Category: Facility Management

“Facilitopia” – A Brighter Vision for the Facility Industry

“Facilitopia” – A Brighter Vision for the Facility Industry

I am honored and excited to be this year’s keynote at NFMT in Baltimore, where I will be speaking about a topic near and dear to me – Facilities!  This passion for the industry is the impetus behind my utopian vision for facilties, that I have lovingly coined “Facilitopia”. Now, don’t get me wrong, I […]

Getting an A-Grade at the C-Level

Getting an A-Grade at the C-Level

As facility professionals, we are pretty good at reacting in an emergency, dealing with difficult people, figuring out how to get a square peg into a round hole, doing more with less, and many other challenges that fly at us daily.  However, the one key area where programs fail or struggle time and time again […]

Facilities Department Not a Profit Center – But Can It Be???

Facilities Department Not a Profit Center – But Can It Be???

If you have been in the facility industry long enough, you have likely heard on numerous occasions “the Facilities Department is not a profit center”, “facilities is a necessary evil”, “you are just overhead”, and many other doozies. While the facilities department does not necessarily manufacture the widgets or process the transactions of our respective […]

Maintenance Management Systems: Managing the Business of Facilities

Maintenance Management Systems: Managing the Business of Facilities

A robust, easy-to-use maintenance management system that grows with the facility program is a necessity for any facility department. Here’s how to get it right. Maintenance management systems come under many names. Computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), computer-aided facility management (CAFM) systems, integrated work management systems (IWMS), and even enterprise asset planning and resource management […]

The Rule of 100/10/1 – Learning to Speak Bean

The Rule of 100/10/1 – Learning to Speak Bean

If the facility management industry is to ever move beyond being seen as just a cost center, then they must learn how to see and convey the impact facility departments have on revenue generation and the bottom line.  There must be a clear understanding of the organization’s financials and how management perceives value.  The facility […]

Don’t Overlook These Critical Data Spaces in Your Facilities

Don’t Overlook These Critical Data Spaces in Your Facilities

Even the smallest spaces that house critical data can’t be treated like just another closet. Here’s how to make sure critical data spaces stay operational and efficient. Facility managers are often responsible for critical spaces that can range from a small converted closet that now contains a network rack to a very large data center […]

Five Keys to Effective Emergency Plans

Five Keys to Effective Emergency Plans

The scope and intent of an emergency preparedness program should span an array of emergencies. The COVID-19 pandemic crisis revealed many vulnerabilities in our global economy, healthcare systems, institutions, and supply chains; and shortcomings in facility operations and management were exposed as well. This is not to say that facility management teams did not respond […]

6 Facility Strategies to Prevent Coronavirus Spread

6 Facility Strategies to Prevent Coronavirus Spread

As facilities slowly begin to reopen, consider these important infection control tips to prevent the spread of the virus. While it is too early to fully measure the global impact of the coronavirus, it is safe to assume that how facilities conduct day-to-day business will change. There will be a new norm. People will view […]

Mobile Technology Offers Efficiency for FMs

Mobile Technology Offers Efficiency for FMs

Possibly more so than any other technology, going mobile has made facility staff’s job easier and more efficient. Here are the benefits of mobile facility technology. Possibly the most significant advance, in terms of its impact on facility staff, is the shift from paper and pagers to handheld tablets and smartphones. The power that facility […]

Understand the BAS’s Role in Facilities Management

Understand the BAS’s Role in Facilities Management

The facility management industry has seen significant gains occurring in technology in the past few decades. One example is the migration from work orders tracked on a dry erase board to online service request submissions that auto-assign to appropriate craft or contractors while providing fluid feedback to the customer. Or consider the intricate pneumatic control […]