How Clean is Your Building?
September/October 2014 • $ 5
From germs to polluted air... it’s a multi-billiondollar problem
Who Really Chooses Buildings Products?
California IFMA Members Earn National Awards
Buildings MustMillennials Are Be Healthier Transforming Says Physician Offices
Features Who’s the Best...Property Manager, Facility Manager...?
Who Really Chooses Buildings Products?
Human resources experts say that monetary compensation usually ranks down the list of reasons why people do their jobs. Recognition is often at or near the top. We all want to feel that what we’re doing has value and that others recognize our contributions. That’s the main reason awards are given in virtually every line of work. Getting an award is like saying, I matter. Striving for an award says you want to improve your game— and this can boost your career. In the buildings industry, awards are given to many types of building professionals, companies and organizations. Recently, the Society for Marketing Professional Services of San Francisco (the folks who promote architects, contractors and engineers) won the award for being the best SMPS chapter in the nation. The International Facility Management Association chapters of Silicon Valley and Sacramento won (Sacramento board members shown at left), respectively, best large and small chapters in worldwide competition. Building operations teams in Santa Monica, Los Angeles and Sacramento were said to operate the most outstanding buildings in the country last summer by BOMA International. And in this spirit…California Buildings News will annually recognize people who are the best in their professions, as judged by readers of this magazine. You work with great people every day and value them. Tell us about them. Let’s give them some recognition. (See page 29 for details).
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Protect Your Industry with Political Action Political sage Ken Cleaveland, who heads BOMA San Francisco’s public affairs efforts, says the biggest threat to the buildings industry today is nature: the drought and earthquakes. “We will have a water bond on the November ballot whose passage will be very critical to the future growth of commercial real estate in many parts of our state,” says Cleaveland. “We also have the recent wake-up call of the Napa earthquake to remind all of us in property ownership, management and development that retrofitting our investments— if needed— is far less costly than repairing or rebuilding that same investment following a serious earthquake. To my mind, those are the biggest issues facing our industry, and both of them will need political will—if not voter approval—to make happen.” There are many other important local, state and federal issues impacting our industry. Like it or not, government has a lot to do with how buildings are run, so support your organization’s political action funds with money and your energy. Your job may depend on it! Henry Eason, Editor (henry@easoncom.com)
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What Buildings Vendors Should Never Do
Clean Buildings: More Important than Ever
14
New Trends Challenge Parking Managers
High-Flying Window Washers Above It All
17
10
15
Millennials Transforming CRE Environment
Safer Windows Protect in Quake
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California Buildings News Team Ellen Eason, Publisher and Art Director ellen@easoncom.com Henry Eason, Editor henry@easoncom.com Contributing Editors Zachary Brown, CBRE Bob Eaton, Eaton Hotel Investments Nancy Gille, REAL Systems David Hysinger, San Francisco State University College of Business Rich Lerner, Construction Consultant Katherine A. Mattes, Real Estate Consultant Larry Morgan, Facilities, SAP Carlos Santamaria, CEES-Advisors
Advertising Information Ellen Eason, ellen@easoncom.com 415.596.9466 © Copyright 2014 Eason Communications LLC PO Box 225234 San Francisco, CA 94122-5234 • 415.242.5244
www.cabuildingsnews.com Members of: BOMA, IFMA, IREM, SMPS, SPUR.
3 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
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5 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
Who Really Chooses Buildings Products and Services? Property Managers…Facility Managers…Engineers…Contractors…Architects…Owners?
M
any of billions of dollars are spent in California each year providing products and services for every type of building. For companies selling these goods and services, determining who really makes buying decisions is a very complex process, requiring sophisticated marketing and business development efforts. From primitive “door-knock” sales calls to integrated marketing communications programs, companies are competing more fiercely than ever to earn business in California’s booming buildings market. California Buildings News did candid interviews with property and facility managers as well as buildings product and service providers and asked them who has the most influence in purchasing. It’s a complicated process, most said. Here are their responses in their own words. “Many PM’s delegate a fair amount of the purchasing responsibilities to the building engineers who have more familiarity with the detailed specifications of the products they order. However, the more seasoned PM’s (and firms) have the depth of experience to become involved with product purchasing to the extent they can add value to the client. By that I mean to imply that the building engineers may not want to stray from trusted relationships they have built over time, however, the PM’s may elect to follow bidding procedures and policies that will save the client money. Despite the trusted relationships these engineers may have, the PM’s (and/or corporate policies) will dictate that no favors should be given to any one vendor and that product procurement should always be based on the purest of ethics.”— Director at major CRE firm “A large corporate tenant will have more control over their products and services than one of many tenants in a multi-tenant building. In multi-tenant buildings the building manager will have more control over the purchase of equipment and services. Many items will be standardized and documented in the published building standards used as a guideline for consistency in the building and to ensure uniformity. Every building is run independently and each building manager has their own preferences as to how strictly the building standards are enforced. Facility managers have somewhat different responsibilities by usually working directly for a large corporate or government tenant and get involved with a wider range of issues (furniture, equipment, IT, phones, etc.) than the building manager.” — Architectural firm principal “It depends on which property manager. My experience has been that the property manager is the one making the recommendations and sourcing new products/ideas and encouraging the facility manager, engineer, contractors, etc. to use those products. The BOMA International Expo at the annual conference is a perfect example of that. It is mostly property managers or above who attend the expo and source new products. So maybe a less experienced or not as involved property manager will defer to others, but one who is fully engaged is the one making decisions and recommendations.” – Senior property manage “Most property managers usually don’t go searching for building services and products. With that said, they do go searching if they need to make a change or upgrade or ownership is requesting something. Most distributor reps recommend different products (usually depending on what makes sense in that application and profit wise). Architects will usually spec certain items in a tenant improvement or build-out and the PM usually goes along with it, as it’s apparently a nightmare to change. Facility managers will usually make recommendations if it’s a larger mandate or contract with good back-end benefit. Engineers usually recommend if it’s a tried and true product as well as one with relationships. Property managers tend to have so much to deal with, so the more that someone else can search, present and recommend, the better. The PM just needs the numbers to make sense and tenants to be happy. I’ve even seen tenants themselves search out options and present them to the PM.” — Sales manager for national products manufacturer (Continued on page 28)
6 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
IFMA Helps Meet Looming Workforce Challenges With Educational Programs Q&A with Michael Feldman, First Vice Chair, International Facility Management Association Congratulations on your new post as first vice chair of the International Facility Management Association. In what areas do you hope to make an impact during your term? I am excited about the direction IFMA is heading and honored to be elected to a leadership role to maintain its trajectory. Built on a tradition of strong leadership, we have made tremendous strides in building IFMA’s capacity and capabilities to support growing global membership, while continuing to provide extraordinary value for those members. Our strategic focus is on building a strong integrated global FM community and improving member benefits by offering an extraordinary body of knowledge, professional development, best in breed events and practitioner networking to help every FM succeed!
