New CAL Green Code Requirements

San Francisco led the way for advanced green building codes in 2007 when then Mayor Gavin Newsom signed into law the city’s first green building ordinance for private buildings. Based on input from an industry task force, the ordinance referenced rigorous third-party verified green building rating systems (LEED and GreenPoint Rated) for new large commercial buildings, multifamily and single family residences, and major renovations. The rating systems not only offered robust and tested protocols for improved practices over code, but also provide recognized labels which could be used to market the developments to tenants and buyers.

That same year the California Building Standards Commission adopted the first iteration of the California Green Building Standards Code which became mandatory throughout the State on January 1, 2011. The very first of its kind, California staked out new ground for addressing environmental protection through building codes and raised the floor for the entire state.

All local jurisdictions in California are required to enforce the new Green Building Standards Code, now also known as “CALGreen.” Local jurisdictions are also able to enact more stringent requirements than those contained in the State Code where more stringent requirements are reasonably necessary and supported by “findings.”. While some cities have adopted CALGreen outright, San Francisco responded by adopting the CALGreen (including all mandatory measures), but amended the code to maintain the existing references to the rating systems. In addition to filing our local amendments with the Building Standards Commission, the City filed an application and study with the California Energy Commission to require modeled energy performance above the state’s strict energy code (a prerequisite in the rating systems that further maximize environmental benefits of the original ordinance).

One concern voiced by some in the green building community is that the new code will allow developers to market a development as “green” by building to code instead of the more rigorous rating systems, potentially creating marketplace confusion about the definition of a “green” building. Documenting compliance with both “code” and the “rating systems” may also have unintended consequences on the use of the rating systems. Another question relates to the ability of local building departments to thoroughly enforce the new code, especially as city budgets continue to shrink and time for continuing education, a keystone for all green building endeavors, is ever more difficult to obtain.

During this critical first year of statewide implementation, the City is working with the state, other local governments, nonprofits, and practitioners to monitor the impacts and progress of applying CALGreen, and will work with others to identify best practices as well as key information gaps and recommend other areas for improvement. However complicated things are now, it’s also an exciting time for policy innovations to green the built environment!

Richard Chien
Green Building Coordinator - San Francisco Environment
City and County of San Francisco
www.sfenvironment.org

Lighting Innovation - A Lighting Designer's Perspective

As a lighting designer and participant for February’s IFMA panel discussion entitled "Lighting Innovation - LED's or Fluorescents? I’d like to bring the perspective of a lighting designer to the discussion.

As lighting designers, our goal is to merge the most energy efficient technology with innovation and quality lighting in a space. While doing so, some things to consider are the occupant’s comfort, appropriate light levels, energy code requirements, energy saving goals and any specific client needs. If you are a perspective tenant or building owner, you will most likely work with designers to decide on the lighting for your space. Our panel discussion focused on LEDs and fluorescents and whether it was time to switch. With that in mind, I would like to discuss four things to consider when deciding on your new lighting system:

1. What is your budget?

Understand the budget for lighting in the space. An LED fixture will tend to have a greater upfront cost than compact fluorescent, fluorescent, or halogen sources of equal quality. The payback over a lifetime will frequently make the LED product cheaper in the end due to savings in energy usage and maintenance (cost of lamps & cost of changing the lamps). Use LEDs in areas where they are best suited and save the greatest amount of energy to get the highest return on investment.

2. What is the efficacy of the fixture?

Efficacy refers to lumens per watt.

• Linear fluorescent: 92 – 104 lumens per watt


• Compact fluorescent: 60 – 72 lumens per watt


• LED: 30 – 60 lumens per watt average (varies greatly, can be >100 or <30)


• Halogen: 13 to 18 lumens per watt

The efficacy for traditional lamps refers to the lumens per watt of the lamp only; fixture efficiency is not taken into account. The efficacy of the LED typically refers to the efficacy of the entire fixture. So the list above is not exactly comparing apples to apples.

LEDs bring a substantial energy reduction when replacing halogen and incandescent sources. When replacing linear and compact fluorescent products, you must compare the statistics of the individual products to determine which will save more energy.

