer of any material
deficiencies and ensuring that defective material is
removed and/or replaced. RCABC requires a $100,000
material bond for all new roofing products accepted in
the RGC Guarantee Program.
• All the administrative oversight required to track the
job to completion and to inform the inspection firm
when future re-inspections are due.
Why is the RGCGuarantee Program unique?• Five- and 10-year coverage for workmanship and
materials.
• Qualified “Red Seal” roofers working for professional
roofing contractors.
• Independent “accepted” inspectors, where neither
they, nor their firms, are RCABC members and do not
pay dues to the association. They are preferably
selected by the owner.
• Two-year re-inspection on five-year, and two-, five-,
and eight-year re-inspections on a 10-year.
• RGC staff, using a proprietary data base, notifies
inspection firms when re-inspections are due. Reports
are filed with RGC and provided to the owner. Techni -
cal advice is available directly and/or online at
www.rcabc.org.
• RGC Guarantee Standards are the industry standards
for British Columbia.
• Accepted materials are rigorously reviewed to ensure
they meet or exceed industry standards.
• A third-party guarantee is in force for the entire term
backed up by RCABC and not prorated.
The RGC Guarantee Certificate is only issued once the
work is complete and all work or material deficiencies are
addressed and an “approved” final report is issued by an
independent inspection firm and filed with RCABC.
Unlike other warranties, the RGC Guarantee Certificate
can only be issued by roofing contractors that are mem-
bers of the Roofing Contractors Association of British
Columbia. �
The RGC Guarantee ProgramAn inexpensive quality assurance option forschool officials in every region of the province
School Plant Officials Association of B.C. www.spoabc.org 33
Modern condensing boiler equipment
is becoming more efficient at getting all
of the heat out of fossil fuels, and
becoming more reliable and affordable
every year. Even better, we are at the
edge of innovations in control and sys-
tem design that, combined with the
more efficient boilers, will be soon able
to guarantee reductions of over 50 per
cent of energy input versus convention-
al heating systems – new or retrofit.
Here are some well-proven concepts,
backed up by new research, that prove
how easy it can be.
Much of this has been said before
(see Art McDonald’s excellent article in
the Spring 2009 Ops Talk), but there are
still some skeptics who doubt the effica-
cy of these strategies. Doubt no more!
Research done in the last decade has
proven some pretty basic concepts that
we have been promoting for many
years. Much of the information I have
studied on this topic has been vetted by
the intrepid researchers at the Natural
Resources Canada - CANMET Energy
Technology Centre in Ottawa. They
generated the following chart in order
to be able to more easily test appliances
for part-load efficiency (refer to the CSA
Standard P.10-07) – have a look.
This chart is a thing of beauty, a
game-changer – it backs up what we
have been saying for years, and I think it
will usher in a whole new era of efficien-
cy innovation. It distills down a whole
bunch of information into an easily
understood graphic depiction of how
our heating systems in Canada work.
Based on climate data from many major
cities in Canada, the dotted red line is
an average load profile for these cities
and they all fit the profile very closely. To
simplify appliance and system testing,
the red line was broken down to three
discrete load capacities, illustrating how
– on average – our heating systems run
at 15 per cent or less capacity for 30 per
cent of the heating season; 40 per cent
or less capacity for 60 per cent of the
season; and at full capacity for only 10
per cent of the time. This elegant little
chart directs us toward the fundamental
concepts we will be using in the coming
years to refine both equipment and sys-
tem designs for greater efficiency. How
can we take advantage of this informa-
tion to make our heating systems ener-
gy misers?
Number one in importance is to stop
over-sizing boilers – short-cycling boil-
ers are big energy hogs. From the P.10
chart we can see that even a “properly”
Get out of ‘hot water’ –Design temperaturesonly happen a few times a year
BY ROY COLLVER
34 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
sized on/off boiler will short cycle for
over 90 per cent of the heating season.
If we are over sizing above the maxi-
mum input needed, we are making the
problem even worse.
Number two: match the heat output
to the actual load by staging or modu-
lating the input to the boiler plant. A 5:1
turn-down ratio will reduce short cycling
to only 14 per cent of the heating sea-
son. There are more and more boilers
on the market today that can reach
down to a 20 per cent (5:1) firing rate,
and even lower, and in larger schools,
the staging of multiple boilers has the
same effect as modulating a single boil-
er. See how powerful the P.10 chart is in
illustrating some of these principles.