What are the biggest challenges for today’s facility manager? The fundamental FM challenge hasn’t changed. We must meet our stakeholders’ expectations at the lowest possible cost. As those expectations grow, FM professionals are finding themselves assuming a new role as a strategic business partner charged with shifting their organization’s focus toward total cost of ownership, optimized reliability and exceeding customer expectations.
As more Bay Boomers retire, what steps should we take to ensure there are enough facility managers to serve the industry? For existing FMs, you really can’t overstate the value of a professional credential like IFMA’s Facility Management Professional (FMP). It’s getting to the point where employers are now looking for this type of credential when considering job applicants.
(Continued on page 30)
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7 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
Californians Shine Brightly at IFMA’s International Conference Bob Dills: The Best Associate Member in the World…Literally! One man can make a helluva difference in his industry, a fact illustrated best by the example of Robert Dills, judged at the International Facility Management Association’s World Workplace Conference in New Orleans as the “Chapter Associate Member of the Year.” What did the Menlo Park-based vice president of Western Allied Mechanical do to win such recognition? Since 2000, the IFMA Silicon Valley member has served as membership chair, vice president and president. He helped form and led his chapter’s successful Diversity, Mentoring and Scholarship Committee, which raises money for university scholarships and certification training. He also co-founded the GROW organization, which is closely aligned with IFMA and other organizations like the Association for Facilities Engineering. GROW provides mentoring, internships and scholarships to youth of diverse Dills (right) receives award for best associate. backgrounds, encouraging them to consider careers in the facilityPhoto credit: Eric Lee. related professions. And he played a key role in forming the Graduate Certificate in Facility Management & Operations at California Polytechnic State University— including programs available worldwide online. Also on the international level, he volunteers time and energy to the IFMA Foundation. Lately, he has been coordinating the selection of the International Student of the Year, and running an ePoster competition at the annual IFMA’s World Workplace Conference.
Best IFMA Chapters: IFMA Silicon Valley…and Sacramento Outstanding IFMA members like Bob Dills are a reflection of a culture of excellence fostered by his chapter, IFMA Silicon Valley, where high levels of dedication to the industry are widely practiced. And they got the award to prove it in New Orleans, when their IFMA peers voted Silicon Valley the best large chapter in the world —for the fifth time since 1997! In yet another indication of the high standards of facilities association work in California, IFMA Sacramento won the award as the world’s best IFMA small chapter. The leadership of the IFMA Silicon Valley chapter receives the award for best large chapter in the world at the IFMA World Workplace conference. Photo credit: Eric Lee.
(Continued on page 27)
8 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
So You Want My Company’s Business? Advice to Buildings’ Vendors From the Customer By Larry Morgan In a typical week, I get anywhere from 10-20 calls or emails from vendors who are trying to solicit my business for buildings’ goods and services. I certainly appreciate their efforts, and it has to be frustrating for them to hear “No thanks” or “Maybe,” or to never hear anything back from someone they reached out to. So I thought I would provide them with some tips that will get the introduction and help make the sale. 1) You’re not my friend…yet. I know that sounds rather harsh and blunt, but often I get a call that opens like it’s someone I have known for years. “Hi Larry it’s ____from ____ company, How are you today?” or an email, the 100th that day that opens with “Dear Larry, hope you are well,” with no clear subject line context of why I should open the email. Try using the formal approach as a sign of respect. Mr./Mrs./Ms. ____, I am ___ from ___ and I want to see if this is a good time to introduce myself? In the subject matter line, (context) state in five words or less why I should open it and move on to the (content.) 2) Do your homework. You can find out a lot about the person you are trying to connect with and the company they work for by doing your due diligence. Tip: try and find out what their business cycle is. If you’re trying to sell goods or services in the 1st quarter of the fiscal year it’s going to be tough as budgets are set and services are in progress. Trust me, if we need you, we’ll find you. I am constantly surprised that the person(s) trying to get my attention did not use the resources available to find out about me, my responsibilities, my organization and company. “Larry, can you tell me what SAP stands for?” Really! That clicking sound on the other end is me hanging up. LinkedIn is a good place to do your homework. 3) Executive summary. One thing I drive home to my students is using a business case to make your point with appropriate content and sell the project. A huge part of that business case is creating an executive summary so the receiver can in one minute or less see if they need to read on. Why do I/we need this? How does this help me/us do our jobs better? What is the value proposition? ROI? Your elevator pitch needs to be to the point. The built environment is neither canned nor ambiguous. Don’t make your pitch either. 4) Presentations: If you have one please make sure it’s Mechanical Air Service, Inc. clean, in bullet-point form, current and relevant to my mis“A Company Service Built Since 1976” sion. If you can’t make your case on one slide (no more than 5-10 bullet points), or it reads like a mystery novel, then it’s corporate marketing, and I am not likely to read it. Clean it up and run it by a 5th grader. If they get it, then I will, and we can do all of the deep diving later. Special note: if your presentations have 15 different colors, special effects and weird sounds, you have too much time on your hands. That Tenant Retention Specialist sound you didn’t hear is me clicking the delete key. 5) Keep it real: The “mouse trap” has been around for a Enhanced Preventive Maintenance Services while, “sliced bread” is pretty common, and we have already Design/Build Construction Services been to the moon a few times, so what is so exciting about Thermal Imaging your goods or services? What does your web site say about Certified Energy Audits you and your firm? Case studies, videos, testimonials are all Green Energy Services good. Facilities are a business entity.
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10 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
How Clean Is Your Building?
