Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
Are water features wasteful? It’s a common misconception that indoor and outdoor water features are not sustainable amenities. Many managers and owners of commercial facilities are surprised to learn that not only can attractive and captivating water features be operated with minimal waste or harm to the environment—they can actually help improve a building’s energy […]
Making your facility sustainable through solar power has many benefits beyond the immediate and long-term impacts to your bottom line. It’s helpful to the local and global environment through a reduction in your carbon footprint, and it makes a statement to the communities in which you operate. Although solar installations are typically associated with roofs, […]
Water conservation technology of today goes far beyond low-flow appliances and fixtures. Many buildings are now being constructed with onsite non-potable water reuse systems (ONWS). These systems allow wastewater from the building or water collected on property from precipitation to be stored, treated, and reused for purposes like toilet flushing and irrigation.
Summer is here, and it’s a great season to start working on various maintenance projects. This is especially true as more facilities workers return to their workplaces in person after working remotely during the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Regular upgrades to outdoor projects may have been postponed due to COVID-19 and staff shortages, […]
When people recall their experiences in traditional parking garages, rarely do pleasant images come to mind. Instead, thoughts often center upon dank, dimly lit, multi-story structures with creaky elevators, and repeatedly circling multiple floors for that elusive parking space that usually takes far too long to find. Today, however, there is a way to eliminate […]
Kari’s Law and the Ray Baum’s Act are two pieces of federal legislation concerning Enhanced 911 (E911) services. These are advanced services for 911, the universal telephone number used in the United States for emergency services. Facilities management professionals should understand these laws to ensure that their facilities are compliant. These laws were discussed during […]
Passaic County Technical Institute (PCTI) in Wayne, N.J., is more than just a tech school. Of course the trades are offered, but it’s also a high school, open to students from grades seven through 12 with courses covering everything from criminal justice and finance to automotive technology and culinary arts. It even has an athletics and […]
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. Recently, U.S. schools received a D+ grade on the 2025 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Infrastructure Report Card. This was disappointing, but to anyone who keeps tabs on K-12 facilities management, it likely […]
Of all the jobs available in the United States, tree care operations continually rank among the most hazardous. Landscape service workers comprise less than 1 percent of the total workforce but account for 3.5 percent of all workplace fatalities, according to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries; of those fatalities, 75 percent are […]
It is important for facilities professionals to learn not only how to manage energy but also how to incorporate conservation and sustainability into their facilities. James Myers, P.E., ProFM, principal of Myers Services, recently gave a webinar on the “5 Aspects of Energy Management,” sponsored by Avetta and ABM, for Facilities Management Advisor. He has […]