HOTS : November 2007

Bits N' Pieces

BISBEE’S BUZZ

Most business operations keep diligent records of their money, assets, and liabilities. This inventory holds true for almost all areas of operation, except TRAINING. Many of the businesses involved in communications infrastructure are woefully negligent in tracking the training of their staff. The problem is exacerbated by the rapid development curve of technological advancements in information transport systems. Unless an accurate and up-to-date inventory of the technology training is maintained, the company losses the vital competitive edge and becomes, at best, just another “me too!” purveyor.

Some companies try to keep up by hiring trained staff instead of developing the staff. This usually leads to lower employee loyalty and dedication, because many of the technical staff feels like there are no long-term opportunities with the employer. “Use them up and throw them away when they fall behind the current market technology requirements.” This is a sad commentary on management strategy. What makes this scenario even worse is that many operations that are clueless on their training inventory and have almost no plans to stay competitive and current.

Just look around at the vast affordable resources for training. The excuse of “we can’t afford the training now” is absolutely false. You cannot afford to fall behind on the training front.

Training resources

Trade Publications

Electrical Contractor Magazine
Communications News
CNS – Cabling Networking Systems Magazine
Cabling Business Magazine
Cabling Installation & Maintenance Magazine
Lightwave Magazine
TED (The Electrical Distributor) Magazine
Power Outlet Magazine
Heard on The Street monthly column on www.wireville.com
Plus a host of newsletters

Industry websites

Association training and certifications

Vendor training and certifications

Trade Shows

Conferences

Live training sessions

webinars

ON-LINE Training

Newton’s Telecom Dictionary, 23^rd Edition is a crucial reference material in a constantly changing world of techno-terms, buzzwords, and alphabet soup. Don’t leave home without it.

BICSI -- Industry association providing knowledge transfer and educational resources for information transport systems/cabling installation and design professionals. BICSI offers a wide variety of educational tools and outlets including reference publications, conferences, regional meetings, breakfast clubs, training courses as well as exams. Currently, all industry professionals are invited to the 2008 BICSI Winter Conference, January 14-17, in Orlando, Florida, promising excellent education and networking opportunities. Go to www.bicsi.org to find out more about BICSI offerings.

We found a real affordable gem from Cabling America. You can get the latest How to Books (self-paced training) in Cabling Installation, CCTV, Fiber Optics and Security. http://www.cablingamerica.com/

It might surprise you to know that VDV Works are probably the world's largest source of training materials and support for cabling through our VDV Academy. Of course, it starts with "Lennie" and "Uncle Ted" - the definitive online guides to fiber and structured cabling, where it seems everyone gets started. Using our texttbooks, "The Fiber Optic Technician Manual" and "Data, Voice and Video Cabling" and over two decade of training experience, VDV Works has developed instructor training materials used by over 300 instructors worldwide in colleges, professional training organizations, IT companies government agencies and end users to train their students and personnel. According to Jim Hayes, President “VDV Works even has self-study programs that guide people through learning the technologies and even learning the "hands-on" skills needed.”

VDV Academy training curriculum is used by schools for preparing students for FOA and SCA certification and many offer BICSI CECs.

Information is available at http://vdvacademy.com/

Ready To Learn Online Training Opportunities

Training is the best and only way for electrical contractors and electricians to stay ahead in a world filled with changing markets, technologies and methodologies. However, training can be expensive, and it certainly is time-consuming to travel to another city to attend a seminar on new products or new techniques. The advent of personal computers, company networks and the Internet has taken some of the economic sting out of training. This technology provides online distance learning opportunities for electrical contractors and their employees. They can learn at their own pace, without leaving the office or job site.

For more than a century, Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), Northbrook, Ill., has provided technical expertise to manufacturers in 35 countries to enable the building of safer products. Through a combination of online training, books, safety videos, live Web-delivered programs and facilitated workshops, UL University (www.uluniversity.com) now offers training for a broad range of subject matter customized to fit specific educational needs.

Self-paced online courses include Hazard-Based Safety Engineering (HBSE), which is targeted for design, product safety and regulatory compliance engineers. It is designed to help balance safety requirements and guidelines against other parameters, such as usability, cost and customer satisfaction. Courses also include the National Electrical Code (NEC): a Practical Application, which provides a detailed examination of the history of the NEC and the Code proposal process, with an emphasis on how to use the NEC to locate and interpret Code requirements. UL University also has a course on neon lighting, which is designed to provide a detailed examination of the history of neon lighting and how it evolved, and it focuses on the design, application and installation of neon systems in accordance with the NEC.

StandardsLearn.org (www.StandardsLearn.org) is the portal to online standards and conformity assessment education and offers free, self-paced e-learning courses as a public service of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Washington, D.C., (www.ansi.org). The resource provides easy-to-use educational tools for anyone who wants or needs an introduction to standards and conformity assessment activities. Courses include Through History with Standards, an introduction to how standards and their impact on commerce and society have evolved over a span of several centuries; Why Standards Matter, a general introduction to standards and conformity assessment activities, designed to provide a basic initiation to standards for management and technical personnel in business, industry association management, engineers, purchasing staff and consumers; U.S. Standards System, which provides an overview of the U.S. standards development environment, demonstrates the value of participating in standards development, reviews the key questions to ask before standard development is initiated, and explains how standards development relates to national and international business; and Legal Issues in Standard Setting, which provides a simple review of antitrust laws and patent policies and how they may apply to the standards development process.

