Disaster Recovery for Iowa Facilities

Buildings magazine has an impressive, detailed report on the 2008 Iowa floods. Facility managers from 7 different facilities tell what worked and what didn’t in meeting this unprecedented challenge:

1. Mercy Medical Center - By Jana J. Madsen
2. Alliant Energy Tower - By Jenna M. Aker
3. The University of Iowa – By Leah B. Garris
4. City of Cedar Rapids – By Jenna M. Aker
5. Guaranty Bank & Trust - By Linda K. Monroe
6. Quaker Oats – By Jana J. Madsen
7. Cedar River Tower – By Linda K. Monroe

Ready.Gov Launches New Video Blog to Highlight Emergency Preparedness

Ready Video Blog

You can use any recording device to record your video clip (such as a cell phone), clips should be no shorter than 60 seconds and no longer than 3 minutes. Upload the video to http://www.YouTube.com/FEMA by responding to the video that requests submissions. Submissions will be chosen on the basis of content, helpfulness in encouraging preparedness, and general clarity of your message. Good quality cell phone videos can qualify, make sure your lighting and audio will come out well before shooting the video!

Issues with Voice over IP VoIP phones & Video over IP

Today’s Facility Manager: It’s All About The Network: This often overlooked component can be the key to success when implementing facility systems.

Tom Congdon reminds us that when adding services to the computer network, make sure that there’s enough capacity and that the network is ready for these services. At the end of his post is a checklist for things to take into account.

World Workplace Wraps Up

The world Workplace blog has issued its final post of the year: The last day…until next year. Lots of good photos and other information below that, too.

New Graduate Certificate in Facility Management

Attend the informational session on Thursday, October 23rd at the KU Edwards Campus to learn about the newly created Graduate Certificate Program in Facility Management. Stay on top of the latest building technologies, management approaches and facility related business methods.

For more information go to www.IWentBack.com or contact Mike Swann at 913-897-5652 ext 3180.

From the latest chapter newsletter of Kansas City IFMA.

Tenant satisfaction pie chart

Tenant Satisfaction Pie Chart

Like the Employee work quality bar chart, this pie chart summarizes data that is also available in detail form. In this case, the data is feedback received following completion of service requests. Tenants here includes both external or lease tenants as well as internal tenants. The ability to survey tenant satisfaction on a case by case basis can be a powerful tool for managers to make decisions regarding training, staffing, and more. This surveying capacity contributes to internal and external marketing of facilities services. And it provides documentation over time which can balance out those incidents which are substandard.

Facility managers and workplace violence

Facility Blog has a post on the IFMA Foundation’s new workplace violence report.

The report itself can be downloaded in PDF format at the IFMA Foundation publication page.

Violence in the Workplace–The Role of the Facility Manager (.PDF)
As the title implies, this guide was written with the facility manager and property owner in mind.  This perspective has been seriously neglected, as the majority of workplace violence publications see the issue as a human resources matter.  By reading this publication, you will see that the facility manager and/or property owner can have a significant impact on the prevention, response and recovery from workplace violence.  In addition to information about previously mentioned topics, the guide contains over 30 pages of functional tools that can be used as is, or modified to fit your specific needs.

The Future: Facility Managers on Mars?

Today’s Facility Manager continues their 20th anniversary celebration today with a backward glance from Tom Condon. With the changes of the last 20 years, the question in the heading may not be that far off.

“It’s TFM’s 20th anniversary, and a lot has changed since that first issue. The facility management (FM) world of 1988 was very different from that of today. Back then, the vast majority of people had never heard the term ‘facility manager’ (fm), and there were very few institutions offering FM degrees (the only one I am aware of is the Facility Planning and Management option launched in 1980 at Cornell University). The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) was formed in 1980 and had only 47 attendees at its first annual conference.”

Continue Reading at TFM: We’ve Come a Long Way…

Focusing mainly on technology, Condon’s points of comparison from 1988 to 2008 include:

• Computers
• The Internet
• Energy Efficiency, Sustainability, and Environmentalism
• CMMS and CAFM
• Video Recording
• Access Control
• Personal Communications

IFMA CEO David Brady interviewed by Today’s Facility Manager

David Brady Of IFMA Looks Back On 20 Years Of TFM
David J. Brady, president and CEO of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) shares his thoughts on two decades of facility management (FM) achievement.
By Heidi Schwartz

Go read the whole interview. In the meantime, here are some quotes from Brady’s responses:

“By looking at what has happened in the areas of sustainability, energy management, emergency preparedness, strategic facility planning, sourced services management, globalization, and technology, it’s easy to understand that this profession today is about a great deal more than operations, maintenance, and project management.”

“As long as the C-suite recognizes the importance of quality FM to the achievement of corporate or organizational strategy, this profession can do nothing more than continue to gain in importance, respect, and relevance.”

“I have never, ever experienced a profession that has the daily passion that I see in FM. These people love what they do and always take the opportunity to tell everyone they come in contact with what an uplifting and rewarding career they have.”

TFM September 2008

Applebee’s Tour: food, collaboration & fun

Before the tour, I posted photos.

Although the taps were not flowing for the tour, Pepsi products and hearty appetizers were provided.

The goal for this facility is LEED Silver.

As with the Federal Reserve Bank, the space is filled with daylight. Applebee’s focus on food is evident with a Culinary Center that is not only state of the art, but also enables chefs to create new menus. The Culinary Center facilitates collaboration by using a European design in which team members face each other.

Collaboration is a key theme with many spaces for sitting together, both inside and outdoors. There are formal conference rooms, but also many informal spaces. The cafeteria is a popular place for informal meetings. The spacious and modern booth style seating welcomes small groups. There is a range of furniture from functional tables and chairs to barrel chairs that have cupholders and swiveling tables. Enclaves — or small conference rooms — facilitate private meetings with 2 or 3 people.

The Applebee’s spirit of fun can be seen throughout. The halls have street signs (a neighborhood theme) like Main Street and Lakeview Drive. In fact, every cubicle has a street address, which makes dispatching IT and other help simpler than usual.