The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International has released a new floor area measurement standard that outlines the procedure for obtaining the gross floor areas of a building.

The standard, “The Gross Areas of a Building: Methods of Measurement,” is intended for application in buildings containing all types of occupancies, including office, retail, industrial, single and multiunit residential, hospitality, entertainment and institutional buildings, both private and public.

The two methods provided in the standard can be applied to both new and existing buildings containing single or multiple stories that are either owner occupied, or leased to one or multiple tenants.

BOMA International developed these two methods to clearly define the two gross areas of a building: the construction gross area and the exterior gross area.

The larger measure of the two gross areas, construction gross area, includes the area defined as exterior gross area as well as other areas that have a structural floor, or are covered by a roof or canopy, that are typically unenclosed but within the building perimeter.

The exterior gross area, the second method, is the total floor area contained within the measure line, a new term developed for this standard, and generally refers to the outside surface of the exterior enclosure of a building including structured parking.

The procedures for measuring the gross area outlined in the new standard not only serve the interests of property owners and managers but may also appeal to facility managers, brokers, appraisers, assessors, lenders, insurers, developers, construction and design professionals, and others who need an unequivocal, direct measure of the physical size of a building. They also permit communication and computation on a concise basis, no matter the purpose of the measurement. The methods contained in the standard are not intended for application to site improvements other than buildings.

“BOMA has been setting the bar in the commercial building standards arena for years and we are pleased to release a significant addition to our floor measurement standard offerings,” said BOMA International Chair and Chief Elected Officer Richard D. Purtell, portfolio manager, Grubb & Ellis Management Services, Inc. “It is our intent to make The Gross Areas of a Building: Methods of Measurement an important new tool in the market that will serve as a clear, direct source for commercial real estate’s floor measurement needs.”

“The Gross Areas of a Building: Methods of Measurement” is available for purchase in the BOMA bookstore.

Sales Down, Profits Up for Zep

Zep Inc., a producer of cleaning and maintenance solutions, says dedication to its strategic initiatives helped it to a third quarter profit of almost $9 million, even though sales were down 15 percent.

Zep reports net income of $5.4 million, or 25 cents a share, on sales of $123 million, compared to $0.2 million or 1 cent per share, on $145.2 million in the same year-ago period when charges for restructuring and other special items on a pretax basis totaled $9.3 million.

John K. Morgan, chairman, president and CEO of Zep, said, “The efforts of our associates and their dedication to the company’s strategic initiatives are clearly reflected in our third quarter operating results. In the face of sustained economic headwinds, Zep delivered significant operating cash flow and strong earnings while meaningfully reducing its net debt during the quarter.”

Weak customer demand across a number of end-markets coupled with high raw material costs continued to place downward pressure on operating margins, though. However, restructuring and cost reduction measures have gained additional traction, and third quarter gross profit margin exceeded that of the second quarter by 2.7 percentage points, said Morgan.

“I believe our ability to generate robust cash flow and strengthen our balance sheet during these challenging economic times is a testament to Zep’s associates, our business model and our ability to continue to execute despite the recessionary environment. Economic forecasts suggest GDP may not recover until well into our fiscal year 2010. Absent significant further deterioration in current economic conditions, we expect profitability in all four quarters of our next fiscal year and believe we are well positioned for an eventual economic rebound.”

The company reduced selling, distribution, and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales by 270 basis points during the third fiscal quarter. In addition to the $7.0 million in annualized fixed cost reductions announced in the first half, the company has identified an additional $3.0 million in annualized fixed cost reductions.

The company has assets of $247 million, and liabilities of $145 million.

Laela’s Law to Prevent Window Falls

A toddler’s fall from an unsecured fourthfloor window and her miraculous survival have resulted in the first legislative act regulating window safety to be passed in the United States.

The law went into effect July 1, 2009, in the state of Minnesota.

