Category: Facilities Management

2018’s Most Frequently Cited Workplace Safety Violations

Employers must provide a safe workplace under federal and state laws, but as many workers will tell you, companies don’t always follow these laws. There are many reasons for this, from simple oversight to ignorance of safety regulations to more insidious reasons like cutting corners to save money on routine maintenance and inspection of facility systems, structures, and equipment.

This list highlights 2018’s most frequently cited workplace safety violations.

Falls

Although falls are a leading cause of fatalities and serious injuries in many sectors, appropriate fall protection procedures and equipment use are not always followed at every worksite. According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), employers must protect workers from falling from platforms, elevated workstations or into holes in the floor and walls.

Toxic Chemicals

Gas and chemical leaks are the most common problems, though asbestos continues to plague older facilities. It is now mandated that natural gas have some sort of odor so that it is more easily detected, but it is still a deadly problem in many facilities today. OSHA will soon require that some types of facilities have detectors for carbon monoxide.

Training Saves Lives

Safety training is vital and teaches workers important procedures and work habits to stop potential dangers in the workplace from becoming real-life tragedies.

If you would like to know more about workplace safety violations and how to avoid them, contact MaintenX today.

Commissioning Solar PV Systems

What Is Solar PV Commissioning?

Solar PV commissioning is a system which formalizes the quality control process of solar PV systems. This procedure determines if these systems are safe and performing correctly.

Normally, the owner of a solar PV system has a particular goal in mind for its purpose, like reducing electricity bills, powering supplemental generators, and other applications. With this information, solar PV system designers then create an effective plan to put these goals into action.

Installation manuals will commonly use the term “solar PV commissioning” broadly to refer to start-up or closeout procedures of solar grid components. Solar PV commissioning is critical to ensure safety and avoid dangerous malfunctions.

Benefits of Solar Commissioning

Diminishing solar PV system performance naturally happens over time. Commissioning offers an organized method to ensure the output and efficiency of your solar grid.

Some important benefits of solar PV system commissioning include:

  • Locating under-performing cells
  • Avoiding energy loss
  • Ensure overall system function
  • Lowering the incidence of future costly repairs
  • Improving comfort levels
  • Extending the life of equipment

Make a Checklist

Commissioning technicians use equipment inspection checklists to research common equipment issues, create work orders for and follow the progress of repairs, meet state, local, and federal code compliance requirements, and ensure that issues have been fully resolved after servicing.

Solar grids are becoming more and more popular with industrial companies, utility providers, small business owners, and homeowners alike. That’s why it’s more important now than ever to ensure the safety and efficiency of solar grids.

Co-working Spaces Trending Upwards

Coworking spaces have increased in popularity over the past decade. Below we’ll explore the factors involved with this trend and its effects of the modern workplace.

Bringing the Outdoors Inside

Modern offices have become a lot more open in recent years, but they’ve also been getting a lot greener—both in an environmentally conscious sense and a literal sense. It turns out that being surrounded by trees, plants, moss, and flowers perks up employees and increases morale and productivity. Artificial waterfalls, stones, sand, and anything else that replicates nature is also increasingly seen in offices around the world.

Technology

Another developing trend is that facility managers and property renters are increasingly using automation and software in their structures. Coded key cards, facility management software, automated booking systems, employee attendance trackers, and self-regulating smart building AI solutions have all become players in offices, facilities, and factories. As these emerging technologies progress, we are likely to see even more innovation in the field of self-regulating systems and artificial intelligence.

The Loneliness Problem

Recently, remote workers have been on the rise. And many have increasingly had the same complaint: they feel lonely, because they do their work alone. That’s why spaces have been popping up across the country to address this problem. Businesses now host open areas where freelancers, artists, and digital nomads can work together, form personal and professional bonds, and beat the blues that remote working is notorious for inducing.

If you’d like to know more about the current trends in coworking spaces, call MaintenX today.

Innovations in Facility Management Technology

These days, it seems that technology plays a role in almost every facet of our lives. From video doorbells to automated thermostats to voice-controlled devices that can order your groceries, the modern home looks quite different today than it did even five or ten years ago. It’s natural that the same thing would happen in the field of facility management.

Technological innovations have made great strides in facility management in recent years. Below are just some of facility management’s newest innovations.

Automation

It may seem more like a sci-fi movie than reality, but automated systems that use drones and robots have already entered the field of facilities management. Cleaning robots sweep, mop, and tidy up facilities, while drones explore hard-to-reach places, assess system damage, and report it to facility managers; automated security systems monitor the safety of buildings without the need for a human security guard.

