Wednesday, June 25, 2008

8 Secrets to Success - Richard St. John at TED


Richard St. John spent 7 years and 500 interview to answer the question:


What leads to success?

  1. Passion - (the true amateur - amore)

  2. Work - hard work (but having fun workafrolics)

  3. Good - get really good at something

  4. Focus - drill deep - find the source

  5. Push - the boundaries, push your limits

  6. Serve - where do you add value?

  7. Ideas - innovation, bring your brain to the game

  8. Persistence - (CRAP: criticism, rejection assholes and pressure)


Monday, June 23, 2008

Breaking the Net Zero Energy Barrier


Here is a case study from the Realcomm website. While many are focused on LEED certification that isn't enough to reach the green house gas reductions necessary for the 2030 Challenge. Some say that LEED Platinum will only produce a 30% reduction. The "31 Tannery Project" breaks the 4-minute mile in the zero emmissions race. Its an important project that will attract others to try. Mindshift continues to look for those who push our barriers that allow us to think beyond current limitations. Here are excerpts from the entire article and a link in case you want to look from other articles from Realcom.

The “31 Tannery Project”

There is no disputing that energy is one of the most important issues of our time. Everywhere, people are talking about energy – its skyrocketing costs that impact our economy; the political implications of our dependence on foreign energy sources; growing pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change; the need to provide more energy to meet increasing demand.

In our quest for energy solutions, one thing is certain: if we are going to make an impact on energy use we have to address our buildings, which use 76% of all electricity generated. There is a common public misconception that cars and trucks are the largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. The fact is that buildings account for nearly half (48%) of all greenhouse gas emissions, which is far more than transportation (27%) and industry (25%).

Imagine the potential for global energy change if it were possible to have commercial buildings that are not only energy efficient, but are actually producing more energy annually than they consume. The “31 Tannery Project” is receiving international attention for accomplishing just that. 31 Tannery is a 42,000 square foot office and shop building located in Branchburg, New Jersey. It is the first Net Zero Electric Commercial Building in the United States to produce more electricity, on an annual basis, than it consumes. All the excess energy that is generated goes back into the utility grid for others to use.

This project has “raised the bar” on energy standards. 31 Tannery received an Energy Star® certification with a previously unheard of perfect rating of 100. Energy Star®, a joint program of the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ranks buildings against other buildings in the country on a 1 to 100 performance scale. A perfect 100 score means that 31 Tannery is the valedictorian, at the top of its class. The State of New Jersey Executive Order No. 54 calls for an 80% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050. 31 Tannery has already achieved an 83% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, decades ahead of New Jersey’s deadline. In recognition, Governor Jon Corzine and the NJ Board of Public Utilities President, Jeanne Fox, visited the facility to present a NJ Clean Energy Award.

Three key areas were addressed to achieve Net Zero Electric results: energy efficiency, renewable energy, and real-time energy monitoring – or, to use a simple analogy, “Diet, Exercise, and a Personal Trainer”.

“Diet” - Energy Efficiency: The 31 Tannery Project incorporates a radiant heating system that consists of approximately 9 miles of PEX tubing embedded in the concrete slabs. The concrete slabs act as a thermal mass for the system to provide comfortable efficient heating. There are 146 loops with 80 zones to control the heat. Water temperature in the system only needs to be heated between 80°F and 100°F. Heated water is provided to the radiant loop by a 14,000 BTU/h gas-fired, low nitrogen oxide, and full modulation condensing boiler operating at 96% efficiency. High-efficiency Energy Star® rooftop units with premium efficiency motors, enthalpy economizers, and embedded network control units provide ventilation and air conditioning. Digital controls and monitoring modulate the systems. The 31 Tannery Project won the Radiant Flooring Association’s Commercial Project of the Year Award for its innovative efficient heating application.

“Exercise” - Renewable Energy: The building has a utility grid tied 223kW dc photovoltaic system that consists of 1,276 solar panels on the roof that feed two 100kW ac 277/480V three-phase inverters to produce renewable electrical energy from the sun. A solar thermal system with rooftop panels, a heat exchanger, and storage tanks eliminate the need for fossil fuels to provide potable hot water also with renewable energy from the sun.

“Personal Trainer” – Real-Time Monitoring: A key ingredient behind the success of the 31 Tannery Project is the real-time energy and building systems monitoring, visualization, and diagnostic system by Noveda Technologies. This system monitors the building’s utility supplied energy, the solar photovoltaic and solar thermal renewable energy systems, and the buildings HVAC systems. The system allows 31 Tannery to maintain comfort, enlist and motivate occupant participation, exceed energy savings goals, and accelerate ROI. Because the system is Web-based, it can be viewed anywhere, at any time. Visitors to the facility are fascinated by viewing dynamic, real-time visualizations in a kiosk display in the lobby. The system also provides educational value and is an excellent way to demonstrate corporate responsibility.

