Bruce Adams, chief engineer of Two California Plaza in Los Angeles, is the first-ever recipient of Goodway Technologies Corp.'s America's Chief Engineer Award.
Adams was selected from more than 3,500 candidates from across the United States. Judging was based on maintenance practices, efficiency programs or improvements, plant appearance, and overall philosophy.
Adams, who has been chief engineer of Two California Plaza — a 53-story, 1.4-million-sq-ft Class A high-rise twice named Building Owners and Managers Association Regional Building of the Year — since construction began in 1989, received a $3,000 cruise and $5,000 worth of Goodway equipment, all of which he donated.
Measures to improve efficiency and increase the value of Two California Plaza taken by Adams and his staff of 12 include:
Use of high-efficiency cooling-tower media.
Cleaning cooling-tower basins and media annually.
Close monitoring of open- and closed-loop water treatment.
Annual tube brushing.
Fiber-optic inspection of internally enhanced tubes in condenser bundles annually.
Fiber-optic inspection of internally enhanced tubes in evaporator bundles every three years.
Eddy-current testing of condenser bundles annually and evaporator bundles every three years.
Installation of sacrificial anodes annually.
“At Two California Plaza, we have set a standard portfoliowise to standardize pipe identification …,” Adams said. “This is for all to be able to recognize systems at a glance.”
The building's thousands of feet of piping is color-coded, with the paint maintained by a single painter.
Once a year, Adams and his staff bring in their home shop vacuums, shut down the electrical system, and clean all of the busses and raceways after hours. Additionally, they plan and drill for system failures routinely — more often than is required. Moisture sensors and flood-response equipment located throughout the building allow cleanup teams to respond quickly.