Opinion
The accountability gap in facility management
Facility managers must ensure buildings operate safely and efficiently, but as asset portfolios expand and security operations grow more complex, they are often held accountable for security outcomes across multiple sites while the relevant systems remain largely outside their control. This disconnect between responsibility and control is becoming a major operational risk for the profession. The article analyzes challenges such as fragmented incident response, external pressures (like alarm fine policies), and workforce shortages, and proposes solutions through centralized response platforms that enable unified oversight, improved performance, and compliance.
Partnerships: the cornerstone of future-ready buildings
In this opinion piece, Susanne Seitz, CEO of Buildings Smart Infrastructure at Siemens, explains why partnerships are fundamental to modernizing the built environment. With only 10-15% of medium-sized buildings and fewer than 5% of smaller buildings having a building management system, the opportunity lies in retrofitting existing structures. Seitz outlines six key challenges—workforce shortages, operational complexity, cost pressures, sustainability demands, reactive maintenance, and investment uncertainty—and argues that collaboration across the partner ecosystem is the bridge to autonomous buildings.
How hotels can prepare for hurricane season
When a hurricane threatens, hotels become shelters and recovery hubs. To remain operational, annual property inspections are critical. This article covers essential checks for roofs, rooftop equipment, windows, PTAC units, and exterior doors, emphasizing early maintenance to prevent costly failures.
How changing seasons affect mechanical parking systems
Mechanical parking systems face unique challenges from seasonal weather changes. A technician from KLAUS Multiparking America highlights how fall maintenance is often missed, leading to winter failures, and advocates for quarterly service visits aligned with seasonal transitions.
Renovating without shutting down: The unique challenges of open-store convenience store remodels
Convenience store remodeling differs from traditional retail, requiring coordination of multiple revenue streams such as fuel, food, and merchandise while operating. Successful projects rely on upfront planning, phased construction, strict logistics, and safety management.
Building performance standards have deadlines and penalties — are you ready for them?
Building Performance Standards (BPS) are evolving from a design-community topic into a real compliance pressure for facility managers. Cities such as Boston and Denver have adjusted some deadlines, while New York City's Local Law 97 has entered its first compliance period with fines being enforced. Operations teams, often excluded from early design decisions, are nonetheless held responsible for meeting standards. This article analyzes the current compliance landscape and the design-operations gap, recommending that operations teams proactively manage building performance by combining continuous energy monitoring with engineering-grade models to seize early intervention windows.
The data center boom is exposing the limits of facilities management software
The data center industry is experiencing unprecedented expansion, with global capacity expected to double by 2030, but traditional facility management software is struggling to keep pace. Bob Mostachetti, Partner Director at Planon, notes that facility managers face pain points such as fragmented systems, increased compliance documentation burdens, and complex multi-tenant management, calling for more integrated and specialized solutions.
Periodic inspections alone can no longer keep aging buildings safe
The collapse of Champlain Towers South five years ago prompted the industry to reflect on the limitations of periodic inspections. The author, senior structural engineer Greg Batista, believes that building aging has no fixed timeline, and snapshot-style inspections struggle to capture early internal deterioration. With the maturation of sensing and AI technologies, continuous structural monitoring is becoming the new standard for building safety in Florida and beyond, helping owners, engineers, and regulators transition from reactive maintenance to preventive management.
How cycling HVAC systems to cooling creates IAQ risks
Spring is a period when HVAC systems transition from heating to cooling and humidity rises rapidly, making it a high-risk window for biological contaminants such as mold to quietly proliferate in ducts and air handling units. This article analyzes the hazards this seasonal transition poses to indoor air quality (IAQ) in commercial buildings and proposes specific action recommendations for inspecting high-risk areas, evaluating HVAC systems, reviewing ventilation settings, and establishing baseline records.
Behind-the-meter data center gas plants will raise US energy bills
Hyperscale data centers under construction in the U.S. states of Louisiana and Wyoming will use on-site natural gas generation rather than connecting to the power grid. Analysts point out that while this model reduces strain on the grid, it drives up fuel prices through market-based natural gas trading, thereby raising electricity and heating costs for households and small businesses across the nation. Experts urge policymakers to require data centers to bring their own clean energy to balance development and people's livelihoods.