ey Takeaways: Resilience should be integrated into long-term capital planning, with investments evaluated based on their ability to reduce future risks and lifecycle costs. Energy diversification, smart building technologies and facility modernization can improve operational reliability and help facilities withstand disruptions. Effective resilience planning is ultimately people-centered, focusing on protecting occupant safety, comfort and continuity of operations during emergencies. To be effective, resilience cannot be treated as an isolated project or a reactive measure.
Read This » ADA and Accessibility: Spotlight on Parkingany design professionals for institutional and commercial facilities concentrate almost exclusively on the building when planning new construction or renovations and largely ignore parking structures.
Read This » Dan Schied Knows What He Knows, and What He Doesn’tan Schied doesn’t know everything about grounds management, and he knows it. As director of grounds at Cornell University, Schied understands that his professional success means remaining open to new ideas, information and applications. “You have to be looking and paying attention to trends and new ways of doing things,” Schied tells Assistant Editor Elaina Myers in her cover article that starts on page 6.
Read This » How Facility Managers Can Improve Boiler Operator Trainingey Takeaways: Many facilities lack updated standard operating procedures and structured training programs, creating risks as building systems become more complex. Effective boiler operator training combines classroom instruction, hands-on experience and real-world problem-solving to build competency. Facility managers should treat training as a continuous process, using regular education, skills assessments and lessons learned from incidents to improve performance and safety. Despite the growing complexity of systems, training programs have not evolved in parallel.
Read This » FM Insights: Understanding Your RoleThe late Kobe Bryant is remembered not only as one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history, but he was also known as one of the sport’s hardest workers. “He wasn’t just a scorer.
Read This » Adaptive Reuse Bringing 1906 Hotel into 21st Centuryey Takeaways: Adaptive reuse projects can transform historic buildings into modern, economically viable destinations while preserving architectural character and strengthening connections to surrounding communities. Success in adaptive reuse often depends on flexibility and collaboration, as owners, architects and contractors must navigate unforeseen conditions hidden within aging structures and adapt plans as new discoveries emerge. One of the biggest challenges is balancing historic preservation with modern expectations, requiring careful decisions about systems such as HVAC, windows and energy efficiency upgrades to meet current standards without compromising a building’s identity. If it’s true that eventually, everything old is new again, visitors to Portland soon will have a new but somehow familiar lodging option to consider.
Read This » Should Facility Condition Assessments Be Done In-House or Outsourced?anagers also must decide who will perform the facility condition assessment — in-house technicians or outside consultants.
Read This » HVAC Upgrades Require Smart Technology Choices and Clear Expectationsey Takeaways: Facility managers should balance proven HVAC technologies with emerging innovations that can improve energy efficiency and building performance. New refrigerant regulations are reshaping HVAC planning, requiring owners to consider system-wide upgrades rather than replacing individual components. Clear communication of organizational goals and occupant expectations helps ensure HVAC upgrades deliver the right balance of performance, comfort and cost. Just as owners need to understand the condition and repair history of their existing HVAC equipment, they also need to stay abreast of new and emerging HVAC technology advances that can benefit their facilities and organizations. “Some owners are pretty savvy,” Barbee says.
Read This » Tennessee School District Takes Steps to Address IAQhe recent completion of long-awaited renovations to a historic Tennessee school building, Bridgeforth Middle School — one of the district’s oldest educational facilities, with deep ties to the community’s legacy – has proven a cause for widespread celebration. The $8.7-million project delivers improved indoor air quality (IAQ), modernized safety systems and extended life for the historic facility.
Read This » Key Maintenance Strategies for Parking Structuresey Takeaways: Proactive maintenance, regular inspections and timely repairs can extend the life of parking structures while reducing costly deterioration caused by water infiltration and environmental stressors. Successful parking structure restoration projects require careful planning around safety, traffic flow, occupant impact, scheduling and long-term durability. Selecting an experienced contractor with clear communication, detailed proposals and proven expertise is critical to achieving a successful and lasting repair project. Maintaining parking structures at institutional and commercial facilities through wear-and-tear, environmental stressors and severe weather often falls on the shoulders of maintenance and engineering departments.
Read This » Project Delivers Plumbing, Restroom Benefits to Mt. San Antonio Collegeey Takeaways: Aging facilities may eventually require complete replacement rather than incremental upgrades when systems can no longer meet operational demands or modern standards. Careful planning during design and construction can improve long-term maintainability by identifying future access, inspection and repair challenges before a facility opens. New facilities often deliver greater capacity, efficiency and sustainability, but their increased size and complexity can create new maintenance and operational demands. Even with a facility built for speed, time catches up. Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the campus of Mt.
Read This » Choosing the Right Flooring Material for Commercial Facilitiess the push to create productive spaces that improve employee well-being and enhance customer experience increases, integrating the right flooring is critical.
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