Operations

  • JLLs office space with casual spaces for lounging.
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    Joe Burns/Facilities Dive
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    Deep Dive

    Inside the Aon Center: How JLL manages its home

    The integrated property management giant has people working below ground and above the clouds to ensure the building — and the people inside — can work as efficiently as possible.

    By • Oct. 17, 2025
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    Permission granted by Smash My Trash
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    Sponsored by Smash My Trash

    Rethinking waste: An often overlooked area for improving operations

    It's time to take a second look at your trash; specifically, your facility's open-top dumpsters. A simple waste solution can mean big savings and improved efficiency.

    By Kirk Butts, Director of Communications • Oct. 13, 2025
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    Trendline

    Office Space Utilization

    From return-to-office mandates to pressures to boost the efficiency of office space utilization, facilities management professionals navigate a landscape that must align with evolving workforce and tenant preferences. 

    By Facilities Dive staff
  • An air conditioning unit in a modern office, with a plant blurry in the foreground.
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    IAQ doesn’t need to increase energy costs: IWBI summit speakers

    Technologies can help facility managers improve energy efficiency and indoor air quality at the same time, ASHRAE President Bill McQuade said.

    By • Oct. 3, 2025
  • A person works on a panel of a large metal box that says Fuel Cell Energy DFC 300.
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    David McNew via Getty Images
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    Facilities could be impacted as DOE cuts nearly $7.6B in clean energy project funding

    Cuts to 223 projects across 16 states will mean job losses, higher energy costs and weaker grid reliability, affecting businesses, experts and state agencies warn. 

    By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • Oct. 3, 2025
  • IFMA World Workplace 2025 conference
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    Federal property crisis at inflection point. Incremental moves needed, experts say.

    Market uncertainty complicates solutions as officials wrestle with what to do with millions of square feet of obsolete and underused real estate: IFMA panel.  

    By Brian Martucci • Oct. 1, 2025
  • 2026 conferences for facilities managers
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    Facilities management conferences of note in 2026

    Next year’s facilities management conferences will cover best practices for managing building systems, leveraging technology, recruiting and retaining talent and navigating market conditions. 

    By • Sept. 30, 2025
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    Q&A

    The virtue of responsiveness in facilities management: Danny Clemens

    When the buck stops with you on the condition of your organization’s buildings, you owe same-day replies to the people you serve, says a retiring school district facilities chief.

    By • Sept. 26, 2025
  • A building engineer uses his laptop to inspect the pipeline and valve of service water supply in a fire riser room, while a technician in the background tests a fire suppression system.
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    Facility managers on front lines amid rise in building-control cyber threats

    Bad actors are targeting weak links, such as third-party vendors, to get into operational systems. Building operators can reduce vulnerability by working in concert with security teams, a tech specialist says.

    By • Sept. 19, 2025
  • microgrids, Xendee, Eaton
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    Courtesy of Eaton
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    Xendee and Eaton partner to expand microgrid solutions for facility, campus managers

    Eaton took a minority stake in the microgrid optimization platform as part of the deal, which Xendee said would add services and functionality for microgrid designers, developers and end-users.

    By Brian Martucci • Sept. 9, 2025
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    Q&A

    Approaching facility management like a math teacher: Melissa Dallenbach

    Breaking down problems into their component parts works whether you’re solving an algebraic equation or getting the water heater to work, says a baseball stadium operations manager.

    By • Sept. 8, 2025
  • White House east facade, Lincoln Sitting Room, black bag tossed from window
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    Contractor likely tossed bag from White House window

    The location and timing of an object dropped to the ground, captured in a widely shared Instagram video, suggest a worker was disposing of waste from maintenance work. 

    By • Sept. 4, 2025
  • FIFA, 2026 World Cup, commercial branding, debranding
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    "Orlando vs. Atlanta" by Bama in ATL is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    Stadium managers face daunting ‘debranding’ task before 2026 World Cup

    All commercial branding must be removed from seats, scoreboards and elsewhere before June to meet FIFA contract terms, a Sports Business Journal report says.

    By • Sept. 3, 2025
  • CBRE law firm report
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    Smaller offices, more cafes: latest in law-firm fit-outs

    To keep costs down as building materials get pricier, law firms are downsizing their real estate while making it more upscale, CBRE says.

    By • Aug. 19, 2025
  • A New York Police Department (NYPD) officer stands in front of a bullet-shattered window at the 345 Park Avenue building.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    Deep Dive

    New York City workplace shooting exposes building security weaknesses

    The mass shooting in July underscores how access controls fail, but facility managers can get better security out of the technology, specialists say.

    By • Aug. 18, 2025
  • An HVAC worker is seen to perform heat pump maintenance
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    September offers window for cheaper, faster HVAC work

    Between August and October, when the need for heating and cooling overlap, HVAC service calls hit a lull, meaning less demand and cheaper prices for repairs or maintenance, Samsara says.

    By • Aug. 8, 2025
  • The exterior of a large, modern industrial warehouse unit with blue doors.
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    How AI drives operation and maintenance improvements at warehouses, distribution centers

    The technology holds potential to ensure efficiency at scale by automating manual processes, unifying tools and improving data analysis, specialists say.

    By • Aug. 4, 2025
  • The library in The Buckley School NYC's Walsh Building with students learning.
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    Retrieved from The Buckley School, NYC on July 30, 2025
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    Q&A

    The accidental facility manager: Robert Alemany

    With a background in teaching and business, the private school facilities manager relies on people skills to meet his challenges — including making an old building efficient under NYC's Local Law 97.

    By • Updated July 30, 2025
  • Franklin Electric Grid Solutions, battery sensors
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    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. 

    By • July 25, 2025
  • Business people having a brunch meeting in office chairs.
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    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. 

    By • July 23, 2025
  • American flag flying over government building in city, blue sky and clouds
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    Federal government works to better understand its building inventory

    Granular information on space usage and facility condition is needed as the government downsizes its workforce and real estate portfolio, regardless of agency mission, service providers say.

    By • July 18, 2025
  • A group of employees in an office talking to another remote participant via collaboration technology.
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    Return-to-office orders drive attendance bump, but hybrid work tools remain crucial

    Mandates are helping to increase attendance, but most office interactions still involve remote participants, meaning operators must remain diligent in implementing and measuring collaboration tools, experts say.

    By • July 17, 2025
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    No need to build in HVAC capacity cushion, analysts say

    Stick to ASHRAE or ACCA standards when estimating loads and don’t add extra capacity, a report by Steven Winter Associates recommends.

    By • July 16, 2025
  • metal thefts, copper tubing, copper wire
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    Surging copper thefts heighten facility risks

    Buildings and infrastructure are increasingly vulnerable as copper prices hit record highs.

    By • July 15, 2025
  • An electrical services contractor is seen working on an electrical power generator to repair an air conditioner.
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    MaintainX hits $2.5B valuation, pointing to demand for AI-driven maintenance

    The company last week closed a $150 million funding round that it says will help expand its AI capabilities and predictive maintenance solutions.

    By • July 14, 2025
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    Chris Hondros/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Summer power bills are going up, federal government warns

    Consumers will see a “slight increase” in power bills this summer, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Monday. But that analysis is based on expectations for cooler weather.

    By Robert Walton • June 24, 2025