Labour Turnover and Customer Service in Restaurants Essay

Labour Turnover and Customer Service in Restaurants - Essay Example As the discussion stresses restaurant, hotel and leisure industry is very much dependent on their employees for keeping their customer satisfied. This is a service industry where the intangibility, inseparability and heterogeneity of the service make it very challenging for the service provider to maintain consistency and increase the level of satisfaction received by the consumers.This discussion outlines that the labour turnover in the service industry is high. The high rate of turnover is result of various factors like lack of opportunities and growth, low income level and other reasons. The employees are the face of the service providing company. High employee turnover rate also indicates towards the management problems and internal issues of the organisation. Organisation is questioned for not able to retain its employees.  In this situation, it becomes very challenging for the human resource management professionals or business owner to ensure the stability of employees. Ther e are various strategies that a company adopts to attract and retain employees and maintain their image in the job market. Restaurant companies offer different types of monetary and non monetary benefits to its employees. The monetary benefits are incentives, bonus, stock options and others cash components.  The non monetary benefits include insurance, heath benefits, maternity and paternity leaves, education sponsorship, education assistance etc.

Vision Change Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vision Change Analysis - Research Paper Example The vision and mission of firms are intrinsic part of its strategic planning. Organizational vision is very important because it informs about the future perspectives of the organization and its future position in the industry. The organizational mission helps formulate the processes to achieve its vision. Application of vision concept to the strategic change initiatives is imperative because it helps to adopt proactive measure to meet the challenges of changing times. Application analysis The case study of Mentor Graphics Corporation clearly displays the need to adopt strategic change initiatives within the broader context of its vision. The company repeatedly changed its vision that it had developed for its future in 10 years’ time. Its initial vision that ‘it would build something that people would buy’ was quickly changed to ‘beat Daisy’ which had fast emerged as its rival in the industry. While the new vision was able to help the company in incre asing its revenue but unfortunately the company was deprived of its creative inputs and had stagnated growth. The company again adopted new vision under ‘six boxes’ that would help it to diversify and gain market leadership in six different areas of business.

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 46

Discussion - Essay Example The law provides the direction to be used in paying workers that dedicate their extra hours in the business, better known as overtime (Beck, 2011). The wages and hours Act guides the business on employment of children below the required legal age. In this case, according to this act, children below 18 years should not be employed especially in risky jobs. In the agricultural sector, children below 16 years should not be employed to work during school days; instead, they should be given time to take their studies. One of the laws that has the biggest impact on business practices is the sexual harassment law. Initially, people thought that sexual harassment was only meant for women; however, a court decision happened to increase the scope of this law by including same-sex sexual harassment (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014). This came after some male employees in an oil company complained of sexual harassment from other male employees, including unwanted touching and a crude sex play. This decision is important in business practices because it aims at punishing those people fond of sexually harassing fellow employees. Sometimes, people may want to perform certain activities without knowing the boundaries they should go. This decision spells the extent to which people should make their interactions in the work place. It is important to note that some laws can be actually outdated and have to be amended. Changing lifestyles often mean news ways of life in human societies and the same should be for their laws governing their existence (Brooks & Weatherston, 2011). For instance, the sexual harassment law was initially meant to protect the welfare of women employees at the work place. However, male employees have also reported sexual harassment form other male employees and even female employees, something that has necessitated its reform and amendment. The age

Ethical Issues in the Criminal Justice Field (Untruthfullness) Article