Understanding and correctly applying the NEC is vital to electrical contractors’ continued success. So the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Quincy, Mass., which publishes the Code, offers its Online Learning Center (www.necdirect.org), where contractors and electricians can learn valuable new skills or stay up-to-date on current standards and recommended best practices. Courses are designed to provide access to convenient, cost-effective training anywhere, anytime. Offerings have been expanded to include nearly 40 hard-hitting educational sessions, including four online certificate programs. When all the courses within a program are concluded, users get a certificate of completion, and CEUs are awarded for programs with eight or more courses.

The four certificate programs offer courses in automatic sprinkler systems, electrical installation in hazardous locations, fire alarm fundamentals, and fire and life safety in healthcare occupancies. Individual courses include sprinkler system repair, automatic sprinkler inspection, testing and maintenance, sprinkler design, identifying materials and equipment for hazardous locations, protection methods concepts, zone classification, Class II wiring methods, introduction to specialized fire detectors and supervisory initiating devices, fire alarm functions and power supplies, basic circuit design, heat and smoke detectors, and notification appliances. Other courses include handling flammable liquids and an overview of the principle workplace fire extinguishers.

BICSI Inc., a Telecommunications Association, Tampa, Fla., (www.bicsi.org), supports the information transport system (ITS) industry with information, education and knowledge assessment for those individuals and companies that provide the fundamental infrastructure for telecommunications, audio/video, life safety and automation systems. BICSI’s Web-based training courses offer a mix of conceptual and procedural learning experiences through reading and user interactivity. Online courses include local area networks (LAN) with an introduction to LAN stations and servers, LAN operations, and LAN standards; Remote Access Technologies, including components, operations and standards; and Network Storage, including fundamentals of high speed interfaces and system backups. Simulated tests form a databank of more than 600 questions to test one’s knowledge before sitting for the Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD) specialty exam.

To further help its members, the Management Education Institute (MEI) of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), Bethesda, Md. (www.neca-mei.org), focuses its curriculum on the business, technical and project-management disciplines that are essential to success in the electrical contracting industry. The institute brings a wide range of resources to bear in the continuing development of its education services program and now offers online training. One MEI online course provides clear instruction on the proper application of the NECA Manual of Labor Units when estimating electrical construction projects. Through this course, contractors and estimators will learn how to properly apply the labor unit data to a specific material installation. It contains helpful information about the origin of the labor units, the proper application of the data and how one can use these labor units to competitively bid electrical construction projects. In addition, the new Practical Guide to E-Mail in the Workplace focuses on improving the management of a company’s e-communications and helps contractors reduce e-mail risk by encouraging employees to think carefully before sending e-mails. It explains how e-mails can come back to either haunt or defend the company in any liability action, and it emphasizes the need to keep a professional tone and quality in an organization’s e-mails.

The National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (NJATC), Upper Marlboro, Md. (www.njatc.org), offers electrical training through its on-the-job and classroom apprenticeship programs for both traditional electrical and low-voltage installations. However, it offers online training (www.njatctrainingonline.org) that provides access to quality, cost-effective safety training materials. Lessons are self-paced and cover safety issues for the electrical worker, including bucket truck rescue, clearances, enclosed spaces, excavations, hand and power tools, overhead lines, first aid, underground installations, grounding, personal protective equipment (PPE), chemical and chlorine safety, asbestos hazards, environmental management and handling hazardous waste. Courses in employment law also are available online.

In partnership with Blue Volt, Portland, Ore. (www.bluevolt.com), the NJATC offers state-approved continuing education courses that allow electricians to keep their licenses current while training on their own schedule. Subjects include negotiating skills, building lasting customer relationships, fundamentals of marketing, effectively closing a sale, significant changes to the NEC, grounding and bonding, industrial safety, motors and controls, communication skills, government contracting, human resources and workplace issues, knowledge management, information technology, and the Internet and computer basics.

Manufacturer-offered training

Training on major electrical manufacturers’ products; information about installation methods, safety and standards; and manufacturer certification courses are only a mouse click away for anyone who is interested. Manufacturers recognize the need electrical contractors have for this valuable training and, in today’s ether-world, are able to provide it easily and cost-effectively, allowing the contractor to gain the knowledge required to add value to its offerings.

■ Fluke Corp., Everett, Wash. (www.fluke.com), offers online calibration and metrology training courses, including a certificate of completion that satisfies documentation requirements.

■ Square D/Schneider Electric, Palatine, Ill. (www.squared.com), provides online training for its DigestPlus Selector and other productivity-enhancing eTools that let the contractor get the most out of the company’s time-saving, productivity-enhancing tools.

