Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
Whether a new construction project crosses your desk that is $25,000 or $25,000,000 (or more) in expected cost, how do you know with any certainty what the final costs will be? Conventional approaches include getting cost opinions from firms that specialize in determining construction costs through the estimating process. This is where the majority of […]
Office vacancy rates have climbed sharply in the wake of the pandemic as many firms downsized office space due to remote work. Nationally, the United States office vacancy rate hovered around the high teens by late 2023 (nearly 17%–20%, up from roughly 9% pre-pandemic). Major city centers have been hit especially hard. These elevated vacancies […]
A new report from worktech company Eptura highlights macro trends at workplaces across the globe, including a wave of office returns and four main issues emerging in today’s post-pandemic work environment. The Workplace Index Report draws on a representative sample of more than 6,000 organizations within Eptura’s global customer base to showcase emerging patterns in […]
The 2019-2020 flu season appears to be off to an early start, though we’re a long way off from the peak, which is typically hits in February. This can be a high-risk period for workers in healthcare facilities where sick people may be streaming in because of an extensive community outbreak. Healthcare employers are required […]
An OSHA standard directed at mitigating workplace violence in healthcare facilities is not looming on the horizon, but not because OSHA is unaware of the main provisions such a standard would include. As it currently stands, it is not uncommon for OSHA to issue citations against healthcare employers whose employees are attacked, harmed, threatened, or […]
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 […]
In the modern digital era, how organizations interact with their customers, clients, and the general public has been fundamentally transformed. The spread of social media, online reviews, and user-generated content (UGC) has endowed businesses with more information than ever before from their consumers. This change has especially affected sectors like facilities management, where reputation tends […]
Healthy building certification organization Fitwel has announced the latest cohort of companies to join its global community of Champions, Providers, and Partners. Originally created by the CDC and U.S. General Services Administration, the Fitwel certification is used by real estate stakeholders across the globe to ensure their assets are designed and operated to positively impact […]
On Aug. 25, California regulators approved the Advanced Clean Cars II rule requiring that, by 2035, 100% of new cars and light trucks sold in California must be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). According to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the “nation-leading” regulation realizes and codifies the light-duty vehicle goals set […]
In the rapidly evolving urban landscape, parking buildings are vital components of a wide variety of facilities, and—as their functional importance grows—so does the complexity of designing and building them, especially in earthquake-prone regions. Updates to seismic codes significantly affect how structures are designed, budgeted, and constructed. These regulations, implemented to improve public safety, reshape […]