Ethical Issues in the Criminal Justice Field (Untruthfullness) - Article Example s; stealing money and/or drugs from drug dealers; selling stolen drugs; protecting drug operations; providing false testimony; and submitting false crime reports† (General Accounting Office, 1998: 8). Between 1993 and 1997, at least half of the law-enforcement personnel convicted of corruption offenses while on duty were led to their actions through drug-related activities. In addition, more than 100 drug-related cases involving police officers are prosecuted within the country every year. Another indication of the widespread problem is found in the fact that all of the nation’s federal drug enforcement agencies have had at least one of its agents implicated in a drug-related offense. Throughout the country, officers have capitulated to the same temptations and potential rewards of the drug market that attracts their criminal counterparts. The ethical cost of this corruption has far-reaching repercussions not only within our law enforcement units, but also in our concept ion of society itself. It seems the causes of police corruption would be fairly easy to explain given the tremendous rewards associated with the drug trade. The financial rewards offered by the sales of illegal drugs in relation to other forms of income are enormous. This temptation comes on top of an increasing sense of frustration among law enforcement officers realizing the futility of their efforts as the number of drug traffickers continues to grow. This is also exacerbated by a society that has come to value material wealth much more than personal integrity or honorable behavior. The War on Drugs has been officially declared for 30 years now, resulting in the incarceration and prosecution of millions of people, but there has been no discernable positive effect. Drugs are now more available, cheaper and often more potent than ever before. Disheartened police officers often put their lives in jeopardy daily to fight against drugs, but must also deal with being under-paid and

Attributes of a Good Dancer Essay Example for Free

Attributes of a Good Dancer Essay Describe the attributes of a good dancer. Discuss ways of improving each of these skills in a suitable training programme: (20 marks) A good dancer should have a range of attributes, which they use on a daily basis and in all their work. One of the first attributes of a dancer is having the correct alignment and posture. Posture is the position in which you hold your body upright against gravity whilst standing, sitting or lie in positions where the least strain is places on supporting muscles and ligaments. Whilst alignment in dance refers to the posture and position of the body while dancing or preparing to dance. Having correct body alignment improves the posture, muscle tone and length of performing career of dancers. Good posture is used during ballet and contemporary dance mainly as its helps create better balance with little strain on the on your ligaments and muscles as possible. Alignment also improves a dancer’s balance and therefore is an important attribute of a good dancer and it also increases levels of agility and can reduce chances of causing an injury. To improve your alignment and posture as a dancer you can practise dancing with the correct posture and body alignment and over time you will become use to it and more comfortable doing so. Train to sit up properly and not hunched over when at home for example whilst eating or watching television; this way you’ll eventually be able to do it without thinking whilst dancing so it will come naturally. You can also do exercises at home or incorporated into your dance warm-ups/cool-downs so you can gradually improve on your technique. An example of a exercise you could do at home in your spare time is to sit on a chair, lift your chest and straighten your shoulders. Move your head back as though you are trying to touch an imaginary wall with the back of your head. Hold this position for ten seconds, relax and repeat up to eight times. As you progress with this exercise try and do it up to three time a day and to improve even more and wider the benefits to other parts of your body you could carry out this exercise sitting on an exercise ball instead of a sturdy chair so you would strengthen your core muscles as well as improving your posture and alignment. Another attribute of a good dancer is to have all round high levels of skill related fitness. This includes agility, balance, co-ordination, power, reaction time and speed. Agility is the ability to change the position of the body quickly and to control the movement of your whole body. To improve this in training you could create a dance phrase which includes travel and changes of pathways and levels. Every dance class work on this phrase and progressively make it more difficult therefore improving your agility as a dancer. Balance is the ability to maintain the point of balance over the centre of gravity and you can develop this by focusing time on your technique; this may include arabesques, rond de jambe en’lair and pirouettes (using spotting technique). Co-ordination is the ability to use two or more body parts simultaneously this area of fitness can be improved during dance class by doing more complicated phrases as you progress. Power is the ability to do strength performances quickly and involves both strength and speed. Having a balanced and healthy diet is one of the most important attributes as not only can it improve you dancing it can have positive changes in your everyday life as well. By eating well between your dance classes/ training sessions and at home you will gradually see a change in your dancing as your body needs a high energy source for your stamina and other aspects of dance such as strength and power. There are six different food groups these include; carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins and minerals, water and fibre. Each of these groups plays an important role in your diet and nutrition as they each help do different things. Carbohydrates are stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen and they provide you with energy so you can do more activity in dance sessions with getting as tired quickly. Fats are stored all over the body in special fat cells; they also provide energy to a dancer but should be consumed in small amounts compared to the rest of the food groups. The third group protein is found in the muscles and organs; it is needed for growth and repair and therefore is important to a dancer in case they are get injured so they can recover quickly. Vitamins and minerals are stored all over the body and they are needed to increase the strength of your bones, which is highly important in dance as strong bones can prevent injury and means you can have better alignment. Water is another group making up the balanced diet and it is found all over the body seeing as 70% of your body is made up of water. It is a vital factor for the metabolic process and helps get rid of body waste, but most importantly in dance it helps you stay hydrated so you can perform to the best of your ability for longer periods of time. The final group is fibre, it is not stored in the body but passes through; we need it for our intestines to function (mainly the colon) and for our digestive system. As a dancer you should have a good and wide range of knowledge of the mus cles in the body and the body’s anatomy; this way you’ll be able to understand the more technical side of dance and the different ranges of movement and will eventually improve your dancing skills. An attribute of a good dancer is spending time researching the different joints and what they do movement wise, as there is more to dance than just the actions performed. By practising good and safe techniques in class from the knowledge they learn, it will help prevent injury of the dancer. Having high levels of dance fitness is also an attribute of a good dancer; these include cardiovascular fitness, strength, muscular endurance and flexibility. Cardiovascular fitness is the ability to exercise the whole body for long periods of time. Strength is the amount of force you can put forth with your muscles. Muscular endurance is the ability to use the muscles, which are attached to the bones, many times without getting tired and can improve your posture. Finally flexibility is the ability to use your joints fully. You are flexible when the muscles are long enough and the joints are free enough to allow movement. You can improve all of these in training sessions/dance classes by focusing on your fitness in warm-ups. An example of a warm-up you could do before a dance lesson could be doing five shuttle runs, twenty plie’s in second, twenty parallel squats followed by twenty crunches and then holding a twenty second plank and doing this three times. You can adjust this warm up as you progress by increasing the amount of times you do a certain activity or how long you hold the plank. You can also make it harder for example doing the plank on one foot for twenty seconds and then on the other foot for twenty seconds. This whole warm up covers every aspect involves in dance fitness and the more you complete it the fitter you will gradually become. Good dancers also have spent a long time improving their performance skills during dance practise and doing lots of rehearsal until they get it right. The performance skills they work on are focus, projection, style and musicality. Focus is the use of the eyes and where you direct them during different aspects of the dance whilst doing certain movemen ts. For example if you were doing an arm circle above your head you would direct your focus to the arm, it helps the audience interpret the qualities of the dance and draws their attention to the most important parts of the movement. Projection is when a dancer gives out a certain type of energy from the body, this gives the movement a noticeable quality, and you exaggerate certain actions more than others, making a movement obvious and stand out. An example of projection would be a lunge to your right with an out stretched arm reaching to the end of your kinesphere. Style is the individual features of a choreography or performance that make us recognise a certain dancer’s performance and personal interpretation. A good dancer will spend rehearsal time practising certain movements of their style to make it original and fit them by doing this you can improve your dance performance. Musicality is how a dancer is able to perform in a relation to the music, so say if they’re is a climax in the music they would create a climax in their dance to fit this. They may also do contrasting movements compared to the music or do movements with similar or matching dynamics. This will fit into you training programme by including them every time you dance so they will eventually come naturally to you and you will do them all the time without realising. To conclude good dancers have a wide range of attributes which they use all the time to get to a high level of performance in dance. These include attributes which now they subconsciously use from great practise and ones which they have to constantly work on and keep up to a good/high standard for example diet and health.

