Alex Schultz, Editorial Intern

GSA LC Mandate Gets Mixed Reviews

The U.S. General Services Administration mandated the participation of certified lighting designers on its projects a few months ago, but this has created questions among those involved in lighting design. Already hazy on what exactly it means to bear the "LC" (Lighting Certified) credential after one's name, some electrical engineers are expressing further confusion in attempting to understand the ramifications of GSA's mandate. In response to a web story CSE ran last month, one reader queried: "Does one infer correctly that in addition to being a licensed professional engineer, one must now obtain certification from NCQLP in order to sign, seal and deliver GSA documents?" According to the National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions (NCQLP), the makers of the LC exam, "The LC credential demonstrates to clients/customers and your peers that you have acquired the necessary knowledge, understanding and ability to apply lighting principles and techniques successfully." In other words, it verifies that one is a capable lighting designer.

Staying Up to Date: Data Center Management of the Future

Now that we’re firmly entrenched in the computer age, few things are growing as rapidly in importance as data storage. The information that we’ve come to rely on as being only a mouse click away has to be stored somewhere, and that’s where data centers come in.A joint InterUnity Group/AFCOM study attempts to give some insight on the shaping of the data centers of the future and reports that new equipment matters in a big way to data center managers. Not only does it obviously keep the data center from becoming obsolete, the acquisition of new equipment without adequate concern for power or cooling requirements also keeps 59% of data center managers up at night, according to the study. When it comes to electrical and mechanical upgrades new computing technology is what it’s all about.

BuildingTeam Summit to Highlight Construction Market Improvements

Ten-years anniversaries are marked by aluminum and tin, but maybe steel and concrete are more appropriate for the 10thAnniversary of North American Construction Forecast. Renamed The BuildingTeam Summit, this year’s event includes a comprehensive forecast of construction activity in the U.S. and a program dealing with innovators in building design and construction, complete with input from the industry’s top professionals. Facing a decline over the last few years in the institutional building and heavy construction markets, this year’s conference is considerably more optimistic, examining the reasoning behind the predicted increase in both markets and letting members of the A/E/C industry know what to expect. James Haughey, Ph.D., director of economics with Reed Business Information, provided some insight on the forecast.