Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
With an estimated 2.7 billion people (or 80% of the global workforce) having been affected by COVID-19-related lockdowns, returning to work isn’t an event; it’s a process of recovery, efficiency and resilience. For businesses to survive the present and thrive into the future, they will need to adopt technological advances that will help them work […]
Water intrusion can cause a host of issues impacting buildings and the health of the people who use them. Facilities managers, in particular those at hospitals and other medical facilities that serve potentially vulnerable populations, must be aware of this sometimes-invisible threat and take steps to protect against fungal exposure.
The Massachusetts High Technology Council, a regional industry group, recently examined issues involved in reopening businesses and asking employees to return to work in the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A new report in the New England Journal of Medicine summarized their conclusions.
The weather can be one fickle beast, and its unpredictability can really do a number on your energy bill. At the center of the issue is your facility’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. HVAC, like many aspects of facilities management, is rarely noticed by tenants and occupants when it’s functioning properly; but once […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have updated their recommendations for reopening offices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their guidance includes wearing cloth masks throughout the workday; maintaining social distances of six feet, including in elevators; positioning workstations six feet apart or installing plastic partitions; and removing communal coffeepots.
Building owners and facility managers reopening vacant buildings as stay-at-home orders expire may need to flush plumbing fixtures weekly to prevent harmful organisms, such as the Legionella bacteria—which can cause Legionnaire’s Disease, a bacterial pneumonia—from growing in plumbing, according to a pre-press research study.
What did you see when you walked into your facility this morning? Were there cords snaking across the floor, remnants of a spill from a couple of days ago, or overflowing trash cans? Or did you observe a strong sense of order, with clear walkways, properly stored tools, well-lit and clearly marked stairways, and hazardous […]
As states are weighing their options about extending stay at home orders or letting those orders expire, facility managers should begin taking steps to protect employees at higher risk of severe illness now, prior to reopening, according to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
With the number of COVID-19 cases beginning to level off in some areas, employers that have ceased operations or shifted to remote work may be considering when, and how, they might be able to bring people back to their facilities. While businesses are understandably eager to resume operations, the potential for missteps is high. Returning […]
As a facility manager, you’ve heard it plenty of times: a clean facility saves you money. How? Surfaces within facilities tend to collect bacteria throughout the day, from a wide variety of sources. Be it employees returning to work from an illness, someone forgetting to wash their hands after using a facility’s restroom, or someone […]