The variation illustrated below is a per-
fect example of how we can utilize this
tool.
Number three – Use outdoor reset to
lower water temperatures as low as pos-
sible, whenever possible. This is a “no-
brainer” and should be required of any
boiler. Some movement in this country
is afoot to legislate mandatory outdoor
reset control for all boilers; however,
there is significant push-back from some
stakeholders who have yet to embrace
the concept of low temperature hydron-
ic boilers, and therefore who do not
have products that can easily comply.
Reducing water temperature based on
warmer outdoor temperatures works for
just about any heating application you
can imagine. Many doubters deny this
strategy can work with baseboard radia-
tors or fan coils, but they are just plain
wrong. The chart below is from one of
the biggest baseboard manufacturers in
North America, and every manufacturer
has similar specifications.
Based on these types of charts, a gen-
eral rule for estimating is that a 10 degree
Fahrenheit reduction in water tempera-
ture reduces heat output by 11 per cent,
which just about perfectly tracks the
reduction in heat loss from a space as the
outdoor temperature warms up from
design conditions. So you doubters out
there have a hard look at the information
presented here – this is not blue sky and
wishful thinking, it is based on science
and sound engineering principles, as
well as many years of experience.
Outdoor reset is a proven strategy
that saves energy big time for a very
minor outlay – many boilers today, espe-
cially low temperature and condensing
boilers, simply throw it in to their on-
board control for free.
And lastly, number four: use condens-
ing boilers to maximize the benefit from
outdoor reset and to squeeze the last
bit of energy from the flue gasses. We
used to throw hot flue gasses up the
chimney (500°F at the flue collar of an
atmospheric boiler is not uncommon),
along with a whole bunch of dilution air
and water vapour. Now we can cool flue
gasses down to as low as the boiler’s
return water temperature and condense
the water vapour right in the boiler,
recovering the latent heat from the con-
densate – there’s nothing left to recover
– we can get it all.
For further information,
please visit the
IBC Technologies website at
http://www.ibcboiler.com/
or call (604) 877-0277. �
36 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
For more than a decade, buzzwords such as “cool roof” and“sustainable roofing” have dominated nearly every publicationdealing with industrial roofing. However, it is sometimes mis-takenly assumed that cool or sustainable roofing applies exclu-sively to new construction. What does it mean to have a sus-tainable roof? A sustainable roof is one that is “designed, con-structed, maintained, and rehabilitated with an emphasisthroughout its life cycle on using natural resources efficientlyand preserving the global environment.”1
There are several ways to convert an existing commercial roofinto a sustainable one. They include: the application of a reflec-tive white (cool roof) coating; the addition of photovoltaic pan-els; and the application of metal or vegetative roofs. This articlewill focus on the rehabilitation aspect of sustainability; specifi-cally, on the effects and benefits of the applying reflective coat-ings on the performance and life-cycle costing of the roof.
Extending the Expected Useful LifeThe average expected useful life (EUL) of various roof sys-
tems is shown in the chart below.
As a roof comes to the end of its theoretical useful life, a roof-ing professional can determine if a roof is a candidate for en -hanced sustainability through the use of a reflective coating.The typical approach for this determination would include aninfrared scan to search for leaks or wet insulation. All identifiedwet areas must be cut out and replaced. In all cases, flashingssurrounding scuppers, drains, penetrations and HVAC unitsneed to be sealed, re-flashed, and replaced if damaged. Allridging, blisters, splits and fishmouths must be repaired. Anyponding areas must have either new drains or crickets installed(crickets are tapered triangles that help direct the flow of waterto a drain). Once these issues are addressed, the roof can becoated.
The application of a reflective coating is one of the simplestways a roof can become sustainable. Many of the roof coatingson the market can be applied with a regular paint roller.Multiple component reflective coatings (e.g., two-componentpolyurethanes and polyureas) require a metered dispenser sys-tem and a higher degree of operational sophistication. Reflec -tive coatings come in a variety of chemistries, including acrylic,polyurethane, urea, silicone and polyurethane-urea hybrids. Inaddition, new advances in soy-based technology have allowedformulators to incorporate “greener” bio-based raw materialsinto their sustainable coatings.
