Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
As winter approaches and temperatures drop, workers or tenants at your facility may start to bombard you with complaints about the temperature. Invariably, the follow up questions will surely relate to whether or not you allow the use of portable space heaters in the colder areas of your building. So, should you?
The weather can be one fickle beast, and its unpredictability can really do a number on your energy bill. At the center of the issue is your facility’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. HVAC, like many aspects of facilities management, is rarely noticed by tenants and occupants when it’s functioning properly; but once […]
The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) and five other groups formed a new international association on indoor environmental quality (IEQ). The Indoor Environmental Quality Global Alliance (IEQ-GA) will serve as a platform for the exchange of indoor environmental knowledge and information and will promote education and research into the health and environmental quality in buildings.
As a facilities manager, are you looking for ways to improve your building’s energy performance and decrease operational costs but aren’t sure where to start? Joining a campaign in the Better Buildings® challenge may provide you with the resources you’re looking for.
California regulators recently adopted an emergency standard requiring employers to protect workers from wildfire smoke. There are exemptions to the standard, however, and building air filtration is a big one. It’s an opportunity for facilities managers to help their organizations both save money and keep workers healthy.
Wasted energy literally means money out the door of your business—and ultimately lower profitability. In addition, there is a strong correlation between the comfort of your space and an efficient HVAC system, which is another reason to focus on this often-overlooked topic.
Facility managers are responsible for handling a number of key elements that relate to the overall health, wellness, and safety of the workers in their organization. There are many hazards in a facility that are straightforward to address: putting out wet floor signs to alert workers to a slip and fall hazard, or providing hearing […]
If you’re a facilities manager in California, you should be staying up to date on the developments! California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) recently revised its draft indoor heat illness prevention standard to address stakeholders’ concerns. Employers would have to maintain the indoor temperature and heat index below 87 degrees Fahrenheit when workers […]
The Blue Valley School District (BVSD) in Overland Park, Kansas, in 2006 became the first US school district to receive the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tool for Schools National Model of Sustained Excellence Award for its efforts to improve IAQ and energy efficiency. But the BVSD actually began its program in […]
Two federal agencies have issued warnings about the hazards of working in cold weather. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reminded employers and workers that frostbite and hypothermia can occur when working in cold, wet, icy, or snowy conditions. While exposure can be a concern for facility managers who handle their own […]