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Translate “Well, the after-hours report only averages a couple items on the report. Are the facilities really in that bad of a shape?” It’s often that we are putting out fires before they are known to anyone but us, and it’s done on top of addressing seemingly never-ending requests with limited resources and even scarcer budgets. […]
Campus Sustainability After the Pandemic
While the COVID-19 pandemic has not been declared over, it may have permanently changed the way we do things as facility officers. Initially, we implemented sanitization procedures that were previously ignored or reduced due to budget cuts. APPA Level 2 cleaning of restrooms got bumped up a little, and in some cases, to Level 1. […]
COVID-19 Fire and Life Safety Code Impacts
Looking back over all the challenges from COVID-19 that we dealt with in our facilities over the last year, I wonder how many of us, other than those who manage fire safety, think about the role of fire codes? Fire and life safety codes were utilized in the strategies for managing the threats from COVID-19. […]
Decarbonizing the Built Environment
Energy management. Utility optimization. Sustainability. Environmental stewardship. Green operations. Net Zero Energy. Carbon neutrality. These topics have been integrated into facilities management operations for more than 40 years, starting during the energy crisis of the 1970s. Facilities professionals should have a solid understanding of the context and outcomes of these topics, but most of the […]
Fire, Life Safety, and Emergency Code Updates
Change is the only constant when it comes to updates to the various codes, standards, legislation and research activities relating to fire, life safety and emergency communications systems. The intent is to continually enhance the safety of emergency responders and the public. While not all state and local jurisdictions adopt these codes and standards, it […]
Healthy Indoor Air and ASHRAE 62.1
As the chair of the APPA Standards and Codes Council, I see firsthand how the work of this council supports educational institutions. Most of the time, the work involves microsurgery of the intellectual, philosophical, scientific, and engineering narrative of the lessons we have learned, while we strive for perfection in addressing the health, safety, and […]
How to Leverage Your Data for Your Institution’s Success and Value
“Dear APPA Informatics: I am the new facility manager at Jellystone Idealized University responsible for the energy budget, among other things. Given the COVID pandemic, we had to rapidly change our HVAC systems to adjust to provide for increased air-change rates in many of our buildings. Because things happened so rapidly, we didn’t have time […]
Informatics Next Steps: A Journey to Better Knowledge
At the APPA 2019 conference, the Facilities Informatics Working Group (FIWG) cochairs presented on the current issues that the working group is seeking to answer. The most prominent issues are a) inconsistency of definitions on terms and, b) differing data formats between software vendors. The biweekly working group meetings have engaged different business enterprise software […]
Informatics: A Data-Visualization Paradigm
Many of us are now in the business of data. It seems that not a single day goes by when we aren’t buried deep in a spreadsheet. We will ask our business analysts for a report on this or that. Occasionally, we will ask for a new column or two. And more often than not, […]
Informatics: Workers and Overtime
One of the easiest pieces of data for a facility manager to gather are time records. That’s because most employees are paid by the hour, and these records are considered important information for the business office and the employee’s paycheck. But an employee’s time records should not be gathered solely for the payroll department; it […]
International Energy Conservation Code Change: Enhancement or Dangerous Precedent?
The International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) is the prevalent national model energy code for most American states and local jurisdictions. The IECC is part of the code suite managed by the International Code Council (ICC), which also manages the recognizable model codes including the International Building Code (IBC), International Fire Code (IFC), International Mechanical Code […]
Remote Inspections, Tests, and Monitoring Fire Protection Systems
Obviously COVID-19 resulted in many changes in the way we all perform our regular tasks, which included increased use and acceptance of virtual meetings and the virtual work environment. While the same can be said for inspection and test activities, in reality the use of remote inspections, tests, and monitoring of fire protection systems was […]
The Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act
Facilities managers should have some familiarity with the Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act. At most, they may have responsibility for fire safety and fill the role of “designated official” for reporting purposes. At the least, they may need to provide information on building fire-protection features as required for the Annual Fire Safety Report (AFSR). It […]
Uniform Plumbing Code and WaterSense Sanitary Innovation: O&M
Plumbing Codes and Standards There have been significant changes over the decades implementing water conservation through the Uniform Plumbing Code and plumbing standards for commercial buildings. Many older commercial water closets in use, prior to 1994, were designed to use 3.5 gallons per flush (GPF) with a flush-valve style toilet. The federal Energy Policy Act […]