Independent studies from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and several Universities have shown that just monitoring can reduce energy use 5% to 15%. The results from the 31 Tannery Project reinforce these findings.

Just as the microscope and the telescope opened new worlds of discovery and scientific advancement, the real-time energy monitoring system allows us to visualize energy and opens new horizons in energy efficiency. This new technology is very appealing in the real estate community because it can monitor one building or hundreds of buildings, from any location, in real time.

The 31 Tannery project has set a new benchmark and opened new horizons in solving energy issues by being the first to break the Net Zero Electric barrier with commercial buildings. It was accomplished in a commercially viable manner with low-maintenance, easy-to-manage systems and a projected payback of 5 to 7 years. The project’s success captured the attention of the business community and was awarded the New Jersey Business and Industry Associations’ Award for Environmental Project of the Year. One of the big benefits of the real time monitoring and visualization is the occupant behavioral change. Noveda Technologies was also recently awarded a 2008 "Digie Award" by Realcomm for Best Use of Technology.

The Ferreira Group takes their learning and leadership into the community.



Sunday, June 22, 2008

Pre-Fab on a Large Scale


Shaping Tomorrow is a web resource for futurists. Here is a recent abstract written by:

Author
Sheila Moorcroft, Research Director, Shaping Tomorrow

Abstract
Could the announcement that a large part of the 2012 London Olympic Stadium may be deconstructed and sent off to Chicago for the 2016 Olympics trigger renewed interest in offsite, pre-fabricated construction techniques? Possibly yes; but a lot of regulation will need to change.

What is Changing?
Housing markets are in turmoil and house-builders' share prices under pressure. However, there are still long term pressures for change, and the crisis may focus minds on the need for new approaches in order to meet rising expectations and demand.

Housing shortages and unaffordable houses in many areas are forcing a rethink on how we enable lower paid workers to live where they need and want to. Rising energy costs are driving demand for greater efficiency in running costs - more insulation and eco-friendly design. Growing numbers of floods and other environmental disasters need quick solutions to meet housing needs. Mass customisation and personalised design in more and more markets, from sports shoes to cars, mean that we have rising expectations of getting what we want.

Construction techniques that enable easy assembly but also 'relatively easy dis-assembly and reuse' could be the answer.

However, prefabricated housing has a bad image in some countries - especially the UK and the USA, although new entrants and demonstration projects may be beginning to change the game. Elsewhere, it is a different story: pre-fabricated houses from makers such as Toyota and Panasonic are upmarket homes in Japan; in Sweden nearly 70% of new builds are pre-fabricated.

Why is this important?
With share prices low, construction companies may be ripe for takeover by companies willing to take a longer term view. It may also be the right time to innovate ready for the upswing, when it comes. The result may be major new entrants.

Whole life costing and environmental pressures are forcing new approaches to evaluating projects and production techniques in many sectors; and in the case of the Olympic Stadium, legacy issues too. Flexible use, re-use and redefinition of use of office or other space may become a key component of design and planning - from the outset.

But, for radical change - even for those pre-fabricated homes already on the market to be able to sell effectively - regulations, especially in the USA and the UK, and concerns about insurance and other non-technical barriers need to be removed.

Zerohouse image provided by Specht Harpman

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Developing Agile Organizations

Making the mindshift to agile organizations and skills is no easy transformation. Don Mroz with the consulting firm Competing Values sent this image and brief review that I thought you would find useful. Management strategy is catching up with the shifting effect of the digital dynamic.

"Over the past few decades strategy has become a plan that positions a company in its external landscape. That's not enough.

Strategy should also guide the development of the company - its identity and purpose - over time." - HBR article by Cynthia Montgomery

Sunday, June 1, 2008

De-sign-a-saurus


According to Everett Roger's diffusion theory a new idea or innovation goes through several phases of adoption:
  1. Innovators - the risk takers who seldom see the fruit of their labor.
  2. Early Adopters - those who connect the dots, develop the prototypes and find enough success to tell others. They become the Opinion Leaders.
  3. Early Majority - those who want to see the business case, the ROI or have strong ties with Early Adopters they trust. This group creates the standards that lead to broad adoption.
  4. Late Majority - the Skeptics who find safety in numbers but typically wait too long to derive any competitive advantage.
  5. Laggards - yup - that's exactly what they are. This group doesn't care if the next innovation cures cancer or brings about world peace. They will stick to those good ole "tired and true" ways.
mindshift is a consortium of early adopter companies developing a prototype for a trust-based integrated approach to design and construction. We are connecting the dots from other innovators in an effort to find a new Social Technology that will provide a far more effective and lower cost model.