■ Panduit Corp., Tinley Park, Ill. (www.panduit.com), provides training for its cable support, copper, fiber, raceway, connector, structured cabling and wiring accessory products.

■ Leviton Manufacturing Co. Inc., Little Neck, N.Y. (www.leviton.com), offers ez-Learn, which provides lessons in structured wiring products, life-saving electrical safety devices, and the latest advances in lighting control and energy management.

■ ElecTech, from Pass and Seymour/Legrand (P&S), Syracuse, N.Y.

(www.passandseymour.com), allows electricians and others to learn all about the company’s products and earn credits towards P&S merchandise.

■ Advance Transformer Co., Rosemont, Ill. (www.advancetransformer.com), welcomes Advance University online registrants to its accredited courses on ballast components, operation, troubleshooting and new technologies.

■ Siemens Energy and Automation Inc., Alpharetta, Ga.

(www2.sea.siemens.com), has self-study courses that range from free, online courses to its new pay-per-view Safety Series and include foundation industrial electronics knowledge and basic automation system skills.

■ Learning on the Go from Eaton Corp./Cutler-Hammer, Cleveland, Ohio (www.eaton.com), is designed to provide a solid foundation of industry knowledge, from the fundamentals of electricity and electrical distribution, to basic information on product groups such as adjustable frequency drives, panelboards and motor control centers. Each learning module focuses on a specific product group and contains general information, such as common terms, product theory and operation, codes, and real-world applications.

■ Cooper Bussmann Inc., Ellisville, Mo. (www.cooperbussmann.com), offers e-training modules that cover listing and labeling, arc-flash hazards, overcurrent calculations and protective devices, voltage ratings, and electrical hazards, as well as industrial control panels, safety basics, and technical training manuals.

This is just a short list of all the training opportunities offered by manufacturers. In addition, more will likely offer online training in the future.

Taking advantage of online training is easy, cost-effective and enables electrical contractors to stay on the cutting edge of rapidly advancing and evolving technologies. EC

BREMER, a freelance writer based in Solomons, Md., contributes frequently to ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR. She can be reached at 410.394.6966 or darbremer@comcast.net.

http://www.ecmag.com/

Reprinted with permission from Electrical Contractor Magazine (October 2007)

Remember; SAFETY IS TOO IMPORTANT TO IGNORE.

Happy Thanksgiving.

But that’s just my opinion,

Frank Bisbee
"Heard On The Street" Monthly Column
www.wireville.com
4949 Sunbeam Rd, Suite 16
Jacksonville, FL 32257 (904) 645-9077
frank@wireville.com

3Com To Be Sold for $2.2 Billion To Bain Capital, Taken Private

3Com Corp., a maker of networking hardware and software, will be sold to affiliates of private equity firm Bain Capital Partners LLC for $2.2 billion and taken private, 3Com said Friday.

The cash deal also gives Huawei Technologies, China's largest manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, a minority stake in 3Com that the American company hopes will improve its growth prospects in Asia.

By going private, 3Com hopes to free itself from markets' short-term financial expectations, Edgar Masri, president and chief executive of Marlborough, Mass.-based 3Com, told analysts in a conference call.

"As a private company, we will be able to focus on our long-term strategic objectives," Masri said.

Shareholders will receive $5.30 in cash for each share of 3Com stock, or a premium of about 44 percent over the stock's $3.68 closing price on Thursday.

3Com is a maker of network equipment for data and telecommunications systems, with more than 6,000 employees in over 40 countries, and annual revenue of $1.3 billion. The company's fortunes rose sharply during the late 1990s amid the technology boom. 3Com's stock price briefly rose above $100 in 2000, but later plunged as boom turned to bust.

3Com had recently been the subject of buyout speculation, and entertained competing offers. Masri did not identify other bidders, but said the company decided the offer from Boston-based Bain was the best, in part because of Bain's reputation as a leading private equity firm with deep financial resources and ties in Asia.

He said the premium that Bain is paying "validates the tremendous opportunity for growth 3Com has ahead of it," particularly overseas.

3Com said its board had unanimously approved the deal, and recommended shareholders approve it. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of next year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

3Com would be required to pay a break-up fee of $66 million if it backs out of the deal, while Bain would pay at least $66 million and up to $110 million if it backs out, depending on the circumstances.

Masri declined to specify how large of a minority stake that Huawei would have in 3Com after the deal is completed, but said that information would be made public in coming weeks.

Huawei also will become a commercial and strategic business partner of 3Com, Masri said.

The companies previously teamed up in a networking products joint venture called H3C, but 3Com bought out Huawei's 49 percent stake for $882 million in November 2006.

Trading of 3Com shares was halted early Friday after the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site that 3Com planned to announce a sale to Bain and Huawei later in the day. Shares rallied $1.20, or 32.6 percent, to $4.88 -- within range of the reported purchase price -- before trading was shut down.

