Month: July 2017

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Five Reasons Using Cell Phones for Access Control is Better Than Badges

Posted in Life Safety Systems

Anyone who has worked in an office building is familiar with the dreaded badge. Wearing one of these keycards around your neck is a hallmark of the modern office, and everyone knows what a pain they can be for both employees and the team that has to manage them.

Benefits of Using Cell Phone Badges
But, there is a better way to control access to company facilities and it is something that every employee already has: A smart phone. That’s right, using a combination of Bluetooth and Near Field Communication (NFC) technologies a smart phone can take the place of traditional badges. Not only can the cell phone be used to control exterior and interior doors, it can actually be more efficient than traditional badges. There is a lot of discussion around The Use of Cell Phones vs. Badges for Access Control. Here are 5 reasons why cell phones are better for access control.

1. Employees always have their cell phones

What is the biggest challenge with badges? Employees forget them all the time. They take them off at home and forget to grab them, or they switch cars with their spouse and forget to take the badge out, or any one of a number of reasons. Every time this happens it makes extra work for office managers and slows the productivity of the employee. No one ever forgets their cell phone though. It has become essential for both work and personal life. Why not use something employees always carry with them for access control?

2. Apps are easier to manage than badges

Getting set up with cell phone based access control is simple. The employee downloads an app, enters in a code provided by the person setting up the controls, and connects to the server. Now an admin can grant the employee access to whichever part of the office is needed. If the employee needs access to another office the same admin can grant temporary access with just a couple clicks of the mouse. No need to distribute new badges every time an employee travels. If an employee quits, or is fired, access to the app can be immediately disabled. There is no need to run around trying to collect badges from ex-employees.

3. It is more convenient for the employee

Ever have one of those mornings where you have 10 things in your hands and you are trying to get in the office? Badging in can be a pain on those days, which seem to occur more often than not. Many cell phone based access control systems don’t even require the employee to take the cell phone out of their pocket. They can simply walk up to the door and it unlocks for them, meaning they are not spilling their coffee at the office entrance for the third time this week.

4. Cell phone access control is more secure than badge access control

Every company is concerned about security and cell phone access control is more secure than badge access control. As mentioned above, employees always have their phone on them but not necessarily their badges. Most employees leave their badges in their car at night. Which means if their car gets broken into an unauthorized user has access to your facility. Whereas if a cell phone is stolen the employee can disable the phone remotely. Cell phones also require pass code authentication, so even if a thief were to steal an employee’s cell phone they would not be able to gain access to your company’s facilities.

There is also a matter of targeting. Using a badge for access control means that every time employees go to lunch they are proudly displaying their name along with your company name to anyone who is in the area. Using smart phones for access control means that your employees stay anonymous when they are out during the day, keeping them and your company more secure.

Smart phone access control systems also provide detailed access logs that can be incorporated into other security controls. Making it easy to track unauthorized employee movement and take quick action against violators.

5. Cell phone access control is just cool

Business decisions should not be made solely based on the “cool factor”, but there is nothing wrong with factoring that into the decision process. Using smart phones for access control is cutting edge technology and on top of being more efficient, more secure and easier to manage is just plain cool.

If you want to know more about cell phone access control systems please contact us.

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Repair or Replace Considerations: Let us Help you do the Data Analysis

Posted in Energy Management

“If the repair and maintenance cost gets way too high, just replace it” This phrase, which we have all heard, represents the currents attitude in people about capital asset management. Unfortunately, this is what our business schools are teaching.

Repair or Replace: Data Analysis

From a financial standpoint and at face value, the phrase sounds correct, but until you take a deeper look at all the factors that come into play when making such a decision, you will never understand why this phrase is an indication of ignorance. The myriads of factors to take into consideration necessitate the need for you as a manager to do a proper data analysis before concluding on whether to replace or repair. Here are some things you need to do to help you do the analysis.

Analyze the Costs

As a manager, you will need to understand that the expense of a new asset is not just the cost of purchasing the asset. Other costs include operating cost, expected life cycle cost, potential salvage value and the increase in revenue that it will bring. On the other hand, for the current asset, you need to understand its sunk cost, repairing cost, remaining service life, current market value, and future salvage rate. With this data, you will be in a position to do a proper data analysis enabling you to make an informed decision

Consider the age of the capital asset

Since assets do not age gracefully, their age is directly proportional to their repair cost. The older an asset is, the more it will cost you to fix. Further, with age, the asset will give you fewer returns on your repair investment.

