Prism Celebrates 30 Years
It felt out-of-place to celebrate Prism’s 30th birthday this past May amidst a global pandemic. While COVID-19 continues to impact how we live, we are grateful to be in a position where we can continue to do our work. We want to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone that we work and collaborate with for your incredible support and contributions over the past thirty years.
In the words of our President, Robert Greenwald, “Prism has grown because our clients feel we can add value and make a difference. The collective impact on climate change is a key goal and a definition of success for us.”
“I really wanted Prism to be a player in helping the industry move forward,” shares Brian O’Donnell, our Founder. What started as a small business venture in 1990 has now grown to be a team of over 45 talented and passionate professionals working for the cause of sustainability and energy management.
We would not be where we are today without you. Thank you for being part of our journey.
Reminisce with us
Scroll through our slideshow below:
Reflections and thoughts from the Prism and PUMA teams
We surveyed team members and asked them to share their thoughts.
Looking back over Prism’s 30-year history, what are you most proud of?
“I am proud of the respect that Prism employees have built over the years. Whether meeting past or current clients, attending industry events, or working with suppliers and agents, there is hardly ever a time that someone doesn’t have something good to say about their experience with Prism’s staff and Prism’s contributions to the development of forward-thinking, energy savings focused consulting engineering in Vancouver and BC.”
-Alison Bodine, Electrical Designer
“The strong bond with clients and our designers is something I have always loved. The friendships that have been built over the past 30 years are strong, honest and unconditional.”
-Maia Lutze-Penco, Mechanical Designer
“I am most proud of how Prism has, over the years, cultivated its culture of care- for its employees, for its clients, and for the environment. 2020 has been a challenging year so far, especially with the global pandemic, and the way the company and its leadership has responded speaks a lot about how this culture is lived and how it serves as a compass that guides its decisions and actions.”
-Lyn Papio, Employee Experience Specialist
“We have been listening to our clients’ needs and responding to the industry as it shifts. It has been about thinking forward in terms of what we need to do to serve our purpose.”
-Sarah Smith, Principal and Sustainability Team Leader
“I am proud of the way our work at Prism has become increasing valuable to our clients. In my 31 years on earth, I have seen the increasing recognition of the importance of climate change and energy conservation. Prism saw the value early on and played a major role in developing and shaping the industry in BC.”
-Ari Spiegel, Energy Engineer
“Focus on reducing GHGs. What we have achieved in terms of GHG reductions directly, and by increasing awareness through our day-to-day work, as well as training.”
-Duncan Wilcock, Client Services Lead for PUMA Utility Monitoring
What do you hope Prism will accomplish in the next 30 years?
“(Prism) will continue to be thought of as leaders and experts in improving and modernizing existing buildings throughout Western Canada who can be relied upon for innovative, practical, and sustainable engineering solutions.”
-Adam Franklin, Electrical Engineer
“Maintain our focus on continuous improvement both on a personal level as well as work efficiency. I hope we will continue to grow and possibly expand across BC and potentially across Canada to save more energy and contribute to our environment, which is our legacy for our future generations.”
-Bartjan Kiers, Senior Mechanical Designer
“I hope that the spirit of Prism stays with anyone who has the opportunity to be part of the team, whether it be as a client or employee. I want to say in 30 years that I was part of the Prism legacy.”
-Maia Lutze-Penco, Mechanical Designer
“To be able to continue to diversify and grow but still maintain the same close office community.”
-Dave Roberts, Mechanical Engineer
“To continue the same work and reach many more organizations and turn these great ideas into more construction projects.”
-Hamid Samani, Senior Mechanical Engineer
“Continue to be seen as partners and collaborators, working with our clients to face the big challenges ahead.”
-Sarah Smith, Principal and Sustainability Team Leader
Paying it forward
It is clearer today than ever before that we each play a key role building a greener, more sustainable future. In honour of our 30th anniversary, we wanted to make an impact by investing in our communities and contributing to a green recovery in whatever way we can. Therefore, Prism staff have collectively selected the following programs to support and provide funding for:
- The Clean Energy program at Ecotrust Canada advocates for ending energy poverty in rural, remote and indigenous communities and helping them build an economy that provides for a healthy and resilient natural environment. Specifically, within BC, the funds will go to replacing diesel furnaces in on-reserve homes with air-source heat pumps powered by clean energy. Their vision and approach align with Prism’s core value of creating a greener, more efficient world.
