Articles

The alarming structural failure at Pfizer’s former headquarters in New York highlights a growing challenge for complex modern building redevelopments. Facilities experts explain why access to accurate records is essential during emergencies.

Early in Judy Ramirez’s facilities career, she met Jim. Judy had just transitioned from managing stores to working on the corporate side, with no real understanding of maintenance or repairs. She was essentially thrown into the deep end before she could swim.

The most effective roof inspections don’t begin with a ladder. They begin with data. Too often, inspections are treated like reactive exercises—someone gets a leak call, a crew is dispatched, and the search begins. But seasoned facility professionals know better. The smartest inspections start days earlier, with a careful look at history, documentation, and patterns that tell a story long before anyone sets foot on the roof.

Hot offices, cold classrooms, and temperature complaints that show up in the work order queue every day are dealt with by facilities teams daily. On the surface, hot/cold calls look like comfort issues and may sound like whining. But in reality, they’re early-warning indicators that something deeper is happening inside your HVAC ecosystem — especially in your air handlers.

As school districts race to introduce AI into classrooms, administration, and curriculum planning, another conversation is happening behind the scenes: How prepared are school facilities themselves for the operational demands AI will create?

In facilities management, the term “firefighting” gets used a lot. Sometimes it is said with pride. Sometimes with frustration. Usually both. It describes the daily scramble to deal with leaks, outages, complaints, failed equipment, last-minute shutdowns, vendor delays, and emergencies that seem to arrive all at once. It is an “us against them” kind of phrase. The “fight” part represents the friction of having to justify things that seem obvious. The “fire” part is not always about actual flames. It is about the events that spark action, create risk, and force facilities teams into response mode.

In many organizations, “emergency preparedness” still looks like a binder, a floor plan, and a drill last held 18 months ago. Facilities managers know better. Hurricanes, wildfires, cyber incidents, equipment failures, and utility outages aren’t abstract risks—they’re recurring operational events that determine whether a building protects people or becomes another headline about downtime and loss.

For years, the facility management conversation has revolved around sustainability: energy efficiency, reducing carbon footprints or earning green certifications. These goals remain important, but the field is evolving. The new frontier is life cycle building management, an approach that prioritizes environmental impact as well as the health, safety, resilience and longevity of the entire facility.

Digital document management system can help education facilities ensure they comply with accreditation standards by preparing them for audits and inspections.

Building drawings and facility information have long been undervalued, often relegated to storage rooms or legacy systems, considered a necessary cost rather than a strategic asset.

No longer just operating behind-the-scenes at hospitals, facilities managers are becoming key players in enhancing the patient experience.

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues its rapid evolution, its impact on industries is undeniable—facilities management (FM) included. What once seemed like futuristic speculation is quickly becoming a reality, with AI-driven systems being adopted as decision-support tools across organizations. But how do business leaders feel about this transition and AI’s role in shaping the future of FM?

Water-related emergencies pose significant challenges to facility operations, requiring swift responses and coordinated efforts to minimize damage, ensure safety and restore normalcy. Recent events and incidents such as burst pipes in schools and hospitals, illustrate the pervasive risks and underscore the importance of preparedness, advanced technology to locate the source of the problem and collaboration in addressing such crises.

Advancing Technician Performance with Powerful, Real-Time Access to Critical Data

Modern sports facilities are more than just venues for games; they are dynamic, high-tech environments designed to enhance the fan experience while ensuring safety, sustainability, and operational efficiency. From expansive seating arrangements and acoustically engineered designs to advanced security measures and sustainability initiatives, stadium facilities management has evolved to meet the needs of modern sports fans, athletes, and event partners.

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes an increasingly popular topic, facility management (FM) professionals are asking themselves: How does AI fit into their daily work? Should it? How or why should they use it? Large organizations might view AI as an expansive solution aimed at integrating all operational tools or analyzing massive data sets. This approach doesn’t necessarily serve the needs of frontline technicians. Unlike high-level integrations intended for C-suite efficiency and analytics, facility management must prioritize actionable, immediate solutions that directly affect the people on the ground — the technicians.

Digital transformation strategies can play a critical role for facilities teams tasked with maintaining both industrial buildings and manufacturing equipment.

If you want to make a difference in today’s social, economic, and environmental climate, a great place to start is by examining what’s going on behind the scenes in facilities. Many consider social, economic, and environmental themes the triple bottom line (TBL) of facilities management.

A maintenance checklist is an essential tool that bridges an organization's design, engineering and operations - ensuring equipment reliability and building longevity. The purpose of a checklist is to ensure tasks are done correctly and in the same order, no matter who
completes them.

Risk mitigation is the process of planning and developing options to reduce threats or risks to people. Resilience is the ability to learn, respond, reflect, and recover from emergencies. While risk mitigation activities are preventative, and resilience activities are reactive, both place serious responsibility on the shoulders of facilities management teams.

Proactive and preventive maintenance is a moving target at most facilities—but a technology-driven approach to info access can help.

Project closeouts often take longer than expected, leading to delays in receiving essential documentation for facilities management. The lack of accurate building information poses safety risks and can result in added expenses for repairs. This article highlights the benefits of creating a centralized system for tracking and organizing construction documents.

Bilding additions and renovations can double and triple square footage, cost millions, and disrupt building residents. With building renovations, there’s always a sense of discovery about “what’s inside,” such as for mechanicals, electrical systems, and water lines. Enter the facility manager who takes over building responsibilities once construction is completed. When construction is over, facilities are charged with determining how to operate the new space safely and efficiently while managing people, resources, and time.

Building documentation challenges are addressed with mobile-first technology for efficient management in this article.

In the FM industry, retirement and attrition have a massive impact on the preservation of institutional knowledge. This article offers tips for fostering the next generation of FM professionals including internships, apprenticeships, and tapping into the military for new hires.

Many facilities still rely on paper documentation for critical information, causing accessibility issues and inefficiencies. The accumulation of paper, along with challenges in locating and verifying documents, hinders effective facility management. This article discusses the value of embracing technology and digitizing documentation to provide fast and simple access to information.

The article highlights the challenges faced by facility management teams in capturing, organizing, and accessing information related to building plans, operations, maintenance, and inspections.

Easily accessing equipment manuals (O&Ms) and other critical building information for facility teams is critical to ensure the safe and efficient operation of various equipment and systems. Traditional methods of storing and accessing O&Ms, such as physical documents in plan rooms or relying on retiring employees for knowledge transfer, are inefficient and unreliable. The article suggests leveraging technologyto digitize and organize building information, making it instantly accessible on mobile devices.

This article highlights the challenges of locating gas, water main, water isolation, and med gas valve shut-offs in facilities. The difficulty arises from factors such as renovations, lack of documentation, and the vastness of some campuses. Mapping valve locations on mobile devices is recommended to avoid guesswork and reliance on outdated information.