3. How will the fixture be used?

LEDs and fluorescents are by nature two very different types of sources. An LED is a point source, while a fluorescent emits light in all directions. This distinction lends LEDs to be better at directing all of their lumens into a single general direction, but not as good at providing a more ambient light effect without proper lensing. Manufacturers have been using this to their advantage creating lenses that put the light exactly where it is needed. As this technology is further developed, it could greatly change the fixtures we see today.

Some common uses for LEDs:

• Downlights
• Wallwashers
• Retrofits for incandescent PAR lamps
• Small cove uplights
• Undercabinet lights
• Small details where a fluorescent or any other source would not fit

At this point, it is still more common to use linear fluorescents for linear office pendants, recessed 2x4s, 2x2s, and 1x4s. These types of fixtures tend to be the main light source in a space, requiring them to provide a high light level. Linear fluorescents tend to be capable of producing more lumens or higher amounts of light than LEDs. As LED manufacturers produce higher wattage LEDs and fixture manufacturers further develop technologies to direct the light, we will be seeing more fixtures ready to complete with the fluorescent fixtures. There are some great ones on the market today, but the selection is limited.

4. See a Sample!

The point I can most stress is that not all LED products are created equal. Whenever considering an LED product, make sure to review a sample first so you know what you are getting.

When reviewing a sample, look for the following qualities:

• Color of the light - is it acceptable? It can vary greatly from product to product.


• Color consistency – do all LEDs in a fixture appear to be the same?


• Color comparison with other fixtures in the space. Are you using multiple fixtures that all have a 3000K color temperature? Does the light look similar between each fixture?

Lighting Designers use both LEDs and fluorescents on a daily basis, and typically end up with a combination of fluorescent and LED lighting in commercial spaces. LEDs have been improving by leaps and bounds and we are continuously seeing new and exciting products that are changing the field of lighting. However, don’t think fluorescents are sitting on the sidelines waiting for LEDs to surpass them. New technologies for distributing and controlling fluorescent light are being further developed creating fixtures that are 90 - 95% efficient; that is hard to beat from an energy standpoint. LEDs are changing the way people think about lighting and they are forcing other aspects of the lighting community to keep developing their technologies as well. It’s an interesting time in the lighting community. I hope the list above helps you make some decisions when developing a new space or deciding to retrofit an old one. I wish you luck on any future ventures!

Lisa Kramer
Senior Lighting Designer
h.e. banks + associates Lighting Design
www.hebanks.com

February 10th, 2011 - Lighting Innovation

I thought I was reasonably knowledgeable about new lighting technology and its role in energy consumption in commercial buildings. The recent chapter program on Lighting Innovation taught me otherwise. What I learned in that session alone justified our annual membership.

Richard Hodges, Principal
GreenIT

New Member Lunch - January 28th, 2011

A special thanks to our Membership Chairwoman, Robyn Isom, for planning such an organized and well executed lunch to welcome our new members to the San Francisco Chapter. The luncheon at the Belden Taverna drew industry associates, board members and Facility Managers representing various industries from software, education, health care to government. Everyone at the table was given the spotlight to introduce themselves along with their affiliated companies. The private venue space was perfect for our 25 attendees which allowed for engaging conversations accompanied by good food and attentive service. We hope to see the continued energy and enthusiasm from all participants at upcoming programs and/or events!

2011 Programs Kickoff - Bowling at Presidio Bowl

What better way to kick off the New Year than with fellow IFMA SF chapter members at our annual bowling event in the Presidio's historic bowling alley! As Hospitality Chair for the board, I was pleased to meet some last minute bowling enthusiasts who joined in on the fun. All 22 bowlers teamed up and wore their IFMA paraphernalia - which included baseball caps and pins - proudly. Plenty of food and sugar from our kick-off cake gave us all energy to consistently strike the pins or gutter the ball. It was a great time to burn off the holiday calories and build camaraderie all around.

Thank you to my fellow Education and Co-Chair committees in organizing this fun filled and well attended event!

