CRE Insight Journal Issue 2

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE BUILDING OWNERS AND MANAGERS ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA

JOURNAL

The Role of Technology in the Re-Entry Process Page 16

Issue 2, 2021

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Recruiting in the Digital Era Page 22

Breaking Down Building System Threats and Cybersecurity for CRE Page 12

www.bomageorgia.org www.creinsightjournal.com

Contents 06 Technology and Sustainability

The Commercial Real Estate Insight Journal is published for:

ISSUE 2 , 2021

BOMA Georgia 5901 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd, NE Suite C-300 Atlanta, GA 30328 (404) 475-9980 info@bomageorgia.org www.bomageorgia.org www.bomalegacy.org www.bomageorgiafoundation.org www.creinsightjournal.com

By: Nancy Larson, LEED AP O+M, Envision Realty Services

08 New Legislation Brings Technology into the Workplace By: Katie Roberts, Fiveash Stanley

10 Water Wars Update By: Katie Roberts, Fiveash Stanley

12 Breaking Down Building System Threats and Cybersecurity for CRE By: Fred Gordy, Intelligent Buildings, LLC

16 The Role of Technology in the Re-Entry Process

Managing Editor: Molly Looman mlooman@bomageorgia.org

20 2021 BOMA Southern Region Conference Recap 22 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly; Recruiting in the Digital Era By: Paige Fogle, BG Talent

25 BOMA International Releases Preventative Maintenance Guidebook

26 Emerging Technologies to Leverage the Gig Economy By: Mike Popadak, CEO & Co-Founder of iVueit

2021 BOMA GEORGIA OFFICERS President: Natalie Tyler-Martin, RPA President-Elect: Amanda J. Madrid, RPA, LEED GA, FMA Vice President: Laurie Harper Immediate Past President: Russell Copeland DIRECTORS Michael Knox, SMA, SMT, LEED GA Trace Blackmore, CWT, LEED AP Jess Moore Carla Moule Jennifer Corbitt Trenton Patterson Hal Moore Jack Kennedy Chonte’ Martin Grace Meyers, RPA INDUSTRY INSIGHT COMMITTEE

30 How to Implement Calculations of a Newly Remeasured Building 34 Allied Member Service Directory 38 Creating a Business Continuity Plan 39 Advertisers on the Web

Editor-in-Chief: Gabriel Eckert, FASAE, CAE geckert@bomageorgia.org Executive Editor: Jacob Wilder, CAE jwilder@bomageorgia.org

By: Dusty Muck, Rubbermaid Commercial Products

By: Becky Hanner, Hanner Commercial Asset Services

The Wyman Company Advertising Representatives: Chris Chiccarello chrisc@thewymancompany.com Justin Olson jolson@thewymancompany.com Holly Patterson hpatterson@thewymancompany.com Katie White kwhite@thewymancompany.com

Patrick Freeman, RPA, CPM, CCIM, LEED AP Scott Baker Amanda Bare Carrah Golightly Dannah Hagerty Kinsey Hinkson, RPA, BOMI-HP Chonte’ Martin, BOMI-HP Jess L. Moore

Paula Petakos George Ridenour Patricia Ramsey, RPA Brett Rockman Tom Rust Stephanie Scurlock Tammy Weeks Tiffany Wilson

Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written

by CRE Insight Journal Managing Editor Molly Looman © BOMA Georgia 2021

www.bomageorgia.org • www.creinsightjournal.com

5

Environmental Sustainibility, Technology

Technology and Sustainability

By: Nancy Larson, LEED AP O+M, Envision Realty Services Technological innovations have made it possible to advance sustainability in building operations through features such as systems monitoring and energy performance tracking, but the term technology has always been a bit nebulous. How does it involve us personally; particularly in the buildings that are our workplaces?

Until recently, building automation and energy management systems seemed to be run by “the man behind the curtain,” with the building’s systems being hidden behind the walls, unseen by the building’s occupants. As the focus of building performance has shifted to include not only energy efficiency, but also occupant wellbeing, so has access and engagement with building technology for the occupants. A greater awareness of building ventilation systems and its role of curbing the spread of infectious disease with the COVID-19 pandemic has created more of a demand for personal engagement with the building’s technology.

At a recent U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Conference, “Better Buildings, Better Lives,” Luke Dorna, product manager with Healthy Building Solutions at Carrier, spoke about the company’s Center for Intelligent Buildings, a customer experience center that brings building systems into view and makes them interactive. The experience gives visitors a better understanding of the space where people spend their time.

He noted that a few years ago, that just showing people an air handling unit (AHU) in their customer experience center was an eye opener. Following the advent of the pandemic, he said news anchors are now talking about ventilation rates, and the general populace has a better understanding that there are hidden systems handling invisible air quality issues. The type of question being asked has gone from “What is a filter?” to “How well is that filter working?”

Dorna believes that’s where smart solutions providing performance transparency that enable higher indoor air quality (IAQ) with minimal

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Insight • Issue 2, 2021

impacts to energy conservation goals meet to create the once-in-ageneration opportunity to tackle these problems holistically.

Carrier’s Healthy Buildings Program was created to offer enhanced solutions with the goal of balancing imperatives for healthy, smart, and sustainable indoor environments. Dorna said that tech as an enabler is a key point. He also commented that systems integration has been driven without a deep understanding of the systems, and that the focus should not just be on the equipment but viewing technology as a tool that improves lives, health, and comfort. This shift in focus results in a different set of outcomes.

For instance, while the design goal may be set at a predetermined optimal temperature range, we may instead want to consider at what temperature is the tenant comfortable?

New technologies such as microscopic filtration systems and touchless building controls are now being viewed as essential rather than as extras, or “nice-to-haves.” While standard features for monitoring indoor environmental quality in the past have been focused on temperature, CO2, and humidity, the current focus includes air pollution and particulate control. Controls and sensors could comply with the capacity of your system, targeting the areas of highest risk in the building, and delivering more fresh air to where it is needed the most. Mobile apps have enabled tenants to become more connected with their work environment and to provide feedback on their comfort levels. Health and safety, in addition to features such as comfort, space usage and wayfinding, have become part of this equation. These apps enable people working in the building to engage in a proactive way and allow the building to respond without compromising energy efficiency. As an example, Carrier’s MyWay app offers building occupants in open office spaces the ability “vote” for comfort preferences.

A challenge here in the South historically has been to provide ample fresh air to our buildings without tipping the balance of energy performance and humidity control. Now with current recommendations for increasing outdoor air delivery to the building and using better filtration, how do we accomplish this? Advances in monitoring technology can help here, too. As studies from Carrier have found, more fresh air can be provided to a building in this region “for the cost of an office party to double the ventilation rate.”

Third-party certifications such as LEED, WELL —including the WELL Health Safety Rating launched in 2020 —and Fitwel are gaining traction with the renewed focus of occupant well-being and safety. The LEED rating systems has offered several new “Safety First” pilot credits for the design, management, and maintenance of indoor air quality and HVAC systems during COVID-19 and for protection from infectious diseases in the future. Verification of healthy building practices will give people more confidence in returning to their indoor work environments, with innovations in technology supporting these programs and helping property owner and managers to reach overarching sustainability goals.

Results of this year’s USGBC member community survey, published on Earth Day, indicated that respondents see many opportunities stemming from the challenges of 2020, including the focus on health. Members are seeing more of a demand for buildings to promote a healthy environment for occupants, with more people understanding the link between building systems and human systems, and how this connection impacts individual health and wellness.

Another recent USGBC program focused on data interpretation and how the Internet of Things (IoT) and a growing ecosystem of connected devices allows us to measure energy, waste, IAQ,

occupancy, space utilization, occupant satisfaction and more in real time. However, the way we collect, interpret, and apply insights gained from data is still up to us. When these insights are applied, connected and sustainable buildings are more resilient, healthier and environmentally friendly. Now that data has become an integral part of our everyday lives, as well as a valuable resource, considering the human side of the equation is coming closer into view.

As tenants return to their workspaces, building owners and managers will need to have good answers to questions like, “Do I have a high level of filtration in my office?” Healthy buildings will continue to have a growing impact on the bottom line for businesses. Recent innovations in some of these technologies can help to enhance the occupant experience on a more personalized level. These advances can help guide maintenance of indoor environmental quality to leverage a building’s overall sustainability, meeting energy efficiency goals while taking care of the people in the space.

