Safety and efficient response will always be paramount in fire safety.  Getting occupants to a safe area and allowing dedicated professionals to effectively extinguish fires and other hazards are number one!

Capsys is engaging in thorough research and study to increase the efficacy of passive methods for ensuring this.  Sprinkler systems are a highly effective active protection measure, but not the only one.  We must spur innovative passive measures and research to provide for safer and more safety.

With the start of the New Year it seems we are bombarded with predictions of future trends from every futurist or futurist wannabe.  But many of them are fun and thought-provoking so it seems a good idea to gather a few of the better ones together and let you scan them.  We at Capsys hope your New Year is safe, prosperous and “Sustainable” (to use 2011’s most overused buzz word one more time!) 

Leading Leglobal green building consultant Jerry Yudelson, says green building will continue its rebound globally in 2012 in spite of ongoing economic difficulties in most developed economies.

“Green Building Consultant Lists Top Ten Green Building Mega-Trends for 2012”

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/12/prweb9037435.htm

Our friends at Focus on Renewable Energy published this list of the articles published in their newletter that generated the most hits and comments during the last year.

“Top 5 favorite articles published in 2011”

http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/22861/top-5-favourite-content-2011/

The good folks at the website Jetson Green published this list of “What are the 5 major

“Green Home trends for 2012”

”http://www.jetsongreen.com/2012/01/five-green-home-trends-buildipedia.html

And lastly, the folks at Green Building Advisor listed these as their annual picks for the most innovative products for the coming year.

“Top 10 Green Building Products for 2012”

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/top-10-green-building-products-2012

As earlier blog entries have informed you, in 2010 Capsys was contracted to supply 24 modular sections to be used as an exhibit space and administrative office complex for the official museum of the Brooklyn Navy Yard – Building 92.  The Navy Yard is where our manufacturing complex is located, so we leap at the chance to be involved! 

Building 92 has recently been recognized by the US Green Building Congress with certification as a LEED Platinum project.  We are very proud to have played a part in the project and thought you might enjoy seeing some additional images of the Building 92 museum.  The following web-link is to an article in “Inhabitat New York City”   a website devoted to green design, architecture and innovation in New York City.   The web link contains a 14 image slide show of image of building 92.  Enjoy!

http://inhabitat.com/nyc/bldg-92-at-the-brooklyn-navy-yard-opens-its-leed-platinum-seeking-doors-to-the-public/

Some very interesting facts and great new innovations in the November 2011 issue of ASHRAE Journal.  Drain water heat recovery is an extraordinary opportunity to reclaim energy that is literally washed down the drain.  Water heating accounts for 17% of residential site energy consumed, when heated water is sent down the drain it still contains 80% + of the energy infused into it.  Various units are available to recover much of this energy and use it to temper the water being heated for the same use.  Capsys will be exploring this technology and use on future projects as we strive to continuously improve on the energy efficiency of our buildings and product.

You’ve probably heard by now that developer Bruce Ratner and his Forest City Ratner development group want to build their 1600-unit Atlantic Yards project using modular construction.  We’re not surprised and we wish him well.  Capsys has been supplying hundreds of modular buildings to many developers for over 16 years using modular construction.  We believe in the combination of factory built precision and compressed schedule that modular construction can provide.  It offers a tremendous opportunity to both large developers like Mr. Rattner and to mid-sized developers alike.

The Atlantic Yards apartment buildings would be up to 50 stories in height and would be the tallest modular buildings in the world.  We applaud the Forest City group for attempting to stretch the horizon of modular construction.  Our Capsys structural system is approved up to 12 stories.  We have proven, cost effective system which time and time again has been successful for developers of projects as small as 20,000 SF and as large as 400,000 SF.     

If you would like to explore modular construction for your next project, give us a call.

One of Capsys Corp. projects, Bldg. 92, which is an extension to the renovated Marine Commandant’s residence, will soon be open to the public.  The Grand Opening of this building will take place on November 10, 2011.  The Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at Bldg 92 has a permanent exhibit about the history of the Brooklyn Navy Yard called ‘The Brooklyn Navy Yard: Past, Present and Future’.