Human Comfort And Thermal Comfort Engineering Essay

Human Comfort And Thermal Comfort Engineering Essay Abstract: The main purpose of the HVAC system is to achieve clean indoor air quality and human comfort (thermal comfort), there are many HVAC systems a designer or owner has the option to select based on the factors such as the type of the building, architecture, location, shape, surrounding climate, occupancy, envelop, level and frequency of activities, and the system operation schedule. In addition to the above base factors that an HVAC system is expected to be selected upon, the energy consumption, system efficiency, initial and operational cost, and finally, feasibility (short and long term rebound positive effect) are of the owners and designers critical concerns. This paper will discuss the elements of a typical feasible high performance low cost, fine tuned HVAC DDC integrated system to achieve the best for users, owners, and environment. 1. Introduction HVAC and its associated auxiliaries system are major energy consumers in a building, the rapid development of the advanced technology nowadays boosts the HVAC system feasibility as more complex control systems are developed for this industry and additional fine-tune, prompt response, standardized communication, ease of control and monitor, and remote accessibility. The BMS/DDC (Building Management System/ Direct Digital Control) integrated system is the core of a good feasible high-efficient HVAC system. The BMS is the most recent High-Tech energy management system that manage a building performance to the maximum desirable pre-determined set of parameters which able to control, monitor, adjust, save and record mostly all of the building facilities and utilities when integrated with all of the compatible buildings Sub-LANs, a DDC is one of those LANs and can communicate with other control LANs under the supervision of the BMS. BMS is able to supervise, control, adjust and record the illumination, electric power control, HVAC, security and observation, magnetic card and access, fire alarm, lifts, and other engineering systems. Integrated with the BMS, the DDC performs the HVAC control management and communicates with the other building controllers via the BMS to achieve integration based on a specified, programmed event sequence. I The DDC is the heart of an efficient HVAC system, it finely tunes the digital/analog input/output communication between sensors, probes, stand-alone controllers, LANs controllers, and finally the controlled element which could be an actuator that adjust the process variable (flow, temperature, level, or pressure), and allows for a feedback signal to further adjust the desired process set-point. This whole process is reported in a real-time manner to the BMS system for further coordination with the other buildings controllable systems to achieve integration based on the pre-programmed parameters. In order to achieve the highest human comfort, energy saving, and a long term rebound effect strategy, The BMS/DDC system should be interlocked and integrated with a high-efficient and feasible HVAC system, this combination can awards energy saving, system and environment sustainability, human comfort, and business feasibility. An Optimal Air System is a good example of a low-coast, high-performance, energy-efficient and a good investment for long-term rebound pay-back effect. Optimal Air System concept is based on the low temperature supply system that needs, less energy consumption by the most energy consumer auxiliary that is the fan, this affects the sizing of the ducts (less duck size), air handling units and fan motors, all of which will be smaller and results in a system that requires less space and uses less power. As this paper focuses on the HVAC/DDC integrated system application for human comfort, energy saving, and feasibility (long-term rebound effect), I will discuss and focus on the DDC and Optimal Air System integration for the above purposes and define characteristics, elements, and functions of both systems. II 2. DDC DDC has became the latest and the most recently used system for HVAC controls after the pneumatic and electromechanical control systems, digital pre-programmable controllers can handle extensive digital/analog data process from inputs (sensors, tranceducers and transmitters) that tyapically mesure temperature, flow, humidity, pressure or level, and outputs to final controlled devices to adjust a process variable based on a preset parameters, also recives a feedback signals from inputs again to further adjust signal command errors for best results based again on the setpoints. Digital inputs are Dry contacts from a control device, analog inputs are voltage and current signals that mesure variables such as humidity, pressure, level or flow form sensing devices and converted to percentage. Digital outputs are of 1 or 0 binary that either stops or starts equipments via a relay, analog outputs are voltage or current signals that control a process variable control devices such as valves, m otors or dampers. The DDC program code may be customized for intended use such as: Time schedule, sequence of operation, trend logs, alarms. 