Using these systems and technologies, facility managers can now increase not only facility performance, but human productivity, as well. Automatically generated work orders and smart environmental sensors that change temperature and lighting based on employee habits and preferences are just two examples of the many new applications of these technologies.

Smart Buildings

Smart buildings integrate a facility’s various systems and sensors to boost resource efficiency, lower energy costs and harmful emissions, augment worker environs to increase comfort, and improve productivity at almost every level.

How do Smart Buildings Work?

First, a facility’s major systems (HVAC, lighting, and various sensors that track such factors as temperature, motion, and air quality) collect data. Then, the relevant data is relayed back to a central hub. From here, using facility management software, the data is organized and the information can then be viewed, tracked, and system behavior modified—either by FMs and/or artificially intelligent systems.

Want to know more about the latest trends in facility maintenance? Call MaintenX today.

Facility Condition Assessments

For facility managers, figuring out facility conditions and maintenance needs can be a major—and majorly expensive—task. Luckily, today there are highly efficient ways of performing these assessments and estimating your facility’s maintenance needs. We’ll explore some below.

What are Facility Condition Assessments?

In a nutshell, a facility condition assessment (FCA) is a streamlined process of tracking the condition of a facility and its systems by noting key factors: age, materials, design, assets, etc. While performing a facility condition assessment might sound like a tremendous undertaking, it’s critical to extending the life and performance of your facility and its systems. No matter what the building is being used for, a detailed FCA might just save you from a maintenance crisis in the future.

Why do a Facility Condition Assessment?

Facility Condition Assessments help facility managers understand and respond to changes in asset and facility performance, develop appropriate budgets, and properly prioritize needed maintenance.

The goal of a facility condition assessment is to:

  • Assess the need to perform or defer maintenance
  • Pinpoint system deficiencies
  • Evaluate the remaining useful life of all facility systems
  • Verify overall system compliance with local, state, and national safety codes and operation standards
  • Check the compatibility among individual systems
  • Creating a detailed and prioritized list of necessary repairs and/or routine maintenance
  • Calculate operating and asset replacement costs

To learn more about how you can keep your facility in tip-top shape with audits and inspections, contact MaintenX today.

How to Do a Roof Inspection

Your roof is your facility’s first line of defense against extreme weather. When business owners and facility managers trust their roofs without inspecting them, they could end up with big problems including structural deterioration, mold development, or damaged insulation. The solution? Regular, comprehensive roof inspections.

When inspecting your facility’s roof, look for the following:

  • Fractured caulk or rust spots
  • Buckling, curling, or blistering shingle tiles
  • Missing or broken shingles
  • Cracked rubber seals around vent pipes
  • Moss and lichen, which could be a sign that a roof is rotting from the inside out.

If you find piles of debris from asphalt roof tiles in the gutters, that’s a sign of a much bigger problem; check the age of your roof to determine if it needs to be replaced.

DIY Inspections VS Professional Inspections

Most people can spot an obvious roof problem (missing shingles, interior leaks, etc.) without having to climb up on the roof. Other types of damage, however, require close-up inspection by a trained eye to detect. That’s why it’s generally a good idea to get a professional to look it over for you periodically.

If your facility’s roof is older than 10 years, hire a trustworthy roofing contractor to come out and inspect it. If you suspect your facility’s roof has been damaged, call the property’s insurance carrier first. Depending on the policy, the needed repairs may be covered. If your insurance covers the repair, they’ll handle the inspection scheduling.

Want to know more about roof inspection? Call MaintenX today!

Modern Advances in Boilers

Boilers have been a vital element of building design ever since they were developed. Boiler technology has seen countless changes over the years, leading to more efficient and eco-friendly boiler systems.

Some of these innovations include:

  • Fuel flexibility
  • Lower greenhouse gas emissions
  • Higher turndown
  • Longer lifespans
  • More stable burner systems

This has led to improved facility operations. We’ll discuss the particulars of some of these advances in boiler technology.

Amplified Use of Condensers

Replacing non-condensing boilers with the newer condensing designs has led to an overall boost in system performance and efficiency. That also brings with it a reduction in operational costs.

Ultra-Low NOx Burners

Ultra-low NOx burners prevent thermal NOx or prompt NOx. Using this new boiler technology, these burners systematically pre-mix fuel and air before combustion. This process eliminates most fuel-related waste created by the older, less efficient models.

Advantages of Using Ultra-Low NOx Burners:

  • Reduce the incidence of major complications in system operation
  • Can be combined with complex boiler systems to lower NOx levels.
  • Substantial decrease in harmful gas emissions.