Applying a reflective coating to a roof will add between fiveand ten years to the life of a properly designed roof. By imple-menting routine preventive maintenance (e.g., regular evalua-tions, cleaning drains, thermal scans to check for leaks, etc.), theworking life of the roof can be extended even further. Byextending the working life of the roof, the owner also realizes asignificant cost saving. For example, a modified bitumen roofconsisting of two-plies and a mineral cap sheet, with an esti-
ROOFING SYSTEM SURFACE TYPE EUL (min. ¼ in/ft)
Built Up (three- or four-ply) Gravel 25-30 years
Modified Bitumen (two-ply) Granules 20-25 years
Single Ply (TPO, Heat Weld PVC) Unsurfaced/Eposed Membrane 15-20 years
Single Ply (EPDM, adhered) Unsurfaced/Eposed Membrane 10-15 years
Metal (standing seam) Fluoropolymer Paint 40 years
Source: “Roof Management Program for Multiple Roof Systems”, Interface, Nov. 2008.
White reflective roof coatings:Improving the sustainabilityof existing roofs
BY JASON SMITH
School Plant Officials Association of B.C. www.spoabc.org 37
mated useful life of about 20 years, when painted with a reflec-tive coating around year 20, can reduce the overall life-cyclecost of the roof by about 15 per cent.
Energy SavingsA good quality, reflective roof coating system will also save
energy costs for the building owner. More than a third of thetotal energy in Canada is used to cool, heat and operate build-ings. When compared to dark roofs, roofs with restorative whitereflective coatings require up to 40 per cent less energy to coolthe interior, reducing peak cooling demands by up to 15 percent.
Online calculators, such as www.roofcalc.com, provide user-friendly calculating tools to determine approximate energy sav-ings. The decrease in cost is directly related to the reflectivityand emissivity of the coating chosen, as shown in the chartbelow.
The temperature differential (the difference between the rooftemperature and the air temperature) is indirectly proportionalto the solar reflectance. Therefore, the more a coating reflectssunlight, the lower the temperature observed on the roof sur-face. The chart shows that coatings using titanium dioxide(white) come closest to optical whiteness (100 percentreflectance); titanium dioxide is therefore the best solar reflec-tor available to formulators. Reflectivity is the primary criteria forobtaining roof coating Energy Star® qualification2, which usesthe following reflectance guidelines:
Coatings that continue to show high reflectance beyond the
three-year mark translate to continued energy savings for the
building owner. Emissivity, a measure of the ability of the coat-
ing to release absorbed heat, is not a requirement for Energy
Star; however, emissivity values have been listed with re flec -
tance values of coatings since 2007.
Currently, 220 manufacturers have joined the Energy Star pro-
gram.3 It should be noted that the simple addition of a reflec-
tive white coating can also add to the value of a roof by con-
tributing valuable LEED® points4.
LEED PointsIn 2003, building industry leaders formed the Canada
Green Building Council (CaGBC). The council adopted LEED
Canada, which is similar to the U.S. version of LEED, which
was started in 1996. The mission of LEED is to reduce the heat
island effect, the phenomena whereby heat is absorbed and
reradiated by clusters of buildings in densely built areas.
LEED provides a point rating system establishing mainte-
nance standards not only for new construction, but also for
building rehabilitation.
In roof rehabilitation, coatings that are used to improve
reflectance and provide an additional water barrier can also
help a facility earn valuable LEED points. Points (or credits)
are earned based on a set of prerequisites in these six major
categories:
For roofs with slopes of 2:12 or less:
Initial Solar Reflectance ≥0.65
Reflectance After Three Years ≥0.50
For roofs with slopes greater than 2:12.
Initial Solar Reflectance ≥0.25
Reflectance After Three Years ≥0.15
38 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
• Sustainable sites – 14 possible points• Energy and atmosphere – 5 possible
points• Water efficiency – 17 possible points• Materials and resources – 13 possible
points• Indoor environmental quality – 15 pos-
sible points• Innovation and design process – 5 pos-
sible pointsThe points required to obtain different
LEED certifications range from 26 to 32
points (for the most basic certification) to52 to 69 points (for the highest Platinumcertification). Regardless of whether aroof coating is used as part of a restora-tion or new construction plan, LEEDpoints are typically applied in the materi-als and resources category. Your localarchitect, roofing consultant, or manu-facturer’s representative can typicallyhelp you analyze and compare the LEEDcontribution potential of various roofingsolutions.
