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Meet Dave Chavez
Strategic Customer Representative, Sunbelt Rentals, Inc.
How did you get into your current position?
A: After working in tech sales in the Greater Seattle Area, I decided that I wanted to go back to my roots and get involved with a company that supported the construction industry. I quickly found my home with Sunbelt Rentals as a territory sales professional managing the Bellevue area. After 3 years in the role, I again sought a new opportunity, however this time, I would continue with Sunbelt in the newly formed sales position that focuses solely on our customers in the post-construction FM space. It has now been a little over a year in this position and I can say this has been one of the most enjoyable experiences in my life thus far.
How do you support Facility Managers?
A: I support FMs by providing solutions to their daily challenges. Sunbelt’s core offerings include items such as forklifts and material handling equipment to get product from A to B, and scissor lifts and boom lifts to access hard to reach places safely. However, what has made Sunbelt such an exciting place to work is the ability to serve our customers with the most diverse rental fleet on the market. From supporting janitorial customers by offering long term rental solutions on the floor cleaning gear such as sweepers and scrubbers, to providing mobile temporary HVAC solutions to a client at their 2000+ retail locations, Sunbelt has offerings applicable to most FMs. One of my recent success stories came from providing a client with 1000kw of power to keep a 460T chiller online in a critical space. From there, the client was able to utilize our HVAC division to acquire 4 25T units, with power, to perform a weekend shutdown for annual maintenance.
How do you benefit from the IFMA and the Seattle Chapter?
A: There’s an old saying I like to joke about – “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. While I tend to make fun of that saying, it does ring true. The Facility Maintenance space is dynamic, and when a problem happens such as a boiler malfunction or perhaps thieves stealing the copper out of your chiller, it is vitally important that each FM knows who to call in that moment. The greatest value I receive from Seattle IFMA is visibility, so I should really change the saying to be “It’s not who you know, but who knows you!”.
Any advice for new members?
A: Attend, sponsor, and get out there! Be yourself, and don’t be afraid to ask anyone for help. Not only are most members responsive, but the chapter truly is a community that is built around everyone succeeding.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: My family and I live just north of Seattle in the Edmonds-Lynnwood area. Most of my weekdays are spent raising my 1-year old daughter and getting together with friends and family. The Chavez household are big Seattle Sports fans, (GO HAWKS!) and seasonally, I like to snowboard in the winter, and golf through the summer. I also grew up playing soccer and continue to play weekly to this day.
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FM and ISO: Global Change at a Local Scale | |
Tune into IFMA’s Connected FM podcast with Duncan Waddell, Chairman of ISO TC 267 Facilities Management and Managing Director at FM Intelligence Party Ltd., alongside Adam Thordarson, Member of ISO/TC 267, Director of Facilities Management at Bouldering Project, and President of our Greater Seattle Chapter of IFMA. In this discussion, they delve into the intricacies of the ISO 41001 series of FM standards, shedding light on its pivotal role in defining strategic elements, tactical approaches, and operational delivery to help empower FM professionals to seamlessly align with the demands of their organizations while ensuring their facilities adhere to rigorous global standards. https://connected-fm.simplecast.com/episodes/fm-and-iso-global-change-at-a-local-scale | |
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IFMA Core Competency of the Month | |
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IFMA Core Competency of the Month – Risk Management
Each month, our chapter brings resources to educate our members on one of the core competencies defined by IFMA. In October, we focus on Risk Management. To learn more about this important subject, we encourage you to attend our Lunch and Learn on November 3rd and check out the national IFMA core competency class on the topic. “Risk management has become a critical component of strategic management. It is the way an organization can live with the uncomfortable reality of risk. The facility manager’s role in risk management is to understand the vulnerabilities of the organization’s structures and infrastructure and balance the critical nature of the demand organization’s mission and functions against the possible occurrence and impact of a risk event.
Facility managers demonstrate competency in Risk Management by mastering the knowledge and skills necessary to:
- Identify human and physical assets that would be at risk should a threat occur.
- Assess and evaluate the level of vulnerability should a threat occur.
- Prioritize the severity of each occurrence.
- Prepare a plan to mitigate as much risk as possible.
To learn more about Risk Management check out our IFMA’s core competency course.
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The Greater Seattle IFMA has five free base memberships to give away by October 31 to thank FM professionals for their contributions and attract new FMs to the organization.