University Of Nebraska Deploys EKINOPS 360 Platform For High-Capacity Optical Network

The University of Nebraska (UNL) has installed DWDM equipment from Ekinops, a leading provider of optical transport and DWDM solutions, that massively increases connectivity to its campus in Lincoln and is critical to the university’s participation in an international physics research project, Ekinops announced today.

The new optical network took part in a demonstration on Tuesday at the opening session of the Internet2 Member Meeting in San Diego. The demonstration showed how an 8 Gigabits per second stream from the UNL physics lab, transported by the Ekinops equipment to the Internet2 network, was dynamically switched across the Internet2 backbone.

To enhance its participation in the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) CMS project, the university has deployed the Ekinops 360 platform, using multiple DWDM channels, each running at 10 Gigabits per second. It increased the university’s available bandwidth more than 48 times compared with its previous connectivity speed.

The Ekinops 360 is a carrier-class optical transport platform designed for metro, regional, and long-haul networks. The platform can aggregate and transport any Ethernet, Fibre Channel, SONET, or SDH client protocol.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a 22,000-student campus that is part of the University of Nebraska system, is a Tier 2 site in the CMS project, one of the ongoing experiments at the CERN particle accelerator in Switzerland. The CMS project generates massive amounts of data, which is distributed to different computing centers across the world for processing.

To fully participate in the project, the university needed a network capable of carrying massive amounts of data to its supercomputers. Approximately 200 Terabytes (200 trillion bytes) of data are transported weekly.

Dale Finkelson, the university’s network engineer, was tasked with finding a solution with greater transport capacity to the university. “We evaluated different options but building our own optical network and utilizing DWDM promised the greatest increase to our capacity and was extremely affordable at the same time,” Finkelson explained.

The network span is 230 miles and links the university campus in Lincoln to the Internet2 in the Kansas City node. Benefiting from the Ekinops 360 long haul transponders, the requirement for amplification is minimal. The installed configuration occupies a small number of slots in the chassis and allows for adding a much greater capacity in the future.

Although the primary requirement was to transport 10G data from the university’s routers, the university is also using Ekinops aggregation technology for aggregating and transporting multiple Gigabit Ethernet inputs over a 10G wavelength.

The university’s IT staff has also found that despite the platform’s enormous capacity, the Ekinops 360 was easy to install and operate. “Once the power and fibers were ready, installation took half a day. People started using it 20 minutes after we plugged it in, and it has run solid ever since,” said Finkelson.

Since deploying the new optical network, the University of Nebraska has seen tremendous performance improvements and cost savings. “Having our own optical network gives us a lot of flexibility,” Finkelson said. “We can add capacity at a minimal cost and in a very short time. If we need another 10G wavelength for another large project, it would be as easy as plugging another card in the chassis.”

“Academic and research collaboration requires moving tremendous amounts of data and puts heavy demands on the transport network,” said Jonathan Amir, Ekinops’ vice president of sales. “A growing number of universities are relying on Ekinops for a simple, high-capacity and cost-effective DWDM transport solution and we are very proud of our work with the University of Nebraska and with other academic organizations.” www.ekinops.net www.acuta.org

APWMayville™ To Show Turnkey Rack Solutions At VON

APWMayville™, a division of Mayville Products Corporation and a leader in rack and enclosure solutions for the telecommunications, broadcast, audio/visual, security, and data communications industries, will display a complete range of turnkey rack solutions for Telcos at the upcoming VON Show starting October 29th at the Boston Convention Center.

APWMayville’s turnkey rack systems for the telecommunications industry leverage the company’s strengths in broadcast and IT datacom, providing complete grounding systems and the ability to effectively manage large volumes of cables for Telcos as they build out IPTV headends for delivering broadcast TV services to the home.

APWMayville, exhibiting at VON for the first time (Booth #564), will bring its E-Rack™ and Pioneer™ Seismic Rack to the show along with a variety of power, cabling, lighting and cooling accessories. All products are fully customizable with either rack to enhance functionality for Telco integrators and engineers, and eliminate the need to purchase essential components from multiple vendors. Both the E-Rack and Pioneer Seismic rack are NEBS-compliant and UL listed to meet all required telecommunications industry standards. The Pioneer Seismic rack is also seismically rated.

“As more Telcos prepare to launch IPTV to add television to their bundle of existing services, they will require at least one central headend to house equipment that will receive, encode, and transmit video on the way to the subscriber’s TV set,” said Dan Eder, President of Mayville Products Corporation. “This equipment requires a sturdy, reliable and flexible rack solution that can accommodate the cabling and power requirements that comes with video headend equipment. APWMayville’s experience in the broadcast industry is a benefit for Telcos that are building out IPTV headends, whether it’s a single headend for a local or regional bell company, or a network of central and localized headends for national Telcos.”

APWMayville racks come in full range of heights, widths and depths to accommodate any integration requirements. All E-Racks and Pioneer Seismic racks come with vertical and horizontal lacing bars for cable management; shelving options in the form of heavy duty, cantilevered and rollout shelves; top and rack-mountable fans for moving cool air through the racks; customized filler panels for a consistent appearance in empty rack spaces; and overhead lighting for easier adjustment of front-panel equipment settings.

