Canadian Facility Management & Design

MARCH/APRIL 2018

STATION INTEGRATION RICHMOND FACILITY FIRST IN MAJOR B.C. CITY TO CO-LOCATE FIRE AND AMBULANCE SERVICES

ERGONOMICS

ELEVATED

HVAC EFFICIENCY

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WASTE

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CANADIAN FACILITY MANAGEMENT & DESIGN

[ contents ] 12

PHOTO: SUNNY JHOOTY PHOTOGRAPHY

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On the cover: A stair that scales the height of Cambie Fire Hall No. 3 and Richmond North Ambulance Station is designed to create a lantern-like effect. Page 16.

16 Two bays provide a place for emergency vehicle technicians to repair fire trucks.

12 FOCUS ON WELLNESS ELEVATES ERGONOMICS

The role of human factors in people-centred design

16 UNDER ONE ROOF

Richmond fire and ambulance services move into a shared facility

A new program recognizes a distribution centre’s diversion efforts

24 A PIONEER IN ZERO WASTE

20

26 SCALE BUILD-UP WEIGHS ON HVAC EFFICIENCY

Preventative maintenance tips for controlling energy costs

28 WALK THIS WAY

The latest flooring products guide occupants using visual cues

columns

departments

6 OBSERVATIONS 14 TECHNOLOGY 20 FM EDUCATION 30 LAST WORD

8 FOUNDATIONS 23 INFO GUIDE

[ observations ]

BY MICHELLE ERVIN

POST-DISASTER STANDARDS

T

he post-disaster standards that aim to equip critical facilities such as hospitals to deliver essential services during catastrophic events are not new. They were introduced to the National Building Code more than a decade ago.

But they take on renewed importance after the U.S. backed out of its commitment to the Paris Agreement, a worldwide effort to prevent the worst effects of climate change. Without one of the most significant emitters on board to reduce its carbon footprint, it will be that much harder for everyone else to stop the global average temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels.

The sea-level rise forecast to accompany climbing mercury is expected to carry with it risks of increased flooding in places such as coastal B.C. In the case of the City of Richmond’s Cambie Fire Hall No. 3 and Richmond North Ambulance Station, retaining walls are one of several features that will safeguard the building during such events. The new facility, which is the subject of this month’s cover story, replaced an old facility that pre-dated the post-disaster standards.

The health and public-safety building is particularly novel in that it brings together fire and ambulance services to work together under one roof for the first time in a major urban centre in B.C. It’s early days yet, but the integration is expected to produce financial and operational efficiencies. These are familiar themes for the private sector, which is similarly turning to shared spaces to cut real estate costs and improve collaboration.

Also in this issue are articles on one of the first facilities to become certified under a new program targeting zero waste and the latest advances in the Internet of Things that have implications for facilities management, such as app-based wayfinding.

Speaking of wayfinding, a round-up of the latest in flooring locates products that use graphic cues to guide occupants through spaces.

The building sector continues to do its part on the sustainability front, reaching for new targets such as net zero. However, some experts are already warning that the global average temperature will almost certainly top the increase of two degrees Celsius deemed to be a point of no return in the scheme of climate change-induced risk. So, although only certain facilities need to meet post-disaster standards, building resiliency to extreme weather events is equally important to consider in all new construction.

MICHELLE ERVIN michellee@mediaedge.ca

MARCH/APRIL 2018 Volume 33, Issue No. 1 PUBLISHER: Liam Kearney liamk@mediaedge.ca EDITOR: Michelle Ervin Tel (416) 512-8186 ext 254 michellee@mediaedge.ca SENIOR DESIGNER: Annette Carlucci annettec@mediaedge.ca WEB DESIGNER: Rick Evangelista ricke@mediaedge.ca PRODUCTION MANAGER: Rachel Selbie rachels@mediaedge.ca CIRCULATION: Yeshdev Singh circulation@mediaedge.ca (416) 512-8186 ext. 234 PRESIDENT: Kevin Brown kevinb@mediaedge.ca GROUP PUBLISHER: Sean Foley seanf@mediaedge.ca DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MEDIA: Steven Chester stevenc@mediaedge.ca

Canadian Facility Management & Design (CFM&D) magazine is published five times a year by MediaEdge Communications Inc., 5255 Yonge Street., Suite 1000, Toronto ON M2N 6P4; Tel (416) 512-8186; Fax 416-512-8344; email: circulation@mediaedge.ca SUBSCRIPTIONS Canada 1 yr $50* 2 yr $90* USA 1 yr $75* 2 yr $140* Int 1 yr $100* 2 yr $180* Single Copy Sales Canada $15* * Plus applicable taxes.

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» foundations »

SHRINKING WORKSPACES

BY THE NUMBERS

Companies have continued to shed square metres per person in their offices, even after rebounding from the global financial crisis, Cushman & Wakefield concluded in a report released last fall. In Office Space Across the World 2017, the firm found that the Americas are leading the pack in the drive to densify, with companies chasing cost savings in real estate in an environment of expanding employment and increasing rent. Here are some of the Canadian stats:

13.1

14.6

Office density, as measured by square metres assigned per person, in Toronto last year.

Office density, as measured by square metres assigned per person, in Vancouver last year.

$8,196

The annual cost, in U.S. dollars, per workstation in Toronto last year. This amount worked out to $10,558.91 in Canadian dollars based on the exchange rate in early March.

$6,818

The annual cost, in U.S. dollars, per workstation in Vancouver last year.

This amount worked out to $8,783.63 in Canadian dollars based on the exchange rate in early March.

The report can be accessed in full at: http:// www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/research-andinsight/2017/office-space-across-the-world/.

SMART BUILDING ANALYTICS LIVING LAB TO OPEN AT RYERSON UNIVERSITY Schneider Electric Canada has partnered with Ryerson University to build the Smart Building Analytics Living Lab, the first laboratory of its kind in Canada.

The new lab will provide Ryerson students in engineering, architectural science and computer and data science programs with access to tools to develop, test and optimize modern technologies and approaches in building management. It will be used to demonstrate savings in energy consumption and in capital and operating expenses for buildings of all sizes. Schneider Electric donated $1 million in kind to Ryerson to design and build the new lab.

“Our partnership with Ryerson University and the building of the Smart Building Analytics Living Lab reflects the need for advancement of data analytics and the use of Internet of Things technologies to lower energy use in urban areas by providing higher building efficiencies,” said Juan Macias, senior vice president of digital energy solutions/prosumer at Schneider Electric, in a press release. “The research done here will benefit buildings and their owners in Canada and throughout the world. We are proud to be partners with Ryerson University on such an important initiative.”

As Canada looks to achieve its energy- and carbon-reduction goals in alignment with the COP21 outcomes, the laboratory will help increase knowledge and experience in key areas, including improved understanding of emerging HVAC systems; the optimization and performance improvement of existing HVAC systems; and new data analytics algorithms, predictive models and machine learning approaches to support building performance improvement in real time, with both human effects and environmental conditions taken into consideration.