Carmina Bacani

IFMA SF Hospitality Chair

More Than Lipstick on a Pig

Yes - the September 9th tour of PG&E's 1920's garage on Folsom Street -- a work in progress as it undergoes a LEED renovation -- was more informative, more interesting, and more fascinating than anyone might have anticipated.

The historic building, its history, and it's trove of antique equipment was amazing!

Thanks for an outstanding tour of the PG&E Garage Facility renovation.

Sybil Meyer
Member, IFMA San Francisco

September 11, 2009 - Tour of the Oakland Cathedral of Christ the Light

Yesterday, IFMA SF members and guests ascended the ramp leading to the entrance of the Cathedral of Christ the Light Cathedral, on Lake Merritt in Oakland, and gathered for a tour. Through the outstanding guidance of our docent guides, we learned of the connection of the building layout, orientation, design, and materials to its spritual mission of “outreach, advocacy and concern for social justice.” Just as light is a defining metaphor of Oakland diocese’s mission, it is also the central design element of the new cathedral. The building is oriented so that the morning sun streams in over the entrance signifying the beginning of life, and the altar, with its multi story image of Christ only visible with daylight, aligns with the setting sun signifying the end of life and time. Every angle and relationship of spaces within the facility is carefully considered with meaning and depth. The combination of wood, glass, concrete and brushed aluminum somehow creates the sensation of serenity and transcendence. The dynamic shape of the walls, which appears at first glance to resemble an inverted wedge on either end of the sanctuary, with the organic form of the faceted panels similar to flower petals, opening wider as they reach the top. The apparent spareness of the materials in the public worship area is contrasted with rich granite, antique stained glass, and translucent marble in the lower level mausoleum. Overall it is a building that is about extraordinary lightness and luminosity. The group was extremely impressed with the results from Architect Craig Hartmanof SOM and contractor Webcor.

On the functional side, we learned that a matrix of friction-pendulum base isolators rests beneath the sanctuary's thick concrete walls and floor slab to allow the building to shift as much as 36 inches in a seismic event. The chief engineer explained that the heat and air is provided through radiant pipes and air supply in the floor, monitored by a state of the art building management system. And a large, separate fan is set to serve the organ, currently containing 1500 pipes, but which is planned to contain 5000 pipes when completed in early 2010.

Following the tour, the group wandered over to Luka's TapRoom for lively conversation, libations, and a tasty assortment of appetizers. The Belgian fries and seafood plates were particularly popular. The night ended a little later than scheduled, but a good time was had by all.

Additional photos of the tour by Ritesh Khanna, LEEP AP - and IFMA Volunteer - are available on http://www.ifmasf.org/xxarchph.html.

Karen D. Cochran, CFM, RPA, FMA

Joint Healthcare Council and R&D Council Spring Conference

The Palace Hotel provided a wonderful backdrop for this year’s Joint Spring Conference held May 10 – 12, 2009.

Even in this challenging economy, when firms are pulling back on their travel and conference expenses, many IFMA members from throughout the country journeyed to San Francisco to participate in IFMA’s Spring Conference – a testament to the value IFMA builds into its conference programs.

The 75 attendees were treated to informative sessions, valuable networking, insightful facility tours, gourmet food and a series of incredibly beautiful sunny San Francisco days.

The move to hold both the Healthcare and R&D conferences together was a smart one, not only for economic reasons but because it gave the facility managers of two separate industries many opportunities to learn from each other.

Laura Ellington, JKL Construction Services

IFMA R&D and Health Care Councils Tour Genentech!

I recently attended the Joint Spring Conference 2009 of the IFMA R&D and Health Care Councils. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet colleagues and discover new and sustainable ways to operate, design and build Research and Development facilities. Participants heard and learned from industry leaders and saw new cutting edge buildings on biotech and healthcare campuses including Fibrogen's new Mission Bay Headquarters and Genentech's newest Biotech Laboratories in South San Francisco.

Attendees represented companies that operate research, healthcare, and clinical spaces. Also attending were architects, engineers, construction and other vendor companies that support the Global Healthcare and Research markets.