Numerous Challenges Confront Property and Facility Managers
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ITH THE THREAT OF PANDEMIC DISEASES, indoor air quality challenges and the increased number of tenants and visitors using restrooms and other spaces that were designed for many fewer people, property and facility managers are focused on the need for healthy buildings more than ever before. If a building looks clean and doesn’t smell funky, it must be clean — right? Bill Balek says that traditional standard is a “wholly inadequate” test for cleanliness. Balek is director of environmental services at ISSA, the Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association. In fact, ISSA recently debuted the first comprehensive measurement of a building’s cleanliness when it introduced the “ISSA Clean Standard, K-12.” It’s designed to protect school kids from harmful indoor environments, but it will soon be expanded for all types of buildings. (See www.issa.com/cleanstandard) The report outlining the standard says that improving school cleanliness “is especially important in light of the growing body of studies that indicate effective cleaning has a positive impact on the health and productivity of students. For example, it has been established that level of cleanliness is a key factor involved in the spread of viral disease in crowded indoor establishments including schools. In addition, improved cleaning of floors and desks in schools has been shown to reduce upper respiratory symptoms. Furthermore, the exposure and health benefits associated with a reduction of airborne pollutants—achieved through effective cleaning practices— have been demonstrated in a long-term cleaning effectiveness study, while recent studies collectively indicate that the targeted cleaning of high touch points in schools result in reduced illnesses related to bacterial contamination, reduced sick building syndrome symptoms, and reduced absenteeism due to infectious illness.”
11 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
Ditto, for all other buildings. teeism and “presenteeism” (sick workers reporting to work) Robert Gils, principal of RGA Environmental in “In the last 10 years, public restroom hygiene in the Emeryville, CA, says indoor environmental challenges to United States has been on the decline,” says Ed Ramirez, building occupants range in scope from noise interference CEO of restroom hygiene firm Ekcos Innovation of to indoor air quality problems that can not only sicken peoLivermore, CA. “Long gone are the days when you could ple but reduce students’ and workers’ ability to concentrate, go into a gas station or a fast food restaurant and find a a condition which could cost clean public restroom. Today it is the economy untold amounts of almost impossible to find a clean money in lost productivity and and inviting public restroom. “2015 promises to be the educational accomplishment. Business owners lost interest and year of high IAQ anxiety...” “2015 promises to be the year users have simply tolerated such of high IAQ anxiety. Between poor public restroom hygiene. David Ridder, PURETi Group growing concerns about panBusiness owners need to realize demic preparation (i.e. Ebola) that a clean restroom—especially and new personal, affordable, where food is being sold—can air quality monitors arriving in 2015 to beam precise IAQ be a profit center versus just a cost. If they offer a clean data to the cloud and smart phones...there will be growing healthy environment people/consumers will frequent their pressure to deliver healthier air in buildings,” says PURETi establishments more.” Group Vice President David Ridder. Bottom line: People avoid dirty buildings. A Harris
Dirty Surfaces Abound A recent Kimberly-Clark study found the following common surfaces to be dirty-to-filthy (ATP Levels of clean at 300 or higher, containing various levels of harmful bacteria): z 75 percent of break room sink faucet handles z 48 percent of microwave door handles z 27 percent of keyboards z 26 percent of refrigerator door handles z 23 percent of water fountain buttons, and z 21 percent of vending machine buttons. The study said that improving hygiene habits could break the chain of germ transmission and reduce the likelihood of infection for common colds and influenza by 80 percent, reducing absenteeism by as much as 46 percent. Introducing better cleanliness methods in one study showed a reduction of 62 percent in germ levels. The cleanliness program suggested by the ISSA study promises the following outcomes: • Cleaner buildings with more satisfied tenants, giving clean properties an edge • Elevating the level of cleanliness in buildings without increasing annual cleaning costs of the existing cleaning contractor or in-house staff • For building service contractors, the ability to enhance client relationships by promoting workplace wellness • Improved relations with employees who are concerned about cleanliness and personal hygiene • A reduction in the probability of illness, which can positively impact the costs associated with worker absen-
Interactive Survey independent study conducted for Cintas Corporation discovered that 94 percent of 1,000 adults surveyed would avoid a business in the future if they encountered dirty restrooms. “Dirty restrooms cost businesses lost sales, customers, referrals, and repeat business,” said Mike Thompson, Senior Vice President, Cintas Facility Services. (Continued on page 21)
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14 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
Raising the Bar Above LEED Through the Living Building Challenge Q&A with Steve Straus, President, Glumac What is the Living Building Challenge, and why did Glumac accept it? The Living Building Challenge is the most advanced green building rating system in the world. Glumac commits our own offices to “Walk the Talk” in promoting innovative green solutions. What was unique about what Glumac did to meet the LBC? Achieving a Net Zero Energy space in a high-rise tenant improvement is very unique, especially when renewable energy systems are prohibited by the building standards. What’s the financial payback on such an ambitious goal? The payback is approximately 5-to-7 years. Is it really possible to achieve zero net energy use on the 23rd floor of a 62-story building? That’s almost unheard of. How did you manage it? The Glumac space is highly energy-efficient, utilizing daylighting to provide the majority of lighting, and radiant cooling for the air conditioning. We developed an innovative solution to capture and repurpose waste heat from the building’s chiller plant to provide free hydronic heating for 20 floors of the building. This energy reduction offsets all the energy we consume on our floor. Your LA office LBC tenant improvement project is one of only a few in the world. What’s the likelihood of others following suit? Our Shanghai office is the first LBC office in all of Asia. We expect other companies will follow, especially many of our technology clients who have interest in creating healthy environments for their employees. How is LBC different (better) from LEED platinum tenant improvement projects? LEED Platinum is certainly a significant achievement, and we have done this in our Irvine, Portland, and Shanghai offices. LBC is considerably more difficult to achieve, as all “credits” are mandatory and are performance-based rather than prescriptive. For full LBC certification, you need to demonstrate net-zero energy, net-zero water, net-zero waste, and a myriad of other requirements that promote a sustainable, equitable, healthy, and beautiful environment. There are only a handful of projects in the world that have achieved full certification.
New Officing Styles Pose Parking Challenges Q&A with Paul Gnasso, Vice President, Parking Concepts, Inc. There are a lot of challenges to parking companies these days that can also be seen as opportunities. Can you share your thoughts about this? The popularity of flexible office space and the movement towards mixed-use projects, both with their related vehicle density issues, create opportunities for parking companies. Creative office space design has placed difficult to manage stall ratios of 6 or 8/1,000 sq.ft. on facilities designed for 3/1,000 or less. Mixed-use projects co-mingle competing interests into facilities with tight stall rations as well as the need for 24/7 oversight in most cases. Parking Concepts works with our clients to identify multifaceted programs to accommodate tenant demands created by these scenarios. I believe these trends are here to stay and will provide opportunities for operators to offer clients a number of solutions. How is your company making your garages more sustainable? Parking Concepts guides our clients in creating forward thinking and ecologically friendly operations for our facilities. LED lighting has come a long way and is a now a viable solution. (Continued next page)
Industry Profiles
15 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
High-Flying Window Washing— A Family Trade Q&A with Eric Huber, Partner, Capital Building Maintenance Group
Tenants Give Thumps Up to Cleaner Buildings Seeing people suspended dozens of floors above the street, washing windows makes you wonder how people get used to such perilous work environments? What’s it like being up there? Most of our employees have been washing windows on high-rise buildings for years and have many family members that are in the same trade so it has become second nature. The crews start work around 6 AM and finish before 2 PM because the wind picks up in the city as the day goes on. On a calm day it’s a tranquil setting with a typical crew consisting of two people alone on the rig. As you can expect, some of the best views can be had as the sun rises over the bay— and the views are spectacular! People are so intrigued by
Parking Challenges
the work we do that we often get a “thumbs up” or a written note thanking us from tenants inside the building.
