Facilities Management articles for the week of 1/3/2021 - 1/9/2021

FM Perspective: As a Young FM, Be Curious, Always Willing to Learn

As a facility manager, technical efficiency and business savvy go hand in hand.

Read This » How to Focus on Inclusivity and Equity in Restroom Design

When you think of your facility’s restroom design what comes to mind? A functional environment that meets the personal needs of users? Certainly.

Read This » Certifications and Standards Offer a Roadmap for Building Resilience

In October, the World Meteorological Organization and its partners released the 2020 State of Climate Services, a report showing that not only are the number of extreme weather and climate events increasing, but they are increasing in intensity and severity.  In the U.S., the cost of just 16 climate events this year from across the country reached more than $46 billion.

Read This » Elevator and Escalator Innovations Play Role in Pandemic Recovery

If 2020 taught us anything, it was that change is constant and to expect the unexpected.

Read This » 5 Hospital HVAC Design Strategies for the Post-COVID-19 World

As the A/E/C industry helped hospitals respond with temporary retrofit solutions to meet the surge requirements of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the interventions were focused on augmenting or modifying existing HVAC systems to create negative pressure in a standard medical/surgical patient room.   It is important that the best practices from the retrofits be applied to continuing efforts as well as the design and engineering of new hospitals.  One clear takeaway is: hospitals will need to consider investing in HVAC systems with the appropriate components and infrastructure to provide environment required to support acuity adaptable isolation spaces for airborne pathogens like COVID-19 or other viruses. Below are five considerations and potential solutions for providing a robust HVAC system that can support future flexibility. 1.

Read This » How WELL Promotes Workplace Safety, Health, and Confidence

It is almost certain that more workers will return to commercial office buildings before the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is wholly defeated.

Read This » For HVAC Efficiency, Reach Higher Than the Low-Hanging Fruit

Mike Hafney, chief engineer at Whitehurst Tower, was puzzled.  Although delighted to finally have access to his electric utility’s newly available metered usage data, if not in real-time then within a week of metered consumption, the data revealed the office building experiencing power draw at unexpected times.

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