About IFMA R&D Council

The Research and Development Council is one of the many specialized groups of IFMA. The members are a diverse collection of individuals involved in R&D facility management encompassing a wide variety of industries (basic sciences, biotechnology, chemicals, consumer products, health care, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, telecommunications, technology, etc.). These facility professionals have the responsibility to effectively plan, design, construct, utilize and maintain a variety of buildings and facilities for their owners and clients.

About IFMA Health Care Council

The Health Care Council (HCC) consists of more than 550 hospital facility managers, design and construction professionals, consultants, vendors and students serving community hospitals, academic medical centers, children’s hospitals, retirement facilities, and specialty hospitals and clinics. As a council of IFMA, our goal is to holistically enhance the skills of facility management professionals within the health care industry and to further the profession overall. We host educational sessions and networking events at most of the national health care conferences.

About the Picture Above

Conference participants gather around the bronze statue that depicts the first meeting of Genentech founders Bob Swanson and Herb Boyer at Churchill's bar in San Francisco where they agreed to form Genentech. It has become a Genentech tradition to dress up the statues on special occasions and to drop coins into their cups for good luck.

Thank You San Francisco Chapter Volunteers!

A great deal of planning and coordination went into making this conference a success. Thank you to John Dilges, John Kennedy, Robyn Isom, Vik Bakshi, Albert Cusati, Homa Yazdani and all the others who participated in making this event a success.

Best regards,

Oscar

New Graduate Degree Program in FM at Purdue University!





I recently attended the IFMA Chapter & Council Leaders Workshop in Indianapolis, Indiana. The workshop was held at the IUPUI Campus. Here I learned that Purdue University offers a Masters in FM. Check it out!


Best regards,

Oscar Gomez

Masters in Technology: Facilities Management Emphasis

If you are currently working in the field of facility management (or have an interest in this career field) as a planner, property manager, plant manager, facility manager, plant engineer or other related areas you can enhance job opportunities while earning a formal credential sitting at your computer. This online program is designed for working professionals and can be completed in ONLY 2 years. You will share a virtual classroom with facility management professionals from around the world while earning a Purdue University degree. This is a unique program that will increase your knowledge and professionalism and therefore, your value as a facilities manager.

Description: The M.S. Degree in Technology, Facilities Management Emphasis is an on-line graduate program designed for the working student. The program provides an integrated experience in facilities management with emphasis on project and contract management, engineering systems management and energy management. The program also requires an independent direct project in the area of facilities management.

More information can be found at:

http://www.facmgt.engr.iupui.edu/

GOING GREEN THROUGH BENCHMARKING

Benchmarking your building is like having your doctor check your blood pressure. It tells you how you measure up against your energy management goals, so you know how to make improvements.

Commercial building owners and facilities managers around the nation are hearing the call to “go green.” In Northern California, Pacific Gas & Electricity (PG&E) is providing customers with a free Automated Benchmarking Service that works in conjunction with an online tool created by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) to track energy use. Now customers can easily get information that can help them save energy and money and protect the environment.

To create the most effective conservation plans for a building, facility managers need to know how well it performs currently, and how it compares to optimal targets or “best-in-class” buildings. PG&E’s customers who enroll in Automated Benchmarking Service get easy access to the benefits of ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager by authorizing PG&E to upload data automatically each month. Information is seamlessly entered into the online tool and participants receive a baseline and monthly update. This makes it easy to track water and energy use, calculate energy intensity, and track changes over time. Building owners can then better manage investment priorities and more precisely target buildings for efficiency improvement. It also permits them to monitor greenhouse gas emissions.

In 1999, the EPA launched a nationwide benchmarking tool called ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Based upon energy and water usage data building managers enter, it rates the energy efficiency of a single building or an entire portfolio of buildings. Customers receive a score on a scale of 1-100, which reflects a building’s performance against comparable buildings nationwide. Buildings that earn a score of over 75 (the 75th percentile) are awarded an ENERGY STAR label. Building operators receive a plaque that can be proudly displayed in main entrances or lobbies as an emblem of their commitment to conserving energy.

SAVE ENERGY AND MONEY
ENERGY STAR buildings are a proven market differentiator. According to Andrew Florance¹, president and CEO of CoStar, an information provider to the real estate industry, “Green buildings are clearly achieving higher rents and occupancy, they have lower operating costs, and they’re achieving higher sale prices.”

