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10 Steps to Lead an Education Facility Capital Construction Project to Success

Every capital construction project presents a unique set of challenges and variables, regardless of its size. Whatever the difficulty may be—stakeholder disagreements, material delivery delays, project coordination problems, or issues within the onsite workforce—snafus are bound to arise. Whether you are a K-12 or higher education facilities manager who regularly oversees construction projects, or whether […]

An Introduction to Total Cost of Ownership

How can a facility owner or project manager determine which product is best for the job, and for the budget? “Total cost of ownership, or TCO, is a holistic approach that allows owners to make the best decisions,” says Ana Thiemer, associate director of planning and project services at the University of Texas at Austin. […]

COVID Continuity: Best Management Practices for Face-to-Face Operations

COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has forced many higher education institutions to adjust operations across campus. The impacts of SARS-CoV-2 are seen everywhere on campus and felt within every department. When the pandemic began, many facilities management organizations (FMOs) pivoted to ensure safe and healthy facilities while maintaining continuity of service. As FMOs began to prepare for the […]

Improving Ourselves, Improving Our Staffs: Professional Development in 2021

Personal and professional development are staples of a continuous improvement regimen that can propel us in our leadership within our organizations, or detract from our progress if we fail to nurture the knowledge that we and our staffs need to thrive. The three sections that follow can be read on their own or as a […]

Incorporating Green Chemistry and Safety into Laboratory Culture

While safety and sustainability offices in higher education institutions are often seen as two separate entities with completely separate charges, in reality they are two sides of a single coin. Both groups are charged to protect people, planet, and profits, and the goals of safety are 100% aligned with the goals of a serious campus […]

Pandemic Lessons Learned at CU Boulder: Space Optimization and More

The realization began setting in for University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) leaders in early April 2020 as the chaotic early days of the COVID-19 pandemic finally allowed for an opportunity to look forward: How, in just four months, would we be able to bring students back to campus in the fall amid physical distancing […]

Sustainable Partners: Sustainable Labs and Better Buildings

We know we can’t do it alone, whatever “it” may be in our campus sustainability efforts. The facilities department is responsible for building, operating, and maintaining the built environment for educational and research purposes and generally has a large staff with which to do it. But you can be most effective when you are working […]

Taking Our Temp: How Has FM Fared?

As we approached the one-year anniversary of the campus shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we asked several APPA members to share with us what they learned from the experience, how the pandemic affected their institution and their staffs, how they responded, what was lost, and what glimmers of hope and positive outcomes they perceived […]

The Facilities Management Evaluation Program

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates is noted for this statement that he made as a farewell to his students in 399 BC. He had been found guilty by the Athenian court for his teachings and accused of corrupting his students. He was sentenced to death and committed suicide by drinking hemlock. Socrates […]

Think Managing a Campus is Tough with COVID-19? Just Add a Presidential Debate to the Mix!

They happen only every four years: presidential and vice-presidential debates. This year, three debates were held on university campuses: Donald Trump-Joe Biden at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) on September 29 in Cleveland, Ohio; Mike Pence-Kamala Harris at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on October 7; and Donald Trump-Joe Biden at Belmont […]