About the Author Nancy Larson LEED AP O+M, has worked in the fields of architecture, design and commercial real estate services for more than 20 years. Since 2009, she has led project teams for LEED and other third-party certifications, implementing best environmental practices through optimizing sustainable building operations and performance tracking. Prior to joining Envision Realty Services in 2018, Nancy served as project team lead for a number of high-profile green certifications in Atlanta and the Southeast, winning several distinguished awards for water conversation

770-455-8340 www.frazierservicecompany.com Indoor Air Quality & Purification for your Safety

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7

Advocacy

New Legislation Brings Technology into the workplace By: Katie Roberts, Fiveash Stanley Georgia’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported March 2, 2020. At the time, it was impossible to foresee the destructive ways in which the virus would impact lives and livelihoods.

If there is a silver lining, it’s that that pandemic has advanced the adoption and acceptance of technology across virtually all sectors.

A great example is telehealth. A former federal official with the US Department of Health and Human Services noted last summer that “the pandemic has allowed us to push this revolution in healthcare delivery to new frontiers. Now that providers and patients have had a taste, it’s difficult to imagine in the telehealth genie going back into the bottle.”

LEgislation Changes In Georgia, the legislature responded to advances in telehealth by codifying certain provisions. House Bill 307 authorizes health care professionals to provide telemedicine services from home and authorizes patients to receive telemedicine services from their home, workplace, or school. Health insurers cannot require a separate deductible or an in-person consultation before paying for telehealth services. While virtual and remote healthcare services have been growing in popularity, it’s unclear if protections would have been placed into state law without a pandemic spurring advances in the technology and acceptance among patients and providers.

This is just one of several examples. Early in the pandemic, Governor Brian Kemp announced the suspension or relaxation of several state regulations, including those related to the review of building plans and construction inspections , childcare centers , driver’s license and identification card expiration dates , and annual performance evaluations for Georgia’s students . Without these changes, construction would have stopped, childcare centers would have been forced to close, drivers would be illegally driving with expired licenses, and students would have been required to return to the school building simply for standardized testing.

The Governor also suspended enforcement sections 14-2-701 and 14-3-701 of Georgia statute, which require that Georgia

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Insight • Issue 2, 2021

corporations, both profit and nonprofit, hold annual meetings at “the place stated in or fixed in accordance with the bylaws.” For decades, this has been construed to require meetings to take place in person.

This law was originally established to protect shareholders and the company employees. Other states expressly allow companies to hold virtual meetings or allow remote participation in meetings, but Georgia does not.

On March 20, the Governor specifically permitted Georgia corporations and nonprofits to hold annual or special meetings of shareholders virtually. The Executive Order pertained to shareholder meetings scheduled to occur through the end of the state of emergency. A month later, Governor Kemp extended the suspension to apply to meetings even after the state of emergency.

The move to allow virtual shareholder meetings was so popular that the General Assembly sought to codify it when they returned to Atlanta in January. The legislation, House Bill 306, allows the board of directors of corporations and non-profit corporations to hold annual and special shareholder meetings wholly or partially by means of remote communication unless expressly disallowed by the organization’s by-laws or articles of incorporation.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whose office is responsible for annual corporate filings, noted that “especially considering the risk large annual meetings would pose to public health, virtual meetings provide a way for business to meet their responsibilities to their shareholders and to prevent further spread of COVID-19.”

Making the Most of New Considerations With this provision now protected in state law, how can organizations leverage technology to take full advantage?

First, companies and nonprofit organizations should review their articles of incorporation and bylaws to ensure they are not explicitly

prohibited from conducted shareholder meetings virtually in whole or in part. It may be necessary to amend these documents to permit such meetings.

Corporate law experts recommend that if the Board of Directors determines that virtual meetings are warranted, they should draft a formal resolution explaining the necessary guidelines and procedures for hosting, participating in, and voting during the meeting.

The company must also take reasonable privacy and verification measures, ensuring that only actual shareholders or proxyholders access and participate in the meeting. Verification measures may need to be added to proxy materials or other items distributed before the meeting.

Companies should discuss specific circumstances with their legal counsel.

Finally, companies should select a virtual meeting service provider that allows participants to contribute and vote “substantially concurrently” with the proceedings, as required by law. Virtual shareholders and proxyholders must participate synchronously, not merely observe the meeting. The company must maintain a record of any votes, motions, or other actions taken at the meeting by a remote or virtual participant, the same as they would actions taken by an in-person attendee.

Companies should also consider rules established by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Georgia Business Corporate Code when determining the suitability of virtual meetings.

Like many COVID-era policies, this started as a temporary solution to a momentary problem. Both because of the duration of the pandemic and our willingness to use technology to adapt, what was temporary has now become permanent. While remote meetings may not be appropriate for all corporations at all times, having the legal option to be flexible and responsive is critical.

The information contained in this website is not intended to constitute legal advice. Readers should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to particular legal matters. Special thanks to the Georgia House Budget and Research Office for additional analysis of House Bill 306. www.bomageorgia.org • www.creinsightjournal.com

9

Advocacy

Water Wars Update

Long-time Commercial Real Estate Insight Journal readers may recall an article published in 2011 about Georgia’s stake in the so-called “Water Wars.” In late 2009, a US District Judge ordered Georgia to reduce its water withdrawal levels from Lake Lanier to what was established around 1980. In 1980, the metro area population was about 1.6 million residents; in 2009 when the Judge issued his order, there were 4.4 million residents. Today, nearly 6 million people called the Atlanta-area home.

History Back in 2011, the Court of Appeals overturned the US District Judge’s order. This gave Georgia a significant victory over Florida and Alabama, who maintain their economies depend on a steady supply of downstream water from Lake Lanier.

Then in 2013, Florida sued Georgia in the Supreme Court, petitioning the court to cap Georgia’s consumption from Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River. The Supreme Court accepted the case and referred it to a Special Master, who ultimately recommended the Court side with Georgia. The Supreme Court reviewed the recommendations but asked the Special Master more questions, including whether Florida had proved any serious injury caused by Georgia.

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Insight • Issue 2, 2021

Where it Stands The second Special Master report also sided with Georgia. While Florida filed legal maneuvers to keep the issue alive, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in early April of this year to reject Florida’s legal maneuvers and dismiss the case. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr hailed the high court’s ruling.

While this was a best-case scenario for Georgia as it relates to the 2012 drought, legal experts warn more water wars might still be on the horizon. With any luck, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama will renew good-faith efforts to negotiate water-sharing compacts and avoid litigation in

About the Author

Katie Roberts serves as Director of Government Affairs at Fiveash-Stanley, Inc. In this

role, she is critical in managing legislative and regulatory issues specific to the industry.

Fiveash-Stanley is recognized as one of Georgia’s leading government and public affairs consulting firms and has represented BOMA Georgia since 2000.

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11

Cybersecurity, Technology

Breaking DOwn Building System Threats and Cybersecurity for CRE By: Fred Gordy, Intelligent Buildings, LLC

Event Type: Hack

to him to his personal email, but the email had a link to a site that appeared to be something that might have come from this employee.

The link did not take the engineer anywhere. It just appeared that the other employee had not copied the link correctly. The building engineer talked to the person that sent it later in the day and told them the link he sent didn’t work, for which the person let him know they had not sent him anything. Additionally, he advised that if he had sent it, the email would have gone to his work email because he didn’t know his personal email. None of these inconsistencies caused the engineer to notify anyone about what happened. They did, however, back up the application server to an external hard drive just in case. The day ended without incident.

Site assessments are a part of our day-to-day routine. This customer had contracted us to assess a sample set of buildings to get an assessment of where they stood. The first site we visited was one of their flagship locations with a couple of high-value target tenants.

The systems to be evaluated were typical systems such as the HVAC, lighting, access control, elevator, etc. During the initial walkthrough, our assessor asked to see the parking system but was informed that it was not connected to any building networks and, therefore, would not be included in the assessment. The assessor asked if there were any policies that they, the building owner, required of the parking vendor.

The company rep said no other than the usual. The assessor said, “Who’s name is on the building?” Nothing else was said.

About mid-morning the following day,, another engineer needed to make setpoint adjustments because tenants on the 10th floor complained that their area was too cold. The engineer went to the application server to make the adjustments and noticed that a window was opened he had never seen. There was a message that said: “Your Important files are encrypted. Many of your documents, photos, videos, databases, and other files are no longer accessible because they have been encrypted. Maybe you are busy looking for a way to recover your files but do not waste your time. Nobody can recover your files without our decryption service.” There were also instructions on how to recover and how to pay for the recovery. There was also a countdown timer letting them know that all their files would be lost.

A few weeks later, the assessor returned to this site. Between the first visit and this visit, an event had happened related to the parking vendor.

