MN DEED December Calendar

This is a copy of the December Calendar of Events. It is a listing of workforce, job fairs, exporting, international trade missions, etc. There may be something that interests you. Check out the clendar for future months at: http://www.positivelyminnesota.com/Calendar_of_Events. You can also find other resources helpful to your business. Let us know if you have any questions and we will help.

December 2012
		Date	Time	Event	Location
		Dec. 2	8am	Feed Mission to the Philippines and Indonesia	Manila, Philippines and Jakarata, Indonesia
		Dec. 4	5:30pm	DEC International Trade Networking Cocktail Reception	Radisson Hotel - 3rd Floor 35 S 7th Street Downtown Minneapolis
		Dec. 5	8am	Investment Forum with Ambassador Gary Locke	Beijing, China
		Dec. 6	1pm	WorkForce Center Job Fair - Manufacturing	MN WorkForce Center - Hennepin South 4220 W Old Shakopee Road Bloomington, MN 55437-2949
		Dec. 13	8:30am	Understanding the Effects of Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties on your Business	Target Corp 7000 Target Parkway North Brooklyn Park, MN 55445
		Dec. 13	1pm	Minnesota WorkForce Center Job Fair - Call Centers, Customer Service, Sales	MN WorkForce Center - Hennepin South 4220 W Old Shakopee Road Bloomington, MN 55437-2949
		Dec. 14	5pm	DEADLINE for STEP Small Business Export Activity Funding (Round 3)	Applications must be submitted electronically to Jennifer.Kocs@state.mn.us
		Dec. 19	7:30am	UCBC China Symposium - #3 in a series of 6	Joule Business Resource Center 1200 Washington Av. S, Second Floor Minneapolis, MN 55415
		Dec. 20	1pm	Minnesota WorkForce Center Job Fair - Health Care	MN WorkForce Center - Hennepin South 4220 W Old Shakopee Road Bloomington, MN 55437-2949

Energy-Saving Strategies That Put You in Control

The following article is from the Jackson Municipal Questline newsletter. You may subscribe to it directly by emailing news@ql-mail.com.

 



Source: http://www.sxc.hu/

Key Points

·         Energy-management systems are helpful in facilities with varying occupancy and energy use patterns.

·         Lighting, heating and cooling, and the building envelope, offer opportunities to control energy use.

·         The participation of all building occupants is necessary to maximize energy savings.



Conserving energy is a challenge under any circumstance, especially in buildings that may be open for long hours each day and house a variety of staff and visitors. Not everyone has energy conservation on their mind and it is difficult to control the actions of each person that enters or leaves the building. Reducing energy use will not only save money, however, it will also increase the safety and comfort of building occupants. The steps that follow will help you take control of your facility's energy use, no matter who is in the building.

Energy Management Systems (EMS)

1. Perform a walk-though energy audit when the building is not occupied.
2. Regularly check all EMS points to verify that they are functioning correctly.
3. Take advantage of sophisticated computer programs to control the EMS from a laptop or wireless device.
4. Compare utility bills to EMS data.
5. Program holiday hours and special building events into the EMS.
6. Use timers on bus block heater circuits.
7. Check the start and stop times of your EMS regularly.
8. Install occupancy sensors to control lighting in staff areas, conference rooms, and restrooms.
9. Consider metering specific equipment to better understand your facility's energy use.
10. Investigate the installation of an EMS if you are not currently using one.

Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC)

1. Reduce energy use by programming thermostats according to your occupancy schedule.
2. Regularly check room thermostats to make sure they are calibrated and level.
3. Use ceiling fans to circulate air and improve the effectiveness of space-conditioning systems.
4. Make sure heating and cooling systems are sized to match your facility's needs.
5. Investigate the use of variable speed drives for fans and pumps.
6. Install night setback thermostats on supplemental heating and cooling units.
7. Review preventive maintenance activities for opportunities to improve heating and cooling system efficiency.
8. Sub-cool buildings during off-peak hours using outside air only.
9. Turn off exhaust fans in unoccupied spaces. 

Source: www.doe.gov

Building Envelope

1. Monitor service doors at each building entrance; ensure that they are kept closed.
2. Review the feasibility of automatic doors.
3. Consider the use of solar film on windows.
4. Weatherize windows and doors and seal air leaks when necessary.
5. Keep windows and skylights clean in winter to allow heat gain.
6. Use low emittance (low-E) coatings or smart glass on windows and skylights. Low-E coatings are thin layers deposited on the glass surface to reduce heat flow. Smart glass allows you to control the amount of heat or light passing through by pushing a button.  

