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News & Announcements1/10/2011 | Friendly competition among facility managers generates energy savings A friendly competition engaging BLJC facility management (FM) teams across Canada has resulted in solid energy savings at client buildings. Recently announced winners of the initiative, launched in 2010, are Bernard Katzberg for the Western Region and Lowell Crane for Eastern Region, with savings of more than 45 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. Honourable mention goes to Wesley Startup and Graham Low. Craig Chan, energy and sustainability utility manager, says the competition was well received by FMs and congratulates everyone who achieved savings. He says the competition demonstrates “what you can accomplish just on your own as an FM because you have so much impact on the energy consumption of your buildings.” Chan adds he’s “excited for this year coming up to see more improvements,” as the competition is repeated. “We hope to provide feedback on more ways to improve energy consumption with the hopes that we can hit savings all over the portfolio.” A total of 129 FMs and 5,152 buildings were involved in the inaugural competition, which covered the period from January 2010 to the end of the fiscal year in October. Given the many variables of each building managed by BLJC, the energy and sustainability team facilitated a fair and level competition by basing it on the building energy performance index (BEPI) value of buildings in the portfolio. BEPI is a measurement of energy consumption by the square foot, providing a baseline for tracking and comparing usage in buildings of all sizes. BEPI is the tracking mechanism used by FMs to report on their buildings quarterly as part of the FM key performance indicator program, which is a scoreboard comparing energy usage at client sites. The competition featured a target of 10-per-cent reduction in energy consumption. Since it began after the start of the 2010 fiscal year, the target was pro-rated. This fiscal year’s competition will encompass the full 12 months, beginning last October and ending in October 2011. Chan says the best outcome would be that the initiative builds from a “friendly competition into a true battle of accomplishments.” |
