Facilities Management articles for the week of 7/26/2020 - 8/1/2020

Postal Service FMs Keep on Keeping on During Pandemic

As the pandemic response rolled across the country, the importance of being able to get critical and everyday supplies to homes via delivery increased dramatically.

Read This » How Modular Healthcare Facilities Aided Pandemic Response

Modular construction allows hospitals and healthcare entities to quickly increase the number of patients they can care for during construction projects or during pandemic situations.

Read This » Beginning a New Chapter

You’ve heard that every ending is a new beginning? With the next issue, key players on this magazine’s editorial team take on new roles.

Read This » Movable Wall Systems Can Improve Acoustics, Protect Privacy

Distraction in the workplace has negative effects on cognition, and for this reason, it is important to maintain speech privacy and prevent noise distraction, says David Patton, vice president of product design at Vari.  The deep work — or deep thinking — necessary in the workplace cannot get done without properly addressing acoustical issues, which can result in a loss of productivity, a lack of engagement, friction among coworkers, and even depression, Patton says.   Moveable wall systems, which are being used more frequently in a variety of workplaces, can play an important role in establishing speech privacy and speech intelligibility in shared spaces.  “Operable partitions give people flexibility in how they use their space,” says Bryan Welch, managing director of Modernfold.  In creating temporary work areas, people want both space and sound separation, and people inside these spaces want “the same confidence in acoustical control and privacy.” Thus, the makers of wall systems must provide products that give “performance comparable to a fixed wall,” says Welch.  Moveable walls address a range of functional issues beyond acoustics. A trend Welch is seeing with movable walls is the use of more glass, because of the emphasis on meeting LEED standards and the desire for more daylighting.

Read This » Design Lessons from Healthcare Can Help Prevent Infection Spread in Restrooms

While not always top of mind, the design of the restrooms is an important element no matter what type of building is being built or remodeled.

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