May 2022
The American Institute of Architects (AIA), in partnership with the University of Washington and the University of Minnesota, has published a new supplementary edition of the Guides for Equitable Practice, titled Justice in the Built Environment.

The latest edition serves as a guide to architects and design professionals interested in doing more to advance justice in the context of their design work. It also provides perspective to architects curious about whether there is anything an individual practitioner or firm can do to help advance equity in the built environment and in society.
Generation Z students (born between 1997 and 2012) are different than Millennials in terms of lifestyle preferences and unique needs in student housing, as a recent opinion piece from KWK Architects points out. Gen Z students are the most digitally engaged group, as they have never known life before technology. They are also the most diverse and well-informed in knowing exactly how to get the information they need to make decisions.

To this end, university housing for the Gen Z student needs to incorporate the digital world. For example, many housing providers are utilizing apps to field student complaints and needs, plus track and communicate with students in real time. Reporting something like the heat not working needs to be able to be communicated in real time, 24/7.
Sixty-five percent of government employees say they are burned out — a significantly higher number than their private sector counterparts (44 percent), according to new research from Eagle Hill Consulting.

Government workers also indicate they are more likely to leave their organization in the next 12 months (49 percent), indicating a higher burnout rate as compared to private sector workers (30 percent).

This research comes as the United States continues to face an acute worker shortage, and the number of Americans quitting their jobs continues to rise. The results signal that the ongoing “Great Resignation” is having a sharp impact on workers who remain in their jobs, especially in the public sector.

Global building technology society ASHRAE provided technical support for a newly released report from the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) detailing how school districts around the country have continued to manage air quality within their schools during the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Managing Air Quality in the Pandemic: How K-12 Schools Addressed Air Quality in the Second Year of Covid-19 builds on an April 2021 report, Preparation in the Pandemic: How Schools Implemented Air Quality Measures to Protect Occupants from Covid-19, which ASHRAE notes was the first and only known national survey of on-the-ground implementation of indoor air quality (IAQ) improvements at schools during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The new report highlights the urgent need to better support school districts with implementation of airborne infection control strategies to support mitigation of the immediate Covid-19 threat, as well as future pandemics, seasonal epidemics and to improve overall IAQ.
Fast reads . . .
The way people work and learn has changed, and the need for flexibility and multiple-use buildings has increased dramatically. How do you set up a traditional space to fit the needs of multiple people? And what is the technology needed to achieve these goals?

Readers are invited to tune in to this recorded webinar, Space Management and Tenant Engagement Roundtable, organized by the publishers of fnPrime. You will watch top facilities leaders share best practices and latest trends around utilizing and managing space effectively.

Walk away with key takeaways such as:
  • Understanding of how space management trends have changed
  • Best practices for space management
  • How to utilize space most efficiently
NeoCon 2022 is expected to host a large number of facilities managers, college and university planners, and other workplace professionals as they investigate resources for transforming their offices to meet worker expectations and learning environments that respond to teachers and students following the pandemic. From June 13-15, NeoCon will offer daily on-site keynotes and special programs as well as 47 virtual CEU-accredited programs from leading industry experts from a wide cross-section of fields. The sessions will span eight program tracks: Workplace, Healthcare, Education, Facilities, Wellness, Sustainability, Design Skills, and Industry Direction and delve into the topics that are making an impact on the design industry.

The Facilities track offers six CEU-accredited sessions on the latest in facility design and management. The McMorrow Reports’ editorial team plans on attending all these CEUs between when they are live online as well as anytime on demand (and for accreditation) through July 15, 2022. Track of 6 sessions: $120.
With a limited talent pool and a competitive hiring landscape, a key challenge for employers is finding enough talent to effectively manage their facilities and enable their organizations to meet their strategic goals. Instead of relying on external recruitment, more employers are using internal training funds to help FM staff with high potential build the right skills while increasing confidence and credibility.

For built environment professionals, 2022 is proving to be a year of rebuilding and growth worldwide.

Since 2019, the Professional Facility Management Institute (ProFMI) and Building Operating Management (BOM) magazine have been conducting the Facility Management (FM) Training Outlook Survey to determine the need for facility management training and credentials from both the management and staff points of view. The latest survey was conducted in February and March of 2022 to identify FM workforce trends, determine the current need for FM training and credentials, and gauge how sentiments may have shifted over time.
This study answered several key questions in four categories: Building and retaining the FM workforce; the value of FM training; addressing the FM skills gap; and the important of FM credentials and qualifications.
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