How To Make Buildings Sustainable
Sustainability is the topic of the century for professionals of the built environment. The big question is, how are we going to sustain our way of living when we increasingly consume, pollute, and destroy natural resources? As a Facility Manager, you can take an active role in the effort to reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources. You might have heard the term "Net Zero Energy ...
What Is BIM Data And Why Is It Important?
BIM or Building Information Modeling, is a way for designers and builders to pass along information regarding newly constructed facilities to facility owners. Most people think BIM is just three dimensional modeling, which is part of it, but what is important is the actual data delivered. BIM data can be used to effectively maintain facilities throughout their life-cycles. BIM's are embe...
Unlocking Your CMMS: Reengineering Facilities Maintenance Processes
"Reengineering strives to break away from the old rules about how we organize and conduct business. It involves recognizing and rejecting some of them and then finding imaginative new ways to accomplish work." - Dr. Michael Hammer (one of the founders of the management theory of Business process reengineering) When most organizations decide to implement a new computerized maintenance man...
5 Hidden Rules to Improve Steam System Efficiency
If you want to optimize the energy usage of your steam plant, consider these five general rules of thumb to improve steam system efficiency. 1. Lower boiler exhaust flue temperatures For every 40°F you lower the boiler exhaust flue temperature, you can expect about 1% combustion efficiency gain. Utilizing an economizer in the exhaust stack will reduce flue temperatures and transfer that ...
How to Start a Preventive Maintenance Program From Scratch
The point of any preventive maintenance program is to identify equipment failures in their early stages so you, as a maintenance activity can coordinate the man hours and logistics required to prevent breakdowns. Figuring out the best scheduling intervals for different PM tasks can be difficult if you don't have OEM manuals to get you started. Luckily, there have been studies on this top...
How to Measure the Effectiveness of Your Maintenance Programs
An effective maintenance program starts with identifying benchmark criteria. You might think that the best metric for bench marking would be the reliability and life cycle cost of the equipment. Well, you would be right but, that is just one piece of the puzzle. Expanding maintenance programs to encompass other responsibilities such as sustainability and utilization optimization makes th...