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January 2007 HESP Newsletter
Volume 22, Number
1, January 2007
Meeting Notes
Meeting Announcement
Next Meeting: Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Location: American Serbian Club on the South Side
Meeting Sponsor: 3rd Annual Grainger-Vendor Trade Show
Agenda
| Attitude Adjustment |
5:00 p.m. |
| Buffet |
6:00 p.m. |
| Host Presentation |
6:45 p.m. |
| Business Meeting |
7:30 p.m. |
Business Meeting Minutes
Call to Order: President, Terry Kocian, called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M.
Terry announced that this evening's meeting is sponsored by HESP. Terry
introduced our speaker for the evening, Bill Brooks, Brooks Fire Protection
Engineering, Inc.
Bill gave an excellent and informative presentation on Codes & Regulations, a
review for 2007, bringing us up to date on changes to the State Building Code
taking effect this year.
Business Meeting: Terry called the meeting to order at 7:35 P.M. The attendance
for this evening's meeting was as follows: 20 hospital members; 21 associate
members; and 2 guests. The actual attendance was fifty-one, (51). The minutes
from the December 2006 meeting were approved as printed.
Treasurer's Report: Dick Barker -- Dick read the Treasurer's report. It was
approved as read. The 50/50 raffle was drawn. Dan Fohl, UPMC Montefiore
Hospital, won $62. Dan mentioned that he will be donating the money to the
Little Sisters of the Poor.
New Members: Ray Schmitt, Mechanical Contractor, was approved for membership.
HESP welcomes its new member!
Guests: John Altwater, Centimark Roofing, introduced himself tonight.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Education: Michael Bryer -- No Report.
Newsletter: Ron Lukcic -- Ron thanked all of our advertisers, both present and
future. Ron, also, thanked Carol Lang, Filtech, Inc., for the yummy
appetizers. As usual, Ron is looking for articles of interest and / or humor
for the newsletter.
Codes and Regulations: Bill Brooks -- Bill, our speaker this evening, told us
about changes to the State Building Code starting in 2007.
ASHE: No Report.
Biomed: Dan Procupp -- Bob Tobin, No Report.
Membership: Brenda Henwood -- No Report.
Holiday Party: Chuck Froetschel -- Chuck said that we had a good turnout at last
month's Holiday Awards Party. The food was excellent and everybody had a good
time. It was a Monte Carlo theme, with "Texas Hold em Poker." Chuck said next
year will be different. Chuck is open to suggestions and asked for volunteers.
Summer Activity: Bruce Saddler -- Bruce said this year's activity will again be
a tailgate party at T0he Washington Wild Things baseball game on Saturday, July
21, 2007. The game will start at 7:05 P.M. More information to follow.
Golf Outing: Steve Tarasovic -- No Report.
Web Site/Marketing: Alice Hoffmaster (The Write Design) -- Alice asked everyone
to log onto the web site and sign up for the newsletter. It only takes a
minute and you will receive information by E-mail keeping you up to date on
HESP news and events. www.hospital-engineers.org.
Hospital Engineers Special Projects: No Report.
Sponsorship Committee: This is a new committee created through a suggestion at
the last Board of Directors meeting. Dan Procupp and Roy Brunner have
graciously agreed to chair. Dan explained the procedure and answered questions
about sponsoring a meeting and the different cost options available. He has
sponsorship packets that can be sent to anyone interested. HESP will have a
mini-trade show in March and September. Tables are still available for both
months. The cost will be $300 per table and a 5-minute introductory speech.
Next month's meeting will be sponsored by Grainger. Anyone interested in
information for sponsoring a meeting should contact Roy or Dan. Their contact
information is on the back of this publication.
Old Business: No Report.
New Business: Ron, HESP publication editor, explained that as a result of a
suggestion made at the last Board of Directors meeting, HESP will be
conducting a telephone survey of the membership within the next several weeks
to gather information that will enable the organization to determine ways to
improve attendance, sponsorship and membership. This information will be
tabulated and presented at a future meeting. All opinions, comments and suggestions will be reported anonymously and kept in the strictest
confidence. Furthermore, NO HESP Board Member will be privy to the authors of
the survey information.
Adjournment: There being no further business, Terry adjourned the meeting at
7:38 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Frank Rutledge
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Holiday Party Donations:
HESP thanks the companies and individuals listed below for their contributions
to last year's Holiday Party.
- Chemway
- Marion and Walt
- Centimark
- Amerinet
- Mark Lantz
- Grainger
- A.G. Mauro
- Dan Procupp
- Filtech
- Lawson Products, Inc.
