Repeatable Process Cuts Costs and Raises Project Performance Standards
Hutchinson Technology Incorporated (HTI), recognized globally for its design and manufacture of very small, close-tolerance machined products that require chemical, mechanical, and electronic technologies, is applying production planning principles and processes from the manufacturing sector to streamline the conventional capital projects process.

The Result: Capital Efficient Profitable Growth
As the most comprehensive and broad-based healthcare company in the world, Johnson & Johnson is parent to 200 companies operating in 57 countries selling their products worldwide. Johnson & Johnson is split into three independent business segments: the consumer business, which carries the iconic brands; medical devices and diagnostics; and the third and largest business, pharmaceuticals.

LEED-Gold Certification Achieved in Lab Building
It is challenging enough to design a LEED Gold-certified research building. Imagine achieving the distinction with a project that was being designed and built at the same time as the LEED standard was gaining credibility, while the owners were just coming to realize that this was the standard they wanted to meet.

Standards are Rigorous on Energy Use
One reason it is so difficult for laboratory buildings to achieve LEED certification is the amount of energy required to operate the ventilation system. The designers of the Daniel L. Malone Engineering Center at Yale University knew they would get few credits for the category of "energy and atmosphere," so they had to grab as many credits as they could in other categories to earn LEED-Gold.

Arizona State University
Arizona State University needed a scientific research space in which experts from a variety of scientific disciplines would be encouraged to work together seamlessly on attainable solutions to global challenges. Lord, Aeck & Sargent, in collaboration with Gould Evans Associates, designed a ground-breaking facility that integrates a highly innovative spatial plan with a forward-thinking strategic plan for the University.

University of Minnesota
The new Science Laboratory Building for the University of Minnesota at Duluth is situated on one of the main corridors through the 244-acre campus. The site for the new, 100,450-sf facility creates links between the teaching and research functions of the Science Department and the academic and residential areas of the campus. The port of Duluth and Lake Superior provide a spectacular backdrop for this state-of-the-art laboratory facility located in this harsh northern climate.

State of Minnesota, MDA Agriculture Laboratories and MDH Public Health Division
The laboratory building is a state-of-the-art co-location for two Minnesota Departments located in the Capital area in Saint Paul. Co-locating both the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Department of Health will stimulate opportunities for shared information, knowledge, and facilities.

Washington University
The Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPSc) building at Washington University in St. Louis serves to consolidate the department and provide its first real "home" on the campus.

Campus Buildings Feature Quality Environmental Design and Energy Efficiency
King's College London is setting trends in the use of sustainable design solutions to renovate existing facilities and to construct new buildings at its five campuses. During the past 10 years, the College has invested more than $1 billion (USD) to modernize its infrastructure of buildings in an attempt to become one of the top 25 universities in the world.

Corporation's Model Ranks in Top Five Percent of U.S. Companies
When most people hear the name Microsoft, they automatically think of the multi-billion-dollar computer technology corporation famous for its wide range of software products. Headquartered in Redmond, Wash., the global corporation is best known for its Microsoft Windows operating system and the Microsoft Office suite of productivity software.

Lean Facility Staffing Models Lower Occupancy Costs
Addressing the issue of lean facilities staffing models to achieve lower occupancy costs is a formidable exercise in culture change for any established organization. No less so for the 93-year-old Federal Reserve Bank (FRB), which, as the central bank in the country, is responsible for the money supply in the economy. The FRB has 12 districts and 25,000 employees spread out among 13 sites.

Decision-Support Tool Provides Objective, Repeatable, Verifiable Results
Even as mergers, acquisitions, and globalization create corporations with millions of square feet of assets worldwide, corporate executives are expecting ever-smaller facilities staffs to manage those assets while achieving increased mission readiness. Plus, they want it accomplished at a lower cost. How? One solution is to utilize an engineered management system (EMS), which allows the entire asset program--capital and operations--to be priority-determined by mission dependency and mission readiness for critical systems, facilities, and sites.

Lean and Objective System Requires Process Reengineering
The U.S. Department of Navy has about 315 million sf of facilities, and until fairly recently, no unified method of managing it. In 2005, after an 18-month study, the Navy decided to change its building condition assessment process and selected Vertex(R), an engineered management system (EMS) designed by MACTEC, as the software platform around which to improve its inventory, assessment, and planning processes. The Navy's new motto is, "Nothing extra, nothing missing."

TCO Includes One-Time Costs and Recurring Expenses from Birth to Burial
Over the years there have been several different names for the practice now most commonly called Total Cost of Ownership or TCO in facility circles. Whether it is called Total Asset Management or Life Cycle Costing, the overriding TCO principle remains the same--the true cost of a facility is a lot more than just the sum total of construction, maintenance, and operating costs.

Stanford University
The James H. Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering and Studies features a design that is literally turned "inside out" compared to the layout of traditional research facilities. Featuring support spaces on the outside with labs and offices on the inside, this uniquely designed building houses Stanford University's Bio-X program. The campus-wide Bio-X initiative brings together engineering, chemistry, physics, information sciences, biology, and medicine to launch new research and create new discoveries.

Integrated Training Suite Qualifies Those to Work in Biocontainment Areas
The Biosecurity Research Institute (BRI) in Pat Roberts Hall on the campus of Kansas State University began as a mere vision that has evolved into a high-containment facility capable of handling a variety of research with an emphasis on agricultural disease issues. As far back as 1999, K-State developed a comprehensive "Homeland Defense Food Safety, Security, and Emergency Preparedeness Program (FS2)." K-State President Jon Wefald testified before the U.S. Senate Emerging Threats Subcommittee that same year recognizing the need to build biocontainment facilities and to address potential agricultural diseases. The first concept for the $48-million BRI was developed in 2003. With support from the Kansas State Legislature, construction began in 2004 and was completed in 2007.

Integration of Proper Equipment and Architecture Maintains Safety and Security
Designing complex animal aerosolization facilities that provide an effective research environment with the highest level of safety is a difficult task requiring a collaborative team effort. It is essential to have early and comprehensive involvement between the architect, engineers, principal investigators, and the biological safety officer, who plays a vital role in the design and operation of the facility.

Two commonly used aerosol equipment solutions are the Madison Chamber and the dual-sided Class III aerosol exposure glovebox with a docking mobile animal transfer cart. The Madison Chamber is used for animals ranging from mice to rabbits and the dual-sided unit is used for small animals and non-human primates.