Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
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 […]
Ask a facilities manager what they do, and the honest answer in 2026 sounds less like building operations and more like air traffic control. A typical morning means lining up an HVAC contractor, chasing a quote that was promised last week, approving an invoice, fielding a tenant complaint about a meeting room, confirming a fire […]
A facilities manager’s day is full of urgent tasks. Managing the visitor log rarely feels urgent. But paper sign-in sheets create small costs that add up over time. First, lost records. Paper gets thrown away, coffee-stained, or torn. If an insurance adjuster asks for a thirty-day visitor history after an incident, a missing page becomes […]
Back to Basics is an article series that highlights important, but possibly overlooked, information facilities management professionals should know. In facilities management, edge artificial intelligence (AI) can be transformative. Automating routine tasks and improving the accuracy of building data could streamline workflows and lower operational expenses. However, successful deployment requires management to understand what edge AI […]
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 federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) expected to stay on the rulemaking sidelines over the next few years, states are moving in different directions regarding workplace safety. Some are tightening their […]
A fire scene can look calmer once the trucks leave: the flames are out, the alarms have stopped, and people want answers, access, and a timeline for reopening. That moment calls for a slower, more controlled pace from facility teams. Recovery should account for fire residues and odors that may affect the building, HVAC system, […]
Enterprise tech implementations that tend to stick usually share the same story: an internal champion, a clear ownership structure, and a change management plan that exists in practice, not just on paper. There’s a clear parallel to cleaning robotics. The underlying technology and engineering have matured to where the equipment is highly reliable. What determines […]
A building’s public safety communication system passes inspection. The certificate of occupancy stays intact, the fire marshal signs off, and the facilities team moves on. Twelve months later, the same system fails recertification. Nothing was touched. Nothing was changed. And yet, somewhere between last year’s pass and this year’s test, the building quietly lost coverage. […]
Facilities management is entering a new phase with intelligence, foresight, and strategic value at the forefront. As buildings generate more data than ever before, facilities leaders now have the opportunity to turn that information into competitive advantage. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a practical way to transform fragmented building data into proactive operational intelligence. More importantly, […]
Editor’s note: Originally published in 2024, this article is being reposted in honor of the upcoming holiday. In facilities management, workplace safety is key. But, hey, you aren’t always working—at least hopefully not! If you’re one of the millions of Americans set to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday, you should make sure to prioritize […]