The engineer that clicked the link the day before was also in the room at the time and let the other engineer know that he had made a backup the day before and that they should call the vendor and have them reinstall the operating system and the application. The vendor was able to reinstall the operating system and installed the application and the files necessary to get the application up and running. This took a couple of days.

Not too long after the system was back up and running, there were some anomalies that occurred with some of the equipment in the central plant. The variable frequency drives (VFDs) seemed to be sometimes running slightly faster and sometimes slightly slower; however, this settled out and did not occur for the rest of the day.

Building cybersecurity has become a “real thing”. That is good but this too introduces issues. In this article, I will give real-world examples of four incidents that my company has experienced. Two scenarios presented as attacks. Two occurred with with good intentions, but a lack of understanding.

These stories are based on actual events with modifications to mask the identity of those affected.

Printer Empties a Building

The parking system had a network, and someone had added a wireless access point that was open to the web and had default credentials. Someone from the outside had gotten to the network printer and printed, “There is a bomb in the building.” As a result, the building had to be evacuated and called emergency services to locate the bomb.

No bomb was found; however, 30 floors of tenants- including two high-value tenants- lost productivity for over 24 hours, in addition to the reputation damage done, the person or persons responsible were never identified.

92 Days to Recover Event Type: Hack A day before this event, a building engineer checked his personal email on the application server. He received an email that appeared to be from a fellow engineer. The building engineer that checked his email thought it was unusual that the employee had sent an email

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Insight • Issue 2, 2021

Several days later, staff arrived and went about their typical day. The first indication of a problem was the engineer noticed that the central plant controllers were offline. They also noticed no alarms were showing for the central plant which there should have been at least the alarms associated with the offline state of the controllers.

Investigation of the plant found the chillers were off. Further investigation found that several of the VFDs were inoperable. The staff attempted to restart the main chiller manually but were not successful.

They next tried to restart the other chiller manually and were unsuccessful. They began investigating mechanically the cause, at which

time they found extensive damage to the pumps due to what they believed was cavitation.

At this point, the association between the ransomware attack was not even considered.

Now, most of what is stated here are strictly speculation because there was no forensic data. Because the system had been reloaded and no logs were retained, who and when they accessed the system and what was done is still unanswered to this date.

Here is what is believed to have occurred.

It was determined that several of the pumps were going to need to be replaced, and each of the chillers required a full inspection to find out if there was any damage to them. The controls vendor was also contacted to investigate the system to check the application out and get the controllers back online and determine why alarms did not go out.

The staff determined that several of the pumps and VFDs needed to be replaced.. They found that the VFDs appeared to have been run beyond their critical speed. The vendor happened to be listening and informed the engineers that the only way this could occur is if someone disabled the safety feature that would prevent it.

This changed the thought process from possible equipment failure -not likely due to the number of devices affected and the extent- to the system’s possible hack. The direction of the investigation took the focus that this was probably what happened, but how?

The first thought was that another unrelated hack had happened, but this seemed unlikely because lighting doesn’t strike twice in the same spot, right? The vendor went through the backup made the day before the attack and found that infection occurred that day of the backup, and it most likely came from the email that the engineer clicked when he checked his email on the application server.

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The vendor found that a remote access trojan (RAT) was also in the payload of the ransomware.

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Once the RAT was embedded and the hacker or hackers planted the ransomware, there was most likely a beacon that notified the hackers that the RAT was installed.

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When the system was reloaded, the beacon notified the hackers that it was active again, and they realized they would not get paid, so they decided to damage parts of the system.

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They remotely accessed the system and played with the VFDs to see what they could do but waited until they felt no one was watching the system and entered it sometime after 7 p.m.

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They disabled the alarms.

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They attacked the VFDs, which most likely caused cavitation, and destroyed the pumps.

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They also disabled the central plant controllers.

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13

The Results

Connectivity Lost to Over 100 Buildings

The damage to the system included:

Event Type: No Policy/Lack of IT Understanding

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Roughly half the VFDs needed to be replaced.

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The chillers had to be dismantled to inspect for damage.

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Several pumps had to be replaced due to the damage from cavitation.

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The central plant controllers had to be replaced because the hacker rendered them unrecoverable.

A company embarked on a nationwide initiative to aggressively improve the cybersecurity of all its facilities. Information Technology (IT) began the process and spent two years and several million dollars trying to understand how systems were set up; what systems were and were not connected if there were any policies and procedures in place; who was responsible for what; how to manage systems; and inventory all the devices in all the facilities. IT learned the basics of managing users but not the full extent or implications of doing such.

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A new PC for the application was purchased to ensure no residual infection was present.

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Because the backup was corrupted and the only backup was a year old, the application host programming had to be partially redone.

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The entire process to fully recover took 92 days and thousands of manhours.

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During that time, space cooling and heating units had to be rented to maintain tenant comfort.

In general, the organization did not have internal resources with a broad understanding of the various systems and what it took to manage them. However, in one region, there was an employee that was the go-to guy. This individual was responsible for the most significant number of sites. He had been instrumental in creating a regional system that centralized command and control of over 200 sites. This employee was given free reign to implement and change as he saw fit to create a unified and standardized system across all the sites within his realm of responsibility. His work appeared to be a model that all other regions could follow. However, due to the trust and control he was given, the organization did not exercise oversite of this individual. The work this individual did was not documented, nor were the details of how the systems were configured.

This individual had to be let go. IT was notified, as is policy, to remove the employee from all system access. As mentioned earlier, IT had learned the basics of account management of control system devices. Still, IT had not learned or understood the implications of removing users without understanding the roles and underlying

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Insight • Issue 2, 2021

functions of what the user account influenced.

IT began removing his user profile from the controllers and the application server. Unbeknownst to anyone, his user was also the user that created the machine-to-machine connection between the controllers and the application server for command and control. Before anyone was aware, over 100 sites lost communication to the central application server.Because no one knew this employee’s password and for very valid legal reasons, the employee could not be contacted. Simply putting another user in place of him would not fix the issue.

What was required was to work with the manufacturer of the controller to recover communication between the application server and the hundreds of controllers affected. There were hundreds because for every site, there could be anywhere from one to 20 controllers at each location. This meant there were easily over 500 controllers that needed to be “touched.”

The manufacturer was able to re-establish communication to all the controllers after 6,000 man-hours of work. This did not include the hours of work required by facility staff to manually control the 100-plus site until centralized control was restored. This number has yet to be determined but could easily be in the thousands of hours.

Over 6,000 Devices Knocked Offline Event Type: Policy Enforced/Lack of IT Understanding A large commercial real estate building of over 100 floors was built with all the latest SmartBuilding technology and cybersecurity for IT and Operational Technology (OT) was built into the foundation of all these systems. To further ensure that cybersecurity specifications were met, they hired Intelligent Buildings to cyber commission the over 10,000 devices in the facility.

The systems had been fully commissioned and were effectively turned over to the owner. The HVAC vendor was making final adjustments to the system and noticed that they could not connect to a device they had been working on just before lunch. They began checking other devices and found that none of the devices they checked were responding. The technician went and directly connected to a device nearby, and it was unresponsive.

The tech power cycled the device and was able to connect to it directly. The tech then tried connecting to the same device over the network and was able to connect. However, none of the rest of the devices throughout the building were responsive. This represented over 100 devices. This did not include the field devices.

In the meantime, the vendor responsible for the power monitoring noticed that the devices monitoring the racks were unresponsive. The number of devices totaled over 2,000. The vendor technician had to climb a ladder to investigate. The tech power cycled the device, but in this case, they had to connect via a serial cable to confirm that the device came back online and ensure those configuration parameters that the vendor set was still in the device.

At this point, other vendors (lighting, elevator, etc.) noticed they had unresponsive devices as well.

The vendor began reaching out to the general contractor and project management to inform them the systems were now not ready for occupation. The discussion started as to what was to be done. Delay occupying the building was on the table but not really an option legally.

aware there was an issue across other systems. So now the question was, what happened?

Vendors started contacting IT to see if they could identify a cause, if there were one, from an IT perspective. IT did not see anything that they knew that could have caused.

Light bulb moment…

The cyber commissioning company (CCC) was contacted to determine what might have happened. CCC found out about the vulnerability scan. They asked IT about the scans that were used. The type that was used is a known device killer. It effectively acts as a DoS attack on the devices. The devices cannot handle the interrogation this type of scan performs.

The vendors had to go to each device and manually reboot their devices one at a time. The vendor of the data center rack power monitoring devices had to climb a ladder over 2,000 times because each device had to be manually rebooted and connected. This vendor made the statement, “If this happens again, we’ll give you a ladder, laptop, and serial cable, and you can do it yourself.”

