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 in touch header
 
Q2 2010
In This Issue
ARRA, Buy American
LEED Accreditation Webinar
Featured Project
TotalControl 3.1 Launched
Featured Partner--Performance Facility Services
KMC Claims Technical Communication Excellence
Climate Change (cartoon)
ARRA, Buy American

ARRA
The Stimulus Bill. The Recovery Act. ARRA. All of these names fit the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act designed to offer funding assistance for public works and public facilities projects. For decades, we've helped public facilities achieve phenomenal levels of comfort, air quality, and energy-efficiency through means of automated control of building systems.

Our dealer network is accustomed to taking our products and designing, installing, and maintaining systems that achieve the above, desired results. They have the resources to ensure you meet the ARRA documentation requirements. They are located in your neighborhood, all across our nation. And, they have experience with a variety of public buildings including all of the following:

  • Schools (K-12)
  • Colleges & Universities
  • Municipal buildings
  • VA hospitals
  • Military bases
  • Museums
  • Local, State, & Federal office buildings
When you're ready to move ahead on the mechanical portion of your ARRA project, find one of our dealers using this convenient tool: http://www.kmccontrols.com/sales/salesFindAIC.aspx.

In addition, you can also find our products providing control to original equipment supplied by numerous manufacturers. So, you may get KMC products on your project even if you don't work with one of our dealers initially.

Did Someone Say "Buy American"

That's right. Section 1605 of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act specifies that, for public building projects which use ARRA funds, all manufactured goods for these projects must be produced in the United States. KMC Controls can help you satisfy this requirement through exclusive manufacturing in the U.S.A. For documented evidence, consult this document.


That's why we like to say that, after 40 years, we're

Still Made 2
LEED Accreditation Webinar 

LEED GA
     LEED AP     LEED AP1

Have you ever considered pursuing your professional credentials associated with the LEED rating systems for green buildings?  Many changes have occurred in recent times with the advent of LEED v 3.0 and the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI).  Credential processes have become more formalized and new levels of accreditation have been established.

We put together a 30-minute webinar that can demystify the process for you and get you on your way.  See it in the media wall of our home page (http://www.kmccontrols.com).
Featured Project: Greenway Middle School
 
Phoenix, Arizona

Greenway Middle School has a proud history dating back to 1912. What began as a one room schoolhouse in northeast Phoenix has evolved into a district serving 33,000+ students in grades K-12. Originally named Sunnyside School, it was the first within what is now known as the Paradise Valley School District. The middle school is recognized as one of the top educational institutions in the nation and serves as a model for other secondary schools across North America.

Greenway1

Located on the corner of 30th Street and Greenway Road, the school is home to approximately 580, 7th and 8th grade students. The campus features a highly flexible gymnasium, a weight room, a tennis court, a running track, a full-sized field, and contemporary science labs. The ultra-modern facilities provide students with a comfortable atmosphere and an extraordinary learning environment.

Greenway 2

Like many other schools in its district, Greenway faced a number of energy challenges in 2008. In dealing with both rising energy costs and increased budget constraints, the school also had an inefficient energy management system. Personnel struggled with inconsistent cooling and poor ventilation, inadequate and insufficient lighting, as well as the lack of centralized control.

Determined to find a way to reduce energy consumption and costs, as well as improve serviceability to schools throughout the district, officials established an energy management program. The program was designed specifically to analyze the performance of the current system and identify where improvements need to be made. As an outcome of the program, Greenway Middle School was directed $1.1 million for a mechanical systems overhaul. As part of the overhaul facility personnel requested lighting upgrades and a custom tailored, web-based energy management & control system.

Urban Energy 1

In search of a solution that was in touch with their needs, school officials turned to Urban Energy Solutions, a KMC Controls® authorized partner, to design and implement a system that would meet the district's aggressive energy reduction goals. "We chose to partner with Urban Energy Solutions because of their high level of expertise and unrivaled customer service," commented Daniel Rinker, EMS/ HVAC Technician for the northeast Phoenix district.