The Future of Boiler Design

The future of boiler design will likely involve integration with renewable energy sources (solar energy, geothermal, wind, etc.).

Solar energy is gaining popularity in the U.S. to pre-heat water tanks. A solar water heater usually can’t provide enough heated water by itself, but it can increase the energy efficiency of the system and supplement a boiler’s heating needs.

If you’d like to know more about boiler technological advances, contact MaintenX today.

What Is Infrared Imaging?

Performing facility maintenance can be a tricky and complicated endeavor. Thermal imaging technology gives technicians the ability to see hidden problems, making it easy to spot issues with:

  • Failing motors
  • Faulty electrical components
  • HVAC condenser leaks
  • Bad ductwork
  • Leaky roofs

Using infrared imaging, facility technicians can fix problems before they intensify, as well as reduce a facility’s heating and cooling costs.

Uses

Infrared imaging’s uses include:

  • Preemptive asset monitoring: Manual use of thermal imaging tools can identify failing systems before they fail, including pumps, valves, belts, motors and more.
  • Checking equipment remotely: Infrared imaging allows for routine maintenance without shutting down operations.
  • Automated system monitoring: Infrared imaging lets you organize automated systems that can recognize problems, generate signals, and alert you before a failure occurs.

Unwanted Guests

Pests like mice, rats, or possums can be difficult to get rid of, and can cause significant damage to building insulation, wiring, and other components. Infrared images can help technicians locate these pests, their nests, and the destruction they might have produced.

HVAC    Uses
Technicians performing HVAC inspections with a thermal imaging camera can locate misrouted and leaking ducts, identify electrical or mechanical HVAC system faults, confirm the source of energy losses, spot missing insulation, and discover air conditioning condensate leaks.

To prevent breakdowns, technicians inspect the many electrical and mechanical elements of an HVAC system, including thermostats, gas heaters and boilers, air-handling systems, and AC condensers.

Want to know more about how infrared imaging can help your facility management processes? Call MaintenX today!

Common Maintenance Myths

It’s hard work keeping a home in good condition. But do you actually know what’s necessary to keep your house looking and performing its best? There’s a lot of misinformation out there. Maintaining your home improperly can cause serious damage to your home and your wallet. Here are some of the most common maintenance myths.

Furnace Filter Replacement

Myth: A furnace filter only needs changing once in the winter and once in the summer.

The Truth: The replacement frequency depends on many elements:

  • System operating time
  • Quality of the filter
  • Location
  • Climate
  • Size of home
  • Number of floors in the home
  • Climate
  • Age of the home

All of these help determine how often a filter should be changed. Cheap fiberglass mesh filters must be changed more often (usually once a month) compared with the pricier “three month” pleated upgrade. There are also permanent filters which don’t need replacing, but rather cleaning. Need help deciding? Call MaintenX today. Our HVAC experts can help you decide the right filter strategy for your home.

Home Insulation

Myth: The more insulation you have, the better insulated your home will be.

Truth: Attic insulation is one of the most cost-effective energy-saving improvements that can be made to your home. That said, installing too much insulation can actually be counterproductive. In order for insulation to be effective, air space should surround the material. That’s why you should hire a professional service to take care of your insulation needs.

Our expert technicians can help you assess your home maintenance needs. Give us a call today!

Tips for Recruiting Facilities Management Talent

Facilities management is demanding. FMs face many and varied challenges every day, such as:

  • Coordinating vendors
  • Handling unexpected problems
  • Meeting compliance guidelines
  • Scheduling regular maintenance
  • Completing internal audits
  • Warning staff of safety issues

From relationship-building to project management, the FM’s plate is full. Keep reading to learn about the most vital skills you will need in your next facility management hire.

Understand the Company’s Business

Effective Facilities Management can help your organization reach its goals; knowledge of how the departments interact and where improvements can be made is a vital part of this strategic process. Make sure your FM has these credentials.

Leadership

As the central responsibility of a facilities manager is to deliver effective management and support of functions of a business, robust leadership skills are indispensable.

IT Expertise

IT literacy is imperative if you want a solid facilities manager because the facility management world is becoming increasingly dependent on modern technologies.

That means that the better the grasp they have of the IT realm, the more valuable they will be to your business.

There is a large range of IT software specific to facilities management, such as

  • CAD
  • BIM
  • GIS

Have a general grasp of them so you can check to see if perspective FMs are familiar with them. While it’s not certainly not essential for FMs to be tech experts, it is essential that entry-level facilities managers know how to use these systems, because technology’s importance to the function of facilities will only grow over time.

Want to know more about facility management? Call the experts at MaintenX today!