Commercial Real Estate properties that earn the ENERGY STAR label save $0.50 per square foot, on average². Additionally, they typically consume 35% less energy, have a higher occupancy/tenant retention rate, and a higher asset value upon sale.

Currently, Portfolio Manager supports over a dozen space use types, including many commercial buildings and wastewater treatment facilities, and the list continues to expand. The tool allows for changes in space use over time, and can accommodate various multi-use facilities.(The ENERGY STAR site includes separate rating systems for industrial buildings.)

1 "CoStar Study Finds Energy Star, LEED Bldgs. Outperform Peers.” March 26, 2008. Accessed at http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=D968F1E0DCF73712B03A099E0E99C679/.

2 “Summary of the Financial Benefits of ENERGY STAR Labeled Office Buildings." Kats and Perlman, 2006. Accessed at http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/publications/pubdocs/Summary_of_the_Financial_Benefits_23June06_FINAL.pdf.

MEET STATE AND INDUSTRY MANDATES
In the ten years since it was introduced, Portfolio Manager has become an industry standard, with over 8 billion square feet and 60,000 buildings rated to date. Many state and industry initiatives, including Assembly Bill 32 and California’s Green Building Initiative, rely upon Portfolio Manager Benchmarking. Notably, Assembly Bill 1103 requires owners of all non-residential facilities being sold, financed or leased after January 1, 2010 to disclose the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager benchmark score. Customers can also earn up to 15 points toward LEED certification based on their benchmark score.

LET PG&E HELP
PG&E’s free Automated Benchmarking Service gives customers an easy way to upload their monthly billing and usage data to Portfolio Manager. We also offer our trade allies workshops where they can learn to help customers create accounts. For more information on how you can partner with PG&E to increase your building’s efficiency, reduce your greenhouse gas emissions, and meet your energy management goals, visit http://http//www.pge.com/benchmarking.

Christine Tomeo for PG&E

For many of us, security is an ongoing daily concern. This really hit home last year for Anthony McDaniel when a man walk into his firm's reception area with what looked like a pipe bomb. The police were called and several blocks were cordoned off downtown. We are planning a roundtable on February 19th centered around security (location TBD). Come hear Anthony talk about what happened, what it was like, and lessons learned.

If you have security related tales to tell, shoot me an email and let's discuss adding you to the event. I can be reached at ty.whitehead@lw.com. It should be a great event with veterans sharing every day and extraordinary security experiences. Seasoned professionals and those just starting their careers should both get something out of this roundtable.

Chapter of the Year Task Force - Update

Thank you to the following chapter members for volunteering to participate on the Chapter of the Year Task Force.

Vik Bakshi
Albert Cusati
Stephen Pavelick
Homa Yazdani
Harshal Patel
Maureen Mcnertney
Thomas Szeto
Joel Pearlman
Medy Cabebe

The Task Force presented their findings to the Board on January 8, 2009. This is what they have been able to accomplish thus far:

- Examined Current Chapter Practices
- Compared these against Chapter of the Year Excellence Criteria
- Identified San Francisco Chapter Strengths and Gaps (Opportunities)
- Developed a Draft Road Map to Guide Chapter Improvement Efforts

The Task Force has identified 4 Key Focus Areas:

1) Update Chapter Strategic Plan and ensure Alignment with new IFMA National Strategy

2) Develop Strategies for each chapter committee and document & communicate to members

3) Establish quantifiable metrics to report results for strategies within each category

4) Clearly Link all Chapter activities to the chapter’s strategic plan

Next Steps:

- Update Strategic Plan by Feb’09
- Develop Committee Sub-Plans by Mar’09
- Start Executing Plans by Apr’09
- Submit 2009 CoY Application by Jun’09

Resources:

The task force team is now available to assist the Board with:

- Chapter Board Strategy Update Exercise
- Chapter Committees
- Other Ad-Hoc Task Forces that may be required


The Board Voted on January 8, 2009 to move forward with the following Actions:

1) Update the San Francisco Chapter of IFMA Strategic Plan
2) Establish a Chapter Volunteer Coordinator


Thanks to the volunteers who pulled all this together!

