Engineered Systems - October 2008 - (Page 26)

CaseInPoint Colorado’s plows work at 28° below, but the plow shops’ cold days are over Maintaining a 9,156-mile highway system traveled by over 26.1 billion vehicle miles a year is a formidable task for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). In the state’s six transportation regions, the familiar bright orange maintenance vehicles blade surfaces and shoulders, repair slopes, fences, road damage and potholes, and clean drainage structures, all part of regular year-round highway maintenance. Their use in snow and ice control involves plowing, sanding, de-icing, and controlling avalanches. In a career spanning over ten years at CDOT, Richard Marquez is responsible for managing all structures and buildings in the Alamosa section, an area of Colorado 182 miles by 100 miles where winter temperatures of -28° below zero are commonplace. Of the 50 buildings under his command, two are heavy maintenance facilities that provide year round service for the trucks, plows, road graders, and sweepers. The others are minor maintenance shops and vehicle storage buildings strategically located throughout the region. COLD ON THE OUTSIDE, WARM ON THE INSIDE Not surprisingly, it’s winter that puts everyone to the test — greater wear and tear on vehicles and equipment and occasional breakdowns, with mobile mechanics having to go out and make repairs on-site. “Equipment is out 24 hours a day,” says Marquez. “If we have Infrared heaters positioned near the roof bathe this facility in warmth, even when the doors are open and the thermometer reads -28°. a bad storm come in, it takes 24 hours to keep the highways open.” Marquez explains that CDOT continually looks for ways to improve the atmosphere for its employees, adding that forty of the buildings in the Alamosa section alone now have infrared heaters. “It’s speciﬁed wherever it’s needed for good value, reliability, and efﬁciency. We want our employees to feel good about where they work and take pride in their environment and equipment,” he says proudly. Input 198 at www.esmagazine.com/instantproductinfo FREE INFO: 198 ESM04084Camus.indd 1 26 En gi neer ed S y stem s 3/20/08 10:38:26 AM October 2008 http://camus-hydronics.com http://camus-hydronics.com http://camus-hydronics.com http://www.esmagazine.com/instantproductinfo

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Engineered Systems - October 2008

Engineered Systems - October 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Letters Back2Basics HVAC Challenge Case in Point Commissioning Building Automation HydroTech HVACR Designer Tips Special Insert: Engineer's Technical Library Fall 2008 Living Wild! Chilled Beams in Chicago Phoenix Convention Center: On The Rise Cold-Climate HVAC Challenges Humidification Strategies For Data Centers & Network Rooms Special Advertising Supplement: Tabb Talk Computers & Software Issues & Events Products Literature & Catalogs Glossary Classifieds Advertiser Index Tomorrow’s Environment

Engineered Systems - October 2008

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