Throughout the past few weeks we've been come up with and been given tons of great ideas. Most of these ideas require the participation of one or more outside groups to help us implement them, so the better part of this week has been spent running back and forth between meetings. Here are a few of the highlights from those:
Plant Operations
Our first meeting of the week was with Corey Cavicchi, the Associate Plant Manager. We discussed the HVAC system at Olin, as well as possibilities for tracking and reducing energy usage. Most of the HVAC-related stuff was covered in the last post, but in case you didn't read that one, here's a quick recap: Facilities plans to install on/off switches for the dorm thermostats this summer, and we plan to put "Things You Should Know" signs on the thermostats so that everyone knows what's up.
A second idea we discussed with Corey was the possibility of a co-curricular involving Facilities where participants learn about the inner workings of the school, from the electrical and mechanical layouts to the software controlling them to the grounds and dining operations. Both Corey and Andy support this idea, and if you have any suggestions or things you think would be cool to learn, let us know.
Awareness is a huge factor in creating sustainable energy use habits. If you know how much of a resource you're using, whether it's money, energy, or gasoline, you're generally inclined to use less. We discussed creating a shared spreadsheet that Facilities could update each day with energy data so that we could generate graphs and statistics of the college's energy use habits. These graphs and statistics would be made publicly available, hopefully on the screen in the dining hall, to encourage more conscientious energy use throughout the school. If this idea succeeds, we want to set up a competition between East Hall and West Hall with some kind of prize for the dorm that uses the least energy. We originally wanted to organize a floor-by-floor competition, but, unfortunately, there are not currently sub-meters at the floor level. We're looking into the possibility of acquiring more sub-meters for the dorms, but that may not happen this summer.
Dining Hall
The second meeting was with Dave Nadreau, the General Manager of Olin's dining hall. We had arranged the meeting to discuss several problem points that we and our interviewees had identified, including the lack of complete accommodation for those with dietary restrictions, the large amount of waste produced, and the significant number of disposable cups and take-out boxes used daily. But, in talking with Dave, we learned that he and his staff are already far ahead of us on these issues.
To address dietary restrictions, a staff member will be designated to spend extra time with the weekly menu to ensure that there are options to meet everyone's needs each day. As for the waste problem, a new system will be set up where students will separate their waste into different bins for food, paper, recyclables, and trash. This will make it possible for the dining hall to dispose of the different types of waste in appropriate ways and keep compostable or recyclable items from needlessly taking up space in landfills.
Dave also hopes to have a system in place by the fall to "reclaim" disposable cups. The plan involves purchasing specialized bins that have three compartments: one for the recyclable lids, one for the compostable cups, and a third for the remaining contents of the cup. In addition to reclaiming these used Aspretto cups, the dining hall had also planned to partially replace the disposable cups and takeout boxes with reusable mugs and containers through Sodexo's "Choose to Reuse" program. Unfortunately, the Needham Health Board would not allow the program in the manner it was proposed; we will work with the dining hall and fellow students to create a revised proposal.
Machine Shops
Yet another meeting this week was arranged with Bruce Andruskiewicz, the Instructor of Machining. We discussed several ideas, some suggested by the Academic Facilities Committee and others by students, aimed at increasing the level of stewardship in the shops. We all agree that no students intentionally make messes in the shops, but they do often lack the proper training or forget to clean up or return tools when they are finished. Ideas to help alleviate these problems include creating a database of video tutorials explaining the machines, placing laminated cards on or near machines to remind students how to use them properly, implementing some sort of required training review, moving the date of basic training to sometime after orientation, and adding blue foam cutting to basic training. It became clear that ideas involving basic training would be better discussed with Design Nature professors, but Bruce was supportive of all the suggestions. We will probably not get through all of them this summer, but we'd really appreciate your input on which you think are most important (or any different or better ideas regarding the shops).
In short, we have made some promising progress this week and are excited to say that our ideas have been met with optimism and support. We can't wait to spend the next week working toward more positive changes. And as always, if you want to ask, suggest, correct, or discuss anything, please don't hesitate to contact us!