Maintenance

1. Examine your preventive maintenance program. Include energy-efficiency measures such as cleaning, filter changes, replacement of worn parts, and so on.
2. Use low-energy task lighting for off-hours cleaning and maintenance.
3. Set up a procedure for maintenance personnel to perform utility checks. 

Lighting

1. Replace incandescent lights with higher-efficiency halogen or compact fluorescent lamps.
2. Zone parking lot lights for better control and reduce light to 25% after closing.
3. Install light sensors on outdoor lights so that they only operate after dark.
4. Place data loggers on light switches to monitor usage.
5. During the day, turn-off evening lights that are near skylights.
6. Turn off outdoor signs and displays after closing at night and during the day if possible.
7. Use time delay light switches in remote areas, such as maintenance closets.
8. Separate decorative lights from general lights and turn off decorative lighting at closing.

Office Equipment

1. Set personal computers and office equipment to revert to sleep mode when not in use.
2. Time office equipment to automatically turn off at night or whenever the building is not occupied.
3. Network printers so that multiple computers can be connected to a single printer.
4. Size equipment properly. Energy use varies among printers and copiers; purchase models that are equipped with only the features you need.
5. High-powered laptops can do the work of larger desktop computers and use 75% less energy. 

Why Stop There?

This checklist is a great place to start saving, but there are more opportunities available. A variety of tools are available to help you identify and take advantage of energy-efficiency improvements. The Commercial and Industrial Efficiency Recommendations provide energy-saving tips specific to your industry segment. With the Facility Assessment Wizard, you can answer a few questions about your facility and get even more specific energy-saving advice. Also, do not forget building occupants. Their participation is necessary to maximize energy savings. Use these free, downloadable Energy Posters to remind your staff of the importance of conserving energy. 

Thought provoking quotes...

This is from the Business in Minnesota Newsletter from the University of MN Office of Business Relations. You can subscribe to the newsletter by going to the following web site: http://businessnewsumn.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/obr_footer.jpg?w=262&h=67

Words to work by: 10 quotes from across fields

Given the focus of this post, it seems appropriate to begin with a quote. This one is by New York Times bestselling author John Green: provoking

“Maybe our favorite quotations say more about us than about the stories and people we’re quoting.”

With that notion in mind, we asked University of Minnesota researchers from a variety of colleges and campuses to share a favorite quote related to their discipline. Take a look and click each researcher’s name to learn more about their work at the U of M…

William Goodman, associate professor, family social science:

“We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.” ~the Talmud

Lucy Dunne, assistant professor and director, Apparel Design Program:

“I defy anyone to design a hat, coat or dress that hasn’t been done before. … The only new frontier left in fashion is the finding of new materials.” ~Paco Rabanne, Spanish fashion designer

Steven Miles, professor, medicine, Center for Bioethics:

“Sometimes the more measurable drives out the most important.” ~René Dubos, French-born American microbiologist

Pieranna Garavaso, professor, philosophy:

“The method of science fiction has its uses in philosophy, but … I wonder whether the limits of the method are properly heeded. To seek what is ‘logically required’ for sameness of person under unprecedented circumstances is to suggest that words have some logical force beyond what our past needs have invested them with.” ~W.V.O. Quine, American philosopher and logician

Deborah Swackhamer, co-director, Water Resources Center:

“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” ~Loren Eiseley, American anthropologist

Lawrence Wackett, professor, biochemistry, molecular biology and biophysics:

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and poet

Alan Love, associate professor, philosophy:

“The most general maxim for those who study functionally organized systems is that we come to understand how things work by studying how, when and where they break down. … We learn more when things break down than when they work right. Cognitively speaking, we metabolize mistakes.” ~William C. Wimsatt, professor emeritus, philosophy, University of Chicago

Gibson Nene, assistant professor, economics:

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” ~Nelson Mandela, South African political leader

Kirsten Fischer, associate professor, history:

“Well-behaved women seldom make history.” ~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, American historian and Harvard professor

Keith Brugger, professor, geology:

I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
The bright sun was extinguish’d, and the stars
Did wander darkling in the eternal space,
Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth
Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air;
Morn came and went — and came, and brought no day,
And men forgot their passions in the dread
Of this their desolation; and all hearts
Were chill’d into a selfish prayer for light

~Excerpt from “Darkness” by Lord Byron, British poet

 

Career Fair for Employers and Employees

MINNESOTAWORKS.NET CAREER FAIR

The MinnesotaWorks.net Career Fair will take place Thursday, Nov. 29, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Marriott Minneapolis NW in Brooklyn Park.

Employers and educational institutions will be on hand for interviews and to answer questions. The event is open to all job seekers. There is no fee to attend.


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