Consider the downtime

For an old asset that is often under repair, it leads to a considerable amount of downtime that leads to a loss of productivity over many hours. Nevertheless, you should also consider the amount of time it will take for you to replace the asset. Remember that replacing means waiting for the new asset to arrive. On arrival, its installation, staff training, and commissioning will also consume time, which will still be downtime. The goal is to ensure that your institution does not lose too much in productivity.

These are only three of the many things you need to consider before deciding whether to repair or replace a capital asset. At Performance Solutions we are committed to helping you optimize your assets and you should therefore feel free to contact us for more information.

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The Six Least Compliant Joint Commission Standards

Posted in Preventative Maintenance

Facilities play a crucial role in the lives of hospital staff and patients. In life or death situations, a hospital’s environment is essential to staff and patient wellbeing. After all, patients spend time in hospitals to pursue healing and the facility plays a massive role. Hospitals are for-profit organizations with tight budgets and a never-ending list of necessary facility upgrades. Challenges lie in the prioritization of these projects, between patient wellbeing and building wellbeing.

Patient and facility wellbeing should not be considered separately. Environment connects patient and facility. By investing and making infrastructure improvements, you are also investing in the overall wellbeing of your patients and staff in the long-term.

Of the 2016 Joint Commission surveyed standards, the following are identified as the six least compliant standards for hospital facilities in the physical hospital environment such as appropriate temperature, ventilation issues and general safety hazards:

    1. Standard EC.02.06.01, 66% non-compliant: Maintain a safe, functional environment and maintain ventilation, temperature and humidity

 

    1. Standard IC.02.02.01, 59% non- compliant: Reduces risk of infection associated with equipment, devices and supplies

 

    1. Standard IC.02.05.01, 56% non-compliant: Manage risk associate with utility systems including supply, exhaust, filtration and air exchanges

 

    1. Standard EC.02.01.20, 50% non-compliant: Manage the Means of Egress, including door locking features & corridor clutter

 

    1. Standard LS.02.01.35, 47% non-compliant: Manage systems for extinguishing fires including the integrity and other issues including ceiling tiles misplaced, extinguisher signage and blocked access to fire extinguishers

 

    1. Standard LS.02.01.10, 46% non-compliant: Building and fire protection general requirements: fire-rated door and barrier penetrations

 

    1. Standard LS.02.01.30, 46% non-compliant: Building and fire protection features: Hazardous area doors and corridor doors such as doors to Suites

The goal of implementing these standards is to create a physical environment that supports clinical function, allowing for the care, treatment and services provided.

Compliance is difficult. In many cases, surveyors can site any unsafe condition in the patient care environment. You and your facility team must anticipate risks to patient safety while mitigating those risks without a specific checklist of unsafe conditions.

That’s where we come in. At BCS, we understand hospital facility equipment and maintenance. It’s our life’s work to nurture the relationship between patients, staff and environment. We can be your partner in solving compliance issues. By providing the highest quality HVAC, building automation and fire and security equipment, we give you control over the environment and peace of mind for quality application.

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5 Tips to Keep Facility Costs Down in Hot Weather

Posted in Facility Budgeting

The bell rings: kids celebrate, teachers give a sigh of relief and as the last person leaves, your school grows quite. It’s summertime. When preparing for the summer season, keeping temperature and cost of emergency repairs down can be pretty simple if you consider these 5 tips:

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1. Scale back run-time

Have school staff let you know in advance when they plan to occupy spaces and turn on the equipment only while the space is occupied.

If janitorial staff occupy the spaces, keep in close contact with them and run the air conditioning in rooms only as they work in them. Turn off the equipment in any rooms they move out of.

Building operators can use automation software, such as Siemens controls, to control and manage sites remotely from the comfort of their office. The software will monitor efficiency and can send you daily reports on your savings.

 

2. Give your equipment a check-up

A dirty coil can make your equipment work harder for less results.

Providing maintenance to your equipment is an easy way to ensure it is functioning properly. This can save you money by preventing it overworking inefficiently. Regular servicing can keep your equipment working for you longer.