Plant Operations
Our first meeting of the week was with Corey Cavicchi, the Associate Plant Manager. We discussed the HVAC system at Olin, as well as possibilities for tracking and reducing energy usage. Most of the HVAC-related stuff was covered in the last post, but in case you didn't read that one, here's a quick recap: Facilities plans to install on/off switches for the dorm thermostats this summer, and we plan to put "Things You Should Know" signs on the thermostats so that everyone knows what's up.
A second idea we discussed with Corey was the possibility of a co-curricular involving Facilities where participants learn about the inner workings of the school, from the electrical and mechanical layouts to the software controlling them to the grounds and dining operations. Both Corey and Andy support this idea, and if you have any suggestions or things you think would be cool to learn, let us know.
Awareness is a huge factor in creating sustainable energy use habits. If you know how much of a resource you're using, whether it's money, energy, or gasoline, you're generally inclined to use less. We discussed creating a shared spreadsheet that Facilities could update each day with energy data so that we could generate graphs and statistics of the college's energy use habits. These graphs and statistics would be made publicly available, hopefully on the screen in the dining hall, to encourage more conscientious energy use throughout the school. If this idea succeeds, we want to set up a competition between East Hall and West Hall with some kind of prize for the dorm that uses the least energy. We originally wanted to organize a floor-by-floor competition, but, unfortunately, there are not currently sub-meters at the floor level. We're looking into the possibility of acquiring more sub-meters for the dorms, but that may not happen this summer.
Dining Hall
The second meeting was with Dave Nadreau, the General Manager of Olin's dining hall. We had arranged the meeting to discuss several problem points that we and our interviewees had identified, including the lack of complete accommodation for those with dietary restrictions, the large amount of waste produced, and the significant number of disposable cups and take-out boxes used daily. But, in talking with Dave, we learned that he and his staff are already far ahead of us on these issues.
To address dietary restrictions, a staff member will be designated to spend extra time with the weekly menu to ensure that there are options to meet everyone's needs each day. As for the waste problem, a new system will be set up where students will separate their waste into different bins for food, paper, recyclables, and trash. This will make it possible for the dining hall to dispose of the different types of waste in appropriate ways and keep compostable or recyclable items from needlessly taking up space in landfills.
Dave also hopes to have a system in place by the fall to "reclaim" disposable cups. The plan involves purchasing specialized bins that have three compartments: one for the recyclable lids, one for the compostable cups, and a third for the remaining contents of the cup. In addition to reclaiming these used Aspretto cups, the dining hall had also planned to partially replace the disposable cups and takeout boxes with reusable mugs and containers through Sodexo's "Choose to Reuse" program. Unfortunately, the Needham Health Board would not allow the program in the manner it was proposed; we will work with the dining hall and fellow students to create a revised proposal.
Machine Shops
Yet another meeting this week was arranged with Bruce Andruskiewicz, the Instructor of Machining. We discussed several ideas, some suggested by the Academic Facilities Committee and others by students, aimed at increasing the level of stewardship in the shops. We all agree that no students intentionally make messes in the shops, but they do often lack the proper training or forget to clean up or return tools when they are finished. Ideas to help alleviate these problems include creating a database of video tutorials explaining the machines, placing laminated cards on or near machines to remind students how to use them properly, implementing some sort of required training review, moving the date of basic training to sometime after orientation, and adding blue foam cutting to basic training. It became clear that ideas involving basic training would be better discussed with Design Nature professors, but Bruce was supportive of all the suggestions. We will probably not get through all of them this summer, but we'd really appreciate your input on which you think are most important (or any different or better ideas regarding the shops).
In short, we have made some promising progress this week and are excited to say that our ideas have been met with optimism and support. We can't wait to spend the next week working toward more positive changes. And as always, if you want to ask, suggest, correct, or discuss anything, please don't hesitate to contact us!
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