Deep Dive

Industry insights from our journalists

  • Multiple pedestrians and cyclists cross at an intersection with designated crosswalk lanes. In the background a sign reads, "Seattle Children's Hospital, Emergency, Main Entrance, River Parking.."
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    Retrieved from Adam Coppola.
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    Cars are king of the commute. But employers may have a once-in-a-generation chance to change that.

    A perhaps overlooked element of the return-to-office conversation is how employees can get to work in the first place.

    Ryan Golden, Shaun Lucas and Julia Himmel • March 27, 2024
  • A student stands in front of a row of lockers with their back to the camera. The student is reaching into an open locker. There are materials like notebooks on the floor in front of the lockers.
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    Jon Cherry via Getty Images
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    How lockerless schools are shaping building design

    Doing away with lockers in schools may reduce space needs but add storage costs elsewhere, says a K-12 practice area director and architect.

    Kara Arundel • Feb. 21, 2024
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    Extreme-Photographer via Getty Images
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    5 issues to watch as New York City reshapes its commercial waste system

    Carters must charge customers less for recycling and compostable material collection than refuse, incentivizing businesses to properly divert material, according to the city’s sanitation department.

    Cole Rosengren • Feb. 20, 2024
  • As part of a maintenance check, a service engineer inspects the solar cell on a building roof for a damaged part.
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    NewSaetiew via Getty Images
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    Decarbonization will require urgency, technology, investments in 2024

    Facilities managers are turning to energy efficiency assessments and leveraging digital tools to navigate cost concerns and mounting pressure to reduce energy use and emissions, experts say. 

    Nish Amarnath • Jan. 31, 2024
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    Permission granted by Wings & Rings
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    Return-to-office traffic is fueling a catering boom in 2024

    Office catering is on the rise as employers use food to incentivize employees to come into the workplace, said Alison Quinn, Dinova CEO.

    Julie Littman • Jan. 29, 2024
  • Two coworkers walk into a modern office building.
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    Frazao Studio Latino via Getty Images
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    How facilities managers will navigate the return-to-office landscape in 2024

    While hard data on occupancy can inform office right-sizing, soft data like employee preferences are becoming key to improving workplace occupancy and tenant satisfaction.

    Joe Burns • Jan. 29, 2024
  • A massive gray storm cloud gathers on the horizon over a placid body of water.
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    petesphotography via Getty Images
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    5 tips for cutting property insurance costs amid climate change

    As extreme weather damage increases, firms can upgrade buildings with storm shutters, flood barriers and fire-suppression systems, among other moves, to reduce premiums.

    Jim Tyson • Dec. 7, 2023
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    jacoblund via Getty Images
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    The ‘less tangible’ social data in ESG creates reporting hurdles

    Social issues have historically fallen behind environmental and governance factors, a setback experts attribute to the ambiguity of what the “S” really encompasses.

    Zoya Mirza • Nov. 6, 2023
  • Technicians install heat pump systems at a training facility.
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    Leon Neal via Getty Images
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    Heat pumps are hot, but commercial retrofits face cold realities

    Government decarbonization strategies call for widespread deployment of heat pumps for building heating and cooling, but experts warn of retrofit costs, disruption and other concerns.

    Nish Amarnath • Oct. 20, 2023
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    Utility, charging company battle over EV fast chargers slows deployment amid massive needs

    State and federal policies are driving utilities and EV charger providers to transform U.S. transportation. They have found common ground in some areas but cannot agree on the utility role in fast-charging deployment.

    Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 18, 2023
  • A wide-angle shot of a Black business person using their smartphone while sitting on a round yellow sofa in office coworking area
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    skyNext via Getty Images
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    Rethinking office spaces: Employee preferences and the future of work

    Along with future workflow and hybrid dynamics, conversations about how RTO is “going to impact different staff disproportionately” should also take place, an expert says.

    Caroline Colvin • Sept. 22, 2023
  • A teacher instructs in a room, in the foreground a carbon dioxide meter is used to measure air quality and ventilation.
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    Hector Vivas via Getty Images
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    Value of indoor air quality improvements can help offset upgrade costs, keep buildings efficient

    As school starts and return-to-office mandates bring people indoors, lingering COVID-19 concerns and new ventilation requirements raise indoor air quality questions.

    Joe Burns • Aug. 31, 2023
  • A medical team takes a patient into the isolation ward in the emergency department of a full-service acute hospital facility.
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    Lisa Maree Williams via Getty Images
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    Technology, sustainability and benchmarking are key to optimizing healthcare facility performance

    Focusing on efforts in those three areas can help managers meet demands for greater operational and cost efficiencies, healthcare facilities experts say. 

    Nish Amarnath • Aug. 28, 2023
  • Deira Ward (L) and Lisa Bates (R) work at a computer near a large PCR analysis machine at a Quest Diagnostics testing lab in Indianapolis, Indiana. The lab is capable of processing up to 3700 tests pe
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    Jon Cherry via Getty Images
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    Healthcare facility managers walk a tightrope of tech, space and labor challenges

    “You can’t have an HVAC unit not function for a day. You can’t have the lights in a surgery room go out,” one industry exec says. “We have people’s lives at stake.”

    Nish Amarnath • Aug. 21, 2023
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    SDI Productions via Getty Images
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    Healthcare facilities teams grapple with capital constraints, decarbonization challenges

    Mounting pressures to slash emissions are throwing a wrench into efforts to secure funding for enhanced patient experience and care outcomes amid rising costs.

    Nish Amarnath • Aug. 14, 2023
  • A shift to remote work has softened the demand for office space, accelerating the need for commercial-to-residential conversions.
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    Fang Xia Nuo via Getty Images
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    HUD grant for commercial building conversions could create more facilities management jobs

    The authority seeks to fund case studies of recent conversion projects to provide practical commercial conversion guidance to operators and local agencies.

    Nish Amarnath • Aug. 3, 2023
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    Photo illustration: Shaun Lucas/Industry Dive; Getty Images

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    7 trends shaping facilities management in 2023

    Sustainability mandates, return-to-office and IoT growth have facilities leaders leaning on tech and outsourcing to meet budgets and streamline operations.

    Joe Burns and Shaun Lucas • June 5, 2023