Work began in June of 2009 and by August the school had two new water-cooled chillers, two new gas boilers, new fan coil units, and upgraded air handlers with demand and occupancy-based control ventilation. In addition, new high-efficiency lighting with occupancy-based controls and power monitoring equipment was installed. All of these control systems and equipment were integrated and managed with KMC BACnet Advanced Application Controllers. The controllers provided an open interoperable system that seamlessly communicates with the Niagara AX JACE front end.

Urban Energy 2

Since the installation, district officials have been extremely impressed with the performance and results the digital system provides. "After comparing Greenway's monthly energy use in December of 2009 to the same period in 2008, energy consumption was down nearly 50 percent," noted Joe LaRovere, Energy Management Division Manager at Urban Energy Solutions, Inc. "This reduction in energy consumption is vital to the district schools. Faced with a one-two punch of decreased funding and rising utility costs, they simply cannot survive long term without an energy management program in place," he added.

Because of the reduction in power demand, Greenway has received the ENERGY STAR award as well as over a $100,000 donation from Arizona Power Service. Through the efforts of Urban Energy Solutions and the rest of the project team, Greenway will continue to serve as the benchmark to other school systems across the nation.

TotalControl 3.1 Launched
 
TotalControl1We've released a major new version of our primary operator workstation software, TotalControl.  The product was designed for intuitive building system management . . . from anywhere.

Version 3.1 began shipping in April with significant enhancements over earlier versions. 
 
Enhancements include a greatly simplified installer to speed installation, full support for MS Windows 7, and support for our popular new FlexStat™ BACnet controller and sensor.  Other new features include an OPC driver as well as a Protocol Gateway Service to improve interoperability. 

A graphical scheduler, with MS Outlook-like appearance, also provides greater ease-of-use with the TotalControl web interface.

TC web scheduler

More flexible security rounds out the list of enhancements for TotalControl 3.1.  In the web portal, schedules, trend logs, and the list of alarms can be filtered by security user groups.
KMC's Featured Partner--
Performance Facility Services 

The "P" Factors
PFS logo 
"It's about people, not product."  So says Ken Kelsey, General Manger of Performance Facility Services, headquartered in Austin, Texas.  As G.M. Ken oversees all operations and is responsible for business administration, company finances, customer satisfaction, and more.  But he considers it his primary role to provide an environment for his staff to grow and expand their horizons.  

Performance Facility Services began as Performance Controls Systems (a dba of Way Service, Ltd.) after acquisition of a former KMC dealer in 2003 by Way Service.  But the recent name change became necessary as two locations (Austin and San Antonio) of Way Service, were absorbed creating a full-service, mechanical services contractor.  

His company services a sizable chunk of southeastern Texas including the primary metropolitan areas of Austin, Beaumont, Houston, and San Antonio.   Performance Facility Services also serves the coastal areas of Corpus Christi and Galveston as customers require.

"Success in business," Ken continues, "is often a matter of the people you employ and the interactions they have.  Ten years ago, perhaps, the product itself played a greater role.  But controls have become commoditized.  At the end of the day, all control systems achieve the same results.  So, it comes down to the people involved."

That same message came through as Ken discussed the early challenges of getting the business acquisition off the ground. "Our initial goal became a matter of repairing relationships," he says, referring to the poorly managed business acquired by Way Service.  "There were lots of problems and complaints about the KMC systems.  But the problems were all related to poor installations.  You see the product was fine but the people side of the equation was lacking.  It could have been a matter of conscientiousness, motivation, training, or something else.  Regardless, we went in, fixed the poor installations, and got things working properly and they were then happy with the systems.  So it wasn't the product but the people that made the difference."

Outside of these repair projects, Performance Facility Services was built on new construction through the plan-and-spec process.  Owner-direct negotiations were not nearly as important for the school district customers they acquired as well as commercial lease space projects.  
"But we have a diversity of clients today," Ken says, "from schools to small hospitals to petrochemical plants and other commercial operations.  And our markets are changing.  The economic conditions are pushing us to offer bundled energy solutions, and these can become long, drawn-out propositions.  We also look to package controls with mechanical systems upgrades wherever possible."