2.1 Elements of a DDC As described above, the three functional elements needed to perform the functions of a DDC system are: a) A measurement element (Sensor, prob, Transmitter, Transducer) b) An error detection element (Digital/Analog/pneumatic Controller, PCU) c) A final control element (Motor/Piston Actuator, VFD, VSD, Relay) 2.2 DDC controled mediums The DDC controls two variables: I. A controlled variable is the process variable that is maintained at a specified value or within a specified range. II. A manipulated variable is the process that is acted on by the control system to maintain the controlled variable at the specified value or within the specified range. 1 2.3 Functions of DDC system In any DDC, the four basic functions that occur are: a) Measurement b) Comparison c) Computation d) Correction 3. DDC LAN-WAN Configuration DDC is where mechanical and electrical systems and equipment are joined with microprocessors that communicate with each other and to a central computer BMS. This computer and controllers in the building Management system can be networked to the internet or serve as a stand alone system for the local peer-to-peer controller network only Fig 1. Additionally, the controllers themselves do not need a computer to operate efficiently as many of these controllers are designed to operate as stand-alone controllers and control the specific equipment they are assigned to control. Fig 1. Typical peer-to-peer controller network [1] 2 With a few exceptions, each DDC or building automation controller holds their own programs and has the ability to communicate to other DDC building automation controllers. It is important for the DDC or building automation controllers to communicate to each other. If the network fails for whatever reason then the system may still function (because the DDC controllers in a BMS system are stand-alone) but it will not function as efficiently as designed. The DDC/BMS system can be configured as independent (localized) closed-system, or DDC open-system based on accessibility options required by a group of buildings managed by a single company or property management firm (centralized), or a single property to be monitored and controlled by its own (localized) Fig 2. Fig 2. DDC/BMS LAN/WAN configuration [2] 3 3.1 BACnet compatibility BACnet is the term commonly used to refer to the ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 135- 1995, adopted and supported by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). BACnet stands for Building Automation and Control network. BACnet is a true, non-proprietary open protocol communication standard conceived by a consortium of building management, system users and manufacturers [3]. A closed protocol is a proprietary protocol used by a specific equipment manufacturer. An open protocol system uses a protocol available to anyone, but not published by a standards organization. A standard protocol system uses a protocol available to anyone. It is created by a standards organization. Open Systems: An open system is defined as a system that allows components from different manufacturers to co-exist on the same network. These components would not need a gateway to communicate with one another and would not require a manufacturer specific workstation to visualize data. This would allow more than one vendors product to meet a specific application requirement. The DDC/BMS BACnet based LANs and Sub-LANs can be accessed, controlled and monitored from remote locations via the Internet trough a centralized data management system which is capable of collecting data from multiple sites. This is accomplished by connecting with a gateway for collecting data from the lighting and air-conditioning control systems installed in each building or factory, and the center server for providing data collection, database and web server functions along with security measures applied to all transmitted data. Based on the capability of real-time monitoring and analysis of actual energy consumption such as electricity and gas from a remote location by using a web browser, this system is able to achieve the maximum level of energy saving in buildings and factories which in turn, reduce the emissions and the environmental impacts by taking advantage of its cost effectiveness and by limiting the required energy for a specific application or function. 4 Fig 3, Integrated BACnet based WEB Browser BMS Control System Layout [4] 5 4. DDC/BMS integrated features, application and functions 4.1 Energy saving DDC/BMS allows the owner to set up schedules of operation for the equipment and lighting systems so that energy savings can be realized when the building or spaces in the building are unoccupied. Have algorithms as reset schedules for heating plants, static pressure control, and other systems where energy savings can be realized through these predictive programs. 4.2 Human comfort (thermal Comfort) DDC/BMS system allows the equipment optimal start with pre-scheduled program. Optimal start is allowing the equipment to be brought on in an ordered and sequential manner automatically on a schedule before the building is reoccupied so that space set points can be realized before occupation. Event sequence programming features allow the system to compare space temperature, outside air conditions, and equipment capabilities so that the equipment can be turned on at an appropriate time to ensure space set points are achieved before occupation. Have trim and respond capabilities. Based on zone demand the set point for various heating and cooling sources will change according to demand from the zones. For instance, in a Variable Air Volume system, all the VAV boxes are served from a central air handling unit. If all the zones are at set point then the supply air temperature set point of the air handler is automatically changed to prevent mechanical cooling from occurring when it is unnecessary. When the zones grow warmer the supply air temperature set point is automatically lowered to allow mechanical cooling to satisfy demand. In conjunction with the appropriate mechanical system set-up, offer economizing based on enthalpy calculations and/or CO2 set point control. 