Oscar

Beyond the Trophy

Congratulations to the Sacramento and Silicon Valley Chapters for winning Best Chapter of the Year in their respective categories this year in Dallas. Winning an award such as this brings international recognition and prestige to the Chapter. However, the benefits to its members go beyond just brining home a trophy. In pursuing this goal these two Chapters have examined their current practices, benchmarked them against a criteria of excellence and taken action to continuously improve their operation in key areas such as:

· Membership Marketing, Retention and Mobilization
· Professional Development Programs & Seminars
· CFM Certification
· Student Outreach
· Chapter Communications
· Community Service
· Financial Fitness
· Volunteer Recognition & Succession Planning


The Journey is the Reward

All Chapters that embark in the pursuit of the Chapter of the Year award are winners. Just one will win the trophy, but all go through the process of examining their current practices and comparing them to the best and this leads to awareness of gaps and opportunities to improve Chapter operations.



Chapter of the Year Task Force

We are recruiting for a chairperson and member volunteers to serve in the Chapter of the Year Task Force. The charter of this ad hoc committee is:

1) Base-lining our current chapter best practices
2) Conducting a gap analysis and prioritizing improvement opportunities
3) Developing a two year Roadmap for closing those gaps


We are looking for people who are receptive to new ideas, exercise good judgment, take initiative and accept and follow through with assignments. Your commitment and involvement on this team will move our chapter toward the goal of achieving Chapter of the Year by 2010 and may serve as a springboard to greater leadership challenges at the chapter and international levels.

If you are interested in participating in this Task Force please send me an email at gomez.oscar@gene.com


Lessons Learned

The San Francisco Chapter submitted an application for this award. We didn’t win the trophy but, as one of the people who participated in preparing the submittal, I learned about all the great things we are doing and what it takes to be the best. We did not win this year but we obtained valuable feedback on areas we need to work on. We can also reach out to Sacramento and Silicon Valley for advice and support on our journey towards this goal.

Alignment with Strategic Plan

It is no coincidence that the areas of focus in our Strategic plan are in alignment with the Chapter of the Year award excellence criteria. If we execute our Strategic plan we will realize all the improvements required to be Chapter of the Year, and vice versa.

Chapter of the Year by 2010!

Chapter of the Year by 2010 establishes and sets a very specific goal for my term in office. It’s not about the trophy but to strive to improve the chapter and motivate our members.

Meeting with Singapore.

I had the pleasure of meeting with our FM colleagues in Singapore last month. We talked about working together to shape the future of our careers in FM. Both Chapters are dedicated to the success of its members by supporting, enabling and promoting the facility management profession through a variety of educational activities and networking opportunities.

We have very similar strategic priorities including:

• Membership Marketing, Retention and Mobilization
• Professional Development Programs & Seminars
• CFM Certification
• Student Outreach
• Chapter Communications
• Community Service
• Financial Fitness
• Volunteer Recognition & Succession Planning
  

We agreed that the global Facility Management (FM) profession continues to change and evolve and that the future of FM as a profession rests firmly in the hands of facility management professionals, associates and students. We discussed how, as FM professionals, we need to be trained, educated and prepared to address the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead
and how IFMA can contribute significantly to shaping the future of FM. Finally, we recognized the importance of FM professionals, associates and students taking a lead role in future of our local Chapters.

It was lots of fun! If you are traveling to distant places reach out to the local IFMA Chapter. You might be surprised be the warm hospitality and how much we have in common.

Best regards,

Oscar

Carmina Bacani Wins The Great Race Scavenger Hunt!

October 2, 2008--The winning team of The Community Reinvestment Race sponsored by Corenet Global Northern California, IIDA Northern California and IFMA San Francisco included our own Carmina Bacani (Resource and Design) as well as Rob Cockrum and Guy Trerotola (The CRE Group) and Lynn Filar (HOK). Each of the winning team members won a Garmin Nuvi GPS navigation system and the privilege of selecting the local charity of their choice to receive a cash donation. $7,500 was donated to the Lupus Foundation of America, in honor of Carmina's sister who was diagnosed with Lupus at age 25.

