Stanley Black & Decker to raise tool prices

The world’s largest toolmaker is tweaking its supply chains and moving forward with cost reductions as it navigates $800 million tariff impact.

Municipal codes, financial incentives are driving a building retrofitting boom: report

Nearly half of building executives surveyed believe retrofits meet urban space needs better than new construction, but many cities lack the policy muscle to make them scalable.

CBRE’s building operations, project management and leasing segments surge

The firm’s resilient businesses, including facilities management, grew faster than transactional revenue, which also performed well as companies executed growth plans.

How Cal State is betting on shared services amid funding cuts

Construction projects and janitorial services are among the services that will be shared among campuses. 

Nuclear specialist Oklo inks data center partnerships

The fission power company has been courting data center companies. Two partnerships announced last week could sharpen its advantage.

Building operations not implicated in deadly Fall River fire

The assisted living facility had compliance problems in 2023 but they were related to medical management, not the building’s electrical or mechanical systems, according to preliminary findings.

Charging station at Denver arena spotlights ‘lease-deployment’ infrastructure model

The sports complex is partnering with Flash Parking to install the city’s largest electric vehicle charging hub. Building owners are increasingly looking to partnerships to meet infrastructure demand.

Honeywell vulnerability exposes building systems to cyber attacks

Researchers have found vulnerabilities in the Niagara Framework, developed by a Honeywell company, which could allow attackers to disable building automation and security systems. 

Sensors touted as way to stretch battery investments

A monitoring system does a better job of measuring battery life than maintenance checks, so facilities managers can leave batteries in place longer, Franklin Electric Grid Solutions says. 

Don’t leave cleaning robots to their own devices, manufacturer says

Facility managers should assign someone specific to oversee an autonomous scrubber or other cleaning device to get optimal performance, says a Tennant executive.

Trump approves emissions exemptions for some chemical, taconite iron ore facilities

Dow, BASF, U.S. Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs are some of the companies that received two-year delays from complying with the Environmental Protection Agency’s air pollutants regulations.

DOE’s accessibility rule rescission will hike lawsuit risk, legal specialist says

Building owners using U.S. Department of Energy grants for efficiency upgrades will need to look at whether the work is an alteration or maintenance and what accessibility standards to follow. 

Employees want informal social areas, food to boost collaboration

Most companies requiring in-office work are offering no perks to encourage attendance, leaving opportunities for collaboration on the table, a report by ezCater says. 

OBBB signing creates ‘compelling event’ for corporate solar initiatives: Redaptive CEO

Companies should move forward with solar plans now or it will "be very hard for them to commence implementation in time” for the law's altered tax credits, Arvin Vohra said.

How California’s CEQA reforms will speed up commercial projects

The state’s effort to overhaul its tough environmental law is aimed at easing its housing shortage, but manufacturing, health clinics, childcare centers and other facility types stand to benefit.

Data centers seek flexible power solutions for resilience, sustainability

Flexible battery or generator solutions can help data centers power up faster, reduce grid impacts and keep their owners’ sustainability goals within reach, experts say.

Axiom Cloud earns patent for AI leak-detection technology

The software can help retail grocery and cold storage operators meet federal and state requirements without the need for sensors or additional hardware, the company says.

Office workstations could get even smaller: JLL

Many employers rightsizing their real estate to align with the hybrid work era are planning to shrink the office space they allot each worker, a report finds.

Locating ventilation above aerosol source helps contain pathogen spread: study

Well-placed ventilation also increases the effectiveness of social distancing, researchers say.