It is believed that the cost of this one scan cost in the high six figures.

Conclusion Building systems face risks from not only cyber-attacks but also from lack of understanding. Attacks are something that most are aware can happen, but lack of understanding most organizations have not taken in to consideration. In most cases and with good intentions IT applies their tools and practices into play without consideration of the potential impact to the control system. NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) in 2019 release IR8228 that made three statements that explains what to consider and the differences between IT and OT systems.

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Many OT devices interact with the physical world in ways conventional IT devices usually do not.

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Many OT devices cannot be accessed, managed, or monitored in the same ways conventional IT devices can.

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The availability, efficiency, and effectiveness of cybersecurity and privacy capabilities are often different for OT devices than conventional IT devices.

IT does not understand that something as simple as patching an operating system of the application server could totally lock out the users from the systems at the very least. Or worse could require months of rework and replacement of devices in the field. Or in the cause of the thousands of devices knocked offline in the last story a single vulnerability scan cost this organization around $1.25 million to fully recover.

IT can be a great ally in the fight against cyber-attacks on OT systems but they must be educated about how their policies, practices, and tools can impact building control systems.

About the Author Fred Gordy is a SmartBuilding industry expert and thought leader with 20 years of experience in secure control system development and implementation for Fortune 500 companies throughout the US and abroad. He is one of the first in the SmartBuilding industry to address the inherent risk that control system technology poses.

Each of the vendors had been working independently and was not www.bomageorgia.org • www.creinsightjournal.com

15

Technology, Tenant Experience

The Role of Technology in the Re-entry Process By: Dusty Muck, Rubbermaid Commercial Products “Georgia is open for business”. This was Governor Brian Kemp’s message to all Georgians in a press conference held on April 6 where he lifted the last of the state’s Covid restrictions on businesses and individuals.

Over the last year, we have had many ZOOM meetings, sitting in our sweatpants, educating our children at home, while listening to discussions of what our new normal would look like and how Georgians could re-enter their workplaces safely. We heard about Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, touch-free technology, hand hygiene, and we learned about new products like electrostatic sprayers. But in an industry where technology plays an increasingly greater role every year, one must wonder, what role will technology play in making our return to work safer? And, of course, the question on everyone’s mind, when will our tenants return to the office?

“We want people to come back in, and Portman has done a tremendous amount of great work to ensure the building is safe,” Michael Knox, chief engineer at CODA said. “We have no problems getting tenants back into the office safely, the problem is the tenants don’t want to come back into the office. Everyone is still so concerned especially with the new variant out now, no one is sure how that is going to affect the vaccine programs out there. Are the vaccines even going to be effective against the new variants? So, everyone is on a ‘wait-and-see’ because of that.”

Tom Melton, chief engineer with Madison Marquette, agrees with the importance the vaccine will play.

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Insight • Issue 2, 2021

“I think they (tenants) are not going to be comfortable coming back until everyone is vaccinated,” Melton said.

The commercial real estate Industry has been busier than ever, during the lockdown period, ensuring the safety of everyone’s return.

“We are actively seeking and addressing amenities within the building around the building.

What can we do to increase safety and make the work environment worth coming back for.”

“For instance, we are upgrading facilities, making it newer, fresher, brighter,” Leigh McGibboney, senior property manager with Cushman & Wakefield, said. “We are upgrading elevators, we are updating lobby areas, we are creating safe workplaces. Being in the banking industry, it used to be all suits and ties, now it has become more casual. It is really going to flex workspaces. We are even turning a plaza to an outside, comfortable area to eat lunch, while enjoying the fresh air. We are even going to pipe in music. It will make the space look good and encourage people to come back in to work. That is some of the other areas we are looking at.”

McGibboney continued, “We have put in sanitation stations. We put on all the floors a paper towel dispenser and a spray they can take to their desk and spray their own work areas. We have totally increased hand sanitizers on all the floors. Near the restrooms, breakrooms, elevators. We feel like hand sanitizers are a good thing and will remain here for quite a while.”

Melton and his team said they feel they are basically doing everything everybody else is doing. They have placed floor stickers, restroom signs, and have bought a couple of the electrostatic machines.

“That is a part of our maintenance daily plans to hit the toilets, stalls, and urinals,” Melton said. “We are disinfecting restrooms nightly with an electrostatic sprayer, wiping down door handles, etc.”

“The other technology is the bipolar ionization,” Melton said. “What that technology does is ionizes in the atmosphere and it encapsulates the virus and any dust particles, and they fall to the floor and it is very interesting. The only problem I have with it is ASHRAE and the CDC have not affirmed it. Once they affirm it, the technology will take off, but it is tough for me to go to the owner without these affirmations.”

While most all our commercial real estate teams are taking similar steps around sanitization and social distancing, some are using technology in different ways to keep tenants safe. Melton is working with Ultraviolet C (UVC), which it turns out is not necessarily new technology, but it is playing a key role in keeping tenants safe in his office building today.

But bipolar technology does have its supporters.

“We are looking at actually testing a UVC Product from a company from Florida,” Melton said. “The UVC has been around about a century. Hospitals use it, ER’s use it, schools use it. The CDC and ASHRAE have affirmed that it is a product that works. And they come out and said that. We are testing one of these as we speak, we have about a 90-day test on it. I have about 20 years of experience with this product as I have it at my own home.”

Knox said is more economical, there was less maintenance needed for it, and it provided a more thorough sanitizing of the area. He said that while because that data isn’t out there yet, he wanted to do some lab tests here in their building.

This technology protects the coils and makes the unit run more efficiently. Melton said it kills mold, mildew, and it is supposed to kill viruses, but the kicker is it will save a lot of energy. Melton and his team set a test for 90 days. They put kilowatt meters on two separate units, one with and one without the system and will see if they have some savings.

“We probably discussed it for a couple months,” Knox said. “We looked at multiple vendors and compared installation requirements, ongoing maintenance costs, initial costs. The bipolar checked all the marks.”

McGibboney has also installed the ionization technology.

“We had a team of ten people who put in the research and spent about six months investigating the different technologies,” McGibboney said. “Then we put out an RFP in October and we installed in December 2020. We have been monitoring each month. I only have a small market about what tenants say, but the tenants that due come in say, it is so clean in here, what is so different? I know I can feel a difference.”

Melton and his team are also considering different technologies but are waiting for official recommendations from different authorities.

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McGibboney said that many visitors and vendors noticed the effects.

Their janitorial company said the building is not as dusty as it used to be and since it is an older building, and dust is always an issue, but it has not been as bad recently. She said their long-term plans are to use it ongoing.

McGibboney investigated the UV light technology before deciding upon ionization.

“You have to very careful about the placement and you have to be willing to be able to replace parts down the road. In my building we have five large air handlers, about the size of a large room taking care of 30 floors, so that would be a high cost for us,” McGibboney said.

She said their engineers started the investigation that they shared it with the tenant, and they wanted to explore it with all their other locations as well. She said they all worked as a team and decided on the ionization technology.

He said that while the cost may be high, it is important to consider the comfort and piece of mind of the tenant. He said those factors are priceless and may be well worth the cost of new investments.

This pandemic has certainly changed the needs for tenants. In fact, in a recent survey commission by BOMA International and conducted

by Brightline Strategies, safety, which includes health safety, is the number three attribute tenants look for when choosing a new location. Safety fell only behind rent and cost and proximity to talent and clients. In the same study, it was found four out of 10 tenants would be willing to pay a premium or have an extra line item added to their contract to have sanitization stations containing masks, gloves, and sanitizer, etc., located around the building.

The commercial real estate industry is innovative, creative and continues to push forward, ensuring all the tenants upon their return will have a safe and healthy office. But it will not be without some obstacles.

However, McGibboney did incorporate UV in a very interesting manner, elsewhere in her building.

“I think the biggest obstacle will be people adhering to property guidelines. Government and property regulations are evolving and changing, so the interpersonal element of managing visitors and adhering to guidelines may prove challenging ,” Knox said.

“Where we did use the UV, light is in our escalators,” McGibboney said. “We have a small UV light that goes on the moving handrail and the device is powered by the movement of the rail itself. As the rail moves along its path the light is constantly disinfecting the rail.”

Melton continues to think about his tenants return and what part he and his team will play. He said that staying on top of technology and exploring the options is part of tenant relations and making sure the tenants feel comfortable to return.

Melton’s advice for others looking at all these technologies is simple.

“You have got to make them comfortable, and once they come back, we must follow protocol and make sure they are good with coming back,” Melton said. “They are our customers, and we will do whatever it takes to keep them comfortable and safe as far as I am concerned.”

