Ideas come to me at random times, but one of the best idea catalysts I have had in a while was the book: "The Four Hour Workweek" by Timothy Ferriss. The premise of the book is that you can so order your work life so as to not interfere with your "real" life. Along these lines are many ideas for working remotely, collaborating with others, and managing people and projects with greater efficiency. He is very big on empowering others, using outsourcing, and givng you the tools to live where you want to live. The book has many real world examples of others who have succeeded in making the transition to working lower hours and getting more done. Check out his blog at fourhourworkweek.com
Much of his advice can be adapted to the design field, such as the sections on outsourcing and working remotely. I highly recommend this book, especially if you got a Kindle for Christmas. (I love mine, it is the only reader where you can actually see the screen while sitting on the beach, managing your 4 hour work week.)
I occasionally am called upon to perform condition reports on existing buildings. These are some of my favorite assignments, as i get to see how a building has performed in the "real world", as opposed to just seeing it on paper. You can learn a lot about what not to design by looking at a poorly performing building. One of the first things I look for in doing these evaluations are the as-built drawings. More often than not, they are not available. These are essential for getting a clue as to the baseline condition of the MEP systems, but if they cannot be found there are other ways of getting the information you need, such as an interview with the maintenance manager. I always use a voice recording device to pick up every word he says, as this will often be the best source of real information on the building. Photos are another very important tool, especially to put into the report to show your client why he should be concerned about all that corrosion on his electrical panels.
I also try and obtain copies of a years worth of utility billings for gas, electric and water. LEED is all the rage for new buildings, but I am finding many opportunities for great savings in existing buildings. There are many opportunities for reducing raw energy usage, as well as savings from switching fuels. At one buiding that I am now researching they are being billed over $17 per kilowatt of demand per month. This means that if I can take out two 25 KW commercial water heaters and replace them with gas, the demand charge for electric can drop by $850/month. The actual savings will be even greater than that as the charge for natural gas energy will be less than the electric energy charge. The same kind of results can be obtained by taking out any type of electric heating and replacing it with natural gas. This is why you never see pool heaters using electricity, but for some reason it is often used for domestic water heating. Even greater savings can be achieved using on-demand gas water heaters. Electric on-demand water heaters are a poor choice for commercial buildings that have electric demand metering, as the high kw usage on these will spike the demand charges for the building.
A good building condition study will outline the remaining life left of building systems, as well as point out areas that are ripe for energy savings. Every item that is highlighted for potential energy savings should be followed up with a cost benefit analysis to determine the payback in years for applying energy savings measures. Of course, doing building assessments often leads to follow-on work, always a good thing!
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