The Building Owners & Managers Association of Greater New York (BOMA New York) hosted the 50th Anniversary 2021 Pinnacle Awards Ceremony at Pier Sixty in Manhattan. This sold-out event was attended by more than 800 guests and celebrated outstanding achievements in the commercial real estate sector. The program began with
Following the warning from the CEO of National Grid around tighter electricity supplies, Mike Foster, CEO of the not-for-profit energy trade association the Energy & Utilities Alliance, the not-for-profit trade association that provides a leading industry voice to help shape the future policy direction within the sector, has issued a
Combing intelligent technology with breathtaking design, Gira, one of the world’s leading full-range suppliers for intelligent building design and management win Best Dedicated Touchscreen/Controller at the 2021 Smart Building Awards with its iconic Gira G1: one control centre for all KNX building technology. The Smart Building Awards 2021, is dedicated
Workers spend entire days on construction sites, so you must provide effective sanitation to fulfill their basic human needs. Having an unclean working environment can lead to infections and will result in hefty lawsuits. Now, more than ever, you need to make sanitation a priority for your project plan. Luckily,
The Building Owners & Managers Association of Greater New York (BOMA New York) hosted the 50th Anniversary 2021 Pinnacle Awards Ceremony at Pier Sixty in Manhattan. This sold-out event was attended by more than 800 guests and celebrated outstanding achievements in the commercial real estate sector. The program began with a moment of silence to remember the victims of the September 11th attacks and honor the many heroes and first responders from that horrific day and every day since then keeping all of New York safe and sound. To commemorate the 20th Anniversary of 9/11, BOMA NY created a Challenge Coin which was gifted to each attendee. A Challenge Coin is a small coin or medallion, bearing an organization’s insignia and carried by that organization’s members in remembrance for those we’ve lost on 9/11. The Pinnacle Awards are New York City real estate’s biggest night of the year, honoring top commercial real estate properties and professionals. This event honors what owners and managers do every day—the only award to truly reward the creative thinking, operational quality, commitment, dedication and talent that the entire team devotes to ensuring that New York’s towers of commerce are the best run in the world. This year, 35 nominees competed across 15 award categories, celebrating achievement in leadership, outstanding contributors, and overall excellence, including three new awards – Emerging Leaders Award, Janitorial Professional of the Year and Security Professional of the Year. “Exceeding expectations is what the Pinnacle Awards are all about,” said Hani Salama, P.E., LEED AP, President of BOMA New York. “These awards have come to recognize the hard work of tenants, building owners and managers in the City of New York.” Local Pinnacle Award winners qualify to compete at the Regional, Mid-Atlantic TOBY (The Outstanding Building of the Year) awards. Regional winners are then automatically entered in the BOMA International TOBY competition.
Following the warning from the CEO of National Grid around tighter electricity supplies, Mike Foster, CEO of the not-for-profit energy trade association the Energy & Utilities Alliance, the not-for-profit trade association that provides a leading industry voice to help shape the future policy direction within the sector, has issued a reply. With energy policy updates expected form government over the coming weeks, Mike registers his deep concern for the potentially disastrous impact this will have on the public being able to heat their homes this winter in the following comment: Responding to comments by the Chief Executive of National Grid made yesterday, Mike Foster Chief Executive of Energy and Utilities Alliance said: “The man charged with responsibility for keeping the lights on yesterday issued a stark warning to the UK and to Government. He forecasted that the margin between electricity supply and demand would be tighter than in recent years; in other words, there was a heightened risk of blackouts, of losing supply. “This is as serious as it gets. Ahead of the winter, policymakers have been warned. On top of spiralling price rises, there is now a real threat around security of supply. The energy trilemma is starting to bite. “But it’s actually worse than this. There are some politicians calling for all gas centrally heating to be provided for by electricity. That’s an enormous amount of energy that the system hasn’t been designed for. We have been warned about keeping the lights on this winter, imagine the situation if we add winter heat demand to the load. “It won’t be just lights going out, or industry told to stop production, it will mean people going cold in their homes at a scale not seen for generations. It would be the height of irresponsibility to put all of our energy eggs into the electricity basket. “But we do need to achieve net zero. For that reason, for the majority of UK homes currently using natural gas for warmth, should keep their boilers and just have the gas switched to hydrogen. This will take place over a number of years, firstly with blending and then wholesale network conversion. We did it with the digital TV switchover and this is the way to keep people warm and the lights on.”