ConclusionWith all of the buzz in the roofing in -
dustry regarding sustainability, using areflective coating may be the simplestway for a building owner to reduce ener-gy consumption while extending theworking life of their roof. When used inconjunction with a responsible, eco-friendly restoration or rehabilitation plan,the use of a reflective coating can con-tribute to LEED certification, transform-ing an existing roof into a sustainableone.
About the Author: Jason Smith is aresearch and development chemist forThe Garland Company, Inc., a manufac-turer of high-performance solutions forthe commercial building envelope . Priorto joining Garland, Smith was a seniordevelopment chemist for an interna-tional manufacturer and distributor spe-cializing in adhesives for the industrialand consumer markets. He has an M.S.in polymer chemistry and coatings tech-nology from DePaul University, Chicago.
Footnotes:1 From Proceedings of the Sustainable
Low-Slope Roofing Workshop, OakRidge National Laboratory, October1996.
2 ENERGY STAR® is a registered trade-mark of the U.S. government. TheENERGY STAR Program represents avoluntary partnership between business-es and organizations and the federalgovernment to promote energy efficien-cy and environmental activities.
3 From USGBC website:www.usgbc.org/leed/.
4 LEED® Buildings performance refers tothe Leadership in Energy andEnvironmental Design® (LEED) GreenBuilding Rating System®, which is a vol-untary, consensus-building national stan-dard that was initiated by the U.S. GreenBuilding Council (USGBC) for develop-ing high-performance sustainable build-ings. LEED®, Leadership in Energy andEnviron mental Design®, and GreenBuilding Rating System® are registeredtrademarks of The U.S. Green BuildingCouncil. �
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School Plant Officials Association of B.C. www.spoabc.org 39
If you are tired of the endless cleaning, scrubbing, rinsing andpolishing re quired to keep your high-traffic floors bright andclean, it may be time to try the new generation of sustainablygreen microbial cleaning products in your facility; you'll saveboth time and money, and you'll be surprised how clean yourfloors will become.
When you use the new generation of sustainable microbialcleaning products, you will only need to wet the floor area withthe product for the cleaning action to start working; simplydamp-mop a floor area from edge to edge, and once the prod-uct is in place, it starts working! Billions of tiny scrubbers keepon working for up to 80 hours, deep cleaning and removing alltraces of soils, foods, and other deposits, leaving a brighter,cleaner surface for your clients and guests. Plus, you won’t needto use much of the product; usually two to four ounces in a gal-lon of warm water is all that is required.
The billions of tiny scrubbers in the product do the work foryou, deep cleaning into floor surface pores to remove depositsand build-ups that have developed over time, so you won’t needto scrub any corners. For faster results on heavy build-up, youcould soak the floor using the product in diluted form, let it sitfor an hour, then come back and brush or squeegee the entirearea and let dry.
After you’ve applied the product, you won’t need to rinse asthe floor will dry bright and clean. As well, you won’t need toclean as often; most clients report that they can reduce their fre-quency of cleaning by 30 to 50 per cent as a result of using theseproducts. For properties with multiple cleanings scheduled perday, you'll find that your floors are cleaner and require less actu-al cleanings per day, thus saving you time and money.
Furthermore, you won’t need to disinfect as often. Thoseclients who need to disinfect regularly due to health concerns(such as hospitals, retirement facilities and other types of institu-tions) find that the regular use of these products, in conjunctionwith sanitizing cleaners, can actually provide the best of bothworlds – eliminating harmful micro-organisms and deep clean-ing to remove organic matter and odours The regular use of thenew generation of sustainable green cleaning products effec-tively displaces harmful microbe populations from floor surfacesover time.
These sustainable, microbial green cleaning products for floorcleaning include general-purpose products for deep cleaningand deodorizing, deep-cleaning products for deodorizing
smelly areas like bathrooms, kitchens, and gar bage bins, andproducts for degreasing busy kitchen floor areas.
Ideally, you should be looking for third-party certified(Ecologo™ or Green Seal™ are good examples) microbialclean ing products that are considered “one-pass” cleaningproducts and are part of a sustainable product line (all theingredients are made from renewable resources and theproducts decompose quickly and easily, recycling back to theearth with minimal impact on our world).
