Athena Software is pleased to announce the introduction of mPWR, a dynamic reporting tool developed by PeaceWorks Technology Solutions for use with the Penelope case management system. Penelope is a comprehensive client information software solution designed by Athena Software specifically for human service agencies, including not-for-profit organizations and governments (http://www.athenasoftware.net).

“We are happy to partner with Athena in providing this reporting solution for their diverse client base,” said Matt Langeman, product manager and software consultant at PeaceWorks. “Development of the mPWR tool for Athena clients is a great fit with our vision to provide effective IT solutions for organizations working to make a positive difference in the world.”

mPWR is a powerful, secure and flexible report-writing tool designed to complement the already robust reporting capabilities of the Penelope client information system by allowing users to create and run custom reports, enhance existing reports or gain access to new reports created especially for use with mPWR. Like Penelope, mPWR is a web-based application, meaning users can access reports from anywhere via a secure HTTPS connection using a web browser.

“Organizations in the social service and mental health sectors have diverse and complex information tracking and reporting requirements,” said Athena Software director Diane Stanley-Horn. “Athena wanted to complement our comprehensive internal reporting with a flexible tool that can accommodate case-by-case requirements and allow multiple end users at an organization to run the reports they need, when they need them. Partnering with PeaceWorks, with whom we have had a long relationship, provided this exciting opportunity.”

As well as allowing admin-level users to create new reports with customized appearance and content, mPWR comes complete with 18 new ‘out of the box’ reports designed to allow Penelope users easy access to a wide range of statistics on client demographics and outcomes as well as service provision and productivity. These reports offer additional reporting flexibility and the capability to further ‘drill down’ into user data for enhanced statistical reporting.

Source:http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/470880

The Athena Sustainable Materials Institute is pleased to announce an update to its acclaimed life cycle assessment software, the ATHENA® Impact Estimator for Buildings. The update, Version 4.1.14, is free to all registered users of the Impact Estimator Version 4, and can be downloaded from the website of Morrison Hershfield Limited, Athena’s partner in software development.

Guided by its commitment to meeting the changing needs of the sustainable building community and providing the best available data, Athena releases software updates semi-annually. This update introduces several new building materials and assemblies and corrects a few minor bugs.

New Features
The major changes in this update are the addition of precast concrete panels and pre-engineered metal frame, wall and roof systems. The precast concrete profiles were developed in consultation with CPCI, the Canadian Precast Prestressed Concrete Institute; the pre-engineered metal building systems are based on Butler Buildings designs. Note that the pre-engineered metal systems in the new release are for demonstration purposes only; that module is targeted to be fully operational in a subsequent update in 2012.

In addition, PSK (polypropylene scrim kraft) was added as a new envelope material in this release, and glulam manufacturing data was updated for all Canadian regions.
Bug Fixes
Version 4.1.14 fixes bugs affecting custom walls and mixed columns and beams that resulted in the incorrect calculation of construction energy, as well as a bug that occurred when saving multiple projects. This release also corrects manufacturing energy consumption values for roofing asphalt, demolition energy values for concrete block and mortar, and manufacturing transportation data for all raw materials.

For more information on new features and bug fixes in this Impact Estimator update, please see the ‘Known Issues’ document available on the Athena website: http://www.athenasmi.org/tools/impactEstimator/knownIssues.html/.

The new Impact Estimator update will be available for download to registered Version 4 users starting August 29, 2011 at http://www.morrisonhershfield.com/sustainability/OurPartnerAthena/.

About the ATHENA® Impact Estimator for Buildings
In North America, the ATHENA® Impact Estimator for Buildings is the only software tool that is designed to evaluate whole buildings and assemblies based on internationally recognized life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology.

Using the Impact Estimator, architects, engineers and others can easily assess and compare the environmental implications of industrial, institutional, commercial and residential designs – both for new buildings and major renovations. The Impact Estimator puts the environment on equal footing with other more traditional design criteria at the conceptual stage of a project, capable of modeling 95% of the building stock in North America.
The Impact Estimator takes into account the environmental impacts of:

material manufacturing, including resource extraction and recycled content
related transportation
on-site construction
regional variation in energy use, transportation and other factors
building type and assumed lifespan
maintenance and replacement effects
demolition and disposal

The Impact Estimator provides cradle-to-grave implications in terms of:
fossil fuel consumption
global warming potential
acidification potential

human health respiratory effects potential
ozone depletion potential
photochemical smog potential
eutrophication potential
weighted raw resource use

Results from an individual design can be seen in summary tables and graphs by assembly group and life cycle stage. Detailed tables and graphs show individual energy use by type or form of energy, and emissions by individual substance. Accommodating multiple comparisons at once, the Impact Estimator allows users to change the design, substitute materials, and make side-by-side comparisons for any one or all of the environmental impact indicators. It also lets users compare similar projects with different floor areas on a unit floor area basis.

Source:http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/8/prweb8751592.htm