The Smart Building Analytics Living Lab will be used as a direct connection into real world applications of building management systems and energy management. From the laboratory, the Ryerson team will connect to building control systems using Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Building software platform, which includes access control, lighting control, security, energy and HVAC systems.

“The convergence of Information Technology and Operational Technology means bringing together applications and devices in innovative ways, and tying together systems that have primarily operated in isolation,” said Susan Uthayakumar, country president, Canada, Schneider Electric. “Along with growth in numbers of devices and increased functionality, bringing these systems together introduces integration on a new scale. The Ryerson lab is a great forum to test these new integration possibilities.”

By introducing new technologies and integrating the IoT into new and existing designs, both Schneider Electric and Ryerson will be able to test these new technologies in real-world applications, in real time.

“The new Ryerson University Smart Building Analytics Living Lab will be a one-of-a-kind space for our faculty and students. Using the latest data analytics and IoT technologies, it will help them understand energy use in buildings like never before,” said Dr. Mohamed Lachemi, president and vicechancellor of Ryerson University. “The lab will become a powerful tool in helping to reduce energy use in urban areas and combat climate change here in Canada and around the world. We are glad to work with Schneider Electric in this endeavour and look forward to what we can accomplish together.”

The laboratory will be located at Ryerson’s 111 Bond St. building in Toronto and is expected to open in late 2019.

The preceding news brief originally appeared on the REMI Network.

8 CFM&D | Part of the REMI network | www.REMInetwork.com

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10 CFM&D | Part of the REMI network | www.REMInetwork.com

“The rental market is inundated with not just energy-related concerns, but also rent control, new building evaluations and regulations, and lower vacancy rates,” agrees George Hantzis, Large Commercial Energy Solutions Manager with Enbridge, adding, “all of those things intensify the challenges to keep tenants satisfied while continuing to grow a business.”

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They also emphasize the need to partake in energy retrofits and smart cost-saving measures to lean out operating costs and free up money for their core business: delivering quality rental supply.

“There's no one thing that will improve your bottom line. That's why, when people like us go into a facility to help property owners or managers find ways to save energy, we are always looking at the issue from a holistic approach,” says Dominic DiMuzio, Enbridge Multi-Residential Energy Solutions Consultant.

Enbridge's team of technical experts collectively work with hundreds of multire s i d e n t i a l b u i l d i n g s a n n u a l l y t o h e l p stakeholders optimize their energy usage and save money. It's that hands-on experience that has equipped them with cost-saving insights and proven energy smart measures.

Here are just a few:

Tweak your controls A few system tweaks can go a long way.

Energy Consultants can play a big role in identifying energy-wasting procedures and make small – yet impactful – changes that will result in long-term savings.

For example Carmine Faiella, Multi-Residential Energy Solutions Consultant offers this advice, “when you reduce your set point temperatures the savings are automatic. That said, you need to be careful and considerate of tenant comfort.”

Get with the program A number of energy-saving consultation programs are available to property stakeholders at no cost. In some cases, such as Enbridge's Commercial Custom Retrofit Incentives programs, participants can receive

financial rewards for implementing energysaving measures.

“We'll work with customers, free of charge, to identify energy efficiency opportunities that save natural gas and in return save them money. And if they implement any of our recommendations, we will cover up to 50 per cent of the project cost,” explains Hantzis.

“These programs are available, and they've been proven to work – so there's no downside to trying them.” Adds DiMuzio Good tenants plus stable occupancy rates equal high property values (and happy owners). It's a simple formula that's becoming harder to apply. With some smart energy measures and assistance from those in the know, property managers can find a friendly balance.

Make smarter retrofits When it comes time to replace or upgrade critical building components, consider that an ideal opportunity to not only seek a more energy-efficient solution, but to upgrade connected systems.

“When a customer is changing their boiler, for instance, that's an ideal time to also take a look at changing the way they pump those boilers or control them,” offers DiMuzio.

As for what jobs to prioritize, Hantzis adds: “We’ve had a lot of success working with property managers on boiler efficiency upgrades, as well as installing Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) on ventilation systems. If those have not been done, I would recommend doing those first.”

Do more with what you have There are several ways to optimize savings with existing equipment. For example, one is to introduce an advanced building automation system (BAS) that monitors, manages, and reduces energy usage on an interval level.

Another is to install pipe insulation across all hot water systems. And pipe insulation typically delivers a quick return on investment.”

“It's all about sustained savings,” says Chinmayee Rindani, Multi-Residential Energy Solutions Consultant. “When your building is monitored, you can track if there are any manual adjustments made on site that are pushing your energy costs up. Understanding your property’s energy consumption through monitoring can provide a roadmap to future opportunities and sustained energy savings.

For more information on Enbridge's efficiency programs, or to learn about how Enbridge’s Energy Solutions Consultants have helped multi-residential customers in the past, visit www.enbridgesmartsavings.com/business.

[ fm ergonomics ]

This page sponsored by

BY MICHELLE ERVIN

FOCUS ON WORKPLACE WELLNESS ELEVATES ERGONOMICS With organizations increasingly investing in promoting employee health, human factors have a natural role to play in people-centred design interventions, says ergonomist Lucy Hart

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The WELL Building Standard was something of a harbinger for the current fervor for health and well-being in the workplace.

T

here is a natural role for ergonomics to play in workplace interventions as organizations increasingly look to improve employee well-being, said Lucy Hart, certified ergonomist, Global Furniture Group. The science considers how to optimize the performance of people by taking into account their capabilities and limitations in the context of their environment, she explained, speaking in an IIDEX seminar last fall.

Hart highlighted some staggering statistics that may help illuminate why organizations have moved to prioritize employee well-being, including that around three-quarters of workers reported in a global study that their physical wellbeing was suffering. What’s more, she pointed out that people represent roughly 90 per cent of business operating costs.

“We’re a body of workers who are spending more than half of our waking hours in a work environment, we cost a ton of money … and, apparently, we are

12 CFM&D | Part of the REMI network | www.REMInetwork.com

really struggling in terms of our physical well-being,” said Hart.

The WELL Building Standard was something of a harbinger of the current fervor for health and well-being in the workplace. Hart identified it as the first people-centred standard for the built environment, factoring in comfort and fitness as it did. Similar certifications, such as Fitwel, have closely followed.

The WELL Building Standard sets out physical and visual ergonomic requirements, which include benchmarks for providing height-adjustable computer monitors and workstations. It also sets out optional features that count toward certification, including active furnishings, which deals with providing equipment such as treadmill desks.