For more information, visit www.eatoils.com.
About the Author: Charles Robinson is the national salesmanager at World Ware Enterprises Ltd., Manufacturers ofEatOils™ Microbial Green Cleaning Products. Based inCambridge, Ontario, WorldWare has distributors acrossCanada and throughout the world. �
Work smarter, not harderUse the new generation of sustainablygreen microbial cleaning products
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40 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
It’s no secret: heating and cooling the vasthallways and spaces of a school can leave afairly hefty carbon footprint. That’s whyTerasen Gas is working hard to help schooldistricts find more energy-efficient ways toprovide heating and cooling. For SchoolDistrict No. 23, the wheels are already inmotion at Helen Gorman Elementary inWest Kelowna. An agreement with TerasenGas will result in the school’s traditionalheating, ventilating, and air conditioning
(HVAC) system being upgraded to an ener-gy-efficient geoexchange system.
Geoexchange systems provide many benefits for developers,building owners and end-users, ranging from indoor comfort, tobenefitting the environment, to stable rates which provide financialcertainty regarding the price of energy.
“We’ve been tasked with reducing our emissions, and Terasen Gashas provided an innovative and cost-effective way to help us achievethis goal,” says Larry Paul, secretary treasurer at School District 23 incentral Kelowna. “This system will substantially reduce our naturalgas consumption and support the province’s climate action goals.”
Terasen Gas’s geoexchange systems are an extremely effectiveway to reduce energy use in a building. By using ground-source heattechnology, the system captures heat from the earth and circulates itthroughout the building. In warmer months, it generates space cool-ing. The end result is reduced energy consumption, resulting in a sig-nificant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and a small-er carbon footprint.
“As one of the first utility companies in Canada to include alterna-tive energy solutions as part of its regulated energy service offerings,our agreement with School District 23 will help them use energy effi-ciently and thereby benefit the environment,” says Doug Stout, vice
Terasen Gas helpingschools take big steps towardsreducing their carbon footprints
Brent Hunt, energy solutions manager –Terasen Gas (left), stands with Harold Schock,energy and sustainability manager – SchoolDistrict No. 23, at Helen Gorman ElementarySchool as the geoexchange system retrofittakes place.
Geoexchange systems are one of Terasen Gas’s principal alternative energysolutions, and can be implemented in both new construction and in retro-fits such as Helen Gorman Elementary.
School Plant Officials Association of B.C. www.spoabc.org 41
president, energy solutions and external relations at TerasenGas and FortisBC. “School District 23 has shown great leader-ship and vision in finding an innovative way to help HelenGorman Elementary School move towards becoming carbonneutral, which also supports our efforts to encourage B.C.toward a sustainable energy future.”
The Helen Gorman Elementary School’s geoexchange sys-tem is certainly an enviable model for other schools to see howa geoexchange system can be used to help reduce their ener-gy usage and GHGs.
In addition, Delta School District 37 is also making greatstrides. In collaboration with Terasen Gas, they are in theprocess of evaluating the implementation of alternative thermalenergy solutions for schools within the Delta district. Throughthis collaboration, the school district is aiming to cut their car-bon footprint and ultimately become carbon neutral.
As an integrated energy provider with an ongoing focus andstrategy on energy efficiency and conservation, Terasen Gas is
committed to developing innovative alternative energy solu-tions like geoexchange systems for schools.
To learn more about geoexchange and other alternative ener-gy solutions for your school, please visit terasengas.com. �
The geoexchange system being installed at Helen Gorman Elementary will be a cost-effective way to increase energy efficiency and cut the facility’s carbon footprint.
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42 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
For over 13 years, the StudentawardsInc. mission has been to help studentsfind sources of funding to help thempay for their higher education – thefree money that comes from scholar-ships, grants and bursaries.
Studentawards has a researchteam that digs up hundreds of schol-arships, worth millions of dollars, andlists them within our database. Whenstudents register at www.stu-dentawards.com or www.bourse-tudes.com, they will be matchedwith the awards that most closely fittheir personal profiles.
