By: CocoAppleStore
Japan, during its period of rapid economic growth after World War II had problems with their environment. The government, in an effort to address the problem, applied various measures like investing in R&D for environment friendly technologies and provided funding to the populace and encourage the various industries to construct pollution control facilities. Despite their efforts, none of these proved sufficient. Because of this, the government formed an advisory panel to look into Japan’s industrial structure and come up with preventive actions on the part of the industry that are important to protecting the environment. In observance with this panel’s suggestion, the government initiated the nation-wide Pollution Control Manager System, which obligates every company in their respective industries to set up pollution control and prevention personnel groups in their factories who is led by a station certified manager who is an expert in regulatory and technical aspects of pollution control in their locality. The move, combined with other preventive measures like the development of environmental friendly technologies and investment in pollution prevention facilities played an important role in Japan’s battle against environmental degradation. Because of this, Japan eventually succeeded in overcoming its ecological problems in the 1980s.
April 18th, 2008
Posted by
Allan |
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By:CocoAppleStore
Recently, I visited Christiansburg, Virginia for a historical story opportunity with Norfolk Southern Railroad. They are in the process of upgrading 28 tunnels on a route between Hampton Roads, Chicago, and Virginia so they can accommodate double-stacked railcars. The tunnel I visited was originally built between 1911 and 1919, The cap of its concrete liner have been removed but it was replaced with rock bolt reinforcements and concrete to the exposed rock to accommodate the double-stacked cars. This distinct tunnel is the longest on the route at 0.6 miles.When I went inside, I saw heavy equipment working double time and I also saw the work in progress. I walked back and forth along its length. I also discovered that carved it was carved through a small mountain with about 180 feet of dirt and rock over my head. It was totally dark and it kinda scared me. The Only visible light were from the light the seeped through the entrances of the tunnel and the flashlight that i brought along with me.
April 14th, 2008
Posted by
Allan |
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By: CocoAppleStore
Old and new buildings in cities that don’t work as the designers intended tend to be a hassle for facility managers. With in-house maintenance personnel and engineering departments spending their days working with these problems, managers who faces these tough problems tend to confer with their peers belonging to other organizations whose buildings have similar problems. But in high-profile, architecturally distinct buildings, in-house managers and crews are generally on their own when it comes to figuring a solution on fixing what the designer wanted and then making the building operate properly.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s green building is the latest case. A three-year-old, $300 million building designed by Frank Gehry is causing quite a variety of problems according to MIT Officials. They alleged that the building leaks persistently, it has problems with drainage and molds and fungi growing on its exterior. In addition, accumulated snow and ice fell from window boxes and other areas of its roofs, obstructing emergency exits and causing damage.
April 13th, 2008
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Allan |
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By:CocoAppleStore
Almost two years ago, Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast and inflicted one of the most devastating flood damages in the history of the United States. Residents and business owners alike are still recovering from the damage it brought. One of the many lessons I got from this and other disasters is the importance of facility design and how it can help buildings and their occupants survive natural calamities. I asked one facility manager of a hospital on how they coped up with the situation and managed to withstand the hurricane and remain open and functional while the most of New Orleans descended into deluge and anarchy? The manager simply said that their organizations’ owners and designers had placed their facilities on higher ground rather than within the bowl of New Orleans because they think that some day the city will suffer flooding when levees broke because of a super hurricane. Looks like the owners were right. Sometimes, thinking pessimistically can be instructive and helps owners and managers design buildings that can withstand any situation and put occupants in the best position to survive.
April 8th, 2008
Posted by
Allan |
Guide |
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By: CocoAppleStore
Just recently, my group conducted an impromptu survey of a small number of facility managers. The questions focuses primarily on construction costs.
There was no agreement among this bunch, largely due to the very diverse backgrounds of the respondents, they are spread across the country as well as various industry segments. Some of them lamented that the continuous cost increases of construction materials affects development projects, while some reported that costs had gone down. After the first category, a facility executive observed that one of his projects came in 15 percent under budget about a couple of months ago, while bids on newer projects were also about 15 percent below budget.
April 7th, 2008
Posted by
Allan |
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By: CocoAppleStore
New Construction October edition has just released its report about city development and it stated that October was the most disastrous month in the last 192 months for new construction. Despite that, there is some good news for Center City real estate. The condominiums and apartment development is up by 44%! Besides, the construction rates is a good indicator of the health of the market. If the real estate developers feel that the market will rise up eventually, they will invest in the market and build. For example, Center City Philadelphia’s new developments is focused on multi-family, therefore, the multi-family construction factor really matters. After all, the trend looks bright.
April 6th, 2008
Posted by
Allan |
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