When washing windows or power-washing surfaces, are you required to use sustainable products? Buildings that are LEED-certified do require us to use sustainable products or at least ask us to submit MSD (Material Safety Data) Sheets for any proposed products we intend to use. Typically we use Green Seal Certified products whenever possible on maintenance work; however, when doing deep cleaning stronger cleaners are sometimes required. Are you able to estimate the value of an investment in a brightly cleaned building versus one with a grungy surface? I will leave the estimating to a real estate professional, but I am sure that potential tenants can tell the difference when we wash a building façade, windows, or even periodically clean sidewalks. The real estate market is hot right now and tenants are willing to pay top dollar for safe, comfortable, updated, and healthy environments. How often do windows and exteriors need cleaning? Our clients typically wash their exterior windows twice annually, interiors once annually, lobby and ground floor retail monthly, and canopies weekly. Building facades get cleaned every three-to-five years depending on where they are located in the city, how close to the water, etc.
(Continued from previous page)
Deployment of EV charging stations, use of solar power canopies, green cleaning supplies, ticketless parking control systems, waterless carwashes and even non-toxic paint for striping are all eco-friendly options. With air-quality concerns in California, many urban governments seem to be tilting their policies against cars. Does this spell a long-term decline for the parking industry? What’s your perspective? Californians will undoubtedly retain their privately owned vehicles with the current movement towards alternative fuel and electric vehicles as price points make greater sense. As a case in point, a majority of Parking Concepts’ senior staff elects to drive alternative fuel vehicles. With the exception of urban areas with significant public transportation, such as San Francisco, very few cities offer enough convenient alternatives to steer the public out of their vehicles. The movement towards more live / work community developments may not significantly reduce the number of vehicles on the road, but will reduce the commute distance. Any interesting new products or services available to improve the parking experience? I find the new generation way finding and park assist systems very interesting. They greatly reduce the amount of time locating an open stall in crowded garages and help to reduce emissions as an added benefit. Use of phone “apps” to reserve parking in office, valet and event parking scenarios is also on the rise.
16 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
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17 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
Millennial Tenants Are Transforming Commercial Real Estate By Kathy Mattes
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ith many tech-oriented companies reducing workspaces. Christopher per-person square footage from 300 to as emphasized that employers little as 150 square feet, density within buildare designing space for optimal ings is increasing dramatically, putting presproductivity, from the time sure on janitorial services, maintenance, operations, trash people get up in the morning to removal and every other aspect of providing tenant services. when they leave at night. “They spoil them!” he commentThat was the theme of the Institute of Real Estate ed. Neither he nor Hargis thinks that this strong market Management (IREM)’s 300-plus person Asset and Property will break any time soon. The Bay Area is where it all is, VC, Management Symposium in San funders, creators, etc. They all Francisco in September, aggrework as “frienemies.” gating some of the region’s top Kilroy’s Sarah McIntyre said property and asset managers. taking care of people and their Mark Smith, with Sobrato, diverse needs is now at the base said buildings operate over a building level. Building lobbies longer day, so staffing for are becoming more usable, engineering and security has also collaborative, experiential spacbeen increased. Additional es. Owners are including mulservices are also being offered to tiple seating areas, as well as tenants, including greater bike food retail, like coffee, inside storage, bike repair, lockers, the lobby. Their lobbies are shower rooms, electric charging becoming active, exciting spaces. stations and ride share parking Nooks are also included to creWorkplaces are becoming more collaborative to accommodate Alan Walker, with Swift Real ate a quieter space to concentrate or collaborative work styles, but often include quiet spaces. Estate Partners, said tech tenants meet. want operable windows for fresh air, a place outside to In a panel discussion led by CBRE broker Meade Boutwell gather and work and space to walk their dogs. Walker said on marketing and leasing, we heard that landlords are moving they also like to be contacted digitally and don’t put a lot of towards industrial gross leases, with tenants paying directly for importance on personal contact. And they don’t want cookjanitorial and utility bills. Tenants actually prefer this, as they ies as a welcome or holiday gift, but prefer to be entertained can control both the level of service as well as the cost. On with a party. marketing, while brokers still have hard copies of flyers and Lisa Bottom, with Gensler, discussed Version 2 of colfloor plans so that clients have something to write on, they laborative space. Because of the greater number of people in carry a laptop or tablet with an electronic presentation that offices, and the hard finishes everywhere, noise has become includes photos and a 360 video or walk through of the space. a real problem. New build-outs include “library” spaces Clients can even see all they need to see without leaving their where the rules of behavior are just like those at your local office, which may be in a different part of the world. library—quiet! She said there is also a trend now back More owners and managers are using social media as towards more ceilings and softer surfaces. well as electronic document storage services, like BarkerBlue. New workplaces are creating a culture of food. We are I suspect this started with storage of key documents during talking about complete meals, including breakfast, lunch the marketing of a building for sale. Once it was realized and dinner. And the food is healthy! I was surprised to how efficient it is, the idea expanded to the storage of all hear several times throughout the day that the tech employer’s key property documents for the ongoing management and most often used tool to recruit, retain and keep their employmaintenance. ees happy is cuisine. Lastly, the Millennials are starting to have children. In a discussion between Steve Hargis with Woods Bagot, Can you believe that? This may result in a greater demand and Christopher Coleman with Dropbox, these two tech for child care at work, as well as changing rooms. What experts said companies are taking a new look at their will be next? Mattes is a Real Estate Consultant; find her at www.kathymattes.com. Learn more about IREM at www.iremsf.org.