One of the biggest aspects ofmy job is to expand the pool of
money sources for students. Every week,I’m out with our relationship develop-ment team meeting with Canadian cor-porations to discuss the ways they cansupport students (and their parents!) bycreating scholarships and other financialawards. It has been proven many timesthat supporting education provides a pos-itive return on investment for corporations– from good will to more customers andhappier employees. The conversations wehave are usually well-received, althoughthe economy has recently put a crunch onthe availability of funds for these pro-grams.
A new trend we’ve noticed is compa-nies’ interest in exploring school grants
Since
1 9 8 3
Studentawards.com: Grants programs are on the rise
BY SUZANNE TYSON, PRESIDENT, STUDENTAWARDS INC.
School Plant Officials Association of B.C. www.spoabc.org 43
One brand-new program is the recent WWF-Canada Green CommUnity School
Grants Program: “Through the generous support of Loblaw Companies Ltd.,
WWF-Canada will grant $600,000 over three years, up to $200,000 a year, to
Canadian elementary and secondary schools. The grants will help reduce a
community’s impact on the environment, increase understanding of environmental
issues and solutions, stimulate environmental leadership, and inspire students and
communities to take action.”
Toll Free: 1-877-763-1540website: www.stutters.com
Kelowna .............................................. 250-763-1555
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programs. Scholarships are a great way
to reward and recognize individual stu-
dents, but the financial requirements to
create a national program are some-
times too great. A grants program, how-
ever, is an innovative solution because
the financial awards can benefit one
classroom, a school, or even an entire
community.
If time permits, a little web-surfing
could turn up local grants programs that
could benefit your school or community.
Most of these programs are run annually,
so if you miss the deadline this year,
check the site for their next cycle. Here
are a few others to investigate:
• Green Apple School Program:
http://www.fonds-eco-
ecole.ca/home.en.html
• Earth Day Canada Community
Environment Fund:
http://www.earthday.ca/
envirofund/default.aspx
• Sunlight Green Kids: http://
www.sunlightgreencleankids.
ca/en/index.html
• bp A+ for Energy:
http://www.bp.com/
modularhome.do?categoryId=1060&
The Studentawards team will be out
there working to create more of these
programs. You can help by asking your
local business to create something for
your community, or to get their head
offices involved in creating more grants
programs – it’s literally a win-win! �
44 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
4704 - 91st AvenueEdmonton, AB T6B 2L1
Tel: 780-468-9296Fax: 780-468-5806
Air Filtration Specialists
Choosing the rightair filter and filter media
BY BOB JACKSON, CAFS NORSPEC FILTRATION LTD. SARNIA, ON
Poor indoor-air quality (IAQ) is more than
just a nuisance; it’s costly, too. Poor IAQ
significantly influences the occurrence of
communicable respiratory illnesses and
allergies, asthma, and sick-building
symptoms. Some of the airborne trig-
gers for these illnesses include micro-
organisms, respirable particles such as
dust and smoke, volatile organic com-
pounds, and allergens.
In Canada, 5.7 million school children
and close to one million teachers,
administrators, and others walk into
15,000 school buildings every day – and
at least 50 per cent of these schools have
been diagnosed with indoor air quality
problems.
Fortunately, many of these triggers
can be eliminated or significantly
reduced by the proper selection of air
filters in a building's HVAC system.
Advances in air filtration have led to the
development of systems that provide
superior IAQ while reducing energy
costs and helping commercial and
institutional buildings achieve green-
building milestones.
Air Filtration and IAQ
The average human breathes in
about 16,000 quarts of air, which con-
tain about 70,000 visible and invisible
particles, each day. According to
researchers, indoor air often is two to
five times more polluted than outdoor
air. Most of the respirable dust and
other particles people breathe into
their lungs is smaller than 10 microns in
size.