Bring in an expert to:

    • Lubricate all moving parts in the system
    • Check the thermostat
    • Ensure the system controls are working safely and properly
    • Clean the evaporator and condenser air conditioning coils
    • Clean and adjust blower controls
    • Check the system’s central air conditioner’s refrigerant level

 

3. Clean your air filters 

Filters should be cleaned once a month.

Dirty filters aren’t just bad for energy efficiency: They can cause damage to the equipment, which can eventually result in system failure.

With normal airflow obstructed, air that bypasses the filter may carry dirt directly into the evaporator coil and impair the coil’s heat absorbing capacity.

 

4. Ensure proper seal and insulation

Is air leaking out of your building?

In hot, humid climates, the majority of energy used to make a building comfortable is spent on cooling and dehumidifying. The biggest head load is the direct radiation from the sun. The sun’s rays directly heat up the surfaces of the building and the heat conducts to the inside.

It is best to have a light-colored roof. The color will deflect a lot of radiation away. Another best practice is to have vented air cavity directly under the roof. This allows most of the heat to be deflected and dissipated before it even gets to the roof insulation. This simple addition can go a long way.

Using overhangs and porches is a great way to protect walls and windows particularly on the south and west sides to block the sun.

Adding insulation to the right places can greatly improve efficiency. Move the attic insulation so that the air conditioning ducts are inside the insulated envelope.  The air conditioning units work less because the ducts lose less energy.

According to EnergyStar.gov, you could spend 10% more on energy bills if your building is not properly insulated.

Air could be slipping out through paths like window seals, construction joints, or cracks. Air seepage could allow energy on heating and cooling to escape.

A couple solutions are using building wraps or spray insulation.

 

5. Run a preventative maintenance program

Take time this summer to research money saving tactics for the upcoming school year. This may be the right time to start a preventative maintenance program.

For example, BCS Performance Solutions takes a holistic approach to facility management through implementation of the Strategic Energy and Maintenance Program (SEMP). Performance Solutions will evaluate your entire facility. They will uncover the root cause of facility problems and develop a complete plan that meets both organizational needs and budget. SEMP includes addressing deferred maintenance, high utility costs, reducing energy consumption, and life cycle cost management.

Interested in more information about preventative maintenance programs? Contact us to learn more.

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The Importance of Timely Service for Your Equipment

Posted in Preventative Maintenance

When managing large volumes of equipment, it can be challenging to keep up with the needs of the facility.  Amidst your never-ending list of day to day tasks, you don’t have time to pay attention to the minute details of each piece of equipment. But if something small goes wrong it could upset your whole balance. Timely service is critical for all of your equipment and will prevent small issues throwing off your schedule.

Importance of Timely Service

Avoid Costly Downtime

The longer you wait for regular maintenance or simple service calls, the greater the likelihood that something big will go wrong with your equipment. This can lead to costly downtime, which can substantially impact your ability to keep your business running smoothly, your customer satisfaction ratings and the flow of your daily business day.

Catch Problems When They’re Small

There’s one big problem with small mechanical problems: they don’t usually remain small. By taking care of service for your equipment in a timely manner, you ensure that the problems stay small–and that means that you aren’t putting off a small bill for a big one down the road. Regular maintenance can also catch those small problems even before you start to notice them, making it easier for you to keep your focus where it belongs.

Schedule Maintenance Easily

When you take care of service and maintenance in a timely manner, you can put it on the schedule at a time that’s convenient for you. Unfortunately, when you put it off, you’re left with the need to schedule it immediately–and it’s often inconvenient. Taking care of regular service and maintenance on your equipment in a timely manner is the best way to ensure that you’ll be able to keep your business moving smoothly as well as preventing higher costs down the line.

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Facility Management Best Practices

Posted in Energy Management

Facilities require constant upkeep. From managing routine maintenance projects to emergency situations, maintaining a building is hard work. Learn how to make it run smoothly with these five facility management best practices.

Facility Management Best Practices

1. Preventative Maintenance is a Must

Taking time to fix things before they break prevents more in-depth costly repairs in the future. Ideally, this is the primary type of maintenance that should take place. Staying on top of timely repairs keeps the facility functioning properly.

2. Utilize a Work Order System

A work order system tracks requests and routine maintenance. This type of system helps with organizing and assigning tasks, which also tracks maintenance staff and their activities. Lastly, it acts as a maintenance record, noting the dates and details of completed projects.

