At the start of a new school year, college students nationwide are moving into campus dormitories and off-campus housing. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and The Center for Campus Fire Safety (CCFS) collaborate on the annual Campus Fire Safety Month campaign every year to ensure students, parents, and campus housing staff and administrators have the relevant information and resources they need to make resident living spaces as safe as possible from fires and associated hazards.

The latest statistics, according to NFPA, show that U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 3,331 structure fires each year in dormitories, fraternity houses, sorority houses, and barracks between 2018 and 2022. Fires in dormitory-type properties caused an annual average of 21 civilian deaths, 23 civilian injuries, and $21 million in direct property damage during that period. Approximately three out of four fires in these properties began in the kitchen or cooking area, accounting for 58 percent of the civilian injuries and 11 percent of the direct property damage. Cooking equipment was involved in nearly eight out of 10 fires.

NFPA and CCFS offer a wealth of tips and resources for cooking safely in resident housing, as well as several resources and tips for safely buying, charging, storing and using lithium-ion batteries to help prevent fires.

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Dirty cooling towers can cause a massive loss of efficiency for your HVAC system. Scale build-up in your cooling tower fill will limit the cooling effect, putting a strain on your entire system. Plus, the accumulation of debris, bacteria and other organics in your cooling tower basin can adversely affect your chiller’s performance, requiring frequent cleanings to maintain optimal efficiency and keep energy costs down.



However, a dirty basin can cause more challenges, as it can also cause severe health issues for anyone within proximity. Studies have shown that microdroplets from cooling towers are known to travel up to 5 miles, which means that any visitor within that proximity could be exposed to dangerous bacteria. Cleaning towers of legionella-breeding sludge is a smart, simple way to limit bacterial growth.

The Goodway CTV-1501 cooling tower vacuum allows operators to quickly remove mud, silt and debris from cooling tower basins, reducing the environment where bacteria, like legionella, thrive.

In its latest Sustainability Snapshot, Universal Fibers® illustrates its continued commitment to reducing environmental impact and advancing its social responsibility. Key highlights of the report include: Carbon Reduction, Zero Waste, Cradle to Cradle Certification and Social Responsibility.

Since its last published CSR report, Universal Fibers has achieved year-over-year carbon reduction. Today, Universal Fibers is recognized as a “Virtual Zero Waste Company,” and earlier this year became the first in the industry to earn Cradle to Cradle v4 material health certifications on its most sustainable fiber, Thrive® matter.

Universal Fibers’ EnLIST® program incorporates four fundamental pillars: providing Transparency through third-party accreditation; Life Cycle analysis, both pre- and post-production; reducing Impact on energy and material consumption; and a focus on Social Responsibility for the company's associates and the global communities in which they operate.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has just announced the winners of its 11th annual Campus RainWorks Challenge, a national competition that engages college students in the design of green infrastructure solutions that address stormwater pollution at their schools and in their communities. This year’s winning projects showcase the benefits of green infrastructure for environmental and public health protection, economic and business development, and resiliency to climate change, as well as best practices incorporated by each team.

Green infrastructure practices for stormwater management include green roofs, permeable materials, alternative designs for streets and buildings, trees, habitat conservation, rain gardens and rain harvesting systems. Utilizing these practices protects local waterways by treating rain where it falls and keeping polluted stormwater from entering sewer systems. Communities are increasingly using innovative green infrastructure to supplement or replace “gray” infrastructure such as pipes, tunnels and concrete channels. Green infrastructure reduces water pollution while increasing economic activity and neighborhood revitalization, job creation, energy savings and open space.

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Projects are creating new demands to meet management and worker expectations. Versteel recognizes this and is designing features into furniture to meet client requests, according to Scott Schwinghammer, president. He recently met with Eileen McMorrow to discuss changes in client expectations, the office, and best options to respond to change with contract products that are making their mark.

While all contract brands thrive on selling their standard products as they are designed and built, Versteel has developed a reputation for being responsive to creating modified products as needed. Schwinghammer routinely is asked, “Can you make it like this? Can you give us one of these?” The brand is nimble and comfortable with such requests. For example, a client liked a line of tables then wanted matching chairs, so the Versteel team designed and manufactured chairs to meet the demand.

Higher education institutions are striving to create very comfortable and “adult” surroundings on campus settings. What’s the solution?

Schwinghammer: Gathering has been conveyed to us as being as important as studying. Administrators are creating a common space for all types of academic disciplines for working on projects and collaboration. Catwalk, our modular seating system with ledges, is a way of creating seated areas to also accommodate "piles of students" with perfect hang-out or collaboration spots. "Perch where you want to" is Catwalk’s theme, and when specified, Catwalk allows the students to organically use the furniture.