Kelly McEuen, a sales representative for Performance Facility Services, chimes in: "Ken has described a shift in our markets.  That leads me to suggest the following.  We have to be extremely conscious of what changes are occurring and, therefore, what changes we need to make.  Yes, there may be a base market we serve that can provide some stability.  But our world is changing and we must recognize the need for change."
In explaining further, Kelly is quick to enumerate both controls-specific trends as well as a more general marketplace imperative.  Control trends include a greater movement toward Internet-based control systems and a growing popularity of BACnet® systems.  

"Then," he says, "there is a rather large demand for greater ease-of-use in control systems.  User-friendly platforms are being demanded both in terms of installation and operation.  There's also a strong desire out there to utilize one system (front end) across numerous facilities in a given portfolio to optimize ease of learning and maintaining.  I'm also seeing," Kelly continues, "increased demand to integrate various manufacturers products and systems.  That can create a constant struggle to keep up with emerging products and capabilities."

The general market trend that Kelly points out is increased interest in sustainability and greater utilization of the LEED® rating system.  (Kelly is a LEED Accredited Professional.)  

"We've seen value in LEED," Ken Kelsey adds.  "But we can't approach these projects blindly.  They can require a significant financial investment, especially in terms of the commissioning requirements placed upon system integrators and controls contractors.  One real hurdle we see frequently is that the requirements from the commissioning agent come out well after bid day."
"Also," Ken continues, "I have to look at resources and return.  I see Kelly playing a significant role in consulting these days, and we don't necessarily get a return on that.  Like it or not, our market has become very price driven."

Kelly agrees.  "I might spend years," he says, "developing a relationship to get it to the point where, I'll be the only one a customer calls.  But so often today, I hear phrases like: 'I'd like to work with you but your price is too high.'"

"No one has loose change anymore," Ken adds.  "So, when it's not about the people, it's about price."  

Despite such pressures, Ken's vision and vast experience (he's been doing controls work since the early 1980s) and Kelly's skills are helping to take Performance Facility Services to new markets, new cities, and new customers while maintaining an established base.  

Perhaps the words of Niccolò Machiavelli best describe their formula for success: "Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times."
KMC Claims Technical Communication Excellence

STC-winner
Our technical publications department has captured three awards in the prestigious 2009-2010 publications competition sponsored by the Chicago Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication.
KMC awards included:

TotalControl Help System-this online help system consists of hundreds of hyperlinked pages available to assist users in setting-up a TotalControl building automation system interface, create interactive web graphics, configure BACnet and KMDigital controller objects/points, and write Control Basic programs. This Award of Excellence winner was developed by technical writer, David Menges.

FlexStat Support Documents-this collection of marketing and technical support documents represents part of the large collection of installation, operation, application, specification, and marketing documents for the BAC-10000 series FlexStat (packaged controller plus sensor). This Award of Merit winner was developed by technical writer, Mark Stucky.

Green Building and Controls Glossary (SB-046)-this pocket-sized glossary lists over 1,100 definitions and cross-references relating to the HVAC and building industry. It also includes over 100 building controls acronyms and abbreviations in a separate list. (This glossary also previously won an award in the APEX 2009 publications competition.) This Award of Merit winner was also developed by technical writer, Mark Stucky.

The Society for Technical Communication (STC) is a professional organization dedicated to advancing the arts and sciences of technical communication. It is the largest organization of its type in the world. Its 14,000 members include technical writers and editors, technical illustrators, instructional designers, usability and human factors professionals, visual designers, web designers and developers, and translators-anyone whose work makes technical information available to those who need it.
Climate Change
© 2010 Ben H. Dorsey III

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Having seen both access and escape through the ventilation system in countless TV dramas  . . .
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Having prepared with a screwdriver, our would-be thief discovers a sizing issue.
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Having found an air duct large enough, our thief re-discovers the joy of gravity.
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Stay in touch!

Ben H. Dorsey III
VP, Marketing & Communications
LEED Green Associate
KMC Controls, Inc.




















KMC Controls, Inc.
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New Paris, IN 46553
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Tel: 574.831.5250
Fax: 574.831.5252
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