While hospitals and
health care facilities in the United States are some of the best in the world,
the chances of contracting an illness while a pateient in one of these facilities
is estimated around 10% of admissions. Several studies and reports estimate
that approximately 90,000 people died each year as a result of
hospital-acquired infections (HAI), also commonly called nosocomial infections.
While many of these nosocomial infections are acquired through other than the
airborne route, there is solid evidence that inhalation of bacteria and viruses
in hospital air can and does cause many additional patient problems.
At
least 8 of the 23 states that have deregulated their retail electricity markets
are considering reversing that decision. In the process, issues are being
raised that could impact power pricing, regardless of how such changes occur.
Power customers should be looking for ways to insulate themselves from sudden
electric “shocks.”
Being in charge of an engineering group, a department, or a
company takes a lot of planning ahead of time and then continuous improvement
as time goes by. I wrote a book titled, Managing People In The
HVACR Industry that was published by BNP Media that could have
simply been titled Managing People: An On The Job Experience
because the experience and process applies to many who advance into a
management role.
The first-ever GridWeek was
a great success. And, although I thought I had been keeping on top of the
GridWise movement by reading all the articles and interviews on my website
(AutomatedBuildings.com), GridWeek provided many opportunities to learn more.
Last month, this column addressed special considerations
for developing the owner’s project requirements/DID for projects that are
designed and constructed as a core and shell (C&S) by the developer with
customized tenant fit-out (TFO) of occupied spaces as they are leased.
Documenting the owner’s project requirements/design intent is valuable for any
project and is imperative for commissioned projects.