4.3 Long-term rebound effects Offer load shedding when power companies are at peak demand and need business and industry to cut-back on power usage to prevent black outs. Building Management systems for instance, allow the owner to cycle various things off like water heaters or drinking fountains where use of these things- 6 -will not be noticed even though they are off. Management companies who acquire a good DDC/BMS can set up the system to bill tenants for energy usage (fewer employees required). 4.4 Proactive Ability to send alarms via email, pager, or telephone to alert building managers and/or technicians of the developing problems, and system failures. 4.5 Other applications and compatibilities Have the ability to monitor energy usage including the ability to meter electric, gas, water, steam, hot water, chilled water, and fuel oil services. Have the communications abilities to be integrated with other buildings via WAN setup using the standardized TCP/IP family of protocols. It is BACnet base web browser compatible and other open source communication protocol which allows the system to be accessed via the web browser from remote locations. (Refer to 4.2) 5. High-performance Low-energy HVAC design Recall the Introduction, In addition to BMS/DDC System application for energy saving and high HVAC system performance, a green HVAC system design will achieve all aspects of comfort, energy saving, low initial and operational capital costs, and adds more efficient performance in conjunction with the DDC system, an example of such green HVAC system would be an Optimal Air System [5]. Optimal Air System concept, idea and example are taken from McQuay Air Conditionning/2002 McQuay International/Application Guide AG 31-005 as an example to illustrate its benefits for energy saving, human comfort, lower initial cost and long term rebound effects. Optimal Air systems uses less energy than conventional systems on an annual basis, for example, In a conventional system, supply air temperatures run between 54Â °F -57Â °F from the air handling unit. With duct heat gain, the supply air ranges from approximately 56Â °F-59Â °F out of the air diffuser. 7 In Optimal Air System, supply air temperature run between 45-52Â °F from the air handling unit to optimize energy consumption, reduce first capital cost and improve humidity control. Optimal Air has for years been extensively used in grocery stores and is gaining increasing popularity in comfort cooling applications such as offices and schools. 5.1 Advantages There are several benefits of Optimal Air that make it an attractive system for use in a wide variety of applications. It Saves Space and Reduces Energy and Construction Costs, increases the amount of sensible heat that each CFM delivered to a zone can absorb. While 50Â °F air may not seem much colder than 55Â °F air, the delta T rises from 20Â °F to 25Â °F. That is an increase of 25%. This affects the sizing of the ducts, air handling units and fan motors, all of which will be smaller and results in a system that requires less space and uses less power. In many applications, fans can use more power annually than refrigeration (chillers, condensing units, pumps, and compressors). An example of annual 10-story building energy usage of 200,000 square-feet of HVAC components, the fan energy use is high because the fans operate every hour the building is occupied providing minimum air movement, ventilation air, heating, etc. In this case, an Optimal Air system would have a very real impact on overall energy costs. Fig 4, Annual HVAC Energy Usage [6] 8 5.2 Less Humidity, more comfort Optimal Air systems take more moisture out of the return and ventilation air mixture as it passes over the cooling coil. The lower moisture content in the supply air reduces the Psychrometric balance point humidity level in the conditioned space. This allows the space temperature to be set higher while achieving the same comfort level for occupants and further reduces the supply air quantity and fan power requirement. 5.3 Quieter and Improve Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) The lower air volume required for Optimal Air systems makes them quieter than conventional systems. Fan sound generation is a function of fan type, static pressure and air volume. By reducing air volume (and often the total fan static pressure) Optimal Air systems generate lower fan sound which can result in more desirable space conditions. This reduced sound generation can also be used to reduce the cost of any required noise attenuation in critical applications. The lower required air volume can also be used to reduce filter face velocities, allowing more efficient filters to be used without high energy cost penalties. The lower air temperature and resultant humidity levels also reduce the chance of mold growth in the air handling units, ducts or the occupied space. The example of the