3. Establish Benchmarks

The record created by the work order system is also used to establish benchmarks. Installation dates, cleaning times, and repairs completed are available for easy reference. If a task is completed multiple times, for instance, and still not fixed, it could be time for a longer-term solution. Further, access to the maintenance schedule can be used to justify expenses or labor.

4. Get Smart

Get your building to work smarter with technology. Facility use ebbs and flows throughout the day. For example, installing lighting sensors will provide light when people need it, but also turn the lights off if a room is empty. Additionally, connecting systems, such as lighting and temperature controls and security, can allow you to automate the monitoring of these systems. Setting these to turn on shortly before staff arrives and off after staff leave helps save energy costs while assuring proper function throughout the day.

5. Communicate

Finally, communication is essential in maintaining a facility. It’s important to receive feedback from maintenance staff as well as others who make use of the building. Again, this is where a work order system is utilized. In cases of non-emergencies, anyone can complete a work order that’s forwarded to the maintenance department for assessment and completion. Further, users can get status updates or provide additional information if facility staff has questions.

With these practices, maintenance management will run smoothly, be smarter, and keep the building operating at optimal levels.

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HVAC Systems Preventative Maintenance Tips: Commercial Air Duct Cleaning

Posted in Preventative Maintenance

One of the most overlooked, but critical things that requires regular cleaning is your commercial air ducts. Regular air duct cleaning is an important part of preventative maintenance to ensure that your HVAC system is functioning properly, that there are no leaks, and that your indoor air quality is up to par. Commercial air duct cleaning is a must this summer season, and here’s why.

Air Duct Cleaning

    • Conserve Energy: When your HVAC system is full or dirt and debris, it is harder for the system to perform properly. Unwanted debris will force each part to work harder than normal, which expends unnecessary energy. With regular air duct cleaning, your HVAC system can work more efficiently and faster, thus conserving energy.

 

    • Improve Air Quality: Just as your desk collects dust over time, so does the air ducts in your office. While filters may catch a lot of this debris, much of it settles in the duct. Since the HVAC system circulates the air that you breathe, this dust will be pushed out into the air, which can cause problems for people with allergies or asthma. Regular air duct cleaning minimizes the amount of airborne dust, creating a healthier work environment for you and your employees.

 

    • Save Money: Regular air duct cleaning will not only conserve energy and create a healthier office environment, it will also save you money. When your HVAC system is filled with debris, it has to work twice has hard to circulate air. This can result in hefty utility bills. With regular air duct cleaning, your monthly utility bill will be much lower. Regular cleaning also extends the life of your system, which will save you the most money in the long run.

By having regular commercial air duct cleaning, you are taking an important step in maintaining your HVAC system, and keeping your office as healthy as possible for your staff.

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How to Minimize Energy Waste: Advantages of Hybrid Water Heaters

Posted in Energy Management

Your water heater is probably one of the most energy-intensive appliance in your building. Given that they weren’t even regulated until 2008, according to How Stuff Works, that should come as no surprise. However, if you’re looking for a way to cut your costs, you might want to consider switching over to a hybrid water heater.

Hybrid Water Heaters

Here are three reasons why:

Reason #1: Hybrid Heaters Are More Efficient

Unlike traditional water heaters, which have huge holding tanks of water, a hybrid heater typically doesn’t hold more than a few gallons at a time. That’s less water to keep heated, and it can refill that reservoir quickly.

Reason #2: Hybrid Heaters Take Up Less Space

While they aren’t as slender as tankless water heaters, which can be the size of a briefcase, a hybrid water heater is significantly smaller than a traditional model. This makes them ideal for property owners who want to be able to utilize more of their space without dedicating a lot of square footage to a water tank.

Reason #3: Hybrid Heaters Save You Money

Most of us never stop to think how much money we spend every year heating our water. However, while the initial price tag might have some sticker shock, it’s important to remember that hybrid heaters will save you a significant amount of money every year. As a result, these heaters will eventually pay for themselves, allowing you to be thrifty with all your resources.

For more information on how to minimize energy waste, simply contact us today!

