Engineered Systems - November 2008 - (Page 46)

Putting A Damper On Tragedy Jason Jones, a compliance and facilities management consultant at Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. (SSR), a Nashville-based engineering design and facility consulting firm. “Now is the time for building owners and managers to take every precaution necessary to insure damper compliance.” In combination with prescribed inspec- tion, testing, and maintenance procedures, an “Above Ceiling” permit works well to ensure existing dampers are installed and operate properly, penetrations are sealed, and the service opening is not restricted. All newly installed above ceiling work should be inspected and tested to ensure the protective measures required by NFPA 90A function when needed U.S. PATENT 6971871 Each damper is p represented on the drawing by a unique identifier that corresponds to an Excel worksheet, detailing the specifics of each damper. Through p g these efforts, we identified a substantial number of dampers that could be eliminated while still maintaining compliance. This resulted in substantial labor and maintenance savings for The Medical Center. to restrict the spread of fire and smoke. The permit allows contractors and maintenance personnel to be accountable for their work. Any deviations or problems should be corrected prior to issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy or project acceptance. SPEAKING IN CODE SSR teamed with the The Medical Center, Inc. in Columbus, GA, to implement a proactive damper program that identifies the specifics of all required dampers and their locations within the facility. Using mechanical drawings, the Compliance and Facilities Management team at SSR initially identified the required dampers based on requirements of NFPA 101, Life Safety Code for health-care occupancies. Then the team developed a method of identifying fire dampers, smoke dampers, and combination fire/smoke dampers and indicated those locations on AutoCAD drawings. The colorcoded drawing offers a simple user-friendly way to verify required dampers for inspection, testing and maintenance. mprove productivity and employee comfort with energy-efﬁcient Solaronics TRUE DUAL 2-STAGE modulating heaters that save up to 75% in energy costs while providing dry, quiet uniform heat with no drafts or air movement to disturb work. Patented 2-STAGE design provides precise air/gas ﬂow matching at both high and low ﬁre stages for optimum combustion. Input 175 at www.esmagazine.com/instantproductinfo 46 ESM11084Solar.indd 1 En gi neer ed S y stem s November 2008 10/16/08 2:04:16 PM http://www.solaronicsusa.com http://www.esmagazine.com/instantproductinfo

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

Engineered Systems - November 2008 Contents Editor’s Note HVAC Challenge Back2Basics Case In Point Commissioning Building Automation HVACR Designer Tips Show Me The Motor Money The IAQ Top 10 Putting A Damper on Tragedy Special: Lighting Controls Computers & Software Products Glossary Classifieds Advertiser Index Tomorrow’s Environment

Engineered Systems - November 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.