Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
Major issues like COVID, supply chain problems, and inflation recently caused an economic downturn, raising concerns that the country could be facing a recession. Although some experts suggest the United States may now be on the road to recovery, it’s important that facilities managers be prepared to further stretch their dollars during tough economic times. […]
It’s a logical assumption that having an intelligent layout for your facility can only be beneficial for the employees’ safety. The design and thinking behind a layout contribute much to how safe a workplace will be. WorkSafe Victoria in Australia states, “One of the best ways to prevent injuries and fatalities in the workplace is […]
Advocates for using industrial internet of things (IIoT) technology in facilities management often cite room use, temperature, and air quality monitoring as examples of the technology’s benefits. Yet, multiple technologies are advancing rapidly, and while passive applications are useful to inform decisions, IIoT currently offers active and real-time benefits to optimize facilities, improve safety, and […]
For a long time, facility management was a predominantly reactive practice. Major decisions, processes, and activities occurred after the fact. For instance, maintenance would happen reactively, or FMs would take action to remedy situations or improve processes only after they observed a problem in the facility. Doing things this way left too much room for inefficiencies. […]
In any building, the foremost objective of facility management is to provide a conducive environment that enables building users to gain the maximum benefits from being in that space. Achieving this objective requires a skillful administration of certain functions to optimize the four major areas of facility management—people, place, process, and technology. Facility management that […]
There’s no area of facility management that isn’t guided by one procedure or another—from attending to an endless stream of work orders to fixing a faulty HVAC unit or ordering a new batch of spare parts. Procedures are fundamental in facility management, but to do justice to this post, let’s start by briefly distinguishing between […]
Smart buildings are becoming increasingly popular. These buildings provide the information needed to make more intelligent and efficient decisions when managing them. And, they continue to bridge the gap between physical assets and digital innovations by leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT), data collection, and smart analytics. For FM professionals, smart buildings are reshaping the […]
Customer service is a tricky thing. Excellent customer service is even trickier. The facilities management (FM) function is complex and multi-dimensional, and can encompass both external and internal parties impacted by or using the facilities. Expectations from different customers can vary greatly. For example, the requirements of vendors or suppliers who may occasionally visit a […]
As with the concept of remote work, hybrid work may have already existed before COVID-19, but the pandemic took the idea of hybrid workplaces to the next level. Forced government lockdowns, social distancing, and other measures ensured that hybrid ways of working became more accepted and normative across many industry sectors. As such, the trend […]
Facilities management is a diverse, exciting industry for the capable individual. It’s also an exciting time to be in the facilities management industry. Why? Think growth. In 2020, the U.S. facilities management market was valued at $40.41 billion, with a forecast market value of $81.49 billion by 2026, according to Mordor Intelligence. That equates to […]