No Debate—Engineers Care

As I write this month's column, I'm shipping the last of my kids off to school—thank heaven for Labor Day! As I do so, I admit that the last thing I worry about, as a crazed parent rushing about in the morning, is the air quality in their respective schools (which ranges from kindergarten to high school).

By Jim Crockett, Editor-in-Chief September 1, 2001

As I write this month’s column, I’m shipping the last of my kids off to school—thank heaven for Labor Day! As I do so, I admit that the last thing I worry about, as a crazed parent rushing about in the morning, is the air quality in their respective schools (which ranges from kindergarten to high school). In the back of my mind, perhaps I worry less because I know there are people passionate about the subject—mechanical engineers.

As I noted in last month’s editorial, Fred Schultz’s examination of current school HVAC practices generated quite a response. In this issue’s unusually long letters section, ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.8 (the committee responsible for the Handbook Chapter on Educational Facilities) Chairman Mark Lentz, perhaps taking a cue from Chris Sullivan’s parting editorial challenge to the engineering community to step up, expounds on both the June cover story and his opinion of the state of the HVAC design industry in general. Mr. Schultz, a long-time CSE consulting editor, also provides his response. I strongly encourage readers to take the time to read the letters as they debate over best HVAC methods and practices, and engineering practices as a whole.

Regardless of who is right, as a parent, it reassures me to know that the buildings my kids invade for seven to eight hours a day are being designed by professionals who put their hearts and souls into their craft.

Elsewhere in this issue, please check out the second installment of our specifying BACnet feature. Last month, we we’re very pleased to provide you with Steve Bushby’s timely breakdown of the new BIBB addendum. This month, Gene DeJoannis of van Zelm Heywood and Shadford provides a primer for GSA’s BACnet specifying guide which attempts to translate the manufacturer-oriented protocol into a language specifying engineers can understand—I’m glad it’s not just me!

Giant errors: Last month’s Giants rankings listed some incorrect address information. Bala Consulting Engineers, the No. 65 Giant, is located at 259 E. Lancaster Avenue, Wynnewood, Pa.; H.F. Lenz Company (#66) is located at 1407 Scalp Avenue, Johnstown, Pa.; and M/E Engineering, P.C. (#69) is located at 40 Humboldt St., Rochester N.Y. It should also be noted that the 2000 revenues and ranking shown for M/E Engineering were incorrect, as it did not participate in the 2000 report. Finally, Cosentini Associates of New York are purely a consulting engineering firm, not an A/E.