Hart observed that even LEED, a complementary certification that focuses on environmentally sustainable design, was re-calibrated in its latest version to bring new emphasis to how building performance affects building occupants, among other updates. She cited the decision to make human health and well-being one of its seven objectives as evidence of a paradigm shift.

“Yes, there is that concern about the environment, but the building is for people in which to work, which costs a lot of money, and we need to do more to support the people in that environment,” she said.

That said, the future of a pilot credit for ergonomic strategy, which can earn a project one point on the LEED scorecard, remains uncertain, said Hart. It was added to the U.S. Green Building Council’s pilot credit library in 2009 after a project claimed a point for innovation with its ergonomic strategy, but saw low uptake.

Hart was part of a team that revised the poorly adopted pilot credit in 2013 to improve its usability. The new version outlines a step-by-step process for earning

the associated point, which includes consulting with experts. At some point, it will either be made permanent or purged from the U.S. Green Building Council’s pilot credit library.

However, Hart added that points-based systems aren’t the only way to go about incorporating ergonomic principles into projects.

“Building standards are one way of doing that, but it’s not necessary to be pursuing certification,” she said. “They can be used as resources to create these thoughtful, human-focused spaces.”

The CSA offers further guidance on integrating ergonomics in the workplace through Z1004-12 (R2017), a management and implementation standard, as well as CSA Z412-17, an application standard for workplace ergonomics published late last year.

Although the principles can be applied at any stage in the design-build process, from functional program through to post-occupancy, ideally people would be considered upfront in the planning process as project goals are established, said Hart.

She added that people’s needs should be evaluated before decisions are made about aspects of a project such as how much space to allocate to employees and what type of furniture to support them with.

Based on her experience with customers, she said common pitfalls in furniture selection are predetermining what to buy for reasons such as aesthetics and shopping for products without enough information about how employees work, such as whether computer users rely on any other tools.

Once a project is ready for occupancy, education is critical to the adoption and proper use of new furniture. Hart cited the sit-to-stand workstation as a case in point.

She said a study found that people who were poorly trained to use this equipment neglected to take advantage of the ability to adjust the height of their workstations, while people who were well-trained to use this type of equipment captured the benefits of decreased discomfort and increased performance that come from alternating between seated and standing positions.

Benefits such as decreased discomfort are the types of results that should be measured following implementation.

Hart suggested comparing data including facilities management complaints before and after the project.

As ergonomics enjoys an elevated profile, buoyed by the current focus of organizations on employee wellness in the

workplace, the decision to incorporate its principles into the design-build process should be automatic from Hart’s point of view.

“As long as it’s still humans doing the work in the workplace, not robots, we’re beyond needing to have a big debate, ‘Should we or shouldn’t we?’” she said. | CFM&D

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March/April 2018 CFM&D 13 PremierElevator_Island_2017.indd 1

2017-04-05 2:15 PM

[ technology ]

BY DR. HIMANSHU KHURANA

BUILDING BETTER EXPERIENCES

Apps that allow occupants to provide instant, locationbased feedback are among the latest innovations in the Internet of Things. How facility managers can harness this deepening connectivity to drive organizational value

B

uilding managers have a significant opportunity to take advantage of IoTbased connectivity to drive organizational value, from improving operations to enhancing occupant experiences. Simply put, advances in technology are changing how people interact with buildings.

When properly implemented, IoT connectivity can be used by organizations to shape how occupants move about a facility and assign precise monetary values to specific spaces. And when that happens, buildings can become smarter, more interactive and contribute strategically to an organization’s bottom line.

EVOLUTION OF EXPERIENCE

but as IoT rapidly expands, so do the opportunities to use technology to improve buildings and the experiences of the occupants within, which will either keep occupants coming back or make them seek a better experience elsewhere.

The building blocks for achieving these goals comprise an interconnected framework of components, including everything from connected devices, mobile applications (apps) and cloud-based

data management, to real-time services and social networking.

The primary pathway to the occupant is the smartphone. When the right building connectivity is in place, and smartphones can tap into a cloud-based IoT platform, occupants can shape and enhance their experiences, creating a direct line of feedback to an organization that can help improve operations.

Integrating digital identification with core building functions can enable occupants to potentially control things such as their comfort, or how they move about a workplace from both an access and wayfinding standpoint. For example, an employee in a connected office space can enter a freezing cold conference room

An employee in a connected office space can enter a freezing cold conference room and immediately alert building personnel of the comfort issue.

Smart buildings are nothing new, 14 CFM&D | Part of the REMI network | www.REMInetwork.com

and immediately alert building personnel of the comfort issue, helping to resolve it sooner and prevent it in the future.

The result isn’t just more comfortable and empowered occupants; facility managers also benefit from improved insight to manage their buildings better.

With occupants providing real-time evaluations of temperature, cleanliness, and overall space ratings, locationaware apps enable facility managers to aggregate requests quicker and ultimately create a closed loop communication with reviewers. In turn, this can lead to downstream benefits, such as easily managing credentials and keeping facilities secure, as well as improving space utilization, and saving time by quickly fixing comfort problems.

APPS IN ACTION

Various industries are taking advantage of IoT connectivity and the ubiquity of smartphones. While goals and needs will differ from organization to organization, one common theme unites them: their use of a cloud-based platform that leverages IoT connectivity and existing building systems to integrate with mobile apps that give people more insight and access to their surroundings.

For example, in the healthcare industry, mobile apps that connect people to their surroundings are providing patients with more control of their comfort, such as window blind positioning. In addition, these types of apps can provide

In Minnesota, a mobile app is helping pedestrians navigate the Minneapolis Skyway System, a complex interlinked network of enclosed pedestrian walkways spanning 80 city blocks. wayfinding, enabling patients and their loved ones to more easily navigate the often-confusing hallways of hospitals, saving everyone’s time in the process.

In Minnesota, a mobile app is helping pedestrians navigate the Minneapolis Skyway System, a complex interlinked network of enclosed pedestrian walkways spanning 80 city blocks. The wayfinding app helps visitors and locals alike navigate the challenging system, allowing them to avoid the drastic hot and cold temperatures of the seasons and easily find their ultimate destination. The app taps IoT connectivity to offer accurate indoor location, mapping, routing, presence, proximity notifications and analytics — all embedded into an integrated platform.

Users benefit from easy-to-use wayfinding, with turn-by-turn voice

assistance and location accuracy up to five feet, along with a “share my location” feature that lets users more easily find each other in the skyway system. Businesses located in the skyway system can use the app’s insights into foot traffic patterns to inform measures such as messaging placement to serve their customers better.

LIMITLESS POTENTIAL

The way people are interacting with their world and each other is changing every day due to the rapidly growing IoT. Occupants ranging from hospital patients to retail shoppers have the potential to shape and improve their experiences thanks to IoT connectivity. Organizations can take advantage of this connectivity in their buildings to build a better overall experience. | CFM&D

Dr. Himanshu Khurana is the director of engineering and global innovation leader for Honeywell Building Solutions, where he drives innovation in connected buildings. He obtained his MS and PhD in computer engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park. He can be found on LinkedIn.