Combing intelligent technology with breathtaking design, Gira, one of the world’s leading full-range suppliers for intelligent building design and management win Best Dedicated Touchscreen/Controller at the 2021 Smart Building Awards with its iconic Gira G1: one control centre for all KNX building technology. The Smart Building Awards 2021, is dedicated to rewarding excellence across the AV and Smart Building sectors. ‘The path to a better future’ and marking its tenth year in the market, EI Live! the UK’s only dedicated AV & Automation trade show made way for this year’s Smart Building Awards, brought to you by Essential Install Magazine. On the night, Gira became 1 of 22 brands rewarded for excellence across a series of specialty project, product and company categories and Jacob Muijnck, Managing Director at Gira UK comments, “I want to thank everyone involved with this fantastic award win, we are honoured that the judges presented the Gira G1 with such an outstanding award, in recognition of its ease of operation and navigation. To be acknowledged by specialists in our field is a tribute to our commitment to lead the market and deliver user-oriented connected buildings for today’s customer.” Compact, powerful and universal, the Gira G1 is an intelligent central control unit for operating entire building technology like lighting, blinds, temperature and more. Its intelligent control panel can be fitted in any smart building giving the ultimate design freedom in wireless or connected KNX schemes, allowing properties of any age to benefit from form and function with the ability to simulate presence, as well as adjusting lighting and blinds, setting the room temperature, and online weather forecasting to door communication. The expertly developed and highly intuitive Gira Interface allows for time-controlled programming of automatic functions or the creation of comprehensive scenes. The display has been designed to automatically detect lighting conditions. This integrated proximity sensor is able to effectively recognise when someone approaches, resulting in the Gira G1 to switch its display on automatically. When not in use, the display is switched off to offer an energy-efficient solution that can resourcefully reduce running costs. If large systems with more than 62 video subscribers and multi-talk mode are required, the Gira G1 offers the option of serving as a SIP client where the door station is used by an external system. The Gira G1 can therefore be used as a SIP home station and KNX interface due to the dual function and the key user advantage is having only one display on the wall.
Workers spend entire days on construction sites, so you must provide effective sanitation to fulfill their basic human needs. Having an unclean working environment can lead to infections and will result in hefty lawsuits. Now, more than ever, you need to make sanitation a priority for your project plan. Luckily, all it takes is some simple planning and common sense to make your site compliant. Below, we tell you the key aspects of setting up construction site sanitation. Portable Toilets Portable toilets and urinals are the answer to affordable construction site restroom requirements. They need to be placed correctly and kept clean at all times, so make sure you know how to manage your construction site sanitation equipment. You should put considerable thought into the model of portable toilet you use. For example, some of them supply hot and cold water as well as heating capabilities. When you plan how many you need, you should follow the recommendations laid out by The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). They state that you should have at least one toilet for a site of 20 people. For sites with 50+ workers, you need to supply at least one toilet and urinal per 50 people. Suitable Water Your site needs to have sufficient water to keep away the dehydration. You should ensure that drinking water is labeled clearly and contained in barrels with a dispensing tap. Once you’ve positioned airtight drinking solutions, you should consider providing disposable cups and attempting to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Maintaining a green construction site will help to win over the affection of anyone opposing your project. Hand Washing Facilities Hygiene should be at the forefront of your mind when planning your project, especially after the global pandemic. Therefore, alongside sufficient toilets, you need to provide clean handwashing facilities. As well as having washbasins, you need to provide quality soap to eradicate harmful substances that workers may have come into contact with. Efficient Shower After a long day of hard graft and coming into contact with potentially dangerous materials, your employees will want to wash before they leave. Therefore, you should supply the demand by renting a shower trailer. These trailers come with a supply of water, which means you don’t have to worry about running water on your site. Changing Rooms For projects that call for specialized gear, you need to supply a changing room. If you’re having a shower trailer onsite, you should customize your selection to include a changing room. However, if you need to rent a separate facility, ensure it has ample storage space for employee belongings. Constructions sites are busy places with plenty of contaminates about the place. Workers will spend long hours on-site, and therefore need to be looked after. Supplying clean and accessible portable toilets, showers, hand washing facilities, and changing rooms will guarantee you tick all the boxes. When you are choosing equipment, you need to think about their placement to allow maintenance trucks access at all times.
