Critical facilities … it’s not just about data centers, much like this magazine has evolved to be much more than our traditional dead-tree issue. While thoughts tend to stray from work and toward holidays and calories and whatnot right about now, those two facts are blending like chocolate and peanut butter in a couple of ways you should know about.

CONDUCT A (MICRO)SITE VISIT

I keep wanting to say this like Jimmie Walker as “J.J. Evans” in Good Times … Mic-Ro-Site! While critical facilities increase in number and prominence within the buildings industry, so do the pressures on the facility engineers who keep them going (and on the design engineers who plan them). Seeing these trends, Engineered Systems has launched this Critical Facilities microsite, with facilities engineers especially in mind.

Drop by www.esmagazine.com/critical-facilities, and you can find white papers, bylined feature articles, upcoming events, and industry news, all with a tilt toward hospitals, data centers, hospitality venues, and other facilities that must operate reliably around the clock.

Our initial batch of content includes a look at how a Seattle medical campus has dealt with the power infrastructure challenges that come with growth and success. Reliability expert Ricky Smith of GPAllied has also adapted a great presentation for a feature article with critical-specific content, “Five Tips For Optimizing A Facility Maintenance Program.”

Beyond some ongoing industry news and calendar listings, we’ll also build a section of white papers as we go. For now, you can get started with insights from Schneider Electric on “Six Ways To Maximize Your New Electrical Equipment Investment And The Reliability Of Your Power System.”

Pair this new microsite with the ongoing trio of Kohler-sponsored webinars on backup power that wraps up this month, and when it comes to timeliness, you’ve got a broad spectrum of engineering info that’s the polar opposite of a ’70s sitcom reference. Check out the first wave of content; there’s more on the way.

LIVE, FROM NEW YORK …

… It’s Wednesday afternoon!

OK, so we’re not talking Saturday night or national television, but to be fair, we weren’t sure how many people we’d draw at 11:30 p.m. on a weekend for “Planning Your Cooling In Critical Facilties.” We also thought the Wednesday afternoon of the AHR Expo might be more appealing for a seminar, and that right there in the Javits Convention Center might be more practical (if slightly less glamorous) than 30 Rock for attendees.

For our magazine’s first-ever live event at AHR, we’re packing a lot of engineering expertise into two hours with the help of three presenters.

We’re very pleased to have Thomas R. Squillo, P.E., LEED BD+C, Vice President and mechanical engineer with Environmental Systems Design, covering the data center cooling angle. He brings over 25 years of engineering to the discussion, having spent the last eight focusing specifically on systems for data centers.

You may recognize Jeff Seewald, P.E., CEM from his work on our previous events and, coincidentally, his current series of articles on tablets and engineering. He’s a senior energy engineer with Sebesta Blomberg, and he’ll be drawing from a variety of projects to share tactics and strategies applicable to these special environments.

And finally, our longtime collaborator and BAS columnist Paul Ehrlich, P.E., founder of Building Intelligence Group, will round out the trio. Ehrlich has been doing some interesting things on the health care side of critical facilities, and he’ll be showing you some recent work and observations in what is sure to be an enlightening presentation.

This is a free seminar, and certificates of completion will be available, so put it on your calendar now: 1-3 p.m. on January 22, 2014 in Room 1E02 at Javits. We’re limited to only 75 attendees, so you do need to register in advance. Take two minutes and reserve a seat at www.regonline.com/coolingcriticalfacilities. It’ll be a nice break from the hectic show floor without leaving the convention center, and we should have some time for panel Q&A at the end, too.

 So when the AHR Expo hits the halfway point this year, bring your tired, your weary, and your critical cooling concerns to Room 1E02, and we’ll take care of the rest.