“I would say take a hard look at installing either the older more proven UVC technology, or the newer Bi-polar Ionization technology, along with filter MERV upgrades, and possibly air monitoring systems,” Melton said.

About the Author Dusty Muck is an Account Manager for Rubbermaid Commercial Products, providing washroom solutions, cleaning, waste/recycling, material handling, and foodservice products to Commercial Real Estate, Healthcare, Travel/Entertainment, Manufacturing, and Education facilities in Georgia. Dusty is currently Chair of the Membership Committee, a member of the Editorial Board, and works on the BOMA Government Affairs Committee, assisting strategies on legislative and regulatory matters affecting the commercial real estate industry in Georgia.

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Insight • Issue 2, 2021

Thank you to our BOMA Georgia Foundation Donors Since the Foundation was created in 2014, it has awarded nearly 500 scholarships to individuals seeking a certificate or professional designation in real estate. The Foundation has also conducted six research studies and produced five white papers, all designed to give real estate owners and managers new tools to add value to their properties.

INDIVIDUALS Associate

Individual donors who have given $100-$199

COMPANIES Associate

Company donors who have given $500-$999

Billy Gray

Leigh Ann Gantt

Allied Univeral Security Services

Georgia Paving

Bo Reddic

Michael Knox

America’s Capital Partners

Gray Contracting

Dusty Muck

Mike Valenzuela

Arborguard

Highwoods Properties

Atlanta Property Group

Lillibridge Healthcare Services

Elaine Bare

Orlando Ojeda

Banyan Street Capital

Madison Marquette

Florence Barbour

Robyn Shaw

BMS CAT of Georgia

Mayberry Electric, Inc.

Fred Rodriguez

Scott Baker

Brand Real Estate Services

OA Management

Gina Dodson

Tammy Weeks

Capital City Mechanical Services

Parker Young Construction/RESCON

Judi Sponsel

Tiffany Wilson

Capital Restoration

Physicians Realty Trust

Von L. Terry

CapRidge Partners

PM&A

John Scott

Colliers International

Pope & Land Enterprises

Cushman & Wakefield

Prologis

Empire Roofing

Roof Partners

Engineered Restorations

Russell Landscape

Environmental Service Partners

SERVPRO of Decatur

EPIC

SOLID

Everclear Enterprises

The Morley Companies

Full Circle Restoration

The RMR Group

Bachelor

Individual donors who have given $200-$349 Amanda Madrid

Kinsey Hinkson

Chonte’ Martin

Tim Barton

Jacob WIlder

Stacy Abbate

Master

Individual donors who have given $350-$499

The Simpson Organization

Ian Hughes

Bachelor

Company donors who have given $1,000-$2,499

Doctorate

Individual donors who have given $500-$999 David Hofstetter

Natalie Tyler-Martin

Post-Doctorate

Individual donors who have given $1,000+ Gabriel Eckert

Melody Frcek

Mark Dukes

Pat Freeman

Master

Company donors who have given $2,500-$4,999

Join our growing list of annual donors www.bomageorgiafoundation.org

www.bomageorgia.org • www.creinsightjournal.com

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BOMA SRC 21, Education and Training

2021 BOMa southern region confernce recap This past April 13-15, the BOMA Southern Region took on a whole new experience. While no one was a stranger to ZOOM and virtual learning, the concept of a digital conference was a brand new venture. At the 2021 BOMA Southern Region Conference, members from across the region joined in educational webinars, unique networking opportunities and the 2021 Southern Region TOBY Awards.

Below you will see all of titles listed for the videos and on-demand micro sessions produced during the 2021 BOMA SRC. Those interested in accessing this content can visit www.creinsightjournal. com and become a CRE Insight 365 member. This will give you access to not only the content from the 2021 BOMA SRC, but a whole library of content from experts and influential thinkers from across the industry.

Speakers presented on trending topics such as asset management, decision-drivers for tenants returning to their properties and succession planning. Not only did participants enjoy the live sessions, but the 2021 SRC media partner CRE Insight Journal hosted bonus content from the speakers as well. Over three days, the BOMA Georgia Foundation and the Southern Region were able to facilitate meaningful conversations on the real problems facing property professionals today.

The Southern Region was also able to celebrate with best in operations and management at the 2021 TOBY Awards Ceremony.

The BOMA Southern Region will have ten properties representing them at the BOMA International Conference in October.

The BOMA Georgia Foundation was proud to host such a successful and impactful event during a time of uncertainty. Each day was filled with innovative solutions to the challenge of distance. Attendees were able to connect in a whole new way from any location. The Southern Region looks forward to next year’s conference in Tampa,

2021 BOMA SRC Education

Over the course of the conference, CRE Insight Journal and the BOMA Georgia Foundation produced 17 educational webinars and videos. From recordings of live educational sessions to bonus videos with conference speakers, the range of content touches on some of the most trending topics in commercial real estate. From adopting an asset manager’s mindset to navigating global business, these videos provide compelling content for any professional. This content is available with a CRE Insight 365 subscription.

Identifying and Understanding Transferable Skills Resiliency & The Effect on Commercial Real Estate Ensuring a Diverse Pool of Candidates When Interviewing

Developing an Asset Management Perspective

Developing a Culture of Leadership Development

Top Legal Trends in Property Management and Building Operations

How to Develop a Legal Mindset as a Property Professional

Best Practices Beyond Borders

Leadership Considerations for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Goals

COVID-19 Impact on Tenant Experience and Decision-Drivers The Transforming of CRE through ESG

Developing an Asset Manager Perspective as a Property Manager Leading Building Management and Operations in the New Normal Cultural Competencies in a Digital World Why Global Competencies are Vital for Southeast CRE Professionals

Ensuring CRE Operational Consistency Through Succession Planning and Knowledge Transfer

CRE Legislative and Regulatory Update

Discover this content and more at www.creinsightjournal.com 20

Insight • Issue 2, 2021

Thank You to our 2021 Southern Region Conference Sponsors Presenting Sponsor

Diamond Sponsors

TOBY Awards Sponsor

Media Partner

Emerald Sponsors Allied Universal Security Services Burke Painting Full Circle Restoration Paint Applicators SERVPRO Of Decatur

BOMA Family Donors

Enhanced Exposure Experience Sponsor

Conference Newsletter Sponsors Arborguard Engineered Restorations HighGrove Partners LAZ Parking The RMR Group

Post-TOBY Program Celebration, Presented by IMG Technologies Online Auction, Presented by SERVPRO of Decatur

www.bomageorgia.org • www.creinsightjournal.com

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Workforce Development

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly; Recruiting in the Digital Era By: Paige Fogle, BG Talent In many ways, advancements in electronics, technology, and the internet have made all our lives so much easier; but often, I find myself tethered to my electronics, and rendered useless when something goes wrong with modern day technology, as it often does.

It has opened a whole world for us, but in doing so, made the world seem so much smaller. For better or worse, it is now an integral part of our recruiting processes, and I am here to go over the good, the bad, and the ugly for both the clients and the candidates.

The Good Technology has made the job hunt much simpler. Gone are the days of shifting through want ads or solely relying on your networking ability. Today we can connect to online tools like Indeed or LinkedIn, and search for a job with extremely specific criteria. We can search by location, special skills, or salary range. Some sites will even look at your resume and find you jobs that match your work history. It is hugely impressive and lessened the headache of searching. We can explore and discover jobs we did not even realize were out there, and it has broadened our horizon on our career potential.

Not only is the search much easier, but the application process is also expedited as well. As someone who personally suffers from awful handwriting, I am relieved that my messy scrawl is a nonfactor when filling out my applications online. With the simplification of the application process, we naturally can apply to several jobs from the comfort of our own homes. We can do research on the companies as we apply. This allows us to customize each cover letter with trigger words from that companies’ values! It has given the candidate an unprecedented edge.

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Insight • Issue 2, 2021

Technology has also given us the ability to prep for an interview in new ways. A quick LinkedIn search and you can see employees from that company in your specific city; you can even dig into the LinkedIn page of the person who will be interviewing you.

You have the opportunity, as a candidate, to research the company on Glass Door, see what the feedback previous employees have posted about upper management, or what the going salary is for the exact position you are applying for before the negotiation starts. All of this knowledge is power when trying to secure a position at a new company. This can give you a leg up on a candidate who decided to skimp on their research and wing the interview.

Not only can you research a company, but you also have the tools to self-train through LinkedIn Premium classes, adding badges to your LinkedIn page is just another way to get you to stand out as a top candidate! Microsoft Excel also offers many training classes as a part of their software package, and a quick YouTube search could familiarize one with a skill that they have not had the chance to come across organically.