You can find more information about the BNY Center at Bldg 92 at http://www.bldg92.com/index.html

Two of our workers were lucky enough to be a part of the exhibit

See also:

Building 92 – 4 days for a 16,500 SF building

Building 92 Setting

Brooklyn Navy Yard – Building 92 Update

Brooklyn Navy Yard – Building 92

The European home construction marketplace has thoroughly embraced off-site construction.  Over 30% of all of the new housing in the UK is built using factory construction methodology.  Why then has the US been slower to adopt modern modular construction techniques such we employ here at Capsys?  Interestingly, the author of the following article suggests that the UK was forced to adopt sustainable construction earlier than the US due to its adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in the late 90’s that required substantial reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. 

While we talk a good Green game here in the US, the British have become leaders in Energy Efficient building and Modular Construction is their secret weapon.

http://www.jetsongreen.com/2011/10/modern-methods-offsite-construction-mccaughey.html

As the Ashburton and McDougal Project are nearing turnover to their respective owners, the plant “Kanban Pull System” project is out of the planning stages into the implementing stage. The Japanese word, “Kanban” can be translated into English as “Sign Board” and is an important part of our “Pull System”. Taichi Ohno, the creator of the Toyota Production System,  devised a plan in the 1950’s to have demand and actual production determine quantity and timing of re-orders in purchasing. This plan was thought up into existence after Mr. Ohno and the Toyota team visited a United States Supermarket and could not believe its efficiencies.  Using Visual Re-fill points (flags, measuring rods, marked bins, three bins, etc.) and Re-order points coupled with a Daily Patrol and thorough 5S, we can achieve a “pull system” instead of the very wasteful “push system”.

Our System is nearly 50% complete and fully implemented by November of 2011. The 5S methodology will give our plant a very aesthetically pleasing environment with a clear vision of continuous improvement in the Inventory Scheduling and Control Systems.

The initial Value Added Space Percentage was recorded at 60% (40231/66816). After the 5S, we are estimating at improving that number to 80% then continuously improving from there.  The 5S methodology consists of:

1. Sorting – Recognizing waste and discarding
2. Straightening – Creating a set place for all materials and processes
3. Shining – Keeping things clean
4. Standardizing – Everything should be consistent and identical. Every process and worker should know exactly what their role’s and responsibilities are.  
5. Sustaining – This is easily the most difficult part of the process and a clear system of sustaining the gains made while continuing to improve must be part of the corporate charter.

Come out for a tour and see how our already efficient production process and soon to be Lean Supply Chain will change the face of construction in New York!

The Park Terrace project is set for LEED Gold in the Mid-rise LEED for homes program!  Capsys incorporated many innovative and energy saving features to the project such as Energy Star Lighting, water use reduction, framing efficiency, waste management.  In addition to these and many others the use of modular construction is recognized as an exceptional method of building in an environmentally conscious way!  We are thankful to all the project team members for contributing to the overall goal; the building is coming together very well.

Ashburton LEED Checklist

I remember learning back in undergraduate school about Ivan Pavlov and his now famous experiment involving dogs and classical conditioning. It was interesting but the merit of this experiment did not became clear until this week on the production line. Our brains remember emotions; types of touch, patterns, colors, thoughts, etc. through association of neurons with similar inputs say ACB could be associated with ABC. Pavlov demonstrated how when a dog hears sit he may start salivating because he knows every time he sits he receives a treat.  The treat did not cause the salivating the “conditional stimulus” caused it.  Another example is when a person smells coffee they instantly become more alert even though the effects of coffee on the central nervous system does not go into effect until 20-30 minutes after consumption.

This week, I was at a job site; therefore, not on the manufacturing line and was surprised to see our production go from averaging 2.5 to 1.25 sqft/mnhr.  I asked myself why? Then, I proceeded to ask every lead person the same question five times. There were some interesting reasons but the most startling was that some of them were not aware there was still a schedule and thought they were “on-time”.

Ilona Milewska, the office manager, said that this makes sense, because they associate you with a schedule and when you were not there, they assumed there is not one. By walking the line, I was the “conditional stimulus” of there is a schedule and it needs to be kept. I was a reminder of a goal that should be reached. Now, I am not comparing our highly experienced and skilled workforce to dogs, but merely stating how conditioning takes place no matter what the venue.

This  type of “conditioning” can be very dangerous to a production line and should not be maintained. There were many other factors leading to a momentary loss of efficiency, but this was the most surprising. The system is what people should depend on, not positions of influence. A good system works effectively and efficiently regardless of differences in management or variation.

So, in order to change this, a good reminder of what the schedule is and how it will not change unless communicated otherwise, was in order. Also, a possible addition of “Andon Lights” to bring a “conditional to unconditional reminder” to the system could work wonders.