18 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
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19 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
New Windows Technologies Can Reduce Earthquake, Blast Injuries Most Buildings Have Not Yet Installed Shatterproof Glass
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hen a recent earthquake rattled the San Francisco Bay Area, people renewed their concerns about preparedness. Death comes from above in a quake, as the saying goes. Falling masonry and glass are primary dangers to people on the street, especially those below skyscrapers dozens of stories above sidewalks, and also people inside structures near windows. Increasingly, modern windows are being installed that will not rain down on people as lethal shards of glass in quakes. Windows are the most vulnerable part of any building’s envelope, but new window films and safety glazing can minimize risks. And yet only a small number of buildings have installed shatterproof windows or window films that can withstand architectural traumas like major earthquakes, high winds, fire or bomb blasts. Building codes from one jurisdiction to another vary widely on the topic. A thin film produced by Saint-Gobain could help prevent those glass-related injuries. In a test video provided by the company, a bomb explodes and so does the glass without the film, spraying pieces of glass everywhere. In the next sequence, the bomb explodes and the glass with the film stays intact. The film on the glass has a shock-absorbing adhesive that is designed to keep everything in place, so when an earthquake hits, the glass does not go flying out—or in. A recent University of California-San Diego study examined how much protection the window film could offer in an earthquake. When the film was applied to the windows, less than 1 percent of glass shattered and fell out of the frame. Despite the eye-popping proof, fewer than 1 percent of homes and businesses use the antishatter film, the company estimates. Called Armorcoat, this clear safety tinted film is non-reflective, so it is virtually invisible on your windows. The resilient layers of high-tensile polyester, aggressive adhesives, ultraviolet inhibitors and scratch-resistant coatings provide exceptional blast mitigation and impact resistant capabilities – with thicker tints offering greater protection. The Eastman Company produces a laminated glass product called KeepSafe® Glass, featuring Saflex® interlayer technology, brings strength and security to laminated glazing applications. It protects people from accidental glass impact, breakage or fallout. It also provides around-the-clock protection from windborne debris in areas prone to natural disasters. Laminated glass is also highly resistant to the dynamic racking motions of an earthquake helping to maintain the integrity of the building envelope and prevent injury and damage from glass fallout. Photo credit: Eirik E, Thinkstock
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How Clean Is Your Building? (Continued from page 11)
Clean Buildings Are More Valuable What is the value of a clean building? ISSA attempted to answer that question in its 2012 white paper, “The Value of Clean: How Cleaning Improves Your Bottom Line.” The study was performed in the aftermath of the Great Recession, when many companies and institutions were forced to cut back on cleaning costs. The extensive white paper focused on work ticket resolution costs; occupant wellness: absenteeism; occupant wellness: improved productivity; image enhancement: customer satisfaction; asset preservation; energy savings and reducing hospital associated infections.
For instance, according to ISSA’s focus on just one aspect of building cleanliness, “Studies illustrate that levels of cleanliness are not just important to building occupants and their work productivity, but also factor into customer decision making, which can impact a business’s ability to meet revenue expectations. It can be extrapolated that if a business has a formula for indicating revenue projections on a per-customer basis, the revenue impact of cleaning improvements can be calculated by factoring in a percentage of customers turned away due to undesirable building image and cleanliness. For example, if one in 20 customers is turned off by dirty restrooms, that is worth an estimated X dollars of lost revenue, which can be reduced to a more favorable ratio if cleaning improvements are implemented.” Maintaining healthy indoor environment quality within buildings requires the utmost cleanliness of surfaces, optimal thermal comfort, good air quality, protection of contaminating outdoor influences, acceptable acoustics, a proper physical setting and even features that promote psychological well-bring. Good indoor environmental quality (IEQ) can have a significant effect on people’s productivity and, consequently, the bottom line. Creating a healthy and productive environment within buildings is a very complex and challenging process. For instance, certain cleaning products may be great for eradicating germs but can be highly irritating and even unhealthy. The “green” initiative that promotes open windows and less AC use can have bad unintended consequences. Ventilating interiors is important for many reasons, but doing so with unfiltered outdoor air may import undesirable particles or gases that are more harmful than the undesirable air you are trying to expel from interiors. Outdoor-indoor air exchange can be very unhealthy, as when ozone is brought into a
building and interacts with VOCs to produce unpleasant and even toxic chemical reactions. Such ozone chemistry can produce formaldehyde, higher molecular weight aldehydes, acidic aerosols, and fine and ultrafine particles that sicken people.
Cutting Back Janitorial Budgets Can Be Costly Alan France, ABM Janitorial Services’ director of sustainability, says that when building operators cut back on the quality of carpet or floor cleaning (as occurred during the recent economic downturn), people tracked in many more harmful pollutants that can sicken tenants and visitors. He estimates that 60-70 percent of dirt brought into a building comes in on people’s shoes. He also noted that the unintended consequence of saving money by reducing maintenance can result in degrading the life of carpets and floors. Reducing the frequency of vacuuming causes wear and tear to the carpet fibers, making them look dingy and dull and requiring more frequent replacement. The same can even happen to hard-surface flooring. Whenever possible, France suggests, buildings should provide exterior matting that extends at least 10 feet from doorways, as this will trap and scrape debris from shoe soles before it enters buildings. (Continued on page 22)
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR A CLEANER WORLD
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR A CLEANER WORLD
22 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
How Clean Is Your Building? (Continued from page 21)
IAQ Challenges
If these operational precautions are taken, a great percentage of IAQ problems will be prevented. Unfortunately however, there are many who do not follow these practices and end up with IAQ issues,” adds Santamaria. (See box below.)