From a hiring perspective, you know have the candidates coming to you. While some roles do take a little more digging, the resumes can be consolidated and condensed through job portals. You do not have to thumb through endless resumes. Employers can use tactics such as preliminary “deal breaker” questions that a candidate must answer before every submitting their resume. Simply by glancing at someone’s professional resume you have an immediate insight to their organization and computer skills.

Going through ones’ resume is much easier as well. Fact checking is at your fingertips. into a candidate’s personal behavior, attitudes or is a quick google search. Be warned, this could fall under “the good” or the “the ugly” category.). We thought the property management world was small before… Now we are just a quick email over to their former property manager to get the insight on their work ethic and knowledge of the industry. All of this can be completed before scheduling 30 minutes out of the day to conduct an interview.

From both the hiring client and the prospective candidate’s point of view, technology has given us the ability to find just what we are looking for and the key to knowledge on how to obtain it.

The Bad When does too much knowledge become a bad thing? For both those looking to hire or in search for a new job; the ability to have everything at your fingertips can be overwhelming. It is as if suddenly there is too much information.

Someone looking to hire can go down a rabbit hole of resume after resume, and soon they are all starting to blend. I know people that have applied for so many jobs, that when they finally get an interview scheduled, they do not even remember what job they are interviewing for. Then when they finally do land that new job, or someone hiring ends up finding the right fit for your organization, it can be hard not to second guess their decision.

Furthermore, I have experienced candidates holding off on accepting an offer that is right in front of them because they are waiting to hear back from two other potential positions and ended up missing out on all three. It can be a tricky world to navigate.

On top of sensory overload, the internet also provides personal information overload. We are one quick google search away from having our old college photos on display in front of a potential new employer. One could argue it is not fair for a prospective employer to pass on your resume because of an old photo you posted on Facebook while you were in college. While another could argue, in this day in age, if you were not smart enough to weed through your social media accounts and take down any incriminating photos ), you did not deserve the job in the first place.

It’s a tough line to tow, and a difficult new world to navigate, but the reality of the situation is people have access to information now more than ever, and it can be harmful.

The Ugly The ugly truth about technology and the internet is the divide it causes amongst social classes and the unintentional bias it can cause during the hiring process. Things mentioned earlier in the article, such as LinkedIn Premium, are things that come at a monthly subscription cost. These things that help others get ahead, unintentionally are holding those back who can’t afford it. Without that resource, and the means to afford for virtual training, one could easily be overlooked for those who can.

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Additionally, in a virtual age, we have been digitally inviting allowing people into our homes. While candidates can blur out or add backgrounds using virtual meeting software, there may be some who are unable to find a quiet room all together. What if the candidate does not have a space to themselves that would be quiet for 30 minutes while they interviewed?

To the person hiring, this may come across as unprofessional, and again, cause them to be overlooked all together. Before interviewing went virtual, this would never be a factor. The person hiring was the one in charge of providing a quiet professional space to focus on the task at hand, but now it has been pushed back onto the candidate. Furthermore, and the biggest issue of all, according to a Federal Communication Commission December 2018 Internet Access Service report, 44 million households in America do not have standard broadband connection or cannot afford it1.

That is putting 44 million Americans at an incredible disadvantage when it comes to furthering their education and their careers. They are not only unable to apply for these jobs, that have almost all switched to online applications, but they are also unable to find them in the first place. It is important for all job seekers to have access to broadband internet, and unfortunately, until that time comes, the divide will only continue to widen.

About the Author Paige Fogle has a background in both Commercial and Residential Property Management. She graduated from Auburn University (War Eagle) with a double major in Psychology and Sociology. Paige started her career in Residential Property Management, but soon after made the transition to Commercial Real Estate. After working in the Property Management world for 7 years she made the move to staffing solely for commercial real estate, giving her a deep insight to the innerworkings of a property management office and what makes it tick!

In conclusion…

Internet and technology advancements have come such a long way and have propelled us into a new mode of life. There is so much good to be gained from it; the ability to have knowledge at our fingertips, the ability to self-train and grow, or to connect with others in a matter of seconds.

It has changed the way that we recruit for new team members or take the plunge into a new career path. It does however, come with a lot of responsibility. We must think twice before we share things in our personal life. We should recognize that a digital footprint is forever. We should celebrate and be grateful for these technological advancements, but also be aware of the limitations of this technology for both employers and job seekers. https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/523179-many-americans-stilldont-have-internet-access-congress-should-help 1

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Insight • Issue 2, 2021

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Operations and Maintenance

BOMA International Releases Preventative Maintenance Guidebook Building maintenance is a core component of managing a well-operating property. In this Preventative Maintenance Guidebook- Best Practices to Maintain Efficient and Sustainable Buildings from BOMA International, there is all the information needed for a property professional to create a comprehensive plan for their property.

Not only does this guide cover the basic needs and components of a preventative maintenance plan, but it walks readers through the steps of scheduling, timing and executing. This guidebook also answers essential staffing questions that come along with a preventative maintenance plan such as outsourcing and staff requirements.

This guide covers all the basic terminology and standard best practices when it comes to preventative maintenance. From explaining nondestructive preventative maintenance to breaking down the principals of captial planning, this guide takes a step by step apprach to developing a preventative maintenance plan. Letting elements of a property go unchecked can mean possible damage or costly repairs throughout the

life of building. Even if a preventative maintenance plan is already in place, the guide can be a reference to ensure the current plan is up-todate and following best practices.

The Preventative Maintenance Guidebook covers commercial, government and institutional office facilities, but the same principles can be applied to retail, educational and multi-family residential facilities or even critical facilities such as data centers.

This guide serves as both and educational resource and a source to be referenced throughout a property professional’s career. Knowledge about preventative maintenance can preserve both the property and the budget from unexpected damage.

Head to https://www.boma.org/BOMA/BOMA/Research-Resources/ Publication_Pages/Preventive%20Maintenance%20Guidebook.aspx to discover the Preventative Maintenance Guidebook.

www.bomageorgia.org • www.creinsightjournal.com

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Technology, Project Management

Emerging Technologies to Leverage the Gig Economy By: Mike Popadak, CEO & Co-Founder of iVueit Speed is an expectation in virtually every area of life. For commercial real estate management, instant visual verification of properties can increase productivity and help those who service or manage buildings to implement proactive plans. But retrieving this information can be challenging, especially when managing or servicing multi-sites across the country. Enter the gig economy.

In the gig economy, employers contract freelancers to complete temporary jobs as opposed to utilizing internal resources or hiring fulltime employees. According to Statista.com, more than one-third of U.S. workers participate in this labor market. It is no surprise that IT, retail, health care, and media industries heavily rely on gig workers.

But what you may not know is that gig workers have a growing presence in the facility and property management industry. In fact, it is among the top eight industries poised for disruption by on-demand workers according to WorkMarket, Inc.

How Commercial Real Estate Professionals are Working the Gig Economy: Those who work in property management are used to adapting to change. But using technology that provides quicker and more efficient way to gather insights, makes it that much easier to adapt.

The gig economy is a game changer for commercial real estate professionals, especially in the areas of talent and speed.

So how does it work? Similar to how companies like Uber or DoorDash operate, but instead of giving a ride or delivering food, crowdsourcing technology is used to connect companies with professional talent and trade workers looking for short-term positions or local consumers searching for on-demand assignments within the commercial building management industry.

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Insight • Issue 2, 2021

Talent Even before the spike of remote work, industry professionals have often felt the burden of being spread thin on available resources in the field as well as the expense it takes to send teams where they are needed. To be effective, commercial real estate professionals need multiple productive teams who are readily available at a moment’s notice. Hiring gig talent helps fill the gap. And not only do gig workers provide help when it is needed, but they also come with fresh perspective. Oftentimes, a different outlook can help business owners and property managers become more adept at delivering advice, insights, and new services to improve customer experience and the bottom line. Corporate also wins by saving on employmentrelated expenses such as payroll tax, health insurance premiums, and other overhead expenses.

Leveraging Gig Talent If you are like most business owners or property managers, you are familiar with hiring extra workers to meet intermittent high demand in areas such as cleaning or security. Gig workers are no different; only now—with dedicated freelancing platforms, it has become easier to procure highly specialized talent. Sites such as upwork.com and freelancer.com can source virtual assistants to manage tenant relations or field emergency calls, perform data entry, or accounting tasks; temporary labor to augment the team; or project managers to coordinate jobs and help free up your frontline internal resources.