The company also offers its PowerOptions™ range of thin power strips, which will be on display at VON. The PowerOptions family is a full range of isolated-ground and standard-ground power strips and power distribution units that increase versatility in the design and integration of rack systems. PowerOptions receptacles can be rotated 90-degrees to accommodate transformers, which would otherwise block adjacent outlets on the power strip. The rotated receptacles allow all outlets on the strip to be utilized regardless of transformer presence, all while keeping the length of the power strip to a minimum.

The PowerOptions range offers horizontal power strips for rackmounting, and vertical power strips that are installed using the company’s PowerMount system. PowerMount systems carry out the basic function of holding power strips in place, while providing the flexibility of affixing power strips in virtually any location inside the rack. They offer a 180 degree swivel feature to rotate the power strip during maintenance or integration procedures, reducing bends in cabling and providing easier access to power cords. The entire strip can face the front, middle or back of the cabinet.

APWMayville also offers grounding solutions for its racks. This includes banana jack receivers at the top of the racks, built-in ground lugs to ground the rack frame, and grounding wire to connect with outside earth.
www.APWMayville.com

Network Video Technologies Joins NetClear ESS Affiliate Program

Berk-Tek, a Nexans Company, and Ortronics/Legrand are pleased to announce that Network Video Technologies (NVT) Inc. has been added as an approved affiliate vendor for the NetClear ESS (Electronic Safety and Security) program.

Through IP convergence, previously disparate disciplines, including data, video and power, are now being connected together over one standardized structured cabling network to allow the sharing of resources, which provides a higher level of network efficiency, while increasing the network’s return on investment. Together Ortronics/Legrand and Berk-Tek, a Nexans Company, have expanded their NetClear structured cabling solutions for enterprises to include security and surveillance applications through the new NetClear ESS program. “As part of NetClear ESS, Berk-Tek and Ortronics are teaming up with associated vendors in the CCTV realm, such as camera manufacturers and active component manufacturers to offer proven integrated solution sets for both I.T. managers and security integrators,” notes Chris Adams, Marketing Manager for Ortronics/Legrand. “Our goal is to offer our customers a group of like-minded technology affiliates that can bring solution sets and system experience to those ready to embrace IP technology for security applications.”

NVT is in the business of transmitting CCTV video and supplying camera power over unshielded twisted pair wire via structured cabling networks. “As an affiliate vendor, NVT provides products, solutions and support to Berk-Tek and Ortronics/Legrand to educate the market on the transition as analog CCTV moves from a coax-based infrastructure to UTP-based,” states George Wojtan, Datacom Market Manager, NVT. “Together our products will allow installers and end-users to benefit from the performance, cost savings, simplicity, and future proofing of structured cabling,” he adds.

Through NetClear ESS, Ortronics/Legrand and Berk-Tek provide industry leading copper and fiber optic structured cabling systems to assure scalability and performance for all types of networks and technologies. “NetClear ESS solutions demonstrate a progressive path to security over IP, from analog to hybrid to total IP, including running data, video and power (PoE) over the same UTP cable,” notes Carol Everett Oliver, RCDD, Marketing Analyst for Berk-Tek. “Companies like NVT, are instrumental in providing that bridge for CCTV and as convergence encompasses future building automation functions,” she adds.

As part of the NetClear ESS initiative, educational programs, such as full-day seminars, on-site training classes and webinars will be created for both security integrators and cable installers.

About the NetClear Alliance
NetClear is a Technology Alliance between Berk-Tek, a Nexans Company, and Ortronics/Legrand to provide advanced, end-to-end co-engineered solutions for enhanced Category 5e, Category 6, Augmented Category 6 – 10 Gigabit and optical fiber channels - all backed by a 25-year warranty. For more information, visit www.netclear-channel.com

About Berk-Tek, a Nexans Company
For more than 45 years, Berk-Tek has been a leading manufacturer of more than 100 different network copper and fiber optic cable products designed to transport high-speed voice, data and video transmissions. For more information, visit www.berktek.com.

About Ortronics/Legrand
Ortronics/Legrand is a global leader in high performance structured cabling solutions, services, and support. Ortronics offers a complete range of Category 5e, 6 and 10 Gig copper, fiber optic, wireless and residential/MDU connectivity solutions. In addition, Ortronics offers Cablofil® wire mesh cable tray and Wiremold® pathways. For more information, visit www.ortronics.com.

BICSI MEMBERS ELECT NEW OFFICERS

BICSI members have chosen five officers to serve two-year terms on the Board of Directors in voting that ended October 15.

Brian Hansen, RCDD/NTS Specialist has been elected BICSI President-Elect. Hansen pledges to work side-by-side with incoming BICSI President Ed Donelan, RCDD/NTS Specialist, to make BICSI the leader in global standardization and ensure greater membership benefits. He maintains residence in Rosemount, Minnesota and is a specification engineer for the Voice & Data Division of Leviton.