- The Union Gospel Mission’s Meal Program serves approximately 800 meals a day, 364 days a year to men, women and children. Meals are available to anyone who needs one and no one is turned away. UGM’s Red Seal certified chefs ensures guests receive highly nutritious and delicious meals that are balanced and always served hot. The Prism family recognizes and values how connected we all are. Providing meals to one of the most vulnerable segments of our population is one way we’d like to give back to our community.
- The Langara 49 Women in Science program provides philanthropic support, resources, and mentorship to prepare female students for a successful STEM career. As a cause close to our hearts, Prism will fund a scholarship to help women in engineering access this program.
These programs were chosen based on how well they align with Prism’s core values and resonate with the Prism family. We hope our contributions will support local BC communities and contribute to sustainable and positive change.
Sign our guestbook
We want to invite you to continue being a part of our story.
Please share your thoughts and ideas on what you hope Prism will achieve in the next 30 years via this Kudoboard.
Any anecdotes, photos or comments are also welcome, of course!
Advocating for a Green Recovery
Last month, Premier John Horgan launched a six-week consultation with British Columbians to help shape the province’s economic recovery plan. Prism shared our thoughts as a member of the Catalyst business coalition.
On behalf of Prism, our President, Robert Greenwald, suggested that municipalities are a critical component on the path to a more resilient, lower-carbon economy. Within these municipalities, a program to fund low carbon, deep retrofits to arenas would be a significant opportunity for impact, as they account for approximately 40% of a municipality’s operational greenhouse gas emissions.
More broadly, the incentives for schools, municipalities, government and even advanced education are not nearly enough to offset the costs of the low carbon electrification (LCE) work needed to make significant GHG reductions. Hospitals have more viable projects due to their extended operating hours (incentives are based on GHG reductions, which depend on operating hours). However, CleanBC funding is limited for sites with shorter operating hours.
Furthermore, incentives need to increase to make a difference in the commercial sector. Although programs already exist, the dollar amount per tonne needs to increase to make it viable for participants.
Resources to learn more
Globally, there is an abundance of resources available regarding opportunities for a green recovery. As it relates to the energy efficiency sector, the following five stand out:
Five green infrastructure projects engineers recommend to boost COVID-19 economic recovery (electrical vehicle charging and energy efficiency homes)
Financing renewable energy projects
DSM programs must react to new realities and build for new conditions
Design for Better Outcomes
There is no question that public health experts and essential service workers are leading the charge in overcoming the greatest pandemic in our generation. It is humbling to examine and reflect on how the engineering profession can provide solutions that lead to better health outcomes for our communities.
As an engineering consulting firm, our clients rely on us to provide designs and specifications that will lead to a safer, more efficient and reliable environment. Intricately tied to this is how we can manage system upgrades with the least amount of disruption to building occupants and operations.
Prism recently completed a lighting project for the Westminster Wing of the Richmond Hospital in our home province of BC. Prior to the upgrade, lighting for most circulation areas and practicum wards of the Wing was provided by wall mounted or suspended linear indirect fluorescent systems. The luminaires were used to illuminate the volume of the space utilizing the walls and ceilings and provided no direct light on the floor or task surfaces.
In the day ward and physiotherapy, luminaires were positioned away from the patient beds. The lack of lighting directly over these beds made it difficult for staff to perform their tasks. Furthermore, the location of the indirect lighting systems caused shadowing for the nurses when attending to patients at their bedside.
Another challenge with the previous lighting system was the number of hours required by maintenance staff to keep the lights free of debris. As the luminaires were a linear system with perforated diffusers, they became dusty very easily. Maintenance staff were required to vacuum the indirect luminaires on a monthly basis to remove dust.
To address these issues, Prism recommended and implemented a LED lighting system upgrade where new luminaires were installed in all circulation areas. The revised lighting spacing now provides optimal and uniform lighting throughout these spaces. In patient care areas, additional lighting systems were installed and centred above the practicum spaces to provide better visibility. Dimming controls now allow staff to adjust illumination to suit their preferences, their tasks and for patient comfort.
This lighting upgrade resulted in:
- Safer work environments with more effective lighting to help essential service workers do their jobs.
- Reduced risk for infection as dust was less likely to accumulate on systems.
- A significant reduction in costs by allowing maintenance staff to work on other more critical tasks rather than cleaning existing luminaires.
- An estimated 162,000 KWh of annual energy savings, or nearly 75% savings compared to the previous lighting system.