There is no doubt a wide range of gig talent is available to improve day-to-day operations. But the gig economy can also help facility managers increase response time and make data-driven decisions.

Speed As a commercial real estate professional, you hear it often: “I need it now.”

Leveraging the gig economy to satisfy speed requirements puts control back in your hands to create real-time impact.

Augmented reality (AR) is an emerging technology that is gaining momentum in the facility management space. Imagine a facility has experienced some sort of control failure on a piece of equipment. A master technician located halfway across the country can slip on AR glasses to inspect the system and troubleshoot the problem without ever having to step foot on site. Sounds too good to be true, but it is possible with the right setup.

Article continued on page 28

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Leveraging Gig Efficiency The gig economy makes it faster and more affordable than ever to monitor quality control, risk mitigation, contract compliance, service verification, and more from anywhere in the world. Regardless of if a building owner, manager, or service provider needs eyes on one site or an entire portfolio of more than 10,000 sites, the gig economy makes it possible to see virtually every property within minutes of the request, regardless how remote.

Here are a few ways the commercial real-estate industry can leverage visual verification technology and the gig economy to improve efficiencies.

Track progress – Monitor project or vendor progress of any service on one or multiple sites.

Monthly audits – Request survey data to proactively address repair and maintenance issues.

Proof-of-presence – Request photos to satisfy proof-of-presence requirements and verify workmanship.

Risk Mitigation – Request photos of areas that have resulted in liabilities for speedy resolution and future prevention.

Rollouts – Monitor milestones with photos and video of a variety of

trades.

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Insight • Issue 2, 2021

Prioritization – Rank repairs based on location and severity of defect with photos that identify time and location.

Budgeting – Make well-informed decisions based on what is

observed.

Ultimately, gigs are not just for ridesharing or e-commerce delivery, there is a growing need and demand for the gig economy in the world of property management. And just as your job requires flexibility, so does the mindset of the industry when it comes to outsourcing for talent and speed requirements. The workers and the technology are there. Now it’s up to you. The right people in the right places, along with speedy resolutions, is the key to satisfying tenants and customers as well as adding value to the overall facility and brand experience.

About the Authors Mike Popadak is the active CEO and Co-Founder of iVueit, an innovative platform connecting the Facility Management professionals to an On-Demand workforce of mobile app users dedicated to site audits and data collection nationwide. Mike has nearly 20 years experience in interior brand execution and exterior property maintenance and has managed client relationships with national retailers across the country.

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Fiver is a service that allows users to find freelancers to complete a variety of work.

From video animation to creating chat bot for your website, Fiver connects freelancers with business that need their services.

Fiver includes offerings for services that could help a property professional with their web presence, their organizations’s digital marketing or even proofreading.

TaskRabbit is for those needing a small job done quickly. Similar to Uber, users request help through TaskRabbit and those available and qualified can pick up the job. This could rnage from putting together office furniture to mounting a TV in the conference room. This service can be a great tool to use for odd jobs especially if a vendor is unavailable.

Upwork is a place for users to find freelancers and independant professionals to complete different jobs for their organization. Their pool of qualified freelancers can complete a variety of tasks such as building a landing page or designing an email template for your company. When users post a job, they recieve qualified proposals and can select the right person for the job.

www.bomageorgia.org • www.creinsightjournal.com

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Design and Construction

By: Becky Hanner, Hanner Commercial Asset Services BOMA Floor Measurement Standards are very well known throughout the commercial real estate industry. They are so well recognized, that it is common practice to include a reference to BOMA floor standards in standard lease language. Any reference in a lease should be specific as to the method and year of publication of the standard, such as ANSI/BOMA Z65.1-2017, Method B. BOMA published the first office floor measurement standard in 1915, has updated the standard to maintain relevancy, and has developed an entire suite of floor measurement standards, all of which are ANSI (American National Standards Institute) certified. It is no wonder that BOMA is known as the preeminent industry standard for calculating floor measurements for commercial real estate buildings.

Yet, with all this validation, real estate executives often are circumspect about verifying building measurements or implementing revised calculations, when a building is remeasured.

This paper will discuss various outcomes of a measurement, recommend factors to consider when determining how the new measurements may affect your building, and provide suggestions on how to implement the revised calculations to your property.

SETTING THE STAGE The square footages (substitute feet with meters throughout this paper, if relevant in your geography) of buildings are ever changing.

You might wonder how that can happen. It really starts with the original development of the property. The initial architectural plans of a building will state what the square footage of the structure will be, when developed. During the construction process, discrepancies can occur. A wall may have been constructed slightly off from the original plans, a footing might have to be altered due to site conditions, or the front entrance could have been recessed just a little more than 30 Insight • Issue 2, 2021

initially anticipated. As a practical manner, when constructing a property, things can happen that may very well change the architect’s original calculation of building square footage.

Does the building get remeasured once development is finished?

This may occur, or a few important dimensions may be verified, or no validation may occur at all, depending on the development process. During the development phase leases are being drafted based on original drawings. There are so many moving parts with a new development, final accurate measurements may not be properly documented or incorporated into the building administrative records.

Over the years’ spaces will get remodeled, cojoined, subdivided or portions of common corridors absorbed into tenant suites, among other types of building alterations. If the property is capping the load factor for market accommodation then the measurements can be further altered, especially when market cap tolerance changes over the years and the building may amend the load factor as the market will accept, in order to minimize the amount of space not captured as leasable. Real estate professionals may forget to update suite square footages when they are aware of spaces that have revised measurements or when altering space configurations, they may attempt to estimate square footages according to what they feel is a fair calculation of a space. Any of these scenarios will skew building measurements. Over time this can add up to a considerable amount of discrepancy.

WHY DOES IT MATTER? Square footage is the foundational measurement in commercial real estate. Tenants occupy usable square feet. Leases may be based on a capped rentable square foot basis. Building sales are noted on a gross leasable area basis. Lenders use square feet to proforma potential gross rents. Construction costs are estimated on actual

How to Implement Calculations of a Newly Remeasured Building square foot basis. Operating costs are customarily measured by a rentable square foot basis, (although for a level playing field, my opinion is these should be compared on gross square footages). It seems to make sense that if square footage is the language of real estate, then a building owner would want to know a property’s true measurement calculations.

When a building is placed on the market for sale, the seller will provide a prospective purchaser with property information, such as where the boundary lines are and whether there is hazardous material on the site. The buyer’s lender wants this information verified by having a survey and a Phase I Environmental study conducted in order to protect their investment. However, in the case of whether building measurements are accurate, the overall attitude seems to be of less concern, even though this is the foundation on which revenue and expenses are based. The seller will provide the prospective purchaser a building square footage and it is typically accept as a correct number. The seller may even provide a certified rent roll stating suite rentable square footage and the building’s denominator.

The purchaser will provide their lender with this information, who also accepts it as an accurate number. The tenants are told the square footage of their lease and, like the rest, they believe it to be true. The commercial real estate industry does not utilize a good system for checks and balances on a building’s square footage, the foundational measurement in commercial real estate.

This is likely because there are so many components of a building measurement. For example, a building contains a gross area, the tenant areas, the service areas, and the amenity areas. The common area measurement might be capped at a subjective market rate. A proportionate share of common area is allocated to a tenant’s usable area to determine the tenant rentable area. These extrapolations can make building measurements difficult to verify without the help of a measurement professional.

You might be wondering why accurate building measurements are so important. The obvious answer is that a building’s value is determined by its gross potential rent. Capturing every square foot in a building will increase your net operating income, adding value to your building, whether you are currently charging for the full square footage or not.

Consider the actual case study where a building was purchased at the height of the economy and based on a given measurement. A subsequent downturn in the economy resulted in a large building vacancy. The owner had the building professionally measured and found 5% more space in their building, in this case, amounting to over 30,000 sf. This owner was able to reposition the property, then sell it without taking a loss that they otherwise would have.

Another true-life case study is the building that was purchased based on a given measurement. Since no plans were conveyed, the buyer had the building professionally measurement to find the building had 3% less square feet than they purchased. In this case this amount equated to almost 6,000 sf.

A final example is a tenant audit. The last situation you wish to find yourself in is having a tenant inform you they have had their space professionally measured and demanding a refund on rent paid over the years. Not only do you have less recurring income, but you potentially owe back rent and have a dissatisfied tenant.

The following recommendations are provided for consideration to implement accurate measurements for a building. The process of measuring, then implementing the standard is a step by step process and will take time and commitment.

