Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has opened applications for the 2024 Renew America’s Schools Prize, which will award $180 million for clean energy upgrades at public K-12 schools to lower costs and improve indoor air quality. Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this new round of funding builds on $178 million in grants awarded […]
The University of Tennessee Southern has been awarded over $4 million by the state, part of a larger $6 million allocation to the University of Tennessee System for one-time investments aimed at enhancing safety and security across UT Southern’s main and east campuses in Pulaski, Tenn. This funding initiative comes in the wake of a […]
The University of Georgia (UGA) announced more than $7.3 million for campus security upgrades following the violent murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley. “The protection of our students, faculty, and staff at the University of Georgia is always top of mind for me and our senior administration, and we are continually evaluating our safety programs,” said […]
If you want to make a difference in today’s social, economic, and environmental climate, a great place to start is by examining what’s going on behind the scenes in facilities. Many consider social, economic, and environmental themes the triple bottom line (TBL) of facilities management. The TBL theory suggests that instead of one bottom line, […]
Although it’s been a full three years since the start of the pandemic, the question among employers and employees about how and where to work still very much exists. Despite initial concerns when the world shut down in early 2020, work persisted and productivity flourished with the help of new collaboration tools and processes, affirming […]
Back to Basics is an article series that highlights important, but possibly overlooked, information facilities management professionals should know. Most facilities professionals have heard the term “net zero buildings” before but perhaps don’t know exactly what it means or why they should convert their facilities to net zero. Commercial, educational, industrial, and nonprofit facilities should […]
The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey completed the installation of energy-efficient LED lights throughout One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the United States. The project began in April 2022. Such lighting projects directly support BuildSmart 2025, a statewide energy efficiency program administered by NYPA […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR program is celebrating over 25 years of achievements in lighting efficiency. The celebration comes as the ENERGY STAR label for most lighting is poised to sunset after a long, successful run and the recently enacted federal sales ban on incandescent bulbs. Since the ENERGY STAR label for […]
In early October, a major bird-collision event occurred in Chicago. While there were other collisions across the city, one building, McCormick Place, killed nearly 1,000 migrating birds in a single night. Although weather patterns played a role, McCormick’s reflective glass walls and bright lighting are known to be the problem. Collisions with glass result in […]
Back to Basics is an article series that highlights important, but possibly overlooked, information facilities management professionals should know. A key aspect of a healthy facility is healthy lighting, not just to go green for the environment but also for the health of occupants. Facilities managers should therefore examine ways they can redesign their facilities […]