Category: Maintenance and Operations

cleaning

Back to Basics: Cleaning, Disinfecting, or Sanitizing? What’s Right for Your Facility?

Back to Basics is an article series that highlights important, but possibly overlooked, information facilities management professionals should know.  It’s important to properly clean, disinfect, and sanitize to make buildings healthy. There is some confusion among the three terms, but it’s important to focus on cleaning and disinfecting unless your facility or local, state, or […]

What Are Healthy Buildings?

As we head into Healthy Buildings Week here at Facilities Management Advisor, one might ask: “What are healthy buildings?” Healthy buildings involve a variety of categories, including design, cleaning protocols, ventilation, water quality, safety and security, clear communication and signage, encouragement of active occupants, and certification programs. Healthy buildings take on added importance as many workers […]

Do You Need an Office Manager or a Facility Manager? Know the Difference

Although office managers and facility managers have some overlapping roles and responsibilities, their contributions in the workplace are different and unique. As an employer, recruiter, or potential commercial building owner, if you are currently considering employing either of these managers in your premises, here are the details to help you narrow down which of these […]

Better Buildings: How Facilities Management Impacts Both Security and Productivity

There can be no doubt that the buildings we work in have a big impact on us. This issue was brought to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many people were asked to work remotely.  Interestingly, around one-third of workers admit that they are less productive when working from home. So, we can say […]

5 Ways COVID Changed How Americans View Public Restrooms

Upon entering the third year of the pandemic, Americans are not only more sensitive to germs in public restrooms, they now hold higher standards for the cleanliness, condition, and technology used in these shared spaces, according to the annual Healthy Handwashing Survey from Bradley Corp. conducted in January. Despite ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks, most Americans have […]

Improving IAQ Decreases Health Risks and Boosts Efficiencies

One of the biggest challenges for building owners and facility managers is maintaining healthy indoor air quality (IAQ). This is especially difficult during the winter months, as everyone spends more time indoors with the windows closed. The result is indoor pollutants having less chance of escaping through ventilation and a better chance of irritating building occupants. […]

FAA Offering $1B for Airport Improvement Projects

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has opened the application process for airports to submit projects for the first $1 billion of the Airport Terminal Program funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The grant will fund safe, sustainable, and accessible airport terminals; on-airport rail access projects; and airport-owned airport traffic control towers. Projects may also include multimodal […]

It’s the End of an Era for Plan Rooms

The modern facility campus is packed with the most advanced technologies in the world, allowing facilities teams to see through walls and ceilings via virtual reality and augmented reality, curb energy usage while improving the workplace experience, and analyze data to predict outcomes via machine learning and artificial intelligence—so, why is it that so many […]

3 Ways Smart Buildings Will Change the Role of the Facility Manager

Smart buildings are becoming increasingly popular. These buildings provide the information needed to make more intelligent and efficient decisions when managing them. And, they continue to bridge the gap between physical assets and digital innovations by leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT), data collection, and smart analytics. For FM professionals, smart buildings are reshaping the […]

Preparing the Workplace and Campuses to Meet COVID-19 Challenges

Facility management professionals should advocate that their workplaces and college campuses reconsider their physical spaces and invest in technology to help create safer environments. This would allow workers and students to feel safe to return to in-person experiences after they were forced to go remote because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those suggestions were detailed during […]