Respiratory disease-producing mold in multifamily buildings, schools and workplaces is just one of the many environmental challenges building operators and facility managers must address. Building Health Initiative by “While the traditional IAQ challenges of proper ventiUSGBC Northern California lation, temperature/humidity control, and chemical expoUSGBC’s Building Health Initiative is a two-year program sure from off-gassing still remain, the clear challenge for in which multi-sector industry leaders pledge to demand the future is dealing with biological contaminants. A near more transparency in building materials, conduct groundcontinuous stream of news stories regarding the threat of breaking research, promote health and wellness, provide the Ebola virus, MRSA, and norovirus outbreaks reflects consultathe reality that tion and buildings need Common IAQ Pollutants Threaten Buildings education to be designed, and build Radon is perhaps the most common hazard, resulting in thousands of constructed, deaths from lung cancer annually. It occurs naturally from many sources toolkits and maintained, and in various rocks. develop cleaned with the resources. health of the occuCarbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that is a byproduct tobacco smoke, The inispace heaters using fossil fuels, defective central heating furnaces and automobile pants in mind rather exhaust. tiative has than strictly for visualso spurred al appearances,” says Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids cross-secMichael A. Pinto, or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals emitted from an array of products like paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building matetor workWonder Makers rials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, correction fluids ing groups Environmental. and carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials including glues and adhefocused on “Many buildsives, permanent markers and photographic solutions. revolutionings may have IAQ Legionnaire’s disease is caused by a waterborne bacteria that grows in slowizing prorelated problems moving or still, warm water, poorly placed or maintained evaporative cooling towers, curement that they are not which often release water in an aerosol which may enter nearby ventilation intakes. strategies even aware of,” says and fosterAsbestos fibers that cause lung cancer, in particular the specific form mesothelioCarlos Santamaria, ma, found in older homes and buildings, but occurs most commonly in schools and ing diversity Principal of CEESindustrial settings. It was once widely used in shingles, fireproofing, heating sysand access Advisors and former tems, floor tiles and ceiling tiles in older buildings. to healthy head of facilities Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a surrogate for indoor pollutants emitted by humans, buildings in for Glenborough. and correlates with human metabolic activity. Carbon dioxide at levels that are traditionally “Conducting regular unusually high indoors may cause occupants to grow drowsy, to get headaches, underserved IAQ assessments can or to function at lower activity levels. People are the main indoor source of commureduce the severity carbon dioxide in most buildings. Indoor levels are an indicator of the nities. It’s and impact to their adequacy of outdoor air ventilation relative to indoor occupant density attracted tenant’s space avoidand metabolic activity. some of ing costly remediaOzone from outdoor air can interact with green cleaning products California’s tion and disruption based on citrus or terpene extracts, because these chemicals react with largest comto employee ozone to form toxic and irritating chemicals and ultrafine particles. panies like productivity.” Genentech, “IAQ problems Google, Facebook, Adobe, Kaiser Permanente and numerous are not common if practical responses to common events leading construction, engineering and architectural firms are taken. Practical responses involve cleaning up water that build and retrofit buildings. These and many other playspills quickly and in the correct manner. Limit bringing in ers are gathering for a major Building Health Forum at the chemicals and materials into the building that off-gas and University of California San Francisco’s Mission Bay campus or irritate occupants as this usually means implementing on Dec. 11. For information, see: http://www.usgbc-ncc.org/ green cleaning standards. Also providing adequate outside buildinghealthinitiative n air filtration when fresh air is introduced into the building.
23 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
Pragmatic Financing Plays A Major Role in Greening Buildings By David Hysinger
T
here isn’t much debate about the fact that fossil fuel price volatility affects every area of the economy. Energy costs often represent a significant portion of the operating expenses of commercial real estate assets. Of the almost 5 billion square feet of office space, nearly 70% of it is more than 20 years old, leading many owners and managers to evaluate ways to renovate their buildings, and consider whether “greening” their buildings would enhance their sustainable operations, equipment, and features. Recently, at the 7th Annual Renewable Energy Finance Forum West (REFF-West) in San Francisco financiers and developers working in the field of renewable energy met to discuss trends and financing techniques in the industry. They considered how the financial and renewable energy communities working together could develop innovative energy solutions, ones that can be applied to commercial real estates at an operational level. Most agreed that solutions exist and financing is available for renewable energy facilities to be constructed and brought into operation. California PUC Commissioner Michael Picker noted that the growth of new energy assets is the key to a greener economy. He challenged the market actors: “What are the capital markets doing to reduce the cost of capital? That will make it easier for the market to grow. But [there] needs [to be] a lower cost of capital.” In one of the first panels to kick off the conference, Picker discouraged participants from relying too much on the investment tax credit. “The ITC will not drive renewables in California. [Energy] demand is flat. There is a capacity shortfall. Flexible resources are the key. There are great markets for renewable energy production in California, where transportation causes 40% of the carbon load, and buildings are next.” The short-term questions for the financial sector suggest innovative financing may be part of the answer. Any policy, which (Continued on page 26)
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SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR A CLEANER WORLD
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR A CLEANER WORLD
24 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
Association News
IREM-SF Told New Energy Codes Will Be Tough to Implement Strict new California Title 24 regulations exceed 1,000 pages. He appealed to all parties to energy-saving codes will surely cooperate with local and state government officials charged help protect the planet and will with implementing the new law to effect a reasonable implesave building operators money in the mentation—and said, “We’ll probably have to grant some long run, but they will also be the devil amnesty on some projects to get things moving.” to implement. In fact, even regulators are Regulators don’t want to further “We are not there to stop the process. stall new construction or retrofits scratching their heads and realizing they are going to have to cut property managby aggressively enforcing the law. We urge everyone to come to us— ers and tenants some slack before the new “We have to enforce, but if we hold architects, contractors.” law can be effected. up construction, that’s not a good — James Zhan, San Francisco James Zhan, a San Francisco building thing,” Zhan explained. “We are not inspection supervisor, told members of the there to stop the process. We urge building inspection supervisor Institute for Real Estate Management that everyone to come to us— “government is not doing a very good job streamlining the architects, contractors.” code and implementing it. We are committed to streamlining Transwestern Senior Vice President David Ford, who the process, but we can’t do it alone.” moderated the program, said, “It’s refreshing to hear someHe said the code is about 150 pages long and compliance one from the city be so honest.”
Tenants Complain Buildings Are Too Hot or Too Cold Engineer Tells BOMA OEB Audience That Personal Controls Are Coming Temperature controls are “out of control” and don’t always work, Peter Rumsey, P.E., of Point Energy Innovations told a BOMA Oakland/East Bay audience. He said that “42 percent of office workers are unsatisfied with their thermal environments.” This is the No. 1 complaint of office tenants. Tenants also complain about harsh fluorescent lights. But new energy developments are on the horizon, with mandatory energy performance benchmarking for commercial buildings in San Francisco and California Title 24 statewide changes. “Tenants are starting to focus on energy,” Rumsey stated. Breakthrough products like Nest, a programmable thermostat, are soon to be implemented in commercial buildings. There is also a move toward photovoltaic installations on roofs, which generate electricity from sunlight. Some buildings will even become zero net energy (ZNE). Building professionals are also focusing on using sustainable materials as a way to improve indoor air quality and achieve healthier environments. Rumsey used the term “biophilia,” which is the concept that bringing nature inside buildings makes people feel good. Features like plants, living walls (of plants) and windows that let in natural light make tenants more comfortable and improve productivity. Natural materials like distressed wood create a feeling of warmth and a connection to nature.
Other innovations coming into use include electrochromic glass from manufacturers like View. Tenants can adjust the amount of light that comes in, reducing energy usage and costs. On the lighting front, Rumsey says that LED is the fastest change happening, along with occupancy sensor controls that save energy. Radiant cooling used in new construction can save 40% in cooling a building. Chilled beams and radiant panels can be used in retrofits. And something as simple and low-tech as using smooth pipes that are short and fat with fewer bends can reduce HVAC costs by 50%. “We’ll see winners emerge Features like living walls and in software that make buildings plants make tenants feel better. easy to manage,” Rumsey said. Products will also deliver better comfort by allowing tenants to change temperatures in a zone and get personal control. A more comfortable point is also more energy-efficient. There are now even desk chairs that have heating and cooling controls.