March/April 2018 CFM&D 15

FACILITY DESIGN

UNDER ONE ROOF A new facility in Richmond is the first in a major urban centre in B.C. to co-locate fire and ambulance services. It could serve as a template for others if its anticipated benefits — namely financial and operational efficiencies — are borne out in post-occupancy data

BY MICHELLE ERVIN

�

The primary red traditionally associated with fire fighters is used sparingly in Richmond’s modern new station.

16 CFM&D | Part of the REMI network | www.REMInetwork.com

IMAGES BY SUNNY JHOOTY PHOTOGRAPHY

T

his isn’t a traditional fire station of arched bays and red brick.

That’s by design, says Robert Lange, principal-in-charge, Assembly Architecture. The City of Richmond prides itself on being innovative, explains senior project manager Martin Younis, and it sought to construct a modern facility.

Its bays have flat roofs and its bricks are neutral-coloured, incorporating the primary red that has come to be associated with fire fighters sparingly, as an accent. The bold hue was used in cladding that frames the station’s name and wraps around a rooftop courtyard.

Lange found other subtle ways to conjure the imagery of the traditional fire station envisioned by the first responders who would be moving into the facility.

Transparency was used to showcase the instantly recognizable emergency vehicles within.

“People love seeing fire trucks,” he said, “so one of the significant features is there’s a lot of glass on the front.”

It’s not just its modern design that makes Cambie Fire Hall No. 3 and Richmond North Ambulance Station (No. 250) stand out. The $20.7-million facility became the first in a major urban centre in B.C. to bring fire and ambulance services under one roof when it opened last fall.

Assembly Architecture worked in March/April 2018 CFM&D 17

FACILITY DESIGN

�

Left to right: The three-storey building stacks program elements including a kitchen; fire trucks park in at-grade suppression bays; and red cladding wraps around a rooftop courtyard

“We tried to avoid the use of masonry for this building, which is a common building material that you see used in fire halls — this kind of classic image of a red-brick building.” partnership with S2 Architecture on the design of the 26,000-square-foot facility.

The facility consists of a three-storey building that bisects six emergency vehicle bays — two for fire trucks, two for ambulances and two for emergency vehicle repairs. A stair that scales the height of the building on the interior is designed to create a lantern-like effect on the exterior as illumination filters through translucent glass.

“The stair lights up, defining this anchor for the neighbourhood, this symbol of safety,” said Lange.

Cambie Fire Hall No. 3 is one of the last of the City of Richmond’s seven fire halls to undergo renewal in recent years.

The new facility replaced the Bridgeport Fire Hall, which was built in the 1950s and tagged for an upgrade more than a decade ago.

The lease for Richmond North Ambulance Station’s former location was expiring around the same time, which prompted British Columbia Emergency Health Services to propose

co-locating. Younis said the details of the partnership were hashed out on paper before shovels went into the ground. The City of Richmond would own the shared facility and the province’s ambulance services provider would lease space for 20 years, providing opportunities for closer collaboration.

“This modern facility will support the critical role paramedics play in providing patient care to the community and enhance our working relationship with the Richmond FireRescue,” said Linda Lupini, executive vice president of British Columbia Emergency Health Services.

The three residential lots assembled by the City of Richmond in advance of the project made for a tight site given the programming, said Lange. He explained that the emergency vehicle bays must be located at street level and measure to specific dimensions.

That led to the vertical stacking of the living quarters, offices and training

18 CFM&D | Part of the REMI network | www.REMInetwork.com

classrooms in the three-storey building.

Similarly, the rooftop courtyard was a response to the lack of available space at grade, which was occupied by the front driveway, side parking lot and rear outdoor training area.

The site may be tight for what it accommodates, but the facility itself represents extra square footage for the Richmond North Ambulance Station, which can park as many as six ambulances in its two bays.

“The increased space also makes this one of the largest ambulance stations in the Lower Mainland, providing large new crew headquarters and a quiet room that will help paramedics decompress after responding to a call,” said Lupini.

Building Fire Hall No. 3 anew meant complying with post-disaster standards, which became mandatory for this type of public-safety facility long after the original station was built in the 1950s.

Lange explained that, as a designated Department Operations Centre, it’s expected to contribute to response efforts when emergencies occur. To do so, the building needs to be able to not only withstand catastrophic events, but also stay up and running in their immediate aftermath.

The City of Richmond is located within the Cascadia Subduction zone,

CONDITION > BUILDING ASSESSMENTS

To Extend or Replace?

Knowing your roofing options Winter can wreak havoc on a building’s envelope, making spring the season for evaluating a roof’s condition and planning ahead. Before adjusting your capital plan, consider the options:

which has witnessed magnitude-9.0 earthquakes in the past. Warnings about the threat of this type of mega-thrust event have ratcheted up in recent years as it has historically occurred every 300 to 800 years, according to Natural Resources Canada. The most recent one was recorded in 1700.

This is the most serious of the three types of seismic events Trevor Whitney, partner at Bush Bohlman, said factored into the structural engineering firm’s work on the project. He said the facility’s location in Richmond posed a few particular risks.

The low-lying site needed to be protected from flooding, which was accomplished by elevating it more than a metre using fill and supporting it using a raft foundation. The site was also buffered using apron slabs and retaining walls on all sides except the street front where the emergency vehicles enter and exit.

And the soft soil characteristic of the area needed to be protected from liquefying like quicksand, as it is vulnerable to in the event of an earthquake, which was accomplished by drilling into the ground and forming columns from stone.

“We tried to avoid the use of masonry for this building, which is a common building material that you see used in fire halls — this kind of classic image of

a red-brick building,” added Whitney.

“Often, the first images you see every time there’s an earthquake around the world are of damaged masonry buildings, so we think that going with a concrete and steel structure was a more resilient design from a post-disaster perspective.”

Richmond is not the first jurisdiction in Canada to bring fire rescue and emergency health services under one roof — there are examples of this in Alberta, where S2 Architecture hails from. It likely won’t be the last jurisdiction to adopt this integrated model either.

Younis predicted that other cities will follow the example set by Richmond, although he added that the ambulance bays are flexibly designed to accommodate fire trucks in case BC Ambulance Services leaves at the end of its lease. The anticipated benefits of integrating fire and ambulance services are the potential cost savings of sharing space and the potential improvement in response of dispatching two groups that attend many of the same calls from the same location.

“I think it’s been way more efficient,” said Younis, “and I think after a year or two of operations we will have enough data to support any kind of business case to do this elsewhere.” | CFM&D

Roof extensions: Given the costs, it can make sense to extend the life of your roof instead of pay for a replacement. This can be done through professional extension programs or by applying various coatings that will extend the life of a modified bitumen or metal roofs by up to 10 years.

