Author Archives: Robert Elliott
Expand affordable senior housing to help older adults age in place, 40 senators say
McKnights Senior Living Expanding affordable senior housing and the programs that support it is the impetus behind a letter from 40 U.S. senators. In a letter delivered Wednesday to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, a group of legislators led by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) expressed support for “robust” funding for [...]
Wood-burning boiler balances sustainability and maintenance
FacilitiesNet Institutional and commercial facilities have undertaken a range of efforts over the last two decades to minimize the impact of their operations on the environment. From water conservation and recycling, to reflective roofing and solar energy, updated technology and processes have enabled organizations to curtail waste, minimize costs and benefit the environment. READ MORE
Future-proof facilities: Optimizing indoor environments
IFMA’s FMJ magazine As occupants are more cognizant of healthy building principles, FM must turn to effective disinfection solutions to mitigate risks from shared spaces. One such strategy is UV-C can facilitate continuous and autonomous disinfected indoor environments. READ MORE
Construction defects: What is your legal recourse?
FacilitiesNet Facility managers know the importance of budgeting for the regular and ongoing maintenance and repairs that are required for the preservation and upkeep of their buildings. However, for the owners of newer facilities, some repairs and maintenance may not be of the “ordinary” variety. READ MORE
National bill would require senior living operators to implement workplace violence prevention plans
McKnights Senior Living Senior living and other long-term care and healthcare providers would be required to create workplace violence prevention plans to protect employees under proposed bipartisan legislation. The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, introduced by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and announced Wednesday, directs the Department of Labor’s Occupational [...]
Preventing commercial laundry room fires in senior living communities
McKnight’s Senior Living The risk of fire in senior living communities is ever-present. Specific areas of operation, including commercial laundry rooms, are more vulnerable to fire than others. A series of fires occurring in senior living properties recently have made the …READ MORE
Demand surges for Latitude Margaritaville communities as brand seeks westward expansion
Senior Housing News In the months after the pandemic hit last year, demand for the Latitude Margaritaville brand of 55-plus communities inspired by Jimmy Buffett surged — and it hasn’t slowed down since. “For Minto and the brand, we had a very successful and strong sales year last year, and we’ve seen that spill over [...]
Fire-Resistance-Rated Assemblies In Existing Buildings
Facility Executive By Bill McHugh For some reason, fire-resistance-rated assemblies and their components have been forgotten in existing buildings. Maybe it’s that some believe sprinklers will stop the fire. Maybe they believe fire won’t happen in their building. Maybe they just don’t know how important fire-resistance-rated assemblies are?….READ MORE
10 Steps to Creating Proactive Facilities Maintenance; Part 1 of 3
FacilitiesNet How to change over a facility management operation from reactive to proactive. The way that facilities are managed can range from whack-a-mole maintenance to well-oiled-machine, and everything in between. If you find yourself in the position of having to “fix” a less than dialed-in facility maintenance program, it can seem quite overwhelming. You might [...]
Tapping into the skills and experience of older workers
Facilites Net Few topics dominate conversations among maintenance and engineering managers more often than staffing. Failing to find, train and retain enough qualified entry-level technicians is threatening the productivity of many departments and the quality of the work they perform. READ MORE
In an ‘employees’ world,’ senior living providers increase flexibility for workers
Senior Housing News Senior living operators are offering employees more control over when and how often they work in an effort to stem a historic labor market. In the wake of the period known as the “great resignation,” employee flexibility is a trend that is impacting much of the workforce, just not senior living. READ MORE
In an ‘employees’ world,’ senior living providers increase flexibility for workers
Senior Housing News Senior living operators are offering employees more control over when and how often they work in an effort to stem a historic labor market. In the wake of the period known as the “great resignation,” employee flexibility is a trend that is impacting much of the workforce, just not senior living. READ MORE
DOE reverses Trump-era plumbing water use standards
Facilities Net Water conservation remains a high priority for maintenance and engineering managers looking to help their organizations control utility costs, achieve sustainability and wellness goals, and protect the health of facility occupants and visitors. Now managers are getting support from the federal government in the form of a policy reversal. READ MORE
Cogeneration cost incentives to aid hotel industry in coming years
Green Lodging News Energy costs are soaring, forcing countless hotel owners and managers to search for more cost-effective, clean energy alternatives to the traditional power grid. Unsurprisingly, the adoption of distributed power generation is also rising — especially in the combined heat and power (CHP) market, which is expected to reach $35.2 billion by 2026. READ [...]
Smaller buildings can benefit from building automation systems
ACHR News Small- to medium-sized buildings — usually considered to be under 50,000 square feet — make up about 94 percent of all commercial buildings in the U.S., according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Yet, only 13 percent of those buildings have a building automation system. READ MORE
Next steps in cyber secure lighting
Facility Executive As connected lighting steadily gains ground, “turning on the lights” increasingly means not just illuminating employee desks and workspaces, but tapping into a network of advanced control technology capable of collecting data useful for functions ranging from improved worker comfort and enhanced energy efficiency to smarter utilization of building space and resources. READ MORE
Roof recovery or replacement?
Facility Executive The need to repair a building’s roof is a situation that is all too familiar to many facility owners and managers. Still, undertaking such a large capital project like a roof repair can be hard to navigate. While costs may vary between recovering a roof or replacing a roof, it is important to [...]
Assisted living rates grew 4.65% in 2021 as operators grappled with expenses
Senior Housing News Assisted living rates rose in 2021 as the senior living industry continued to get a handle on the Covid-19 pandemic and its many pressures on operations. The cost of assisted living for a resident increased 4.65% in the past year, with a median of about $4,500 per month or $54,000 annually for [...]
3 solutions to help with labor stability and supply chain certainty in a challenged construction environment
Construction Dive Here we go again — another day, another bother. Construction leaders are waking up to yet another morning with a list of issues that doesn’t seem to get shorter. It’s not that construction hasn’t always been challenging, but two years of juggling market instability, labor challenges, supply chain uncertainty and project backlogs is [...]
AHLA’s 2022 State of the Industry report forecasts uneven and volatile recovery
Lodging Magazine The hotel industry will continue moving toward recovery in 2022, but the path will be uneven and potentially volatile, and full recovery is still several years away, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA)’s 2022 State of the Hotel Industry Report. The report, which reveals shifts in consumer and business sentiment, [...]