Tag: facilities management

North America’s Largest Floating Solar Project Powers Water Treatment Facility

Organizations wanting to go green typically install rooftop or ground-mounted solar projects or buy renewable energy credits. But a water utility in New Jersey has embraced a novel approach, installing North America’s largest floating solar project. Consisting of 16,510 solar panels, the 8.9-megawatt (MW) solar array covers 17 acres of the Canoe Brook reservoir in […]

Louisiana Awards Schools Over $20M for Security Upgrades

The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) has awarded over $20 million to harden the perimeters of K-12 schools across the state. The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) approved the LDOE’s Stronger Connections Grant program allocations to 39 traditional public and public charter systems. According to the LDOE, the funds will be used […]

Back to Basics: Emergency Exits and Keeping the Way Out Clear

Back to Basics is an article series that highlights important, but possibly overlooked, information facilities management professionals should know. During a fire or another emergency, your employees need a clear exit route and clearly marked and unlocked exit doors. Your employees’ exit route must remain unobstructed by equipment or stored items, and employees must be […]

Using Robotics to Improve Workplace Safety

Despite concerted efforts to reduce both serious injury and death on the job, workplace fatality rates in the United States have remained largely unchanged over the past three decades. To help reverse this devastating development and assist organizations on their safety journeys, the National Safety Council (NSC) recently released a white paper through its Work to […]

A Three-Part Strategy for Workplace Violence Programs

In August of 1986, a postal employee threatened with losing his job walked into a post office with a mailbag full of guns and ammunition and opened fire. He did not say a word—he just started shooting and killing. Six postal workers were wounded, and 14 were killed. That was one of several shootings that took […]

Faces of Facilities: Jose Rosas Roque from HungerRush

In honor of Pride Month this June, it’s important for the facilities management industry to recognize and celebrate members of the LGBTQ+ community. As a gay male in FM, Jose Rosas Roque offered to share his story and provide insights on equality, pride, and general industry issues. The young professional urged the industry to embrace […]

Lighting Project Aims to Boost Campus Safety at University of Nebraska–Lincoln

A summer construction project will cast the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in a new light—a few dozen of them, actually. The project, which will commence in June and should wrap by the start of the fall semester, will add and replace more than 50 lights along high-traffic walkways on City and East Campus. Most of the 13-foot-tall, pole-mounted […]

Survey Finds Night Shifts Have ‘Detrimental Effects’ on Cleaning Professionals

An international survey of cleaners, commissioned by UNI Global Union, uncovers the significant challenges faced by cleaning professionals who work irregular and unsocial shifts. The survey, which received responses from over 2,500 cleaners in 32 countries across 6 continents, highlights the “detrimental effects” of nighttime on the health, well-being, and social inclusion of workers. The […]

SMB Sustainability Starts with Empowered Facilities Managers

Virtually every business has a carbon footprint, and with that the responsibility to understand its effect on the environment and all the entities with which it interacts. While climate action is often associated with the largest corporations, the fact is that small to midsize businesses (SMBs) make up almost 90% of global enterprises. Their individual […]

Feds Ink Another MOU to Power Facilities with 100% Clean Energy

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality announced a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) with major utility Xcel Energy. Under the MOU, the parties will work toward powering federal facilities in Minnesota, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin with 100% carbon-pollution-free electricity (CFE) by 2030. The deal is in […]