Article continued on page 32 www.bomageorgia.org • www.creinsightjournal.com

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RECOMMENDATION #1 – DO HAVE YOUR BUILDING PROFESSIONALLY MEASURED

The building is an investment. Everything in the building is measured by square footage. Construction costs, lease rates, operating costs, contact services, management services, lending practices and sales calculations are all measured based on the square footage of the building, so why would an owner not want the building measurements used to be verified and correct? It is important that the company you engage to measure the building fully understands the BOMA floor measurements so that accurate calculations will be received. Ensure to utilize the services of a true metrologist (measurement professional).

Questions you may ask include: •

How many buildings has the professional measured?

•

What is the total square footage the measurement professional has measured?

•

Has the professional gone to court to testify on building measurements and if so, what was the outcome?

•

How long has the metrologist been providing floor measurements?

•

Do they have testimonials from satisfied clients? What measurement methodology does the professional use?

•

What deliverable will the metrologist provide so that you can verify accurate floor measurements and calculations?

•

Have them provide recommendations from satisfied clients. Does the measurement professional safely store, update and maintain the floor plans and other related files in case there is an alteration to the property?

•

Once your building is measured and new calculations are provided, compare them to the current rent roll. You might find that suites or overall building square footage have increased or decreased from the size you previously had referenced. Now that you have this accurate information, what do you do with it?

RECOMMENDATION #2 – DEVELOP A SQUARE FOOTAGE TRACKER While you may be utilizing excellent property management software, an Excel spreadsheet tends to be the best solution to track variances in measurements for planning purposes. In Excel, identify each tenant suite, tenant name, the new square footage, the leased square footage, and the lease expiration date. Make sure you have accounted for all building square footage, including vacant suites. With the building laid out this way, you can start to develop a strategic plan on how best to handle the variances. An example of a tracker format follows recommendation # 5.

RECOMMENDATION #3 – REVIEW YOUR LEASES Since the lease is a contract between the tenant and the landlord, it is paramount you review and understand provisions that address building and space size. What does your lease language state? Does it state the suite is a fixed square foot amount or does it state the square footage is approximate? Does it outline that rent is a fixed price per square foot or does it outline a monthly rental amount based on an

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Insight • Issue 2, 2021

approximate square footage? Is there language to address changes to the building denominator or to the suite size? Understanding your leases should be a consideration as you develop your strategy.

RECOMMENDATION #4 – DEVELOP A STRATEGY Your strategy will likely depend on the outcome of the building measurement. You will want to consider how long each tenant has leased space at the building, when their leases will expire, when the building might be placed on the market for sale, how many vacant spaces there are, how profitable the building is, what the goals and objectives of the ownership entity are, how open to a change in measurement the owner is, and what kind of restrictions the lender may have placed for the loan to be secured.

OPTIONS TO CONSIDER If the overall square footage of the building increases: The most typical approach is to implement square footages over time. For example, it may be determined to immediately implement new square footages for vacant suites. A ‘dummy’ suite can be added to the building in your property software to encompass the additional building square footage so that the building denominator will reflect the new, accurate amount on the rent roll. As tenants renew their leases you might add the square footage to their lease at that time and reduce the square footage of the dummy suite accordingly. Make sure the building denominator does not change with these adjustments. Using this methodology, eventually every lease will reflect the correct rentable square footage.

Another option is to change the suites all at one time and draft a lease amendment to reflect the adjustment with each tenant. This can be accomplished by adjusting the space square footage but keep the tenant’s monthly payment schedule the same through the lease term.

That will lower the rental rate per square foot, but that rate can grow quickly upon lease extension.

If the overall square footage of the building decreases: Understandably, this is the most difficult problem to address. No owner wants to make a good tenant disgruntled if they feel they have been overcharged, yet it is doubtful the landlord will desire to refund any rent collected over the lease term, either. This is a situation in which lease review is most crucial. Calculating the amount of rent that was collected based on the inaccurate square footage is a useful tool in determining how best to address the issue. Findings may be discussed with the tenant and square footages adjusted accordingly if the lease states rent as a flat monthly fee for an approximate amount of square feet. Perhaps the landlord will consider providing some rent abatement in lieu of a refund. Communication and transparency are paramount.

Some landlords elect not to inform tenants that the lease states a greater amount of square footage than what the verified measurement truly is. They may prefer to wait until the current tenant moves out of the building to change the suite measurement. Be aware that it is not proper practice for a landlord to lease out more area than exists in the building.

Whatever option might be chosen, this is an owner business decision that requires research, review of options and financial implications of each, thoughtful strategy and good tenant communication when implementing.

RECOMMENDATION # 5-TRACKING Once you have determined the strategy to implement correct floor measurements, track your progress by color coding your tracker accordingly.

Use one color for suites that are using the new square footage and another to indicate the strategy as to when the adjusted square footage will be implemented. See the sample below. In this example, the building has a 16.2% load factor, but the market can only bear a 15% factor.

The vacant spaces and building denominators were adjusted immediately. A dummy suite was added to capture the difference in building square footage so that the building denominator is correct. In the ‘Comments’ column, the strategy is outlined. Any suite that now reflects the correct square feet has a note as to when it was implemented. The suites that still need to be updated are so noted as well.

Using a tracker such as this will help you keep on track as you roll out your implementation strategy.

Be sure to note on the tracker which version of the BOMA standard was used.

In general, an as-built measurement has a greater likelihood of increasing a building’s rentable area than decreasing it, but it is critical to know either way.

CONCLUSION In conclusion, accurate measurement of a building provides the owner with factual data which is used to make critical decisions in the course of leasing, managing, buying and selling real estate.

Implementing a new standard or implementing accurate measurements should not be performed without having first analyzed factors such as leases, expiration dates and lending requirements.

An implementation strategy should be developed with the property owner and the leasing/ management team. This strategy will determine if the measurements will be revised immediately or if they will be applied over time. A tracker should be utilized as this process evolves. When future changes are made to the building, include the measurement professional who provided the new computations, so they can maintain in their records for future use.

About the Author Becky Hanner is a recognized thought leader known for growing businesses while positively cultivating internal and external relationships.

Becky has been in commercial real estate for 30 years. A skilled mentor, Becky develops a strong work culture focused on high expectations, collaboration, and quality service delivery, and achieving process improvements through employee engagement. www.bomageorgia.org • www.creinsightjournal.com

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Insight • Issue 4, 2021

BG Talent................................... (703) 343-3415

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35

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Insight • Issue 4, 2021

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37

Preparedness, Risk Management

Creating a Business Continuity Plan In case of an emergency, it is always helpful to have a plan. Business continuity plans are the backbone of a building’s resiliency when faced with a natural disaster or disruptive event. Whether a hurricane or a power outage, business continuity plans can help a property bounce back quicker. There are many steps to making a business continuity plan and a few considerations that must be made to make it as strong as possible.

Make sure your objectives stay reasonable and that the plan is updated accordingly with technological advancements. It is also extremely important to make all involved aware of the plan. Distribute the plan and make sure to train people so that they have a full understanding of their role. This includes tenants, day and night staff, and anyone that may fall in the chain of command in the event of an emergency.

Starting From Scratch

Before COVID-19, not every organization had a pandemic plan.

Now, many are developing business continuity plans for if this event ever occurs again. The process of creating and implementing a business continuity plan is not a one-time exercise. It is a continuous effort focused on the long-term success of a property. With careful consideration and earnest testing, a property can be ready to bounce back at a moment’s notice.

Many teams already have a business continuity plan for their properties, but in case they don’t, here are a few tips on how to create one. It is important to tailor it to the specific property. Think about where the property may be vulnerable, what grid it sits on, and the functions that are considered critical for your property.

It is very important to think of every step of a certain event occurring.

Considering appropriate amounts of downtime for a system, specifying a communications strategy for tenants, and developing a plan for the continuing of operations after the event will make sure that the process runs smoothly.

Also, consider what kinds of plans the property may need. Until recently, many properties may not have had a pandemic plan. Think about the climate and tendencies of the region and develop relevant plans.

Crossing the T’S Committing a plan to writing is a great first step, but it is certainly not the last one. Make sure that all relevant parties are privy to the plan and have been given time to contribute. Building engineers and property managers working together will allow for different inputs and ideas about the overall operations of the building.

Testing the plan is a necessary step. Create a controlled testing strategy to make sure that the plan will work if needed. Typically, a building will test its business continuity plan about two to four times a year. Consider creating scenarios that purposely exploit the possible flaws or weak points in the plan

Moving Along After creating and testing a plan, it is important to keep it updated. Bring in fresh eyes each time this is done so that nothing glaring is missed. It is also a great way to introduce new or younger team members to this practice and help them get to know the property.

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