Blogs

This isn’t good. Two years in a row I’ve gone to visit a college campus with my son. Both times I’ve come back with disasters on my mind. This year it was shooters. The most attention-grabbing part of the orientation program for parents of incoming first-year students was a video showing...

My son is a high school senior, and in the past couple of months we’ve received plenty of colorful brochures from colleges hoping to entice students to apply for admission. These pieces are well-produced, filled with pictures of smiling young people and well manicured campus landscapes. But the...

It’s too late to prevent all the harm that will be caused by climate change, say some experts, so we now have to start dealing with the new risks. The idea of adapting to shifts in the climate is gaining momentum in the face of evidence that climate change is already taking place, and will continue...

Nothing quite matches the pleasure of solving a pressing problem. It’s partly a sense of accomplishment and partly a sense of relief that the problem is out of the way. I don’t know about you, but I often feel the same sense of relief if a problem temporarily goes away on its own. So when...

With the sudden onslaught of the swine flu epidemic, many facilities managers are digging out the emergency preparedness plans from storage – or worse – trying frantically to create a plan. Are you ready? Next Wednesday – May 6 th – David Casavant will deliver a webcast on business...

When the I-35W bridge collapsed in Minneapolis last August, I tried to make a series of cell-phone calls to my friends residing in the Twin Cities. I spoke to one person right after I saw the news coverage on TV. After that, I was out of luck. Hours went by and the busy tones continued to beep away,...

A few weeks ago, a second report analyzing the tragedy at Virginia Tech was released. This time, it was an external group of reviewers, as outlined in this FacilitiesNet news article . Much of the controversy around the incident deals with the notification of students and staff about what was happening...

Two years ago this week, Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf Coast, inflicting damage and devastation from which residents and businesses are still recovering. Among the many lessons coming from this and other disasters is the role that thoughtful facility design can play in helping buildings —...

You’ve probably heard about the Energy Star Label for Buildings and the LEED green building rating system. Now there could be a new credential for facility executives to aim for, one that shows the organization is prepared for emergencies. Deep inside the bill to implement the remaining recommendations...