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Advanced Metering Infrastructure and Water Loss Prevention

Posted in Energy Management

At Performance Solutions, we focus on helping you reduce the total cost of operations across all aspects of water and wastewater treatment plants. From energy-saving aeration to high-efficiency HVAC and lighting systems to renewable energy, we focus on the strategies that have the biggest impact to your bottom line. We use technologies that reduce your cost of utilities and maintenance, improve performance and meet your long-term sustainability objectives.

According to the American Water Works Association’s annual State of the Water Industry Study , the five biggest issues in water are:

  1. Renewal and replacement of outdated water/wastewater systems
  2. Financing capital improvement projects
  3. Long-term availability of water supply
  4. Public understanding of the value of water systems/services
  5. Public understanding of the value of water resources

These are not new concerns. In fact, the top five remain the same as 2016. The problem is that public money is often shifted from water management projects and to very public, above ground jobs that are more visible to the public. However, faulty water infrastructure can disrupt above ground facilities in a big way, causing property damage and requiring 24-hour maintenance. The repairs to mend the damage can be much more expensive than planned and detrimental to your budget. It’s much easier in the long-term to invest in these water projects rather than risking a pipe bursting.

Studies have shown that municipalities are dealing with significant water and revenue losses due to their aging infrastructures. By utilizing Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), pressure monitoring, leak detection and other techniques, Performance Solutions can improve your water loss profile. These methods often significantly lower operational costs, allow you to reallocate resources and recover real and apparent costs of distribution that can be used to offset all or part of the costs of upgrade. We holistically assess your operations. Our areas investigated include:

  • Accuracy of existing meters and cost of apparent losses
  • Estimating quantity and cost real water losses
  • Meter sizing and typing
  • Current approach to meter reads and operational benefits of AMI
  • Pressure monitoring and management
  • Leak detection

Take control of your facilities budget by preventing your water system’s failure. Imagine a more predictable facility that costs you less money, stress and time in maintenance. An investment in the aging infrastructure of your water system now could mean money saved for other large improvement projects in the future. Provide a sound, healthy facility for your community and staff to enjoy for years to come.

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Energy Audits Drive Efficiency in Commercial Buildings

Posted in Energy Efficiency

The basic goal of energy management is to help provide goods and services with the least cost and environmental effect. BCS Performance Solutions helps businesses with energy optimization, which relies on using advanced systems and procedures to reduce and control energy consumption while maintaining comfort.

energy audits

What are Energy Audits?

Energy audits use a systematic approach for reviewing processes, documentation and decision-making. When these systems are initially set up, they often rely on qualitative data, cost-benefit analyses, industrial energy tools and technical report with recommendations to create the best solutions. Most energy management, building automation, temperature control and facility management systems benefit from energy audits. Energy audits help translate conservation concepts into tangible systems and realities by leveraging feasible and economic solutions.

Why Businesses Need for Energy Audits?

Almost all industries continually struggle to reduce the top three operating expenses: labor, materials and energy. The latter offers the best cost manageability and potential cost savings. Energy audits help business leaders identify waste, redundancies and inefficiencies. They are sometimes integrated into environmental management systems (EMS), preventive maintenance programs and facility management planning.  Audits help internal stakeholders stay focused on the variations that occur in energy cost, availability and supply reliability and conservation strategies.

Energy Audit Types

The type of energy audit that your organization may need depends on the industry, function, required depth and cost reduction desired. Preliminary energy audits are an easy way to establish goals, estimate cost savings, benchmark energy consumption and identify the easiest improvements and low-cost savings opportunities. Preliminary energy audits use existing internal or easily obtained external data. Comprehensive audits evaluate all major equipment, energy systems and business processes, so they offer the most detailed cost saving calculations and energy balance recommendations.

What are the Stages of an Energy Audit?

The pre-audit stage may involve informal interviews with production, operations or facility managers. There may be a brief meeting to raise awareness with all management personnel regarding the goals and process. This may involve resource planning, data collection and departmental questionnaires.  The audit stage will likely use first-hand monitoring, interviews and walk-throughs. This may involve trial experiments, process flow charts, historical data analysis and energy consumption patterns. The post-audit stage will involve a report presentation to top management with action plans and recommendations.

The key to energy efficiency and corporate sustainability is through better energy management. One of BCS Performance Solutions top tools is energy audits that minimize energy costs and negative environmental effects.

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