Elected to the position of Treasurer is James (Ray) Craig, RCDD/NTS Specialist. Craig is owner of Craig Consulting Services in Coppell, Texas.

Also selected in this year’s election are the following Region Directors:

§ U.S. Northeast Region Director: Brian Ensign, RCDD/NTS/OSP Specialist

§ U.S. North-Central Region Director: Jerry Bowman, RCDD/NTS Specialist (incumbent)

§ European Region Director: Brendan (Greg) Sherry, RCDD/NTS/WD Specialist (incumbent)

The new officers will officially be inaugurated in January 2008 during the BICSI Winter Conference at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida.

###

BICSI is a professional association supporting the information transport systems (ITS) industry with information, education and knowledge assessment for individuals and companies. BICSI serves more than 23,000 ITS professionals, including designers, installers and technicians. These individuals provide the fundamental infrastructure for telecommunications, audio/video, life safety and automation systems. Through courses, conferences, publications and professional registration programs, BICSI staff and volunteers assist ITS professionals in delivering critical products and services, and offer opportunities for continual improvement and enhanced professional stature.

Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, BICSI membership spans nearly 100 countries. www.bicsi.org

Building Green News

Prefabricating Green: Building Environmentally Friendly Houses Off Site

For a home in Walpole, New Hampshire, Habitat for Humanity chose to build a prefabricated home with precision-cut timbers and panels constructed at the Bensonwood factory by volunteers; the panels were later assembled on site, also with volunteer labor. The resulting house produced less waste material than a site-built house, thanks to cutting equipment programmed to maximize the use of each piece of wood. It was also built faster than a site-built house, including the time spent assembling panels at the factory, and it featured a well-insulated building envelope with strong attention to construction details. The house included Bensonwood's unique measures designed to "disentangle" the electrical, plumbing, and mechanical systems from the structure, making them easier to install and modify.

One of the benefits of prefabrication is that waste materials from one house can be stored for later use, limiting the amount of material that ends up in the landfill. According to Andrew Gianino, owner of modular house distributor The Home Store, in Whately, Massachusetts, building in a factory has another advantage: houses are built from the inside out, making insulating and air-sealing easier.

Prefabricated housing has long been touted as a cost-saving building process, particularly in areas with high labor costs. This cost savings makes prefabricated housing a good choice for affordable housing, but green options such as increased insulation or environmentally friendly finish materials can currently raise costs, since the assembly line must be changed for a single house.

Prefabricated housing has come a long way from the metal-skinned trailer of the past, in design, construction, and energy efficiency. Some companies are using the efficiencies of prefabrication to bring green design and materials to more affordable homes, but the industry as a whole has a long way to go to address environmental building concerns.

To see the full feature article:

http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm?fileName=161001a.xml

The full article requires a log-in to view, and is NOT available for re-publication. If you would like to read the full article, and do not have a log-in, please contact Jerelyn Wilson at Jerelyn@BuildingGreen.com.

You are welcome to post the summaries and links from this email on your website(s), provided that you make it clear that the stories are coming from Environmental Building News and that the full article is available at www.BuildingGreen.com. Please include this byline: From Environmental Building News, www.BuildingGreen.com.

BuildingGreen, Inc. owns the copyrights to all material contained in this email and to the full written articles. All rights are reserved except those explicitly granted herein. Contact Jim Newman at BuildingGreen, Inc., Jim@BuildingGreen.com with questions or for additional information.

Other Current Stories from Environmental Building News:

When It's Greener To Build

Tristan Korthals Altes

Our architecture, no matter how efficient, will always exact some environmental costs. But concern about resource consumption should be a lens through which we examine buildings, not the definition of green itself. We should also consider our fundamental ethics of building: Why do we build? In what ways is the act of building green? When there is a need for a building, and the design and construction team remains loyal to the expression of that need, we see ecological and humane buildings rise from the earth.

To read the full article:

http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm?fileName=161002a.xml

Binders in Manufactured Wood Products:

Beyond Formaldehyde

Backpage Primer from Environmental Building News

Two glues, or binders as they are called in the industry, dominate the manufactured wood products industry: urea formaldehyde (UF) and phenol formaldehyde (PF). For interior-grade products, including particleboard, MDF, and hardwood plywood, UF binders have long been more popular because of their low cost and light color compared with PF binders. For exterior-grade applications such as plywood and OSB, PF binders are favored because of their better moisture resistance. While UF binders are significantly less expensive than PF binders, they give off a lot more formaldehyde -- a volatile compound that is classified as a known human carcinogen.

To read the full article:

http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm?fileName=161016a.xml

Websites Explain Energy Tax Incentives

Rachel Navaro

The existence of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) is well known; the fact that it was extended through 2008 might also sound familiar; the financial and environmental opportunities that the Act, and other policies, create for builders, homeowners, and commercial building owners, however, are less understood. This article provides an annotated list of websites that offer a variety of information.