"The race was fun, educational and a great team-building event which encouraged participants to communicate and work as a team to reach a common goal!"

We heard, also, that the refreshments and post-race libations were awesome! We hope that this inaugural event becomes a new tradition for the facilities management and design community in the Bay Area!

Thanks to Jeanne Beaudet and the Programs/Education Committee for putting the Nob Hill Walking Tour together! What a great opportunity to learn about the inner workings of the turn-of-the-century society that built San Francisco! What great stories and history unfolded for all of us who listened intently to Jeanne's stories! And thanks also to IFMA and our sponsors for hosting us in the Fairmont's Lobby afterwards to chat and catch our breaths before heading home! Thank you all for attending and making this one of the most popular events this year!

WOW! My very first blog posting in our IFMA-SF Blog!!!! I was a little reticent about blogging... you know, being that awkward age where I grew up with pens and pencils and phones that were connected to the wall... and am now confronted with these little metal boxes that not only talk but show movies, play music and connect to the World Wide Web! (Betcha didn't think I knew what "www" stood for but fortunately, Al Gore reminded me when he claimed credit for creating it!) Anyway, here goes!!!!

OK, now down to the reason that I'm here... last night's program, Think Globally, Act Locally, Sustainable Products ! What agreat time we had! First of all, thanks to Leah Nadel, my co-chair, for organizing the presenters and the event and the food/beverages. Secondly, a big THANKS to Sidemark furniture dealership for hosting the event at their showroom/office at 222 Sutter Street, 7th Floor. And, of course, thanks to our presenters, Su McMurtry of Action Laminates, Gary Levine of E.B. Bradley and West Coast Laminating, and Stan Heicks, local custom metal fabricator. A special thanks to our new Chapter President, Oscar Gomez, for attending and making some very salient comments about IFMA, the Facilities Management profession and why we gather at these programs!

The program featured brief, touchy-feely presentations by some local representatives of some local and global products that are "green" or sustainable products. Products such as green laminates, bamboo laminates, green table substrates and custom steel tables were followed by a lively discussion. Our discussion focused on the problem of combining "products" that are green (new plastic laminates or other green composite materials) with a green manufacturing process that produces a product such as a work table out of sustainable products but isn't necessarily certified. It is difficult to document these products as sustainable or green, let alone LEED certifiable. Thanks to Linda Parker for reminding us that LEED certifiable isn't the only goal for green projects. Sometimes it is best to look at getting as green as you can and that may mean not necessarily getting a LEED certification.

The biggest roadblock to certifying these sustainable products seems to be the cost of submitting individual custome manufactured products to a testing lab for certification. Each product costs $7,500 to test and certify and no guarantees exist that the product will qualify. That gives the big national manufacturers a distinct advantage over local small manufacturers. But isn't one goal of sustainability to act locally and use local manufacturers to eliminate the environmental impact of shipping long distances?

So it comes down to understanding that manufacturing these new sustainable products is an evolving process. We in California may lead the nation as far as sustainability, environmental standards and energy efficiency, but we have a ways to go before the local "little guys" can take their place in the "green spotlight" of certified sustainability.

That means that next year we will again check in on this evolving process and bring back our friends for another program to update our progress on local sustainable custom products. We look forward to seeing Su McMurtry of Action Laminates, Gary Levine of E.B. Bradley and West Coast Laminating, and Stan Heicks, local custom metal fabricator, next year to tell us how things are going for the local guys in the local, green, sustainable world!

Let us know what you thought of this program and feel free to let us know if there are any hot topics that you'd like to see us include in our calendar for next year! Stay tuned for more updates!

John Dilges, AIA, CFM
Co-Chair IFMA-SF Programs/Education Committee

Dear Colleagues,

The Votes Are In!