Called Laela’s Law after the fortunate tot, who was just shy of her second birthday when she fell, in 2006, and has since fully recovered, this regulation is intended to safeguard children from accidental window falls.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, nationwide some 4,000 injuries and up to a dozen fatalities are reported each year in such incidents. Laela’s Law calls for the installation of fall prevention devices in most multi-family buildings constructed after July 1.

While Minnesota becomes the first and only state thus far to pass such legislation, the window industry has taken significant steps on its own to improve window safety.

ASTM F2090-08 originally governed the installation of safety devices such as window guards to reduce the potential fall hazard for residential windows. The standard was updated earlier this year to include window opening control devices, a new type of hardware that automatically restricts windows from opening more than four inches, yet is easily released in an emergency, such as a fire, to allow occupants to escape.

Incorporating these devices into window installations also helps train parents and caregivers to limit window openings when children are around. To meet the new ASTM standard, window and hardware manufacturers are scrambling to create window opening control devices that are sophisticated in design yet simple to operate. Meanwhile, municipal and code officials are clamoring for inexpensive but effective mechanisms to reduce or eliminate the potential for window fall accidents in their jurisdictions.

“When it comes to safeguarding children, windows guards can be useful, but the common complaint is that they block the view,” said David Warr, director of Mighton USA, a window hardware producer in Orlando, FL that has a device that complies with Laela’s Law and meets the updated standard. “And when that happens, the occupants of a home or apartment typically remove them as soon as they move in. Window opening control devices, like the Angel Ventlock, are a far more practical, and more cost-effective, means of protection.” The device is available to manufacturers of new windows, and builders, remodelers, homeowners, property managers and public housing authorities for retrofit applications.

“We developed the device specifically to address the very serious problem of child injuries due to window falls. That’s why we named it the Angel Ventlock; we believe it can help parents safeguard their children and significantly reduce the number of such incidents.”

Tennant Named for Healthcare Innovation

Tennant Co., a provider of equipment and products that help create a cleaner, safer world, has been selected to participate in the Premier healthcare alliance’s first Innovation Celebration, an annual event to celebrate advances in healthcare while highlighting healthcare industry suppliers committed to innovation and improving patient outcomes.

Premier’s Innovation Celebration highlights innovative solutions that bring a positive impact to healthcare delivery. The inaugural event showcased 26 products from 24 of Premier’s 800 contracted suppliers.

The showcased products, which included Tennant Company’s ec-H2O technology, were selected by a cross-functional team of Premier alliance members and staff, including clinical product planners, clinical field specialists, pharmacists, supply chain professionals, materials management experts, and nurses.

“We are proud to have been recognized by the Premier healthcare alliance for our innovative ec-H2O technology, which is helping keep patients’ and healthcare workers’ facilities clean and safe by eliminating the need for cleaning chemicals. This recognition further validates Tennant Company’s commitment to creating a cleaner, safer world,” said Jeffery Buysse, director of Channel Development for Tennant Company.

Tennant Company’s ec-H2O technology, developed by Tennant researchers and engineers and named by R&D Magazine as one of the most technologically significant developments in 2008, helps to meet the ever-growing need for sustainable cleaning.

The ec-H2O technology delivers proven cleaning results without the negative environmental and health concerns associated with producing, packaging, transporting, using and disposing of traditional cleaning chemicals. The technology starts with water and ends with water, so it can be handled and disposed of easily and safely.

“The Innovation Celebration is a unique opportunity to unveil revolutionary concepts and developments in the healthcare industry,” said Mike Alkire, president of Premier Purchasing Partners. “Similar to the Premier alliance, these suppliers are committed to innovation that leads to improved quality and reduced costs, and we’re happy to showcase their efforts to our alliance members.”

Innovation Celebration participants were featured on June 16 at the 2009 Premier Annual Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition in Anaheim, Calif. Basic criteria for selection included solutions that displayed uniqueness, as well as solutions that have an impact on an unmet medical need.