Therefore, the first step in determin-
ing the best type of HVAC filter needed
– and an important step in any IAQ-
related building strategy – is to identify
the types and sizes of particular pollu-
tants in the building. Once problemat-
ic pollutants are identified, it is time to
look at filter efficiency. Filtration effi-
ciency is defined by how well a filter
cleans indoor air by removing airborne
particles. Low-efficiency filters – those
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Plymovent Welding Exhaust Systems
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DOWN DRAFT
TABLES
NU-TECH SYSTEMS LTD.12200 - 1st Avenue | Richmond, British Columbia | V7E 3M2
Phone: 604.271.9222 | Fax: 604.271.2156
WWW.NU-TECHSYSTEMS.COM
NU-T
D
46 Ops Talk • Fall 2010
Index to advertisersAllmar International .....................................................................11
Barclay Restorations.....................................................................24
Basement Systems Vancouver ....................................................39
Belimo Americas ...........................................................................15
Blue Imp Recreational Products of Canada Ltd. .......................38
Canstar Restorations ......................................................................3
Centaur Products Inc....................................................................14
Don's Power Vac........................................................................OBC
E.B. Horsman & Son .....................................................................26
Energy Wise Distributors Ltd......................................................20
EnPointe Enterprises....................................................................18
Erv Parent Group ..........................................................................25
Firestone Building Products ........................................................27
Garaventa (Canada) Ltd.................................................................8
Garland Canada, Inc.....................................................................37
IBC Energy Saving Technologies................................................35
IRC Building Sciences Group Inc. ...............................................42
JM Bean & Co. Ltd........................................................................15
KMBR Architects Planners Inc. ...................................................12
MAPEI Inc........................................................................................9
Norspec Filtration Ltd. .................................................................44
Nu-Tech Systems Ltd. ..................................................................45
Philips Lighting Canada / WESCO .............................................23
Preferred Consulting & Roof Management ...............................24
Reliable Controls Corporation...................................................IBC
Roofing Contractors Association of British Columbia..............13
Shanahan’s.....................................................................................26
Sharps Audio Visual .......................................................................7
Shutters & Shade ..........................................................................20
SimplexGrinnell.............................................................................31
Smith Energy Inc.............................................................................6
Spears Sales & Services Ltd. .......................................................31
Stutters Disaster Kleenup ............................................................43
Talius............................................................................................IFC
Terasen Gas...................................................................................41
Tero Consultants Ltd......................................................................5
Western Bus Parts & Service Ltd................................................19
Western Canada IC Bus Inc.........................................................17
that are 25 per cent efficient in remov-ing particles three to 10 micrometres insize are typically are used to keep lintand dust from clogging the heatingand cooling coils of HVAC systems.Medium efficiency filters – those thatare up to 80 per cent efficient in remov-ing particles three to 10 micro metres insize typically are used to removemould, pollen, soot, and other smallparticles. High efficiency filters – thosethat are up to 99 per cent efficient inremoving three to 10 micrometres insize typically are capable of airbornenuclei generated from coughs andcolds, smoke, and extremely fine parti-cles such as toner dust.
But just what is effective air filtration?ASHRAE (the American Society ofHeating, Refrigerating and Air-Con di -tioning Engineers) has a test standardthat quantifies the performance ofHVAC filters. ASHRAE Test Standard52.2-2007 measures a filter's ability to
remove airborne particles between 0.3and 10 micrometres in size. A mini-mum-efficiency reporting value (MERV)is assigned to a filter based on its effi-ciency in three different particle-sizeranges (0.3 to one micrometres, one tothree micrometres, and three to 10micrometres). The higher the MERV,the greater the ability to remove highquantities of small particles from air.
For most schools, air filters with aMERV eight rating or better are theminimum. However, recent develop-ments in filter media technology havenow produced economical filters withratings of MERV 11 and MERV 13.
Cleaner Air is Greener AirIn addition to providing superior IAQ
and reducing energy consumption,HVAC filter selection has a direct effecton a number of green-building issues,including:• Greenhouse-gas emissions: A 0.05-
in.-wg. reduction in a filter's initial air-
flow resistance can reduce carbon-
dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to four
per cent, or 120 lbs. per filter. A 0.20-
in.-wg. reduction in a filter's initial air-
flow resistance can reduce CO2 emis-
sions by up to nine per cent, or 480 lbs.
per filter.
• Raw-material use: Some filter media
can be made with recycled polymer
from manufacturing waste streams
and provide better performance
using less media than other filters.
• Waste output: High-capacity pleated
filters can extend filter life and
reduce changeouts. Extended filter
life can reduce waste streams while
minimizing resistance to airflow.
In conclusion, careful selection of
HVAC filters and filter media can
improve IAQ, save money, and reduce
waste. �
forward thinking
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Looking to improve the energy efficiency in your school district? Let the Internet-connected products from Reliable Controls® help you do the math. We deliver high performing energy management and control systems for school districts all across Canada.
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We are the people and technology you can rely on.
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