I am happy to report that the votes have been tallied and on Thursday July 10, John Kennedy presided over the swearing in of the new San Francisco Chapter of IFMA Officers and the new Board:

Oscar Gomez - President
Karen Cochran - Vice President
Treasurer - Ty Whitehead
Secretary - Dawn Knoll
Past President - John Kennedy

Programs/Education - John Dilges & Leah Nadel
Membership/Hospitality - Robyn Isom & Carmina Bacani
Website/Technology - Kathleen Smith
Chapter Administrator - Emily Gibson

The new team is energized to continue the Chapter's mission and implementing its strategic plan. We discussed reaching out to our fellow Sacramento and Bay Area Chapters of IFMA to ensure better "cross pollination" of ideas. We also discussed the details of the upcoming CFM review planned for the fourth quarter of 2008.

Several new ideas for potential programs were discussed including NERT and a tour of the Cathedral of Lights in Oakland. These ideas will be considered by our Programs team.

The 2008 Membership drive is in full swing with membership up to 211 members. Two very nice prizes will be awarded to those who can bring the most members to the chapter this year.

Our finances are looking strong with several new sponsors joining our cause including Turner Construction and Siemens.

The decision was made to have the Christmas event at the Bentley Reserve Conference Center in San Francisco. The theme for this event will be Volunteer Recognition and to show just how much we appreciate all of you who take time out of your busy lives to move the Chapter's vision into reality.

San Francisco Chapter World Workplace Pins are being designed. The Board decided to fund stipends for Board members to go to World Work Place in Dallas this October. The Board also decided on the amount of the 2008 Foundation donation which will be $2,500.

We also discussed the importance of Blogging, hence my feeble attempt here. Your comments and blog entries would be greatly appreciated.

I hope to see you on Thursday July 17th at 5:00 p.m. at Sidemark to learn all about some very exciting new products which are very attractive, cost effective and more importantly good for the environment.

Best,
Oscar

Dear Colleagues,

It’s time to cast our ballots once again to elect the 2008-2009 San Francisco Chapter of IFMA Board!

I thought it would be a good idea to let you know a little bit about my background and qualifications since I am the one “running” for President. More importantly I want to share my beliefs, ideas and core values along with the strategic direction that I will help drive if you elect me your Chapter President.

The local Facility Management (FM) profession continues to change and evolve and I believe that the future of FM as a profession should be firmly in the hands of facility management professionals, associates and students. As FM professionals we need to be trained, educated and prepared to address the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for us. The San Francisco Chapter of IFMA can contribute significantly to shaping the future of FM only if we as local FM professionals, associates and students are willing to play a lead role in future of the Chapter.

I work at Genentech as Associate Director of Maintenance Systems. Prior to this I worked for Lam Research in Fremont in charge of Facility Engineering and Construction Management.

I studied Industrial Engineering at North Carolina State University and received a BS degree from there in 1983. I completed a Master in Business Administration at Pepperdine University in 1996.

As Adjunct Professor of Engineering at the California State University East Bay I taught Facility Planning & Design, Engineering Economic Analysis and Industrial Cost Controls.

I am a Certified Facility Manager and have served on the IFMA San Francisco Chapter Board as Treasurer in 2006 and Vice President in 2007 and when time permits, I enjoy volunteering at the Second Harvest Food Bank in San Mateo and doing local projects with Rebuilding Together Peninsula.

If I you elect me as your Chapter President I will push steadfastly to ensure the Chapter adds real value to the FM profession primarily by mobilizing the membership to take action in shaping the future of the local FM profession.

I will work closely with the Board and member volunteers to improve membership marketing, professional development and chapter communications. Additionally, I will help ensure that we communicate to our membership a clear strategic vision with clear goals for the chapter along with a realistic set of plans to achieve them.

I also will ensure that we raise the funds that are necessary to fulfill our mission and that we are fiscally responsible with all our resources.

I believe we can continue to grow the Chapter, but I rather us focus on increasing the percentage of existing members attending and participating in chapter events. I want us to reach out more to the community and leverage our facility management expertise in creative ways to help those in need.

Finally, I want to ask for your vote and let you know that it would be an honor for me to serve as your Chapter President next year. No one else should or does care more about the future of our profession than we do, so lets join forces this coming year to ensure a brighter future for ourselves and the FM profession.

Cheers,
Oscar Gomez, CFM