building above requires a supply air of 26,667 CFM. The HVAC system is floor by floor VAV air handling units with a two chiller primary secondary system, Optimal air works equally well with applied rooftop units or indoor vertical self-contained units. Table 1, HVAC system performance with optimal air system [7] 9 Table 1 shows the HVAC system performance as the supply air temperature, to the duct, is lowered. It is important to differentiate between supply air temperature off the cooling coil and supply air temperature into the duct. To accommodate the lower supply air temperature, the chilled water supply temperature (CWST) was gradually lowered, the air handling unit coils deepened to allow for closer approaches, and chiller performance was adjusted to deal will the increased lift. Because of their basic operating differences, DX rooftop and self-contained systems may have a different Optimal Air temperature than a chilled water system. When considering multiple system options, it is important to use Energy Analyzer for each in order to identify the best option. 5.4 Optimal Air Balance Point Reduced fan energy must be traded off against increased refrigeration energy. This trade off varies with the type of building, the type temperature control system, the type air conditioning system and geographic locale. Therefore, the optimal supply air temperature is different for every job. When only energy costs are a factor and no thermal storage is involved, this optimal supply air temperature generally falls in the 47Â °F -52Â °F range. It can be determined by comparing total system energy consumption with varying supply air temperatures using an energy analysis program. 5.5 Space Design Temperature and Related Comfort Temperature, humidity, air velocity and mean radiant temperature directly influence occupant comfort. Conventional designs are usually based on maintaining 75Â °F and 50% RH (Relative Humidity) in the occupied space. Figure 5 shows the ASHRAE comfort zone where 80% of the people engaged in light office work are satisfied. As the relative humidity is lowered, the space air temperature can be raised and still provide occupant comfort. The leaving air condition from the air handling unit is the primarily control of the relative humidity in the occupied space. The internal moisture gains from people, kitchens, etc, as well as infiltration also play a part. 10 Fig 5, Equivalent comfort chart [8] In most climates, the lower the supply air temperature, the lower the humidity ratio and the drier the space. Figure 5 shows sensible heat ratio lines for conventional, Optimal and low supply air temperatures. As the space relative humidity is lowered, the space temperature set-point rises from 74Â °F to 78Â °F. 5.6 ASHRAE Compliance The 1999 and 2001 version of ASHRAE Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings except Low Rise Residential Buildings [9], has mandatory requirements for refrigeration equipment and prescriptive requirements for fan work. The Standard recognizes that Optimal Air systems improve fan work significantly and provides credits to account for improved fan performance. In addition, refrigeration system performance is rated at conventional conditions or special tables are provided to account for non-standard operating conditions (as is the case with centrifugal chillers). In either case, ASHRAE Standard 90.1 does not penalize Optimal Air systems. 11 5.7 Design Considerations Design of refrigeration and air handling equipment for an Optimal Air system is similar to the design of a conventional air temperature system. Attention must be paid, however, to air distribution, controls and duct design. Conventional diffusers, when properly applied, will work with Optimal Air. Controls also require only minor changes from conventional systems. In particular, programming of economizer controls and supply air temperature reset. Finally, the ducting system must be sized for the reduced air volume to take full advantage of the potential capital savings. Duct insulation and sweating should also be reviewed to provide a trouble free system. Not every building type is a good candidate for Optimal Air. When air volumes are dictated by air turnover rates, such as some health care applications, Optimal Air offers no advantage. In fact, there would be increased reheat costs. Office buildings are a strong candidate for Optimal Air. They have high sensible heat ratios and typically less than 20% ventilation loads. Schools can also be a possibility. Generally speaking, as the percentage ventilation load increases, Optimal Air becomes less attractive. Location and climate also impact whether or not Optimal Air is a good candidate. Locations where weather provides significant economizer hours between 45 and 55Â °F will limit the savings. Ultimately, each project must be checked by performing the applicable specific calculations. The following should be considered: Load and Balance Point calculations, Space Temperature Set-point evaluation, Design Load Calculation, Primary and Secondary System Selection, Parallel, mixing or series VAV-Fan powered boxes, Perimeter Heating, Air Distribution, Diffusers (based on air flow and the throw distance calculation), Duct design (considering duct heat gain, sweating and insulation). 5.8 System Life-Cycle Analysis Evaluating different engineering solutions is always part of a good proposal. Optimal Air systems are no different. 