Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
Building operations account for a whopping 35% of U.S. carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and renovating them is a key strategy for combating climate change, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). However, less than 1% of buildings are retrofitted each year, partly stemming from the high cost of identifying what retrofits a building―or especially […]
Update 11/15/21: The death toll has risen to 10 after a college student and 9-year-old boy critically injured at the event later died. Over the weekend, tragedy unfolded at NRG Park in Houston, Texas, when eight young concert goers, between the ages of 14 and 27, were killed when reported crowd surges occurred during the Astroworld […]
The future of construction revolves around sustainability and long-lasting materials. This prevents waste and allows for the reuse of materials. In general, construction is extremely damaging to the environment, with the construction industry contributing to over 50% of landfill waste. It is important to work with your climate to build a sustainable facility that features […]
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 […]
Here is the skinny on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) much-anticipated emergency temporary standard (ETS) on COVID-19 vaccinations for large employers. Released on November 4, the policy requirements take effect December 5 and must be fully implemented by January 4, 2022. What Large Employers Need to Know Who is covered? The ETS covers all […]
When the pandemic disrupted most facets of life as we knew it, it also accelerated a shift in visitor management (VM) to a more frictionless―and especially touchless―experience. For many companies and organizations, VM is a cumbersome manual process, with security personnel maintaining a physical entry log in which visitors would fill out a paper form […]
The Biden administration’s U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has confirmed the first six industry partners to participate in the Cold Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge. The challenge, which was announced in May at the White House, aims to reduce the carbon footprint of cold-climate heating solutions by improving the efficiency and affordability of new heat pumps in the field. Through […]
As the COVID pandemic gradually subsides, facility managers and HVAC professionals worldwide face the challenge of safely bringing buildings back online. While ensuring the mechanical system is ready to handle the many challenges of increased occupancy is important, minimizing the possible transmission of SAR-CoV-2 is critical. The following article is designed to provide facility managers […]
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has released findings from its latest “Fire Loss in the U.S.” report, which shows that the total number of U.S. fires overall rose 8% from 2019 to 2020. While some year-to-year fluctuation is normal, NFPA said this increase reflects a “far from typical” year due to the pandemic. “In […]
The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council released a series of fact sheets with strategies for improving indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools. The IAQ Fact Sheet Series is designed to help people without a technical background—such as school board members, teachers, and parents—to understand details about IAQ so that they can […]