Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
As a facilities manager, are you looking for ways to lower your monthly water bill? Bathrooms use 30%–40% of the water in a typical commercial building, so they’re the first place you should look for inefficiencies. Other building uses that consume the most water are cooling and heating, landscaping, and kitchen and laundry facilities. It […]
Did you know that products to sanitize, disinfect, and sterilize surfaces are considered pesticides and are regulated by the EPA under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)?
Smart technology has been making impacts on business worldwide, and its use in streamlining efficiencies in hazardous and solid waste management should be of great interest to environment, health, and safety (EHS) and facilities management (FM) professionals.
Due to increasing COVID-19 case counts across many states, public health officials are recommending source control measures to reduce disease transmission, including mandatory mask use in public places. Unfortunately, these measures rely upon the user’s effective compliance, both in work and in social settings. Growing evidence suggests that aerosols may play a part in the […]
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.