Innovations from Engineering to you

General Article

With 10 Innovation Cups to their credit, Engineering shows how creative ideas support Center research

Jose Rivera (right) and Dr. Mike Morrison hook up the hydrogen-sulfide detector that earned Rivera an Innovation Cup Photo by Todd McNaught

Facilities Engineering has developed so many ideas that the Center's Innovation Cup awards are pouring in. The limited-edition coffee tumblers signed by Dr. Lee Hartwell, Center president and director, were instituted last fall as a means of recognizing and rewarding creative ideas. In recent months, Engineering has come up with 10 Innovation-Cup winning ideas that have improved efficiency, enhanced safety, saved time and cut costs.

A prime example is the work of Jose Rivera, who designed and built a dual-channel hydrogen- sulfide (H2S) detector for the Roth lab. Working with Dr. Mike Morrison, Rivera developed an accurate method to determine the H2S concentration of an experimental subject and to record the data onto a computer. Rivera wired the device and assembled all the parts into what Morrison describes as "a compact and even nice-looking piece of equipment." It enables the lab to perform unique physiology studies using H2S and may be the only one in the country.

"This type of innovation by Jose typifies the extremely creative people we have here in Engineering and is a great example of how we may be able to help you if asked," said Bob Cowan, Facilities Engineering manager.

Dennis Means, chief engineer for Facilities Engineering, was among 160 administrative managers handed a cup at the fall 2004 Administrative Managers Conference. His challenge was to find a worthy recipient who meets the ideals of the cup. He awarded his cup to Nhi Cun, who invented a cart that allows quicker, cleaner and safer repairs to the ice machines on campus. While cups are not to be traded one for another, it so happened that no sooner had Means awarded his cup to Nhi than he received an Innovation Cup for keeps. Dr. Barb Trask and Laima Abele of the Human Biology Division were so impressed with Means' innovative idea for turning a cold room into a warm room — at virtually no cost and in less than 48 hours to meet the critical timeline for an experiment — that they awarded him a cup. Warm/cold rooms have their own controls to keep a constant temperature regardless of the temperature in the rest of the building, giving researchers a stable and predictable area in which to conduct their experiments.

Several innovations will result in significant cost savings. Randy Colebank's idea of buying used Siemens Control gear (computer-based, building-control programming and equipment) from the system Harborview is replacing will save the Center more than $100,000 off the list price. Rick Larson's fix on a problem with attachments to duct detectors is an improvement over the original design, will allow quicker maintenance, and will save the Center more than $20,000.

Mark Hungerford's innovative partnering with the Global Corporation secured a free battery-management system for the server farm at the Yale Building. He convinced the supplier to donate the system in order to prove energy savings to Seattle City Light so that future systems would qualify for an energy rebate. Hungerford's negotiating skills with other companies have produced other cost savings.

Robert Raymundo's idea to implement a static-pressure reset for the Arnold Building will save the Center more than $10,000 per year in energy cost. Static pressure is the pressure needed to get air to all areas the air handler serves. Static-pressure reset is a program that continually checks the system to minimize fan energy yet still meet system demands. Implementing the project in-house saved another $20,000 over the cost of using a private contractor.

Problem solving

Jim Walker solved a problem with duct connectors for the vivarium, a structure which houses the Center's mice. When the Center bought new micro-isolator cages for the mice, the duct connectors were too high for the room, causing them to hit the sprinklers and damage both the connectors and sprinklers. Moving the sprinklers would have been costly and disruptive to the mice. Walker's redesign lowered the connector to fit in the room. He and Patrick McPhearson built in-house a prototype so well received that the Center ordered 120 of the devices from a local manufacturer.

Bruce Cervene's innovation allows automatic testing of smoke dampers in buildings. Wiring up a feature that was already part of the damper enables testing to be done in a day, which previously took a month.

Whether the innovation is high end or low end, the department is filled with creative thinkers, including Dave West who received a cup for his fix for holding a door open.

"While not every idea earned a cup, every idea is contributing to making the Center a better, more cost effective, and in many cases, safer place to work," Cowan said.

Facilities Engineering is poised to continue developing innovative ideas. "Talk to us and let us help you find solutions," Cowan said.

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