Stephen Chapel and Jeff Yirak to Present at 2015 WSSHE Annual Conference
Senior Project Manager Stephen Chapel, PE, PMP, and Associate Principal Jeff Yirak, PE, CPMP, LEED AP BD+C, O+M will be co-presenting at the 2015 Washington State Society for Healthcare Engineering (WSSHE) Annual Conference, to be held October 6-9 in Vancouver, WA.
Their presentation, “Harnessing the Power of Sustainability: Green Fluff or Green Backs in Your Pocket (efficiency and waste avoidance),” looks at ways to improve the project delivery process from start to finish to create resilient and healthy conditions for people, communities, and the environment in truly sustainable facilities.
Read the presentation abstract below:
“Sustainability” is often thrown around as just a buzz word and brings to mind many different things for different people. Is sustainability a LEED certification? Is it bike racks and green spaces? Is it ultra-efficient HVAC systems and LED lighting?
Sustainability is the awareness that the choices we make to achieve our needs today affect our ability to achieve them tomorrow. Sustainable design is about more that energy efficiency and earth-friendly materials. It’s about creating resilient and healthy conditions for people, communities, and the environment. Achieving real sustainability requires a life-cycle approach with up-front considerations and ongoing commitments.
In the healthcare environment, the need for sustainability in this sense is crucial. At the facility level, buildings and systems must be reliable, adaptable, and operate efficiently, from grand opening to end of life, through remodels and emergencies. That means facilities personnel need project teams that really listen to their needs and expectations, understand the technically demanding, operationally sensitive, and dynamic conditions of an active facility, and seek economical solutions for sustainability that deliver real benefits.
In this presentation, we’ll cover ways to improve the project delivery process from start to finish with this kind of sustainability in mind. We’ll discuss how to tell if your project team is starting down the right path, questions you should ask consultants/vendors, how to weigh options to meet the unique needs of your facility within your budget, and what your consultants should be doing (or at least offering) beyond delivering spots and dots and construction.
About WSSHE
The Washington State Society for Healthcare Engineering (WSSHE) is a not-for-profit, incorporated association, dedicated to serving and promoting the healthcare engineering profession.
Follow Jeff on Twitter @JYirak_WH