25 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
KUDOS TO SMPS SFBAC The Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) San Francisco Bay Area Chapter was given the 2014 Striving for Excellence Grand Prize at the annual SMPS Build Business Conference. This was the first time in the chapter’s 32-year history that it has won the award. Shown at left: the SMPS SFBAC Board of Directors receive the award.
Greener Buildings Can Enable Urban Growth How can California cities continue to grow when water resources and urban infrastructure are already nearing limits? The answer may be better buildings. That was the conclusion of a program of the Commercial Real Estate Professionals Network in San Francisco. Its panel of officials representing an array of San Francisco municipal departments spoke at CREPN’s “Future of Climate Positive Development” in October. Better water conservation, zero net energy policies and fostering greener commercial environments, such as designated “eco-districts” whose buildings share resources, could accommodate more sustainable growth, San Francisco Planning Department member Jon Swae and other city officials said. For instance, reusing buildings’ discharged rainwater, stormwater and wastewater could significantly reduce pressure on California’s precarious and often-diminished water system, says Paula Kehoe, San Francisco’s director of
water resources. She cited numerous buildings throughout San Francisco that are already saving millions of gallons of water. She said there are similar conservation strategies in effect in Los Angeles and elsewhere in California. Building owners and operators should care about conservation not only because it permits greater economic growth, but also will also significantly reduce their operating costs, Barry Hooper of SF Environment told the audience of real estate and building services executives at The City Club of San Francisco. He echoed remarks made earlier in the program by David Gottfried, the founder of the U.S. Green Building Council, who opened the program. In Gottfried’s new book Explosion Green, distributed during the conference, Gottfried wrote, “Building owners will only embrace green building when it is tied directly to their bottom line: rental rates, tenant leasing, lower expenses, higher occupancy rates, greater loan amounts at lower interest rates, higher building sales prices, and improved returns on investment.”
26 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
Pragmatic Financing
(Continued from page 23)
sends a strong signal, and is reliably here for the long term, will move the market. Any policy has to be in place long enough to make investors and lenders comfortable putting money into projects and be able to pull their money out at the right time. In short, investors have to trust the market signals from policy makers. Project size matters too. In renewable energy finance and production, the so-called “mid-market” projects, ones between $10 million and $100 million, are the projects most likely to be considered by building owners and managers. In that market segment, Jamie Evans, managing director and head of eco solutions at Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company said, “Our model is focused on early stage development and long term maintenance. Our finance company works with banks on common sale-leasebacks, [and other] traditional models. The hardware costs have to come down in the short run and so have the transaction costs…There is incremental progress.” Jeff Weiss, co-chairman and managing director of Distributed Sun, LLC noted that some commercial real estate assets are blurring traditional distinctions between storage and generation. “Solar providers who put solar panels on
buildings, and can divert power and then sell it to the grid, will cause new dynamics in lease negotiations, and commercial malls will generate their own power during the day, then sell demand response services back to the utilities during peak demand periods. Nobody had arbitraged the market this way before.” Haresh Patel, CEO of Mercatus, Inc., an energy finance and services company, noted that in the long run, “One cannot divorce the pieces, such as policy, finance, technology, etc. But the future can be modeled. Where does solar fit? It will be a big piece. Diversify the grid, electrify the transportation grid…Think long term.” For commercial real estate professionals, Rob Sternthal, president of Reznick Capital, emphasized that renewable energy companies need a team with a track record because “the impetus is the sustainability component. The amount they’re saving on their energy isn’t that much.” But if the cost of fossil fuels isn’t going down any time soon, it may not take much savings to make alternatives look like a good long-term strategy for asset managers seeking to maximize their return on investment. n
Hysinger is an attorney and lecturer in finance at San Francisco State University, where he teaches commercial real estate and land use development.
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27 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
IFMA Awards
(Continued from page 7)
Both Silicon Valley and Sacramento bested the other 129 IFMA chapters for their awards. IFMA is the world’s largest and most widely recognized international association for facility management professionals, supporting 24,000 members in 96 countries. The association’s members, represented in 131 chapters and 17 councils worldwide, manage more than 37 billion square feet of property and annually purchase more than $100 billion in products and services. “The Silicon Valley Chapter was honored with the 2014 Large Chapter of the Year Award for our exceptional contributions to the advancement of the FM profession. Our submission was judged on the quality of professional development and educational opportunities for our members, community outreach activities, strategic and succession planning, and fiscal responsibility,” according to Chapter President Jennifer Olsen, Manager, Business Continuity and Facilities, Infineon Technologies North America Corp. “The Sacramento Valley Chapter of IFMA won the Small Chapter of the Year Award for 2014 because if it’s incredible membership,” says Rob Turnage, IFMA past president. “The members of our chapter are always willing to volunteer their time to make the experience for everyone involved the very best it can be.”
The leadership of the IFMA Sacramento chapter receives the award for best small chapter in the world at the IFMA World Workplace conference. Photo courtesy of IFMA International.