Roof replacements: If you choose to replace, use this opportunity to add insulation to improve your building’s thermal performance. Work with building envelope specialists who can help you select the roofing assembly that fits and where insulation can be placed to best maximize your investment.

“There’s a lot of building science that can be overlooked when applying a new roof and insulation,” says Terry Bergen, Managing Principal with RJC Engineers (RJC). “That’s why it’s beneficial to work with someone who can help lead you to the right decision for your building.”

No matter what you choose, ensure your plans include regular roof maintenance and inspections. As Bergen insists, “If you don’t keep those up, your roof won’t last as long as it can. It’s as simple as that.”

Learn more about RJC at rjc.ca.

March/April 2018 CFM&D 19

[ fm education ]

These pages sponsored by

BOMI

BY CHRIS WHEELDON

C A N A D A

LOOKING BEYOND THE FLOOR PLAN

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Certain unmet needs can’t be solved with changes to the physical environment.

As organizations increasingly seek well-being-enhancing workplaces, design can only do so much. Creating or improving services can help close this gap

T

here are countless articles about new workplaces that look great. Interior designers do an excellent job of creating innovative, fresh spaces.

Some firms even go so far as to provide change management to help businesses adapt to the new environment. At the same time, it’s not unusual to hear that people are unhappy in new spaces — they

20 CFM&D | Part of the REMI network | www.REMInetwork.com

complain that they’re too noisy, too open, too this, too that. There are many unmet needs that people hope will be solved in their new environment that really can’t be solved with physical changes.

Many organizations are seeking workplaces that enhance well-being.

Where once LEED certification was cutting edge, now that’s considered table stakes as employees demand workplaces that provide more than just a desk and shelter from the rain.

The physical design of a workplace satisfies basic human needs for things such as clean air and water, shelter, health and personal security, but can only contribute to needs of well-being.

For example, it can enable, but not cause, a sense of connection. It can reflect status (the corner office or having a better view) but not create it. Truly satisfying those needs comes from interactions between people. So how does that happen?

Service design sprints are a way for workplace teams to create better workplaces by improving or creating new services for them. Let’s unpack the words to understand how they work.

Design is a people-oriented approach to creating. Done properly, it steps back and looks at the big picture, realizing that the whole is more than just the sum of the parts. It asks questions rooted in empathy, which is, according to the Oxford Dictionary, “the power of identifying oneself mentally with (and so fully comprehending) a person or object of contemplation.” In other words, putting oneself into the shoes of others.

In a workplace, these others include the occupants, the service support people and those who approve changes – financial, legal, managerial, etc. Thinking like a designer means considering an ecosystem of people, not just one or two.

Service design, as the name suggests, specifically creates new services. It thinks about the journey of the customer and the touchpoints that people encounter as they interact with a service, and looks for ways to improve the effectiveness and experience of those touchpoints.

Service design changes negative or neutral experiences into positive ones by remembering that services are parts of a system and that people who use a service do so because they want to get something done.

Design sprints have become popular in the past few years with the rise of agile software development. Their popularity has exploded since the publication of Jake Knapp’s book Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days. This book laid out, step-bystep, a fast way to create a new product or service and start to test it in just one week. Tenny Pinheiro applied this model to service design in his book The Service Startup: Design Thinking Gets Lean, which describes how small teams can quickly converge, tackle an unmet service need and build highly focused solutions that address those needs.

A service design sprint has three main parts: • Empathize with the people associated with a service to get a true understanding of the problems they experience with it. This teaches the sprint team to fall in love with the problem to be solved and not with any particular solution. People don’t care about that new shiny thing they’re being shown if it doesn’t help them with their job.

• Create a minimum valuable service or MVS. Many people have heard of the MVP, or minimum viable product. The MVS also focuses on the minimum — the smallest solution to a problem — which, in a sprint, usually means only one or two touchpoints.

Value means to the people involved.

Solutions are valuable because they get people’s jobs done in a better way, not because they’re cool.

• Test the MVS with experiments. The first version of an MVS will be full

It’s not unusual to hear that people are unhappy in new spaces — they complain that they’re too noisy, too open, too this, too that.

Toronto Construction Association

March/April 2018 CFM&D 21 Chirco_half-island_ad_2018.indd 1

2018-02-16 11:12 AM

SERVICE DESIGN SPRINT CASE STUDY: THE DECK The DECK is an innovation hub in Osaka, Japan, that combines co-working, digital fabrication and open innovation. In early 2016, the founders decided to create a space where a diverse group of people, working closely together but on different activities, would spark ideas off one another for the benefit of all. Facing tight timelines to the planned opening, they decided to use a service design sprint to decide how to best accomplish this.

The sprint team started with research of what others had done and then interviewed potential users who had extensive knowledge of co-working, collaboration and cocreation. This revealed several opportunities for a great experience that couldn’t be found elsewhere. Selecting one with high priority, the team created a minimum valuable service model of proposed initial customer experiences, plus action plans for efficiency. The other ideas were parked — not abandoned — for later consideration.

The DECK opened in September 2016 and provides a variety of services and events.

The team there continues to develop and test new offerings.

We strive to exceed our client’s sustainability goals on all our projects. Our designers are experienced with integrating sustainable design and best practices.

of untested assumptions — that the solution fits the need, that it’s legal, that it’s affordable, and so on. Circling back to that ecosystem of people and gathering their feedback will burst some of those assumptions pretty quickly. The first version of the MVS is like a sketch — created quickly and easily changed. Its purpose is to help the team learn what is valuable and what is not, as quickly and inexpensively as possible.

Now iterate the process. After testing the solution, revise it and test again.

And again. Build-test-learn-repeat, documenting along the way — approvers will need evidence of the value being created. As the solution becomes more sophisticated, it will more closely resemble a final implementation. The experiments will become more involved as more complex details are addressed.

The proof of value becomes richer and more robust. Or it proves a lack of value and gives permission to try a different tack without having to spend a lot of time and money building something that doesn’t work. When startups talk about “fail fast, fail early,” this is what they mean.

By applying empathy, conducting experiments and gathering evidence, workplace teams can more truly understand problems and create solutions that are valuable to a comprehensive ecosystem of their stakeholders. This can reduce resistance to changes, by creating a shared vision of the problem and its solution, involving those affected by the solution, and addressing concerns while it’s still being built. Finally, it can save money and time by solving the right problems with solutions that everyone recognizes as being right. | CFM&D

University of British Columbia AMS Student NEST | LEED® Platinum

Chris Wheeldon is principal consultant for Two Ravens Consulting Services. He is a service design sprint University of Toronto Scarborough | Environmental Science and Chemistry Building | LEED® Gold

Clareview Community Recreation Centre | LEED® Silver

RJC Engineers

22 CFM&D | Part of the REMI network | www.REMInetwork.com

rjc.ca

master, a former corporate real estate manager and was innovation centre program manager at Cisco Systems.

