November/December 2020 • volume 36, number 6

By Steve Glazner

APPA has created a new BOK Videos playlist on our YouTube channel (APPALeadership) and posted 18 short videos on a variety of topics of interest to educational facilities professionals. The purpose of the BOK Videos is to provide short, elevator-speech introductions to topics or themes related to BOK (Body of Knowledge) content, material presented at APPA’s training programs, and/or current […]

By J.B. Messer

I have written several Membership Matters columns for Facilities Manager over the years. But for some unknown reason, when preparing for this article, a question came to my mind that was something like a revelation. As I looked at the title of this column, “Membership Matters,” I found myself asking, “Is the word ‘matters’ a […]

By Aaron Salow

“Seeing is believing,” as the old saying goes—but these days, it’s much more than that. In the realm of facilities management, new visual documentation technologies are giving managers important new tools to ensure proper maintenance of expensive systems. It’s difficult to understand how useful a visual intelligence tool can be until facilities managers see it […]

By Tim Waters and Richard Derbyshire

Preparing for unexpected events is not new for higher education institutions. Contemporary emergencies range all the way from campus interlopers bearing weapons to the COVID-19 pandemic. When faced with these situations, campus leaders need to communicate with students, faculty, staff, and visitors in a manner that is effective, immediate, and appropriate for the situation. What […]

By Matt Adams, P.E.

Like everything else in the world around us, the facilities management (FM) business is set for changes resulting from the events of 2020. Considering the many changes in both our workplaces and our educational practices, there is no doubt that the “new normal” for our industry will change. Some changes are already taking place, and […]

By Charles Greene and Maria Singer

Wireless charging—we’ve all heard of it, and most of us even have it in the palm of our hands every day, embedded in our cellphones. The technology has come a long way in terms of adoption and efficiency over the past several years, but it is far from a new concept.  As far back as […]

By Kris Zimmerman, M.S., C.E.F.P., LEED AP 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 […]