A key ingredient for good indoor air quality (IAQ) is good ventilation. One simple method that can be used to determine if a space is well ventilated is to measure indoor carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels with a CO₂ sensor such as the one shown here, and a new online CO₂ tool from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) can aid in a more accurate assessment and understanding about what the readings mean for your particular space.
While the direct impact that indoor CO₂ has on health is unclear, its concentration can serve as an indicator of a building’s ventilation rate, which, if adequate, can reduce the concentration of many important indoor contaminants. And where many contaminants are challenging to detect directly, carbon dioxide, despite being imperceptible to our senses, can easily be tracked with widely available CO₂ monitors. The free online CO₂ tool developed by researchers at NIST calculates target CO₂ levels for a particular building based on the user’s desired ventilation rate and takes into account such factors as outdoor CO₂ levels and a building’s size and indoor temperature, as well as the number of occupants and their age, weight and level of physical activity, enabling FMs to detect potentially unfavorable conditions that could lead to the buildup of harmful contaminants.
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The conditions of indoor environments have never been more important to our health, safety and comfort. On top of the risk of germs and viruses spreading, general pollutants are two to five times higher indoors than outdoors. For businesses, a healthy indoor environment can be the difference between employees and customers being happy to come to a building or completely avoiding it.
But how do you really know if your building is healthy? Oftentimes, the ability to accurately track things like indoor air quality and water safety is a data black hole. Infogrid’s intelligent building platform allows you to understand the way people use the spaces you manage so you can improve their experiences and create desirable places to work and visit.
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Do you know how healthy your buildings are? Please select one of the following:
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Yes, I can answer performance/delivery questions with facts to make decisions.
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No, I cannot answer performance/delivery questions with facts to make decisions.
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Originally appeared in Sep/Oct FMJ — Previously known as sustainability and often denoted as the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit, ESG is the acronym for environment, social and governance. Whereas CSR (corporate social responsibility) is about an organization’s sustainability agenda, ESG is about measurable actions and outcomes.
The concept may be far from new, but clearly it has gained significant momentum over time. ESG is no longer profiled as a corporate issue; it has entered the realm of politics and policy making. In the U.S., California published the California Environment Reporting System (CERS) in November 2020. The EU is preparing its Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) next to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) plays a central role in this.
Tangible ESG approaches for the real estate and facility management industries are still in their infant stages. So, what is looming ahead? What can FMs expect in terms of ESG influences?
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The Gridd® adaptive cabling distribution system enables a building to adapt to inevitable technology changes, remain highly functional and operational, and save money at every stage of its life cycle. An original contributor to the circular economy, Gridd’s fluid, modular design enables moves, adds and changes without the mess of traditional cabling methods. If a facility manager can avoid contributing to the waste stream, that’s also an added benefit to the company’s ESG commitment.
The Gridd Mobile App makes it even easier for FMs, IT teams, electricians and maintenance personnel to make power and data cabling. Gridd Mobile provides augmented reality (AR), technical support, as-built drawings, how-to videos, original site pictures, and product information conveniently accessible on a smartphone or tablet.
Gridd Mobile allows facility technicians to see exact power, voice, and data cabling locations through the floor in an instant, making systems’ changes quick and easy. Gridd Mobile improves the life of your facility, allowing future facility teams, even years from now, to make moves, adds and changes to the same space with ease. When using Gridd Mobile, there is no knowledge lost between teams.
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As many companies communicate firmer “return to the office” guidance this fall, a new survey of 176 companies shows that a wide gap between manager and employee sentiment persists when it comes to regular attendance in the office — leaving open the question of whether employees will actually return at a regular cadence that endures over time. The survey, conducted for CBRE in August by CoreNet Global, gauged the sentiments of senior leaders at 176 companies in the U.S. and Canada on topics such as the progress of their return to the office, the amenities they have added or improved, and their plans for expanding or contracting their office portfolios.