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March/April 2018 CFM&D 23

[ sustainability ]

BY MARK HUTCHINSON

IN PROFILE: A PIONEER IN ZERO WASTE Cintas’ Toronto distribution centre became one of Canada’s first facilities to be recognized by a new program for significantly curbing what it sends to landfills. Its comprehensive, employee-led strategy shows how others can attain their diversion goals through TRUE Zero Waste certification

Council (CaGBC) and Green Business Certification Inc. With the goal of the program being to divert all solid waste from the landfill and incineration, TRUE-certified projects must meet seven minimum program requirements, including achieving an average overall waste diversion rate of 90 per cent or greater over the most recent 12-month period, and having a zero waste policy in place.

The following case study provides a closer look into the strategies, challenges and specific actions involved in Cintas’s achievement at its Toronto distribution centre.

COMMITTING TO ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

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Members of the green team at Cintas’ Toronto distribution centre

T

he Toronto distribution centre for Cintas, a business supplies provider, became Canada’s second facility to earn TRUE Zero Waste certification last fall. The 60,000-square-foot Mississauga facility achieved its zero waste goals through innovative vendor partnerships, the dedication of its green team, and complete engagement among its 56 employees, or “partners” as they are referred to within Cintas. A combination of large changes to overall processes and individual partner actions contributed to the distribution centre’s success, lending itself as an excellent example of how a zero waste

strategy can be implemented in any type of organization.

The result of this work was a TRUE Gold certification, which acknowledged the distribution centre’s work in diverting 93.59 per cent of waste from landfill. It is one of five Cintas facilities so far to achieve TRUE Gold certification in North America, with more planned in the near future.

The TRUE Zero Waste program is part of a suite of certification and professional credentialing services administered by GBCI Canada, launched in February 2018 as a new joint venture between the Canada Green Building

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Environmental stewardship is a priority at Cintas, which has integrated sustainable solutions throughout its operations. This includes the use of recycled plastic water bottles to create suits that customers can find for purchase within the Cintas catalogue, modernizing facilities to incorporate environmentally friendly practices, and forming a team to provide a centralized sustainability strategy.

Cintas’s company-wide zerowaste-to-landfill initiative includes the following steps: • Assessing the internal waste produced to better understand the amount, nature and composition of the waste generated; • Assembling teams and champions dedicated to the program; • Engaging employees and making it easy for them to get involved with efforts and identify ways to reduce, recycle, reuse or repurpose waste; and • Developing a plan to provide direction and help the organization achieve its goals.

These actions laid the foundation for Cintas’s Toronto distribution centre’s zero waste strategy and decision to pursue TRUE certification, giving the facility a workable plan to address its specific challenges.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES IN WASTE DIVERSION

It’s often said that people are an organization’s greatest resource; as such, a successful zero waste strategy often depends on tapping into the strengths and insights of employees who are committed to sustainability. While implementing changes to existing procedures can be a complex process, Cintas’s Toronto distribution centre took a common sense, partner-led approach to its TRUE Zero Waste certification, coming up with simple, yet impactful solutions that could be easily integrated from day one.

Determining what to do with different kinds of waste The strategy: Assessing the internal waste produced The solution: Work with new and existing suppliers and corporate office to assess and strategize The challenge:

Cintas’s Toronto distribution centre distributes five kinds of business supplies: entrance and logo floor mats; restroom supplies such as hand soap and toilet paper dispensers; first aid and safety items; corporate apparel direct sales; and uniform rentals to commercial and industrial customers.

With the distribution centre handling such diverse products and services, a key concern was streamlining where the different types of waste generated by the business lines and partners during the normal workday should go.

The facility worked with the company that serviced its garbage and recycling needs, Waste Connections, to analyze its waste and provide recommendations on more ways to recycle. Cintas’ Toronto distribution centre also privately contracted Waste Connections to recycle its plastic and cardboard, receiving credit in return and thus generating additional cost savings.

Given the company’s large focus on garments, finding a way to recycle waste fabric proved to be a particular struggle

for the distribution centre. After several years of searching for a sustainable solution, staff from Cintas’s Toronto distribution centre spoke with H&M Canada, which suggested that the facility contact GFL for fabric recycling. Cintas’s corporate office also recommended reaching out to Wiseman Export as another way to deal with the discarded textiles. This resulted in a synergistic relationship in which Wiseman Export takes garments disposed of by Cintas’s Toronto distribution centre, shreds the fabric and then repurposes it as rags and to make mattresses.

The challenge: Getting partner buy-in The strategies: Assembling dedicated

teams and engaging partners The solution: Frequent messaging and working with champions in different departments

Resistance to change in existing practices can often be a barrier in implementing new standards, and this was the case at Cintas’s Toronto distribution centre as well. Education about its zero waste program was a key tool in tackling this issue, with the centre’s green team providing frequent opportunities to learn about what they were trying to accomplish.

The team held a weekly show-and-tell during the first month of the switch to demonstrate which receptacles to use for each kind of garbage. Instead of providing disposable supplies at monthly partner events, they asked staff to bring in their own reusable plates, cups and cutlery. As well, the sustainability team now works with departmental waste champions to identify issues around incorrect waste sorting, gather data, and weigh collected garbage to monitor in- and outbound waste.

Cintas partners were empowered to bring their own waste reduction ideas to the table, which led to some great solutions. One partner recommended repurposing the filler paper included with garments and other packages to stuff other boxes being shipped out, a move that has also resulted in cost savings.

In addition, the facility’s green team devised opportunities for partners to incorporate zero waste strategies into life outside of the workplace, including annual events at the distribution centre to bring in old electronics for recycling and personal papers for shredding.

The challenge: Finding new ways to reuse

and further reduce waste The strategy: Developing a plan to provide direction The solution: Rethinking existing processes around shipping Along with the idea to reuse shipping paper and have fabrics recycled, Cintas’s Toronto distribution centre made other changes to its processes as part of its efforts to decrease waste. The facility breaks down damaged pallets to create new ones, and it has reduced its usage of cardboard boxes by switching to plastic containers where possible or reusing boxes from previous shipments. It also purchased a new machine that has halved the amount of plastic shrink wrap used in comparison to manual usage.

ACHIEVING ZERO WASTE GOALS

Cintas’s Toronto distribution centre owes much of its success in reaching its diversion targets to its green team, which meets monthly and brainstorms fresh ideas to engage partners in waste reduction efforts. As well, it works with the facility’s social committee to make monthly events greener.

More broadly, the initiative at Cintas showcases how organizations can easily get started in achieving their zero waste goals, shrinking their carbon footprint, increasing efficiency and supporting sustainability. The TRUE program provided a simple blueprint for the Toronto distribution centre to follow to become more resource efficient, transforming its upstream policies and practices both organizationally and at the individual employee level.

