December, 2008

Presidential candidates make a lot of promises. It’s part of the game, so nobody believes they’ll keep most of them. Presidents-elect do the same thing, but maybe there’s a difference. Maybe — given they’ve already won election...

Why does deferred maintenance matter, anyway? After all, buildings have operated for decades and even centuries in less-then-ideal conditions. Despite a few complaints from occupants and the occasional visitor about leaky plumbing, drafty doors and windows...

What good is technology if people don’t know how to use it? More specifically, what good are high-performance buildings if maintenance and engineering departments can’t maintain them properly? Managers have struggled for years to find and...

Who, exactly, is managing all these data centers? This question hit me as I read article after article about the expansion of data centers in response to organizations' growing reliance on Internet computing. Data centers use vast amounts of energy...

One day, facility designers will learn it pays to listen to maintenance early in process of designing a facility. Unfortunately, that day still seems far away for many organizations. Chris Matt, the associate editor of Maintenance Solutions , recounted...

The arrival of BACnet in the mid-1990s took building automation from concept to reality by allowing managers and operators to integrate the control of separate HVAC systems and components. Now, building automation for new construction and existing facilities...

Technology never rests, and wireless, or wi-fi, technology is hardly an exception. In health care facilities, for example, it’s now more common for wireless systems to transport signals to and from a host of devices — computers, refrigeration...

Roofs are about to step into the high-tech era, and the step could create new challenges for facility design and construction. My most recent Technology blog discussed possible practicality challenges posed by installing solar technology on existing facilities...

After years of promise and potential, solar technology finally might have arrived as a viable alternative for institutional and commercial facilities. Or has it? The industry recently has added several thousand jobs in the production of solar cells and...

It’s easy to see why many organizations are drawn to the designs of famous architects. Their buildings can generate good publicity for a company and go a long way in defining its image. But a big name on the front end of a project can lead to huge...

The conditions in a facility can have a major impact on its occupants, reports USA Today. Gosh, imagine that. It seems hotel owners, developers and architects are taking a greater interest in noise problems and acoustics affecting their facilities. From...

Doing research for an article years ago, I decided to put myself in someone else’s place. I moved around a city’s downtown area in a wheelchair to check out its accessibility. I wasn’t the first person to use this tactic to test a building...

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...

A colleague of mine likes to remind anyone within earshot of the benefits of considering issues “from 35,000 feet.” The phrase usually gets lost in a tide of similar business jargon and loses its impact. Still, it’s a powerful idea in...

A bridge collapses in Minneapolis. An underground steam pipe explodes in New York City. Levees break in Louisiana. An army hospital in Washington, D.C., deteriorates to the point of threatening patient health. As tragic as they are, such events throw...

I've been thinking a lot about training lately, and now I have a headache. It seems as though most of my discussions with managers these days somehow come around to their desire to ensure their front-line technicians receive access to the training...

Since 9/11, managers and owners in all types of facilities have struggled to balance two essential priorities — tighter security and practical, cost-effective security technology. Most organizations have taken some steps to retrofit buildings to...

Managers in commercial and institutional facilities undoubtedly tire of trying to explain to those outside their organizations — and within, sometimes — just how difficult it is to find site-specific solutions to ensuring the security of their...

Crises and breakdowns come and go in facilities, but energy use remains a constantly high priority. It’s nearly impossible to have a conversation with a manager these days that doesn’t touch on using and saving energy. In light of that, it’s...

You can't pick up a trade magazine these days without reading about the problem of information overload — while at the same time being offered even more information on addressing the issue. Every profession has its unique challenges when it...

Fallout continues in the wake of articles in The Washington Post in February on the deplorable conditions in some buildings at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Patients and their families still must deal with poorly maintained facilities, though repairs...

Your facilities might be "green," but are they really green? When it comes to roofing systems, there is a difference because some roofs really are green, as in the color of vegetation. The growing interest in all things green for institutional...

For years, few people seem to have given much thought to the pervasiveness of hazardous materials in institutional and commercial facilities. Most probably followed the lead of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which focused its efforts on industrial...

Managers for years have bemoaned the dwindling pool of qualified workers entering facilities maintenance and engineering. And as the existing work force ages, their challenge is slowly looking more and more like a crisis. Worker training offers managers...

This continent is home to at least 12 major seismic faults. California obviously features a large number of them, but many other states, including New York, Nebraska, Utah, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, also have faults running through them. (For more...