Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

By Katherine Morgan and Kathleen O’Brien, O’Brien & Company for BetterBricks

As equipment and systems have developed more sophisticated controls and automation, a simple installation or programming error can have drastic implications on energy performance. The Building Commissioning Association defines the basic purpose of commissioning as "documented confirmation that building systems function in compliance with criteria set forth in the Project Documents to satisfy the owner's operational needs. Commissioning requires rigorous testing and measurement to ensure that building systems are working as intended

Since 1988, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has embraced sustainable building and facilitymanagement strategies with $6 million investment. A lot to spend? Not when it’s bringing over $1 million in annual electricity savings and another half-million in annual water and natural gas savings. Figure in incentives from Seattle City Light and Puget Sound Energy and payback has been less than three years. For the Hutchinson Center, that means more money for cutting edge cancer research.

Healthy, high-performance physical environments are a vital part of the Hutchinson Center’s mission to cure cancer. As Winston Churchill said, “We shape our buildings, and our buildings shape us.” So why not a hospital facility that joins in the pro-health mission? High performance buildings also help attract and retain world-class research scientists, such as the three Nobel prize winners the Center now boasts. With 3,000 researchers, staff and patients spread across 13 buildings with a combined 1.3 million square feet of space, and more to come, Hutchinson’s operations staff knew there was plenty of energy to be saved through a host of systems upgrades, electronic controls that allow room-by-room tuning of temperature and air changes to maximize efficiency, and investments in renewable energy.

Fred Hutchinson has undertaken 43 individual efficiency measures as part of new construction and 80 retrofit measures.

With its existing buildings, the Center utilized an innovative approach to using less energy by tying the heating and air conditioning systems as well as the lighting circuit to occupancy sensors that shut off when no one is in the room. It’s reaped $42,000 dollars in annual energy savings.

The Center also has upheld its new buildings to a high energy-efficiency standard. The recently completed Public Health Science Building, designed by Portland’s Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, achieved LEED certification from the US Green Building Council despite the client deciding to pursue the accreditation halfway through construction. The Center has also embraced the “Laboratories for the 21st Century” program, a joint initiative of the US Environmental Protection Agency US Department of Energy to save energy in this heavily energy-dependent building type.

While it is very important in a high tech laboratory setting to manage risk when implementing new measures, the Center’s success demonstrates the possibilities available through meticulous management of resource consumption. All new building projects are designed with an eye towards conserving resources, integrating experienced facilities staff in the design process—particularly through the commissioning process. The Center also uses building occupant feedback to guide continuous improvements.

Efficient use of resources and minimizing negative environmental impacts are core components of the Center’s overall mission. This gives the facilities team a mandate to regularly pursue conservation opportunities as part of their general operations. Facilities staff members receive intensive training when a new building is being brought on-line and continuing during regular operations. New ideas are brought forward, tested and evaluated, and then implemented incrementally to allow field-testing.

“It’s critical to keep current with the technology and vigilant of the utility rate,” says Bob Cowan, Facilities Engineering manager for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. “It pays to do the math every four to five years to identify opportunities. Tools, technologies and costs all change and the cost of not doing something increases as rates go up. Suddenly the payback might justify the project.”

The PHS Building, for example, was commissioned by a team of representatives from the engineering contractor (Applied Engineering Inc.), the Center’s in-house engineering department, general contractor Turner Construction, and various subcontractors. “It worked well to use a team approach,” Cowan says. “It allowed for quick resolution, since adjustments could be made as problems were identified.”

Every effort is also made to hire highly experienced, talented engineering staff for the Center. “Bob is great at recognizing employees’ efforts to provide excellent service,” says Jim Walker, an engineer at Fred Hutchinson. “It fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility, so the team looks beyond their specific duties to identify additional maintenance needs or flag potential problems during the course of their scheduled work.” This approach has created internal champions for energy efficiency who contribute significantly to the organization’s accomplishments.

In a huge venture such as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, these process strategies are vital to the effectiveness of the conservation measures themselves. Certainly they are fundamental to the Center’s nearly twenty-year success story.