- Pittsburgh Air Systems
- Ohio Valley Supply Co.
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Meeting Synopsis
HESP extends its thanks and appreciation to Bill Brooks, Brooks Fire Protection
Engineering Inc., for his presentation. Synopsis follows.
Hospital Engineers of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Inc.
January 2007 Meeting Presentation
Recent Changes to the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC)
Pennsylvania implemented a Uniform Construction Code in 2004. The UCC mandated
the use of the International Code Council (ICC) series of publications,
including the International Building Code, International Mechanical Code,
International Plumbing Code, International Fire Prevention Code, and other
documents published by the ICC. One provision in the law mandates regular
updates to the adopted codes, no later than the first of the year following the
publication of the new edition. This updating has been accomplished and the 2006
edition of the ICC publications are now in effect.
The adoption of the latest edition of the ICC publications is accompanied by
changes to the administrative regulations. These changes were published in the
Pennsylvania
Bulletin on December 16, 2006. Follow this link to the December 16, 2006 Pa.
Bulletin and scroll down to the Department of Labor and Industry to
read/download the revisions:
http://www.pabulletin.com/secure/data/vol36/36-50/index.html
The full text of the administrative regulations (Chapters 401, 403, and 405) can
be found on the Department of Labor and Industry website. Use this link and
scroll down to Chapters 401, 403, 405 (as amended):
http://www.dli.state.pa.us/landi/cwp/view.asp?a=310&q=210892&dsftns=2795
Some of the Changes to the Regulations:
- The use of the 2006 editions is mandatory for projects where a design or
construction contract is signed subsequent to 12/31/06. If the contract was
signed prior to 12/31/06 the 2003 editions can be used for project design. [403.1(a)(2)]
- Several new definitions have been added -- one of which is "uncertified building".
- Recreational cabins, with minimal safety features, are not regulated.
[403.1(b)(11)]
- Second Class Counties (i.e. Allegheny) are permitted to promulgate a plumbing
code as long as the code meets the minimum requirements of the UCC.
[403.21(a)(5)(i)]
- A number of stair geometry exceptions are provided for residential structures. 403.21(a)(6)(ii)]
- Smoke detection is required in existing one-family and two-family dwellings
being altered or renovated. [403.21(a)(6)(i)]
- Uncertified buildings must meet certain retrofit requirements. However, the
governing entity does not conduct building-by-building inspections to find the
uncertified structures. The problem would be found during normal permitting
activities in a structure. [403.28]
- Previous permitting requirements stated that a permit was not required for "ordinary repairs". However, the list of items "not ordinary repairs" could be
interpreted to be just about any work. The "ordinary repair" provisions have
been amended. [403.62(d)]
Code Change Notes:
The complete set of ICC codes are available from the ICC by using the following
website. Codes are available in bound form, they can be downloaded as PDF files,
or
they can be directly accessed online. For an institution the price is very
reasonable and should be considered an essential part of the engineering
library.
http://www.iccsafe.org/
(Select ICC Store/2000 International Codes for bound or PDF,
select ICC Store/eCodes for online access)
2006 International Building Code
- The adoption of the 2006 IBC will mean the automatic adoption of later
versions of many other codes and standards listed in Chapter 35.
- There are no significant changes to the construction features of health care
facilities
Fire alarm zones are better defined for buildings that rely on "protect in
place" [907.2.12.2]
NFPA 13 -- 2002
There are no significant changes that would impact the health care facility
sprinkler system design.
NFPA 72 -- 2002
A number of changes have been incorporated into the Fire Alarm Code.
- System survivability is defined for buildings with "protect in place"
strategies. Fire alarm systems must be able to transmit announcements under
conditions where the speaker circuits may be in the fire zone [6.9.4.1]
- Three elevator relays will be required when elevator upgrades are performed.
The third relay will flash the "Fireman's Hat" in the elevator cab and is
intended to warn the firefighters that the fire is in the elevator machine
room or shaft [6.15.3.10]
- Elevator shunt trip power circuits must be monitored to assure that power is
available to operate the shunt trip breaker [6.15.4.5]
- All corridor strobes must be synchronized regardless of the distance between
the strobes. The previous edition stated that strobes > 55 ft apart did not
have to be synchronized. [7.5.4.2.7]
- A performance based strobe design method is included. The method can be used
for unusual shaped rooms or where strobes cannot be mounted at the typical 80" height [7.5.4.3]
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Calendar of Events for Upcoming Sponsors
February - Grainger 3rd Annual Vendor Tradeshow
March - HESP Mini Tradeshow Event
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