Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
A new pickleball lighting system should not be accepted simply because every luminaire turns on. For a facilities manager, acceptance is the point at which design assumptions become operating reality. Light levels, uniformity, glare control, aiming, controls, documentation, and maintainability all need to be checked against the agreed project requirements. A structured commissioning process protects […]
Facilities managers are feeling increasing pressure to limit operational expenses and maintain aging buildings efficiently. Building information modeling (BIM) already serves as the digital underpinning for facility life cycle management. BIM, coupled with artificial intelligence (AI), is a more responsive technology that can analyze building data and support smarter decision-making. Why BIM Is Ready for […]
More than 10,800 K-12 schools representing 7+ million students across the United States now use solar energy, helping schools lower electricity costs, invest more resources in students, and strengthen their communities, according to a new report from clean energy nonprofit Generation180. The sixth edition of Brighter Future: The State of Solar & Battery Storage in U.S. […]
Editor’s note: FM Perspectives are industry op-eds. The views expressed are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of Facilities Management Advisor. With the increasing energy supply volatility today, renewable power is one of the key differentiators for commercial and industrial facilities in managing operational cost fluctuations. Integrating solar or wind power into a building energy […]
Retail facilities depend on reliable building systems to keep stores safe and efficient. Maintaining heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment, refrigeration units, lighting, and other critical assets is essential for minimizing disruptions, controlling operating costs, and creating a positive customer experience. Artificial intelligence (AI) is helping facilities managers take a more proactive approach by analyzing […]
Some building owners and tenants view facilities managers as people who handle unexpected problems. But in many cases, the problems FMs face are predictable. The evidence: an analysis of 9 million service requests from 2024 and 2025, which revealed common patterns across geographies, building classes, and building types—patterns that may remove the element of surprise and […]
In a city like Chicago, electrification rarely happens in isolation. Large retrofit projects are almost always delivered in occupied buildings, alongside active operations, and under pressure to modernize multiple systems at once. The projects that succeed understand this from the start. Electrification works best when treated as core infrastructure—the backbone that supports building automation, electric […]
Employee discomfort, rising energy bills, and an HVAC system that’s constantly working overtime are common challenges in large facilities, with poor air circulation being the leading factor. Facilities that incorporate HVLS (high-volume, low-speed) fans can balance temperatures, improve occupant comfort, and reduce operating costs without requiring infrastructure alterations. The HVAC Is Running, and the Space […]
Editor’s note: FM Perspectives are industry op-eds. The views expressed are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of Facilities Management Advisor. Artificial intelligence (AI) is showing up in more conversations about HVAC energy savings. That is not surprising. Heating and cooling are expensive, controls data is increasingly available, and many buildings still have room for […]
On this latest episode of FMA Shorts, James Waddell, an AI expert from Cognitive Corp., discusses common ways the futuristic tech can help improve facilities management. This clip was taken from a webinar titled “AI-Powered FM: Unlocking Tangible Results.” The full session is available for FREE on-demand here.