September/October 2022 • volume 38, number 5

Understanding the High Cost of Buildings

Why Does It Cost So Much? Understanding the High Cost of Building a Better University

By Donald J. Guckert, P.E., APPA Fellow, and Jeri Ripley King, APPA Fellow

Planning, design, and construction organizations in higher education perform our services on the forward edge of an ever-changing world. We provide increasingly complex facilities under shortening timelines and proliferating code and regulatory requirements, while we address emerging technologies, expanding concerns about indoor air quality, and growing demands for the use of sustainable design and construction […]

Feature

Inspiring Climate-Action Leadership: Colleges and Universities Commit to Decarbonize in DOE’s Better Climate Challenge

By Briana Colon, ORISE Fellow, and Maria T. Vargas

The United States spends $400 billion every year to power buildings and industrial facilities. On average, 20 to 30% of this energy is wasted.¹ Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions presents opportunities not only to increase energy efficiency, but also to cut costs, create jobs, strengthen global competitiveness, and mitigate climate change. For the United States […]

Feature

Addressing DEI in Facility Management Operations

By From APPA’s 2022 Thought Leaders Report

Editor’s Note: Two dozen higher education leaders met in March 2022 for a facilitated discussion of diversity, equity, and inclusion as part of APPA’s annual Thought Leaders Series. This article is excerpted from the 2022 APPA Thought Leaders report, From Thin Words to Thick Action: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, available at no charge to APPA […]

From the Editor Sep/Oct 2022

By Steve Glazner

Facilities Digest Sep/Oct 2022

By Anita Dosik

The Bookshelf: Sep/Oct 2022

By Theodore J. Weidner, Ph.D., P.E., RA, NCARB, DBIA, CEFP

New Products Sep/Oct 2022

By Gerry Van Treeck

Membership Matters

Why Invent the Wheel When You Can Learn from the Person Who Did?

By David Van Hook, CEFP

As the APPA Community College Engagement Chair, I get to spend an hour each month leading a discussion with my fellow community college facilities professionals. It’s a very entertaining and enlightening experience for me and I hope for the others as well. I get a lot of great ideas and advice from these monthly Zoom […]

Perspective on the Profession

Educating Our Schools: Building Decarbonization and Embracing Energy Efficiency

By Jeffrey Sprau

We have recently come off a summer of unprecedented global heat waves when some areas reached new scorching temperature records. And it’s only getting hotter. A new study from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) found that there is a 50% likelihood of a 1.5ºC increase in average global temperature by 2026. We need to quickly […]

Code Talkers

The Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act

By Alan Sactor

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 […]

Facility Asset Management

Operational Technology and Cybersecurity

By Levi M. Tully, LEED AP BD+C, PMP

People and property are paramount to the mission of most organizations. To reduce risk, organizations lock doors in order to appropriately secure facilities. They give significant attention to the security of information technology (IT) networks and infrastructures. However, unless they take specific steps to secure their operational technology (OT) systems, it is very likely that […]

Technology + Trends

Metaverse, Schmetaverse—What Does That Have to Do With Me?

By John Cook

The term “metaverse” is not new. The earliest reference is generally accepted to be a 1992 dystopian cyberpunk novel called Snow Crash, and it has been somewhat co-opted by the various “comic book movies” in the past few years. But the term is becoming increasingly widespread in tech circles, and it is sure to impact […]

Power Tools

The Importance of Staying Online All the Time with the Right UPS System

By Alan Burkel

Choosing the right uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system now is a prudent step, as these systems will only become more important to educational facilities in the future. Preserving and protecting power supplies are two of the most important functions facility managers need to monitor. This is particularly noteworthy as we head into fall and schools […]