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K-12 facilities managers (FMs) are emphasizing efficiency and cost savings as they stare down the twin challenges of aging infrastructure and budget constraints, according to a new survey by Incident IQ, the workflow management platform built for K-12 schools. With the average age of U.S. school buildings at just under 50 years old, FMs are used to juggling maintenance and repairs as stop-gap measures for needed replacements that may not fit neatly into annual budgets. The 2024-2025 K-12 Facilities Survey indicates that facilities teams are focused on decreasing maintenance costs (32.6%), improving efficiency (28.2%), and revamping learning environments (23.9%) as their top facilities goals for the 2024-2025 school year.

While 45% of respondents think their current systems and processes are somewhat effective at capturing the scale of their work, many teams are looking to make tech purchases to create greater insight. Among the top technology considerations for teams looking to improve communications and streamline workflows are:

• Computer Maintenance Management Software (CMMS) – 39.1%
• Mobile applications for staff – 21.7%
• Digital maintenance tracking – 17.3%
• Automated scheduling systems – 8.7%

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Marking the first time a textile and wallcovering introduction has won the overall Best of NeoCon Best of Competition, BOC 2024 winner Yinka Ilori x Momentum Collection combines Yinka Ilori’s signature style, inspired by his love of color and passion for joyous design, with Momentum’s commercial textile expertise. This collaboration between Momentum Textiles & Wallcovering and the British-Nigerian multi-disciplinary artist and designer combines his signature style, inspired by his love of color and passion for joyous design, with Momentum’s commercial textile expertise.

Momentum is known for prioritizing textiles that are durable and sustainable. The Yinka Ilori Collection is engineered to endure the demands of commercial use. Each textile promises beauty and functionality with exceptional abrasion resistance, bleach-cleanability, and easy maintenance, surpassing industry standards and providing peace of mind to FMs, architects and designers. Momentum's use of eco-friendly materials and processes enable healthcare designers and specifiers to create spaces that are not only visually striking but also environmentally conscious.

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NFMT REMIX (National Facilities Management & Technology) returns to Las Vegas October 25-26 with the theme: Empowering People, Advancing Practice. NFMT REMIX will empower FMs with world-class education sessions, constant networking opportunities, and access to pertinent FM subject matter, experts and influencers. Process, procedure and technology converge at NFMT Remix to give attendees the tools to advance their practice by driving innovation and optimizing performance within their facilities. 

The scope and scale of NFMT Remix attract facility leaders from all types of organizations, from Fortune 500s to small municipalities and all those in between. By attending education sessions, visiting the Expo Hall, and joining networking events, NFMT Remix attendees stay at the forefront of facilities management and gain the perspective they need to make informed decisions.

Education: NFMT REMIX attendees experience top-tier educational sessions, interactive workshops, and engaging panel discussions, all led by renowned industry leaders. In addition, registrants can participate in Huddles, attendee-driven, 60-minute discussions tackling an array of front-burner FM trends. Interested FMs can participate in such Huddles as Energy Efficiency & Standards and Emergency Preparedness & Resilience.

Register for NFMT REMIX here.

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KI has just announced its third annual Classroom Furniture Giveaway, offering K-12 teachers the opportunity to transform their learning environments. Four winners will each be awarded up to $40,000 worth of KI furniture of their choosing to turn their dream space into a reality. This year, the giveaway is open to all types of learning environments, including classrooms, libraries, esports labs, makerspaces, art or music rooms, and beyond. Three prizes will go to individual classrooms, while the fourth prize will fund a library or media center makeover.

In addition to the four grand prizes, eight runners-up will each receive a set of 30 Ruckus whiteboards. Installations are expected to be completed between December 2024 and February 2025. Submissions will open on October 1 and close on October 25. Eligible educators must be employed at a U.S. educational institution, work with grades pre-K through 12, and be at least 21 years old. The winners will be announced on November 20.

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The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in August the selection of Clark Construction to provide general construction for the new Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Headquarters at the St. Elizabeths West Campus in Washington, D.C. The CISA construction award of approximately $524 million includes an investment of $115,880,000 in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, making it GSA’s largest single IRA project investment to-date.

Designed by ZGF Architects, the CISA Headquarters project consists of the construction of a new 630,000-square-foot federal building that will provide space to house CISA in a new sustainable state-of-the-art facility. The investment includes approximately $80 million to purchase low-embodied-carbon construction materials including asphalt, concrete, glass and steel, and $35 million to meet high-performance green building standards. These investments aim to promote domestic manufacturing and clean energy industries.

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This week's Featured Book from FMLink Books is part of a collection of peer-reviewed books curated by the FMLink editorial team to provide facilities, engineering and A&D professionals with access to publications relating to the OSHA Safety topic.

Physical Security: 150 Things You Should Know is a comprehensive reference for the security professional. This book covers all aspects of security operations, from lighting and fencing to tracking systems and crime risk management.

The "150 Things" offered by Tyska and Fennelly will help professionals in the field build a well-trained, alert and conscientious security staff. The format is unique in that it identifies subjects, then discusses and highlights specifics in terms of concerns and knowledge the security professional requires.

This and other OSHA Safety titles are available for purchase on FMLink.