To read the full article:

http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm?fileName=161015a.xml

http://www.buildinggreen.com

BuildingGreen provides information outlets such as Environmental Building News (EBN) that cover the most pressing issues in environmental design and construction with a clear approach to all sides of an issue, keeping our readers informed on building for sustainability. This email brings you, as a news editor or website owner interested in sustainable design, an excerpt from our top story for the month, as well as links to other stories currently posted in the free area of www.BuildingGreen.com

Benefits Of Hosting The CABA Exhibit

Your Company Brand will appear on the CABA Exhibit
Complimentary Registration as a CABA Exhibitor to attend the show
Display your Brochures and Flyers at the CABA Exhibit
Opportunity to Network with thousands of Industry Professionals
Receive the contact information of all visitors to the CABA Exhibit
Opportunity to provide a Draw Prize from your company (Optional)
Complimentary Entry into the HOST'S DRAW for a FREE CABA Research Report (Valued up to $4,200.00)

Due to CABA's large membership we are scheduling members interested in hosting on a first call basis.

EHX Fall 2007 HALL HOURS

Wednesday, November 7, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday, November 8, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday, November 9, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

If you are interested in being a Host with the CABA exhibit
at this year’s EHX Fall 2007 show please contact:

Ken Gallinger
Marketing Director
Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA)
gallinger@caba.org

Participate In A CABA Survey About iHOMES & Buildings Magazine

CABA is inviting all members of our industry to participate in our short online survey on iHomes & Buildings magazine. Taking the survey will allow CABA to improve the quality of its publication to the benefit of both the industry and CABA memebers. All those who participate in this survey will be automatically entered into a draw to win a $500 discount on CABA research. The discount will be applicable to either CABA's Connected Home Roadmap or Intelligent Buildings Roadmap.

TAKE THE CABA SURVEY NOW!

REDESIGNED CABA MAGAZINE TO OFFER AFFORDABLE NEW ADVERTISING PACKAGES

CABA is pleased to announce that a redesigned version of iHomes & Buildings magazine will debut in late October. The last edition can be accessed here.

CABA's magazine is designed to reach the multi-billion dollar home system and building automation industry. It is a leading source of industry news, opinion and research for industry professionals and the general public.

Now it will be easier to read and specifically targeted to promote your company's products and services. The new advertising packages will be multi-platform, getting word out about your product on our Web site, in printed format, and at highly targeted events.

Download our new media kit to ensure that your company is featured in the CABA magazine at both EH Expo and CES 2008.

CABA Invites You To The Family Ecosystem Forum

You are invited to a CABA Internet Home Alliance Research Council (IHA-RA) special event. The Family Ecosystem Forum will be held Oct. 30 at the Whirlpool Corporation Center for Partnership Development in Benton Harbor, MI. This informative event will examine groundbreaking market research on consumers and their spending intentions concerning technology in the home. The Forum will explore major research projects (over $270,000 in value) undertaken by the IHA-RC (http://www.caba.org/iha) in the last year, including:

Digital Kitchen, a study that investigated consumer electronics and appliances in use in North American kitchens and determined which new products and services homeowners would like to see added to their kitchens in the future; and

Senior Living, a study undertaken with the National Association of Home Builders, which identified the solutions consumers over the age of 50 want most in a home to keep them safe, comfortable and living independently.

The event will be special, because not only will the market research be discussed but also tangible strategies to increase retail sales! Speakers are lined up from CABA, Crestron Electronics, Exceptional Innovation, Home Automation, Inc., Whirlpool Corporation and Zanthus Research. Further, the one-day meeting will provide an opportunity for you to network with leading market researchers, retailers and manufacturers who are targeting the multi-billion dollar home technology marketplace.

Registration fees start at $195. and you will receive an instant discount on IHA-RC research. All delegates will receive the Executive Summaries of the "Digital Kitchen" and "Senior Living" Reports, plus $500 discount coupons to purchase the full research reports.

To register, go to http://www.caba.org/iha/ecosystemforum.html. Contact Fred Bryson, CABA's Business Development Manager, at 613.686.1814 x226, 888.798.CABA (2222) or bryson@caba.org for more details.

The event is limited to 50 participants - so register quickly to confirm your spot! If you can't attend, please pass this information to a colleague that may benefit from this research.

Regards,

Ron Zimmer, President & CEO

Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA) Your Information Source for Home & Building Automation http://www.caba.org

Time is Now to Shore Up Office Building Vacancies in Chicago

Published on 10/10/2007 at www.MidwestBusiness.com where you always read real perspectives

What needs to be done in order to bolster downtown Chicago and suburban office building leases?

There is more economic fallout from the sub-prime mortgage market crash and other mortgage credit issues as real estate markets see an increase in vacancies at various office buildings. Crain’s Chicago Business recently ran an article that pointed out some of these trends in the suburban Chicago market.

Downtown Chicago is also feeling some vacancy problems as several high-profile buildings are being put onto the sales block in the East Loop area. Two towers within the Illinois Center are for sale as several large building owners in that area are thinking it’s a good time to sell.