If you are interested in a free membership or referring a member,
please reach out to our Chapter President, Adam Thordarson
adam.thordarson@boulderingproject.com
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Save the Date for Facility Fusion in Boston, MA: May 5-7 2024
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IFMA’s 2023 Annual Report is now available online and as a pdf. | |
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Growing up a Broncos fan as a child and an IFMA fan as an adult, I could hardly contain my excitement when I found out that World Workplace was being held in Denver with a tour and welcome reception at Mile High Stadium. As I flew in on Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t wait to get to my hotel to watch the Broncos and kick off one of the greatest weeks of my life…well, let’s just say I’m glad I was there for IFMA. I wasn’t going to let a silly game get in the way of a young Trevor’s dreams of hanging out at Mile High Stadium and having a fulfilling career. Little did he know those worlds would collide.
Over the last year, I’ve plunged into IFMA and I am constantly reading up on all FM topics, groups, initiatives, and technologies. I admit that it can be overwhelming at times but I keep searching to find where I can dedicate my attention to help make an impact and what I’ve found is that World Workplace is the perfect place to do just that.
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I was in great company with our Seattle Chapter board, Adam Thordarson, Melanie Danuser, and Tony Kaufmann for the majority of the conference. I also spent some time with members of the Young Professionals board Kayla Gottschalk, Katerina Karasyova, and Derek Bacigal, fellow SFP students Aykean Matthews, Giselle Holder, and Rick Wade, inspiring IFMA Foundation Scholarship winners Sriram Posinasetty and Sri Nayani Gajji, IFMA Fellow Jon Martens, and many other FMs from all over the globe. Being able to digest, discuss, and compare notes helped me cement my experience over the week (luckily, as I am writing this almost a month later!).
At WW, the UBAs (usual big acronyms) were in full force - ESG, SDGs, TBL, AI, take your pick. In a broad view, ESG, SDGs, and the TBL are more than reducing energy use, saving money, using sustainable products, but also how FMs and our programs impact our customers, coworkers, and community. From fun lighthearted initiatives to legislative actions to combat global issues, FMs need to consider how we affect budgets, the environment, and the local and global community both now and over the next five, ten, and even twenty years. Erin Brockovich closed the event by delivering a powerful closing keynote about the importance of impact now - “Superman’s not coming, we are here”.
For FMs working to convince C-Suite to implement programs, it’s important to identify key stakeholders early on to be that program champion and help align the goal with the mission of the demand organization. It’s critical to speak the language of your target audience - the CEO gets the vision, the CFO gets the numbers, HR gets the employee impact, etc. An FM should also inspire those implementing the actual work, whether it’s janitorial, maintenance, or workplace, and have them think about all the ways they contribute to workplace operations. “What would happen if that support wasn’t there?”
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Companies are leaning on FMs to support overall Workplace Services and FMs are required to not only have the hard skills to perform or schedule work but also be effective communicators with employees and the C-Suite. They need to think about how they impact the company mission and how dissatisfaction or equipment downtime can lower morale and equate to dollars lost.
FM is an interesting role unfamiliar to most and difficult to explain, yet we are always happy to help. We are constantly trying to find the balance between putting out fires, planning, and innovating. At the end of the day, we’re responsible for adapting and aligning ourselves with the demand organization’s mission and supporting the functions of the Workplace.
I look forward to Facility Fusion in Boston and World Workplace in San Antonio next year! Bleed IFMA!
Trevor Kurtz
FMP, SFP, CFM
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Reading Recommendation from
Our Director at Large
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Facilities Planning And Design - An Introduction For Facility Planners, Facility Project Managers And Facility Managers
by Jonathan Khin Ming Lian
This book focuses on the ten essentials of facilities planning and design. It covers topics such as strategic planning, space standards, architectural programming, site selection, master planning, environmental planning, capital planning, workplace planning and design, and space management. Examples will be drawn from the planning and design of airports and universities which are large organisations with extensive campuses and are asset heavy in terms of buildings.
By learning about the planning and design processes as it relates to facilities, students and facility professionals will be able to align facilities planning and design with the organisation's strategic priorities, manage design consultants by understanding the planning and design process, manage the planning and design of spaces at different scales, and manage the use of existing space effectively.The book is designed such that its chapters may be read either sequentially or as individual standalone references or resources for specific aspects of facility planning, management and design.
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Thank You to Our Annual Sustaining Sponsors! | |
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International Facility Management Association
5727 Baker Way NW Suite 200 | Gig Harbor, WA 98332
(253) 265-3042
https://www.ifma.org/
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