NEWS
FMs lack energy efficiency tools
Facilities managers are keen to improve the energy performance of their buildings, but lack the necessary tools, according to a survey carried out by the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) and the National Energy Foundation (NEF). In particular, they are
hampered by a lack of access to metering and monitoring that could help them to establish accurate baselines and track performance. As a result, they are pessimistic about their ability to make significant energy efficienc ies. The survey showed that
90% of respondents knew their annual energy costs, but only half knew how the buildings were performing compared to design, and nearly a third failed to compare performance. Three-quarters of respondents
said they were working towards a relative -percentage energy reduction target, but there were ‘mixed levels of confidence’ about achieving them.
CIBSE engineer advising high street brands on Bangladesh
Drive to improve garment factory conditions
A British building services engineer is working with major fashion brands to try to improve the stifl ing working conditions in Bangladeshi garment factories. Farah Naz, of Ramboll, is working with high street names and the International Labour Organization to establish guidelines for safe and comfortable factory conditions in Bangladesh. Factory building regulations were issued in the country in 1976, but these have never been updated. Naz took on the challenge after conducting a study into the thermal comfort of workers in a Dhaka factory in 2007.
During weeks of monitoring the building, she discovered that workers were sewing and ironing in
that we don’t feel guilty when we buy a £2 T-shirt.’
Naz said that Bangladeshi law was too diffi cult to infl uence and that fashion brands needed to push this agenda forward. ‘At the moment, they’re focusing
on fi re safety and structural analysis – which is good – but looking at health and wellbeing is just as important.
‘This can’t be achieved until they [the brands] understand why it’s important,’ she said.
temperatures of up to 40o C.
She said: ‘We shouldn’t stop these factories being built – it’s not a good business proposition and it’s not a good humanistic proposition. But what we should be doing is making these factories more health and safety orientated, with better working conditions, so
Over the next few years, Naz will also be working with architects and engineers in Bangladesh to raise awareness of the issue. There are currently 8,000 garment factories in Bangladesh – with 800 crammed into Dhaka alone – and a further 1,000 are planned by 2015. Read more in ‘Too close for comfort’ on page 48.
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