…And Even More IFMA Californians Were Recognized California IFMA members made even more news at the conference. Former Los Angeles World Airports facilities chief Michael Feldman was elevated to 1st Vice Chair of IFMA. (He is featured on page 6). And SAP senior facilities executive and California Buildings News contributing editor Larry Morgan joined the IFMA board of directors. (See Morgan’s article, “So You Want My Company’s Business?” on page 8.) And Sacramento-based Visual Mobile Technologies Vice President of Business Development Kit Tuveson received the IFMA Chairman’s Citation Award. According to an IFMA statement, Tuveson was “recognized for exemplary thought leadership and lifelong mentoring of IFMA members; for serving IFMA as chair of the (Continued on page 30) IFMA Chair Jim Whittaker, P.E., CFM, CEFP, FRICS (left) shakes hands with Chairman’s Citation recipient Kit Tuveson, IFMA Fellow, CFM, SFP on the right ( Photo credit: Lester Austin | Universal Image, 2014
28 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
Who Really Chooses
(Continued on page 5)
“My take is that property managers facilitate the choices made by property owners and tenants. And that facility managers select those more directly. Service providers make recommendations and proposals to property managers, facility managers, property owners, and tenants. I do agree that property managers are under more and more time pressure, as are all facility professionals. It is also my experience that property managers and facility managers rely on a network of trusted advisors. And some of those advisors are service providers and suppliers who rise above selling to give honest and valuable advice when asked.” — Senior executive at a mechanical services firm “Facility managers, engineers and contractors purchase most products used in buildings… if it is business as usual. However, if we are talking about changing a building standard—which would include everything but supplies—then a designer/ contractor would be involved and the property manager would definitely be involved. The property manager is concerned with aesthetics/visual appeal— especially in the common areas and new tenant build-outs. — CRE director “Typically for small projects and recurring services (annual inspections) the engineers provide recommendations and also have a significant impact on the selection of the vendor. For larger projects the property managers gather quotes and present them to the owner for final decision. For the most part it seems that for these larger projects it usually comes down to low bid or the ability to meet certain criteria such as timeline. I would imagine that if the quotes were equal then the property manager would have an input as to the selection.” — Building maintenance firm executive “For small buildings (2,000-to-10,000 sf) buying decisions are made by the owner, who is very active in decision making. Or he looks to contractor or suppliers for recommendations. The process is very cost-to-RPI driven. For medium buildings (10,000-to-50,000 sf) the owner, third-party manager, and real estate entity make the decisions by looking to service providers with a view toward achieving incremental savings through suppliers. Medium buildings (20,000-to500,000 sf) owned by large real estate owners, partnerships and REITs, decisions are made either by an internal management group, third-party management firm (JLL, CBRE). They, in turn, look to consultants for decision making, using highly refined financial investment analysis who want to leverage savings across design, engineering or high-quality mechanical, electrical and plumping (MEP) suppliers.” — Senior manager with a general contractor
“It truly depends on what is in the contract of the property management company. Many times the property management company is responsible for different aspects of site maintenance and even replacements if things are not in proper working order for their tenants. In this case, a property management company may be responsible for choosing carpet (in say the case of a flood).”— Telecommunications services executive “In my experience, I have found that property managers have input, but in most cases do not make the final decisions, however they do understand items such as bathroom supplies etc. They perhaps have the “leading role.” Flooring products selection generally comes from architects and owners. Maintenance supplies and services are either decided or heavily influenced by the property manager. I would guess that in all of these items if the PM is not the final arbiter, they are quite involved in recommendations as to the various suppliers or vendors.”— Flooring company executive “We typically get involved when there is an issue caused by water intrusion where moisture mapping, mold/fungus consulting services may be needed for affected building materials and indoor air. Also, we do extensive work with property managers/owners/general contractors when they are doing tenant improvements or renovations, and they are required to survey/test for asbestos, lead based paint or other hazardous materials that may be impacted. We also do environmental CM where we write specifications for abatement, invite environmental contractors to bid, review bids and make recommendations, oversee abatement, perform air sampling (before, during work), perform clearance sample, regulatory agency interaction and perform clearance inspection and testing. Our role is to make sure everything is being done according to regulatory requirements.” — Business development director at a remediation firm
In addition to investing in customary marketing methods, many marketers suggest investing in memberships in leading professional associations like the American Institute of Architects, the Association for Facilities Engineering, the Building Owners and Managers Association, the International Facility Management Association, the Institute for Real Estate Investment and the U.S. Green Building Council. Major vertical industry trade groups are also important, such as the Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association (ISSA), the National Fire Protection Association and other groups that represent products and services essential to building design and operations. n
29 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
Who Are California’s Best Buildings People? Tell Us Your Favorites 4 Property Manager
4 Facility Manager
4 Buildings Product Supplier
4 Buildings Services Provider
4 Building Engineer
4 General Contractor
4 Architect
Any California Buildings News reader can nominate the best buildings people in California (and state the reasons for your choices) by emailing your nominations to henry@easoncom.com by January 10. You are welcome to nominate one in each category. We will announce the winners in the January/February 2015 issue of California Buildings News.
30 California Buildings News • September/October 2014
Workforce Challenges (Continued from page 6) At the same time, IFMA and the IFMA Foundation are working to build the educational and training pipeline of future FM’s. The 32 accredited FM undergrad and graduate level degree programs have experienced a remarkable 100% job placement.
What sort of training and education will be needed for facility managers faced with operating “smarter” buildings? A modern FM wears a lot of different hats. You need to be able to make sense of the vast amount of information that a new “smart building” generates. Then, you’ve got to see threats and opportunities and be able to effectively communicate to all stakeholders and take appropriate action. To help with this, IFMA conducts a regular survey of our members to create a Global Job Task Analysis which determines exactly what skills the modern FM needs to do their job. This report, which found 11 critical competency areas, then becomes the basis for our educational programing at conferences and for our professional credentials. n
Until recently, Feldman was a senior facilities executive at Los Angeles World Airports.
IFMA Credentials IFMA Awards Continued from page 27) board of directors and as president of the Facility Management Consultants Council; for noteworthy contributions to IFMA’s strategic planning process as part of the Strategic Planning Oversight Team; for lending his subject matter expertise to the development of the FMP program and FM Learning System educational course; for his years of instructing the facility management community through IFMA’s FMP, SFP® and CFM® courses; for providing professional guidance to hundreds of individuals on strategic and technical aspects of facility management including environmental health and safety, sustainability, energy management, workplace strategies and organizational development; and for his infectious positive attitude, his unwavering and unmatched enthusiasm, and his extraordinary dedication to the advancement of the profession.” n
The Silicon Valley Chapter of IFMA is offering exceptional local credential classes led by seasoned facility professionals. IFMA’s SFP® is an assessmentbased certificate program delivering a specialty credential in sustainability.
Sustainability Facility Professional (SFP) October 8-10 Part 1 November 5-7 Part 2 Register today! For more information or to register: www.ifmasv.org admin@ifmasv.org 408-226-0190
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California: A Rich Buildings Market BOMA International, using the results from the 2014 Experience Exchange Report (EER), has released a list of the most and least expensive city markets in the United States commercial real estate industry. The annual EER report compiles income and expense data from the previous year. Five Most Expensive Markets – Total Operating Expenses Per Square Foot: 1. New York, NY
$11.77 psf
2. San Francisco, CA $10.09 psf 3. Washington, DC
$9.63 psf
4. Santa Monica, CA $9.62 psf 5. San Jose, CA
$8.96 psf
Five Most Expensive Markets – Total Rental Income Per Square Foot: 1. New York, NY
$51.67 psf
2. Washington, DC
$45.24 psf
3. San Mateo, CA
$42.71 psf
4. Santa Monica, CA $38.64 psf 5. Boston, MA
Visit www.boma.org/EER to learn more about the EER.
$35.37 psf