To learn more about TRUE Zero Waste certification, visit the GBCI Canada website: www.gbcicanada.ca. | CFM&D

Mark Hutchinson is the vice president of green building programs at the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC).

March/April 2018 CFM&D 25

[ operations & maintenance ]

BY TIM FREGEAU

SCALE BUILD-UP WEIGHS ON HVAC EFFICIENCY As water travels through heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, it leaves behind minerals that stick to surfaces. Without proper care, this scale build-up can strain equipment, leading to higher energy bills and premature equipment failure

Scale build-up can be present throughout an HVAC system, including in condensers, chillers, cooling towers, boilers plate exchangers, piping and more. It can occur in any piece of equipment that uses water as a heating or cooling medium and, without proper care, can gradually corrode equipment, putting it out of service.

HVAC systems also account for a significant portion of annual energy expenses, making preventative maintenance even more critical.

Chemical descaling can help improve the efficiency of these systems and thereby lower energy costs.

OPERATIONAL IMPACT

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Keeping a daily operational log for every piece of heating and cooling equipment can help to identify the presence of scale.

E

ver notice the white rings on the inside of a coffeepot after the water evaporates?

This is an example of the beginning stages of scale.

Now, take those deposits and multiply

them by the thousands of gallons of water that heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems process every day. That’s how quickly scale can accumulate in buildings.

26 CFM&D | Part of the REMI network | www.REMInetwork.com

Imagine trying to cool down while wearing a winter coat when it’s 90 degrees Fahrenheit (around 30 degrees Celsius). That’s what HVAC equipment experiences with scale. Scale acts as an insulation barrier on any heat transfer surface, reducing that equipment’s ability to exchange temperature. This results in the equipment running harder to maintain the required output, triggering increased energy consumption and costs, as well as potential long-term damage to the equipment.

Once scale forms on boiler surfaces, both fuel and efficiency losses quickly ramp up. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, even “normal” scale of 1/32-inch thickness, produced by low-pressure applications, leads to a two-per-cent fuel loss.

Two per cent may not sound like much without more context. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers a helpful example: A firetube boiler using 450,000 million British thermal units (MMBtu) of fuel (at USD $8 per MMBtu) over 8,000 hours per year, with a 1/32 inch of

normal scale, spikes yearly operating costs by more than USD $70,000.

Even worse, in high-pressure applications where iron and silica deposits exist, fuel losses can be as high as seven per cent. Operational costs jump up exponentially as scale thickness increases, so ignoring or delaying cleanings will only compound equipment’s energy consumption.

Considering how much of a facility’s overall energy consumption is expended by its heating and cooling system, it’s apparent scale has an immense impact on the bottom line.

Scale is also detrimental to the equipment’s overall integrity.

When equipment is forced to work harder to keep up, it’s going to cause wear and tear that could result in the need for repairs or even replacement. If scale is not consistently removed from equipment, it can also cause under-deposit corrosion, which decreases the equipment’s expected longevity.

Scale can develop in a matter of weeks, so imagine what can happen to equipment such as a boiler that has been offline during the summer, or even just neglected, for months.

work quickly to dissolve calcium, lime, rust, and other types of deposits from passages in water-cooled or heated equipment.

While the most common type of scale is calcium carbonite, other particulate may also be a component of the overall deposit composition.

A variety of industrial descalers are available for different applications. These descalers comprise base ingredients that penetrate the deposit and dissolve it into liquid suspension, so it can be removed from the piece of equipment being cleaned.

The best solution depends on the specific equipment. Often, a good first step is to take a sample of the deposit and conduct a simple bench test to make sure the descaler completely dissolves the deposit.

Don’t forget to measure the impact of this cleaning on cost savings. Take the time to compare energy consumption before and after the descaling to be able to share successes in improving HVAC efficiency.

Investing in preventive maintenance aimed at scale build-up in heating and cooling systems will help keep operational costs down and equipment running smoothly. | CFM&D

EARLY DETECTION

One of the best ways to identify scale, and other potential issues, is to keep a daily operational log for every piece of heating and cooling equipment. This helps to track the equipment’s operating parameters and conditions, and becomes an invaluable source of information about its performance.

Operational logs make it possible to identify operational abnormalities early on and avoid downstream issues or, worse, unplanned shutdowns. While the measuring factor may differ between various pieces of equipment, most systems will have some form of an efficiency indicator that can be monitored. Not only can it raise a red flag for inefficiencies caused by scale, but it can also indicate other issues that may require repair or replacement.

Depending on the source of water and water treatment process, a facility may be susceptible to increased amounts of scale deposits. For example, if a facility relies on raw untreated water for cooling, expect frequent scaling issues resulting from the large traces of minerals.

Hard water, which has a higher mineral content, is the main source of scale buildup. The higher the mineral content of a water source, as measured in parts per million, or PPM, the faster scaling issues are likely to occur.

Water temperature is another major factor in scale buildup.

The higher the temperature of water, the easier it is for the mineral deposit to fall out of suspension. Scale occurs when minerals within a water source fall out of suspension and stick to surfaces including walls, tubes and any other parts of heating and cooling equipment.

Tim Fregeau is director of sales in the liquid solutions division at Goodway Technologies. In this role, he is responsible for the direction and go-to-market strategy for Goodway’s chemical product, which includes solutions for industrial descaling, coil cleaning and cooling tower cleaning.

From Boiler Room to Boardroom

LONG-TERM PREVENTION

The best way to prevent scale is to implement a preventative maintenance program that includes periodic equipment descaling in its schedule.

Chemical descaling is a clean-in-place solution that does not require equipment to be disassembled. Industrial descalers

A professional association focused on advancing and promoting the FM community. Join IFMA Toronto Today at ifma-toronto.org

March/April 2018 CFM&D 27

FOCUS ON FLOORING

WALK THIS WAY From arrow-shaped chevrons to race track-like lines, the latest flooring products promise to silently show occupants where to congregate and how to get there

Flux and Fracture are firing up J+J Flooring Group’s Kinetix® products with designs inspired by the pottery-making process.

Flux mimics the metamorphosis that occurs in the heat of the kiln, creating an organic pattern that comes in six colourways. The demiplank measures 12 inches by 48 inches. Fracture emulates the crackled finish of glazing in 12 colourways. The modular product measures 24 inches by 24 inches. The new textile composite flooring selections join four carpet selections in the Form + Finish Collection.

Mohawk Group’s new modular carpet plank system, the Lichen Collection, is named after a moss-like organism found on forest floors.

In a flooring first, the collection earned Living Product Challenge Petal Certification, which recognizes products that have a net positive impact on the environment. That’s not surprising, since the founder of the Living Product Challenge, Jason F. McLennan, designed Lichen. The collection comprises three styles that can be mixed and matched, transitioning from large-scale blooms to textured ground.