Some tenants are migrating to newer buildings. What are their reasons? Are the amenities different? Are the older buildings technologically obsolete?

Discount Rates or Sell?

Vacancies are rising in older buildings and rents have to be discounted according to conventional wisdom in the industry. Too many real estate executives panic in a market like this. They go to the lowest common denominator: price per square foot.

This “strategy” (and I use the term loosely) has been used all over as everything else goes out the door. The way to try to entice a potential tenant is to drop from the market rate of $20 a square foot to $17.50 until Harry across the street drops his to $14.95. You then have to throw in six months of free rent on top of his new “market price”.

While that was the way to do it 30 years ago, times and strategies have changed. If they haven’t changed in a real estate organization, they better because just dropping the price isn’t going to work any more. The tenant market is much more sophisticated (especially for class “A” office space).

If someone is selling a building, the buyer better do much better due diligence. Most real estate investment trusts (REITs) don’t look at the technology supporting the building. The traditional approach for reviewing a building’s attributes has to be augmented. Otherwise, they will pay too much and this market will soon become a multimillion-dollar game of hot potato.

Building systems have to be reviewed. How “smart” the building is has to be asked and answered before any realistic price can be offered. A list of due diligence questions on technology is not what most REIT executives have in their back pockets.

Strategies, Buildings Have to Be Updated

If they are looking for blue-chip tenants, I can assure you the idea of selling space as a commodity is not going to work any more in attracting and maintaining a solid tenant mix. This is part of my white paper that will be published later in 2007 in the Intelligent Engineering Consortium’s annual review of communications:

“Intelligent Business Campuses: Keys to Future Economic Development” is a thought leadership paper that was finished after working on several planning issues with the DuPage National Technology Park. Key industry people were also interviewed from across the country along with several people from the Asian market.

The need to understand how to position real estate is a much more sophisticated approach than many traditional real estate and property managers have had to tackle. Corporate site selection committees are looking for different amenities than when a building may have been leased up five or 10 years ago.

This fact should be taken into consideration when making an offer to buy one of these buildings.

Define Class ‘A’ Buildings

The definition of a class “A” building has always been a building offering top-notch amenities and being in the right location. Many real estate executives have yet to figure out that the old real estate adage they still adhere to (“location, location, location”) has changed to “location, location, connectivity”.

While broadband connectivity was not on anyone’s criteria list 10 years ago, it is in the top three today. If you think you are in a class “A” building today, it better have broadband connectivity. That means fiber-optic connectivity and gigabit speeds. That doesn’t mean DSL or T-1 connectivity.

In doing research a while back while looking for class “A” buildings in DuPage County, there were more than 60 buildings that had vacancies. As soon as you put “broadband connectivity” in as a necessary amenity, that number dropped to six.

If a site selection committee was looking for corporate space, 90 percent of the properties that property management companies think are class “A” would be overlooked and therefore do not “rate” as a class “A” rating.

What did I just say? You read it right. Class “A” buildings are quietly being rated again just from a standpoint of connectivity. To some, that sounds too radical.

If property managers don’t have it as an amenity, they will be looking a long time for a replacement tenant. While they can discount and discount and perhaps they will snag someone, it won’t be a blue-chip tenant. That’s the reality of the market. This is the quiet revolution that has been happening.

Many in the real estate market have not seen it because they still have a lot of tenants on lease. As leases end and tenants turn over for whatever reason, you will see more class “A” buildings become less desirable. They won’t be able to attract and maintain the blue-chip tenants that are looking at connectivity as a required amenity.

It’s already happening. Unless developers and property management firms understand what needs to be offered to attract and maintain quality business tenants, they are losing tenants to new developments that may have been farsighted enough to add broadband connectivity. This also affects the regional viability to sustain economic development.

While traditional approaches are good in traditional markets, this issue is changing tradition. If you don’t think so, look at where corporate facilities are being located and relocated. The buildings and surrounding community offer broadband connectivity. This is true not only in the United States but in Asia as well.

Places like Far Glory Park in Taiwan and Cyberport in Hong Kong are examples of campuses offering high-speed connectivity as a common amenity for business tenants. As for organizations buying existing buildings, they better understand what they are buying. They don’t want to be playing hot potato in this market.

Carlinism: Intelligent buildings have been clustered together to create intelligent business campuses.

Jim Carlini will be speaking at Rural TeleCon ’07 in
Springfield, Ill. from Oct. 14 to 17 on intelligent business campuses.

He will also lead a half-day seminar on the same topic at the Building Industry
Consulting Services International’s winter conference from Jan. 14 to 17, 2008 in Orlando.

Check out Carlini’s blog at CarlinisComments.com.

James Carlini is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University. He is also president of Carlini & Associates. Carlini can be reached at james.carlini@sbcglobal.net or 773-370-1888.
Click here for Carlini’s full biography.

Wireville.com

Issue: November 2007
By: Frank Bisbee

Wireville.com

Issue: November 2007 By: Frank Bisbee

Issue: November 2007
By: Frank Bisbee