With the 2023 hurricane season already underway, the research nonprofit Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) has released its 2023 Hurricane Ready guides featuring science-based preparedness tips to help business owners strengthen their properties ahead of potentially damaging storms. As Hurricane Ian demonstrated in 2022, it only takes one storm to wreak havoc on millions of lives. According to the NOAA, the extreme winds and torrential rainfall of Ian caused $112.9 billion in damage after it made landfall in western Florida.
IBHS research shows resilient construction practices can reduce costly storm damage, breaking the cycle of loss and better preparing businesses for generations to come. To better prepare existing buildings, Hurricane Ready guides translate findings from decades of IBHS field and lab research into actions to be tackled ahead of the season, as well as last-minute actions to take when a storm nears.
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In a volatile economy, businesses look for ways to curb costs. Many, still in post-pandemic recovery mode, are under extreme pressure as they manage against the threat of a recession and ongoing economic uncertainty. Saving money may seem like the logical solution, but in some cases, cutting costs can become a costly mistake, says facilities services provider OpenWorks in a new White Paper, Risky Business. For many companies, facility services represent a relatively small 2-5% budget line-item cost. This deceptively small expense is one that many companies believe can be trimmed – often by bringing the responsibilities in house.
The challenge is that behind this seemingly prudent budget-cutting decision lurks a multimillion-dollar operational risk that financial, operational and facility leaders may not recognize when they choose to in-source commercial cleaning.
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Sixty-six percent of facility professionals identify staffing and retention as a top challenge for 2023, while 54% of FM managers and staff have left or have considered leaving their job in the past year. These results from the Facility Management (FM) Training Outlook Survey indicate the top challenges facing facility professionals today and how organizations can improve retention and overcome staffing pressures.
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 FM training and credentials from both the management and staff points of view. The latest survey was conducted in January through April of 2023 to identify top FM challenges and workforce trends, determine the current need for FM training and credentials, and gauge how sentiments may have shifted over time.
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ABM launches single-source electric vehicle ecosystem with branded EV charging stations and operating software to meet demands of drivers |
ABM, a national provider of facility services, infrastructure solutions and parking management, has debuted its first branded electric vehicle (EV) products, including Level 2 and 3 charging stations and a cloud-based operating platform for EV chargers made possible by a partnership with Noodoe. With this, ABM bolsters its ability to provide comprehensive single-source solutions to design, build, operate and maintain custom, scalable EV infrastructure installations.
ABM EV charging stations and hardware: ABM has launched branded chargers, along with related accessories, to help prepare customers to meet current needs of drivers while future-proofing for tomorrow. ABM’s chargers include: ABM Level 2 AC Charging Stations and Level 3 DC Fast Chargers.
ABM EV OS software: This advanced and versatile cloud-based operating platform helps customers optimize the user experience through autonomous operations, while enabling the lowest possible operating cost. With the ability to run a single charging station or a network across multiple locations, the software provides intelligent monitoring, remote operation management, comprehensive reporting and automatic infrastructure diagnostics. The software also provides payment processing and is customizable with integrations such as customer loyalty programs, entry badges and parking systems.
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This article first appeared in the May/June 2023 issue of FMJ
by Jim Lane — Like any organization, FM services teams are only as strong as their weakest link. For too many businesses, however, that link seems weaker than ever — or missing altogether. Why? It all comes down to talent, or the lack thereof. There are more open positions in trades like HVAC, plumbing and electrical than there are people to fill them. For instance, recent statistics show that 39% of HVAC tech jobs are unfilled. Add to that the approximately 20,000 people leaving these jobs each year due to retirement or career change, and the industry may be looking at a shortage of 53% of open jobs by 2025.
This type of industry risk has tremendous negative impacts on everything from equipment health and maintenance; to costs that spiral if systems break down and need to be fixed by specialty contractors or replaced sooner than anticipated; to the ability to retain tenants, who may balk at uncomfortable climates, plumbing breakdowns, and higher rent from more bill-back items in their lease contracts. With 76% of corporate employees preferring to work from home, and building occupancy hovering at about 50%, property owners — and facility executives — cannot afford unhappy tenants.
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The Book of the Week from FMLink's new Books section hails from the State & City Codes category. This collection of peer-reviewed books has been curated by the editorial team at FMLink to provide facilities, engineering and A&D professionals with access to publications relating to the State & City Codes topic.
CalDAG 2020 is touted as the only publication available that immediately places at your fingertips all of the applicable scoping and technical requirements for disabled access in California, including the specific exceptions and exclusions, that apply to a particular project. It cross-references the 2019 California Building Code (CBC) with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations and the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design.
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When larger concrete repairs are needed, Mega-Crete Slurry II and Mega-Crete Fast Cure from Lawson Products are great choices. Easily repair cracked or broken concrete, roadways, bridges and asphalt — even in cold weather. The products are highlighted below.
- 4X stronger than concrete
- Excellent for repairing spalled and damaged concrete
- Cure hard in 2.5 hours for vehicle traffic
- Can be applied to cold floors down to 35°F/2°C, and to damp concrete
- Resistant to fuels and lubricants
- Bonds to concrete, masonry, metal/rebar and wood
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The Biden-Harris Administration recently announced a $51 million Ride and Drive Electric funding opportunity through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to accelerate the electrification of the nation’s transportation sector and spur private sector investments in clean transportation. The Administration also announced the launch of the National Charging Experience Consortium to advance rapid, on-the-ground solutions that ensure a convenient, reliable, equitable and easy-to-use charging experience for all Americans, with chargers that are made in America.
The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation will administer the Ride and Drive Electric program and has funded DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory to lead the National Charging Experience Consortium. Managed by the Departments of Energy (DOE) and Transportation (DOT), the Joint Office was created to build a national EV charging network that will spark public confidence in EV adoption and fill charging gaps in rural, disadvantaged and hard-to-reach locations.
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