Cleaning & Maintenance Management Volatile organic compounds are ubiquitous in every commercial and industrial facility — as well as in homes, cars and any indoor environment containing rubbers, silicones, greases, paints, cleaning supplies, building materials and furniture. Most of the time, the presence of VOCs goes completely undetected. However, these hidden chemicals can wreak havoc [...]

Bloomberg A federal agency says a ban on gas stoves is on the table amid rising concern about harmful indoor air pollutants emitted by the appliances. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission plans to take action to address the pollution, which can cause health and respiratory problems.  READ MORE

McKnight’s Senior Living As power sources for electronic equipment, appliances and devices used in senior living communities and nursing homes become more sophisticated and battery technology advances, the threat of a lithium battery fire is always a possibility. Equipment used by the maintenance crew, environmental services department and clinical teams for sanitation and infection control [...]

Cleaning & Maintenance Management It never fails: Winter arrives; pipes burst. On the surface, burst pipes appear to be a given for the season — but it’s not an inevitable event. Burst pipes are preventable.  READ MORE

Buildings A facility should promote comfort and safety, as well as consider the well-being of those who enter it. This means implementing a maintenance team or service that can uphold a consistently high-quality level of cleanliness. A facility that is regularly cleaned and maintained not only helps to improve workflow and positive attitude among employees [...]

FacilitiesNet Building automation systems (BAS) are important to keeping institutional and commercial facilities up and running efficiently. But how much do maintenance and engineering managers know about their BAS? Managers can often misunderstand, overlook and misuse their systems, sometimes to the point of avoiding them all together.  READ MORE

Green Lodging News Energy consumption in the hotel industry is high, even when compared to other commercial sectors such as hospitals and schools. The truth is hotels and motels make for inherently energy-intense buildings, primarily due to the nature of the business and guest behavior. As such, hotel management is always seeking ways to maximize [...]

Hotel Executive The layout and organization of spaces, outdoor access, visual appeal, and lighting all have a tremendous influence on people’s mood and frame of mind. The emotional fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened our focus on mental health and well-being as designers.  READ MORE

IFMA’s FMJ Magazine IoT allows FMs to identify problems sooner and resolve them more efficiently. While data can provide much-needed analytics and guide operations, predictive maintenance remains the key to healthy buildings.  READ MORE

Hotel News Now via CoStar The pain of labor shortages is starting to ease somewhat from the summer months, but hoteliers still face staffing shortfalls, concentrated largely in the housekeeping and culinary departments. Hoteliers are benefiting from a loosening labor market as perks such as higher salaries, retention bonuses, finder’s fees for new workers, more [...]

McKnights Senior Living A proposed change in how operating costs are calculated for affordable housing communities is projected to double the annual budget rate increase for those providers in 2023. Reacting to “historically high” inflation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development published a notice in the Federal Register proposing changes to the calculation of [...]

Facilities Net Hyatt Place Miami Airport’s management struggled to identify unauthorized smoking and enforce the hotel’s no-smoking policies when guests complained of nearby smoking. The hotel’s General Manager, Craig Haas, tapped FreshAir Sensor as a solution to these challenges. FreshAir’s immediate detection and smoking alerts have resulted in enhanced no-smoking enforcement processes, reduced smoking violations, [...]

Facilites Net No one said maintenance would be easy. Day in and day out, maintenance and engineering managers and their staffs face complex challenges that range from supply-chain problems and tight budgets to growing workloads created by aging facilities and mounting pressure to adapt to and embrace new technology.  READ MORE

Senior Housing News The term “quiet quitting” might not mean the same thing in senior living as it does in the corporate world, but that doesn’t mean that some operators aren’t devoting time and resources preparing for it. Quiet quitting, which first became popular through the video-sharing social media platform TikTok, refers to the practice [...]

TravelPulse A shortage of workers is the most significant challenge being faced by the hotel industry, according to Anthony Capuano, CEO of Marriott International, speaking at the annual Stephen W. Brener Distinguished Lecturer Series in Hospitality Management, hosted by NYU School of Professional Studies Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality. Tisch himself, CEO of Loews [...]

ABM As we have collectively entered a new era in the industry, facility managers are asked to do more and will see better results on business, tenant and sustainability fronts by developing an engineering strategy that combines standardized operating procedures with a strategic multi-year roadmap.  READ MORE

CleanLink Fall has arrived, and temperatures across the country are beginning to dip leaving commercial facilities at risk for increased rodent pressure. The National Pest Management Association is warning commercial facilities to be extremely vigilant in their rodent prevention efforts by looking for signs of rodent infestations that can be costly for their business.  READ MORE

ARC Facilities When discussions about facilities safety and security arise, the good news is that both FM and security teams can and should work closely together. Healthcare Security Professional Martin Green nailed it when he said, “We lock the doors. They fix the doors. We’re the eyes and ears for each other. We’re interdependent.”  READ MORE

CAP Radio Violeta McCloskey was homeless before she moved into her apartment at a senior affordable housing community near Tahoe Park, California, in 2011. She had lost her home to foreclosure and was living in her SUV. To get by, she treated her asthma and brushed her teeth each morning at a nearby bingo hall [...]

Senior Housing News It’s been a big couple of years for senior living operator Retirement Unlimited (RUI). The Roanoke, Virginia-based operator at the start of the year announced it had doubled in size following taking management of seven Florida communities. Sullivan and RUI also this year pivoted from a growth strategy based solely on new [...]