myfacilitiesnet

Platforms are turning up all over the place in facilities. There are platforms for single products and platforms for the entire building, off-the-shelf platforms and custom platforms. Some platforms are based in the cloud, and some are located on devices in facilities. Familiar products like building automation systems and integrated workplace management systems can be platforms and so can the emerging generation of Building...

In the past two decades, facility managers have had to deal with hurricanes, floods, fires, and pandemics. Many of those have had devastating local or regional consequences. But none has matched the global impact of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Still, a look back at the way that facility leaders have responded to disasters of the recent past shows a common thread: a keen awareness of the human cost of the disaster and...

There are two ways to read the headline. One is with a sigh and a shake of the head. “People, people, people.” Facility managers have plenty of reasons to use that tone. After all, employees, visitors, patients, students, shoppers, guests — you name it — are often not shy about expressing their displeasure when a building doesn’t meet their expectations. And the way they treat the building...

Would you know a smart building if you walked into one? I’m not sure I would. There is no shortage of tools to make buildings smarter. Sophisticated, interoperable building automation systems. Increasingly advanced controls for a wide range of equipment. Intelligent sensors to capture data about the way the building is operating and the way it is being used. Platforms to integrate multiple building systems. Powerful...

When experienced facility managers talk about the need to attract new talent to the field, it’s young people like Nicole Meyers that they have in mind. Meyers is a facilities specialist at Enterprise Holdings. Her goal is to make employees more productive. She’s excited to work with new technology. Her focus is on preventing problems rather than putting out fires. And she’s eager to market facility management...