Facility Assessment Report & The Need for Action

16 CATEGORIES OF FACILITY ASSESSMENT
This represents the categories SitelogIQ typically analyzes, with the guidance of the School Board for focusing more or less on specific aspects. The heart of this project is in mechanical systems (HVAC) although many systems are often interrelated.

 

ASSET CONDITION ASSESSMENT
This is the scale on which SitelogIQ grades the condition of assets, for cross referencing with the associated pie charts. Key: Red = Alarm (asset has failed or is excessively beyond life expectancy), Brown = Alert (asset is in need of repairs or beyond life expectancy), Yellow = Caution (asset is in degraded condition or nearing life expectancy), Light Green = Acceptable (asset is in acceptable condition and within useful life), and Dark Green = Excellent (asset is in excellent condition and at beginning of useful life).  

 

DISTRICT “AT A GLANCE” 2023
These pie charts show the age-adjusted condition of all assets at each facility. As time passes and equipment sees more wear, everything moves in a clockwise fashion from “excellent” towards “alarm” or until it is replaced or refurbished. Continual replacements are necessary to counteract the tide of aging infrastructure and protect against catastrophic failures. 

High School/Middle School Chart  &  Prairie Woods Elementary Chart

Prairie Meadows Early Childhood Chart

 

MSHS HVAC MAP
This is an example of HVAC equipment located on and/or serving the middle floor of the MSHS. The idea is that these are all working well enough that students and teachers don’t need to be aware of them. Each of these pieces of equipment requires maintenance and eventual replacement to properly provide suitable air quality.

FACILITY EFFECTS ON LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
These excerpts are from published research, illustrating the school-specific impacts of maintaining a facility with poor or good indoor air quality (IAQ).     

Raising classroom outdoor air ventilation rates can reduce absenteeism by approximately five to 10 absences per 1,000 students for a 1,000 parts per million, or ppm, decrease in the difference between indoor and outdoor carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2011)

Studies demonstrate that improved IAQ increases productivity and improves the performance of mental tasks, such as improved concentration and recall in both adults and children. Controlled studies show that students perform school work faster as ventilation rates increase. The performance of teachers and staff also improves with higher ventilation rates. - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2011)

Failure to prevent indoor air problems, or failure to act promptly, can have consequences such as: increasing the chances for long-term and short-term health problems for students and staff; impacting the student learning environment, comfort and attendance; reducing productivity of teachers and staff due to discomfort, sickness, or absenteeism; etc. - Environmental Protection Agency (1996) 

 

Student performance can also be affected when teachers are absent due to illness.  Even the best substitute teachers may disrupt the learning process. - Environmental Protection Agency (2011)

Students in classrooms with higher outdoor air ventilation rates scored 14 to 15 percent higher on standardized test scores than children in classrooms with lower outdoor air ventilation rates. - Shaughnessy, R.J., et al. 2006

Higher ventilation rates reduce the transmission and spread of infectious agents in buildings. This is the conclusion of a multidisciplinary expert panel after reviewing 40 studies conducted between 1960 and 2005. - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2011)

 

MSHS VENTILATION MAP  
This map illustrates the levels of outside air the respective air handling equipment is capable of conditioning. Varying codes and standards existed in the decades in which equipment was designed and installed. Areas of yellow or red show room for improving indoor air quality.

 

MSHS CO2 MAP  
In conjunction with the design of air handling equipment, SitelogIQ measured CO2 levels in spaces as an indicator of IAQ. CO2 levels also have studied effects on student health and performance. Red and yellow spaces show an opportunity for improved IAQ in the noted spaces.  

MSHS CO2 LOG EXAMPLES
The previous map showed instantaneous readings. These two graphs are examples of individual rooms, logged over the course of a day. Outside air may have a typical CO2 concentration of 400ppm. These graphs help show the full picture of CO2 in classrooms.

Click here to enlarge the image. 

Click here to enlarge the image.   

PRAIRIE WOODS VENTILATION MAP
This map illustrates the levels of outside air the respective air handling equipment is capable of conditioning. Varying codes and standards existed in the decades in which equipment was designed and installed. Areas of yellow or red show opportunities for improving indoor air quality.

 

PRAIRIE WOODS CO2 MAP  
In conjunction with the design of air handling equipment, SitelogIQ measured CO2 levels in spaces as an indicator of IAQ. CO2 levels also have studied effects on student health and performance. Red and yellow spaces show an opportunity for improved IAQ in the noted spaces.

 

PRAIRIE MEADOWS VENTILATION MAP
This map illustrates the levels of outside air the respective air handling equipment is capable of conditioning. Varying codes and standards existed in the decades in which equipment was designed and installed. Areas of yellow or red show opportunities for improving indoor air.

 
PRAIRIE MEADOWS CO2 MAP
In conjunction with the design of air handling equipment, SitelogIQ measured CO2 levels in spaces as an indicator of IAQ. CO2 levels also have studied effects on student health and performance. Red and yellow spaces show an opportunity for improved IAQ in the noted spaces.

TEMPERATURE AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE
Temperatures at the warm end of the comfort zone tend to increase adverse health symptoms, while temperatures at the cool end of the comfort zone tend to reduce symptoms. Similarly, individuals perceive the quality of indoor air to be better when humidity is at the low end of the comfort zone. - Environmental Protection Agency Committee on the Assessment of Asthma and Indoor Air. 2000

SAFETY AND SECURITY
Poor indoor air quality leads to other concerns at NLS schools. Doors are propped open when air quality isn’t at desired levels, leading to safety and security concerns.

 

 

EXTERIOR ENVELOPE – MSHS ROOFING
NLS facilities staff spend a large amount of time, effort, and money repairing leaking roofs. Standing water tends to exacerbate any issues, making them worsen over time.  

 

 

 

 
MSHS DOMESTIC PLUMBING
Water distribution plumbing has an expected useful life of 50 years. This piping is past that, and is showing its age. Fixing these leaks also takes a significant amount of time, energy, and money for NLS facilities staff. 

Prairie Woods Elementary Boilers 
The two existing boilers at Prairie Woods ES are original to the 1984 building. They have exceeded typical life expectancy, and they do not have the capacity to support increased ventilation from the project. New boilers will support that capacity and be single fuel boilers, lowering the extent of required maintenance.