28 CFM&D | Part of the REMI network | www.REMInetwork.com

Shaw Contract ran with an athletic theme in the design of its new carpet tile collection, Active. Its mix of graphic patterns and neon colours is meant to enliven spaces and promote movement, supporting wayfinding and zoning. The 12-inch-by-24inch tile comes in four styles. Dash, Track and Turn echo the kind of lines used to guide runners, while Advance nods to the materials used to make athletic wear, such as jersey knit and mesh.

Burnish brings tweed pattern and texture to The Outskirts Collection from Bentley, which also includes Ritual and Repose.

The minimalist style comes in High PerformancePC Broadloom as well as AFIRMA™ Hardback Tile and NexStep® Cushion Tile, in dimensions of nine inches by 36 inches, 18 inches by 36 inches, and 24 inches by 24 inches.

Burnish is formed from Antron® Lumena™ Type 6,6 Solution-Dyed Nylon using the most up-to-date pattern tufting technology.

Material Paradox is a new modular collection from Patcraft that combines light and dark in 10 colours to subdued ombré effect.

Tip shearing adds texture to the planks, which come in dimensions of 18 inches by 36 inches and nine inches by 36 inches. The Cradle to Cradle-certified product features Eco Solution Q® commercial carpet fibre and EcoWorx® backing. It also bears a lifetime warranty for abrasive wear, colour fastness to light, stains and static.

With Shapes, LSI Floors is making its complete collection of colours, patterns and textures available in connected rings, parallelograms, triangles and more. The new forms offer the opportunity to send different signals. For example, chevrons hint at movement, with their arrow-like shape pointing the way. Hexagons, conversely, have a grounding effect, promoting huddles in place. Shapes comes standard in a 2.5-millimetre luxury vinyl tile format as well as a fivemillimetre loose lay format suitable for transitions to carpet.

Edifice Powerbond® and Modular Collection is a glimmering new offering from Tarkett’s Tandus Centiva. Designer Jhane Barnes incorporated special metallic space-dyed yarn to imitate the way skyscrapers reflect daylight. The colourways — seven of them neutral and six of them accents — are named after some of the buildings that inspired their block-based pattern, including Empire and Hancock. The product is made using Dynex® Nylon, which is 90 per cent solution dyed and 10 per cent yarn dyed.

Designed by David Oakey, Interface’s Human Connections collection infuses a healthy dose of nature into a range of tiles that reflect the rhythm of urban landscapes. The collection is offered in six styles in squares measuring 50 centimetres by 50 centimetres, including the street-gray Paver, the cobbled-looking Sett in Stone, and the green-washed Moss. The collection also includes two FLOR®

by Interface styles in the same dimensions. Rue and Stone Course, which come in eight different colour combinations, feature mosaic-like patterns that conjure the spray of graffiti.

March/April 2018 CFM&D 29

[ last word ]

BY MARCIA O’CONNOR

SHATTERING THE GLASS CEILING Facilities managers have the potential to contribute to their company’s productivity and profitability, but they need to be heard by the C-suite.

T

he C-suite is where the decision-making gets done. These leaders are not expected to be immersed in the dayto-day issues or see the full value of ‘facilities’ as a strategic partner.

But the role of the facilities manager is taking on increasing importance as companies invest in core buildings and international expansion, creating more corporate assets and properties to manage. The largest expenses of any company are its properties and people, and facility management’s (FM) priority is the comfort and safety of its customers and building occupants.

It is the facilities manager’s job to get the C-suite to understand that the FM department is a valuable contributor to the sustainability and growth of the company.

Corporate support is imperative to ensure that facilities are kept safe and in good condition as companies confront current and anticipated demands.

It’s important for facilities managers to proactively align with their company’s corporate direction. Several key strategies may help facilities managers break through the glass ceiling and be treated as part of the corporate team:

for example, suggest pursuing the WELL Building Standard to promote the health and wellness of building occupants.

THINK LIKE BUSINESS LEADERS

The leaders who occupy the C-suite are business-minded professionals, so it’s important for facilities managers to put away the ‘screwdriver’ and take a management-oriented approach to their roles and responsibilities. Develop business strategies that will show the value of FM in the decision-making process in making the company more effective and efficient.

Facility managers know their facilities and recognize when there are issues requiring repair or replacement. Asking for funding for a roof replacement because it’s needed, for example, is no longer enough for the C-suite to approve resources. These requests need to be supported by evidence and rationales demonstrating the importance and priority of the repair or replacement.

DEMONSTRATE FM’S VALUE

The role and responsibility of a facilities manager is changing constantly. Know the business of FM and be prepared for opportunities to demonstrate FM’s value to the company.

Talking about the future of the business shows the ability to think and act strategically and helps the C-suite see the key role played by facilities managers. For example, companies want to be identified as 5-star employers, so facilities managers need to be current on demographic trends and workplace design.

KNOW THE STRATEGIC PLAN

Get a hold of the company’s strategic plans and find out what leaders are talking about in the boardroom. With this information, it’s possible for facility managers to help advance the vision, mission, and priorities of the company.

A common priority in strategic plans is enhancing the customer experience.

To that end, facilities managers might,

USE DATA TO BACK UP OPERATIONS

Have the tools and technology in place needed to support FM operations. It’s imperative to have quality data and evidence.

For example, with requests reaching the facilities department in a variety of ways, it can be challenging to quantify and prioritize the work load. Channeling requests through one system makes it possible to assess requests by type, frequency and priority, so the facilities team may want to use a work request tool to keep up with this demand.

SHOW THE BOTTOM-LINE IMPACT

There is a growing demand to provide an ever-more satisfying workplace environment for employees and clients.

Show the C-suite how that better workplace environment can improve the bottom line, offering higher employee productivity, lower staff turnover and increased client-satisfaction.

PROMOTE THE FM DEPARTMENT

Unless the FM department is promoted, no one will know that it does more than maintenance. Educate the C-suite about FM and how it can contribute to strategic decision making.

Start by developing an FM plan that aligns with the company’s strategic plan and demonstrates how FM can advance the corporate priorities. Keep the plan succinct and focused on the strategy versus day-to-day operational details.

FM needs to have a voice in the C-suite. As business evolves, company leaders will require strategic facilities managers who are able to look to the future and contribute to profitability and productivity. Once FM can deliver operational integrity, strong business models, strategic value, proof of the willingness to boost the bottom-line, the team will become an integral part of the company’s planning and gain the respect of the C-suite. | CFM&D

Marcia O’Connor is president of AM FM Consulting Group. She is also lead consultant and instructor for the University of Toronto’s FM certificate program.

30 CFM&D | Part of the REMI network | www.REMInetwork.com

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