12 In the case of Optimal Air, there may be no need to do any calculations because Optimal Air systems cost less to build (lower capital cost) and have the same operating cost as conventional systems (assuming the balance point was used for the design). Duct sizing will decrease almost linearly with reduction in air volume. The installed cost will not change linearly because of the labor portion. A 20% reduction in air volume can result in 80% savings of the 20% reduction or 16% overall savings in sheet metal cost. On the plus side, there are less pounds of steel and fewer man-hours to install it. On the minus side there is more insulation. Terminal boxes and diffusers will be a wash since there are fewer of them but the equipment cost will be higher than conventional equipment. HVAC equipment will cost about the same. This is conservative because the air handling equipment will cost less and refrigeration equipment will be slightly more. There is typically more capital invested in air handling than refrigeration. Building envelope should be the same for new construction. In the case of retrofit applications, it will depend on the quality of the existing building. The cost of space may also need to be evaluated. Not accounting for space savings is conservative. There will be space savings but they may be difficult to realize. If enough plenum height savings can be realized to add another floor within the same building envelope, then that rentable space should be accounted for. Simple payback calculations do not take into account the cost of money, taxes and depreciation, inflation, maintenance or increases in the cost of energy. A more complete analysis should include Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and net present value (NPV). In the HVAC industry, many projects fail simple back (they are in the 5-year range) while passing IRR (they offer a 25% rate of return). Software analysis tools can be used to perform both energy and life-cycle analysis that include simple payback, IRR and NPV. 13 6. Conclusion Building owners and designers faced with increased concerns for energy saving and environmental stewardship search for cost effective system options for their projects. The DDC, integrated with a high-performance low-energy HVAC system as the Optimal Air system can deliver both low first costs and reduced energy costs in a new construction and retrofit applications. This integrated system will not only meet the efficiency and sustainability of its performance at the desired set-parameters, but when designed with advanced selection tools, installed with the most advanced DDC/BMS system, and supported by trained operators, will achieve both energy saving and long term rebound effect (pay-back), maximum human thermal comfort, in addition, it allows building owners to compare predicted energy use to actual performance, this leads to a flexible budgeting, further future system adjustment and energy consumption cut-back. The whole integrated DDC/BMS HVAC system function will also contribute in the environmental impacts reduction. In todays challenging energy efficiency, building owners need proven system that delivers the necessary performance to meet their integrated environmental sustainability and business goals [10].

Educational Philosophy :: Education Teaching Teachers Essays

Educational Philosophy If you do not make a difference, then what have you made? This question has guided me in my pursuit of life, not simply my pursuit of a career. Simply put, the point is that being an educator is so much more than recording grades or getting a student through school. When a person begins to become educated, then that person’s life has begun. It starts as soon as we come into this world and continues throughout adulthood until we take our last breath. Education comes in all forms and from different forces. People can be influenced in several different ways, whether it was by friends on the streets or criminals made famous by the media, or a teacher who took the time to care. In each of those cases, an educational force of some sort got through to them. I want to teach. I want to guide. I want to be a role model. Most importantly, I want to make a difference. Looking back at my high school days, the period in my life when I had no clue of what path I wanted to follow, I can recognize the direction that began its pull on me. Before I understood that Socrates was more than a name, philosophy was slyly pulling me towards the path I am now on. I remember several times just standing and looking at my fellow students. I would stare and try to imagine 5, 10, 15 years down the road. What would become of them? Who would be a doctor, a lawyer, dentist, actor/actress? Then it hit me. Who would end up in jail? How many would grow up to become criminals and lead a life of crime? These thoughts seemingly came out of the blue and to this day I am not sure why I thought of such things at the time. Regardless of the reason, it was at that point that I began my journey towards becoming an educator, towards making a difference. I consider my philosophy to be an eclectic blend of several different theories and philosophies. But by far I like the Socratic method the best. Personally, I feel I am able to learn to my full potential by using it. Learning by asking questions makes sense to me and I think if I apply this method to my teaching goals that I will be successful.