Since 2003, through its Facility Executive of the Year (FEY) Award, TFM has recognized an outstanding facility management professional for their work on a renovation or new construction project, along with the value they bring to their organizations on a daily basis. We recently asked past FEY winners to revisit the project for which they were recognized.
This first in the series is from 2013 winner J.B. Messer, director of facilities management at Oklahoma City Community College. Featured in the January 2013 issue of TFM, Messer headed up the creation of an Energy Master Plan for the college campus. As of January 2013, OCCC had decreased its power consumption nearly 26% per square foot since 2000. And while the cost of electricity had increased by 40% in the last decade, OCCC had realized only a 6% increase.
By J.B. Messer
My congratulations go out to the current and all the previous recipients of the TFM Facility Executive of the Year award as well as those who were nominees. Being a facilities administrator is a tough business which requires us to wear many hats in order to accomplish our job. Upon being informed that I had been selected for the award in 2013 I asked Anne Cosgrove, TFM‘s Editor, if I was going to get to go on a year-long speaking tour, much the same as Miss America. While that did not happen, I have certainly been blessed by the recognition from my peers, business leaders, administrators and co-workers, and many others from around the nation. And I must mention that the award has resulted in me presenting at several conferences, being selected as a panelist on several occasions, and delivering the key note speech at another leadership conference.
Our Energy Master Plan at Oklahoma City Community College has taken a new direction since May 2012 when the governor approved Senate Bill 1096, which is the Oklahoma State Facilities Energy Conservation Program. Among other things, this program mandates that we work with the state Energy Director to provide data entry into a statewide system, perform data benchmarking, and implement programs (behavior based and performance based) in order to reduce cumulative energy consumption by 20% by the year 2020, based on 2012 energy levels.
This is a tall order for those who have previously been concentrating on operating their facilities in a more effective and efficient manner. Although, the method of accomplishing this feat remains simple… identification, planning, and execution.
On a more specific level, we can be smarter in how we operate our facilities. This could include training our occupants on shutting off lights, computers, and any unnecessary electrical components. The effective scheduling of buildings, or sections of buildings, to be in an unoccupied mode when possible (including weekend days and holidays) is another opportunity for improvement. The installation of occupancy sensors, humidity sensors, CO2 monitors, use of outside air make-up, changing high-low temperature set points of the spaces, and HVAC system reset points are all achievable goals for more efficient operations.
Whether it be installing building automation systems, more efficient HVAC system or electrical system components, lighting retrofit projects, or even data center consolidation, the energy efficient solutions are plentiful and all achievable at some level. If you don’t have the capital for these types of projects, then simply going through each system and related components to recommission those particular areas could provide additional savings.
As with any type of energy program, the most effective way to monitor your progress is to have accurate monitoring. Combine this with educating your occupants, and in some way making it competitive in nature can go a long way in achieving your goals.
J.B. Messer (CAPPA Membership Chair)
TFM 2013 Facility EOY
CAPPA Rep to APPA Membership Committee
Co-Chair of APPA Community College Engagement Group
Director of Facilities Management
Oklahoma City Community College
On June 30, Messer will retire from Oklahoma higher education after 22 years and will be pursuing other career opportunities. The article on Messer’s FEY Award can be found here.
Nominations are open for next year’s Facility Executive of the Year award. For more details and to view the nomination form, please visit this link.