In the first eight months of this year, many companies sought to ease employees back to their offices rather than mandate attendance. In September, several high-profile companies attracted headlines by enacting firmer attendance guidelines, and anecdotal accounts describe busier commutes in some markets. Still, CBRE’s survey found even in August that 58% of companies reported employees were working in the office less often than executives expected. That’s in comparison to 39% who said attendance was ideal and 3% who said it was more than anticipated.
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Landscape Forms, a leading North American designer and manufacturer of high-design site furniture, structure, LED lighting and accessories, recently introduced Backdrop, a system of modular panels and accessories. Offering a new and uniquely versatile way to create welcoming outdoor destinations, Backdrop can be ideal for campuses, streetscapes, residential communities, and retail and hospitality locations.
Backdrop is another innovative product of Landscape Forms’ collaboration with KEM STUDIO, a partnership that brought to market the acclaimed Upfit adaptive outdoor structure system. Thanks to Backdrop’s modular design and engineering, the system creates attractive, high-value destinations for privacy, rest, productivity, and social connection along the busy routes that people frequent most and in otherwise challenging or underutilized outdoor real estate.
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Originally appeared on fnPrime — Long before women enter the workforce, they are taught about safety: Don’t walk alone at night; if you wear your hair up, it’s actually easier to grab; lock your doors immediately when you get in your car; pepper spray is a good thing to carry; pay attention to your surroundings. While the list goes on and on, only women are familiar with what is on it.
A woman's tweet explaining why she chooses to take elevators over stairs due to the lack of cameras in stairwells to her male co-worker recently went viral, prompting the discussion on safety within the workplace — a conversation especially important for industries traditionally dominated by men like facilities management. It is important that women feel safe within their workplace. According to the report The Facts Behind the #metoo Movement, 38% of women said they had been sexually harassed at work, with 13% of respondents saying that it was the place they were harassed the most. For many women employees, feeling safe — in both a physical and psychological stance — is a major concern. Injury Facts reports that in 2020, a woman was the target in 73.3% of all assaults reported on the job.
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Will Webster, Western regional vice president and SME for ABM Facility Services, met with Eileen McMorrow, editor-in-chief, The McMorrow Reports and FMLink, to discuss how ABM Engineering+ delivers more value through comprehensive, customized solutions and specialized technical services. Corporations, healthcare systems and higher-education institutions are challenged to find trained and qualified engineers to operate and maintain facilities. With more than 10,000, on-site engineers and 1,750 maintenance technicians on the road, ABM is one of the largest providers of on-site engineering solutions in the U.S. ABM’s team answers questions about how it provides its unique-to-the-industry solutions.
Please provide insight on the NFPA 70E and other technical training from qualified instructors, resulting in reduced risk, safer work practices, increased compliance and greater career opportunities for on-site staff.
Will Webster: ABM provides NFPA 70E training inhouse with our own Electrical Safety SMEs who have NETA training. This reduces the overall cost for technical training and the cost to our clients. Our technical training covers a variety of subjects like HVAC, energy savings, electrical, etc. For the HVAC training, we cover topics like refrigerant recovery, troubleshooting, controls, cooling tower maintenance, IAQ and chiller annuals.
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Education sessions and Product Zones are the most important reason to attend NFMT Remix in Las Vegas, November 2-3.
For Pro and Elite attendees, there are 60-minute sessions focused on foundational principals of Facilities Management. The key trends of technology, safety and sustainability tend to be cross-functional and have a major impact on overall facilities strategies. These sessions are geared as more introductory sessions. Think Tanks, for Elite attendees, are 60-minute informal discussions focused around either a specific building type or trend. This will allow you to network with your peers in a small group environment. Attendees can pull up a chair and ask your questions to like-minded facilities managers from around the country. Each roundtable will have an official moderator to help guide the conversation.
Concurrent Sessions run on Wednesday and Thursday, while Product Zone Sessions are featured during the Expo hours between 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The Women in FM panel and a reception conclude Wednesday’s activities.
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New events posted this week
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