by Brianna Crandall — April 13, 2020 — With the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus currently causing millions of COVID-19 cases around the world and turning daily life upside down, many experts are recommending that cleaning needs to be taken to a new level, well beyond regular maintenance and janitorial best practices. In addition to personal and staff/occupant safety, facilities managers (FMs) are also navigating unknown waters in dealing with empty or partially empty buildings, many employees working at home, business continuity questions, assessing equipment, deciding whether to undertake building projects now, and many other issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of these issues are being addressed by industry organizations in the webinars that FMLink is featuring on our Calendar of Events in addition to the usual annual conferences — most of which have either been postponed, canceled, or transformed into virtual meetings. Many of these coronavirus-related webinars are being offered at no cost as organizations attempt to do their part to help FMs, cleaning professionals and other facilities-related professionals cope with the sudden changes and emerge from this with even better cleaning practices and even more resilient, better-performing buildings.
Industry organizations such as the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International, the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), ISSA: the worldwide cleaning industry association, and many others have been reaching out to their members and other industry professionals in recent weeks to provide updates on their own operations, advice on how members should conduct business in this unprecedented time, updates on related government initiatives and restrictions, and more. And many are providing ongoing daily or weekly updates and guidance, sometimes in the form of webinars, which often include speakers from industry companies.
Highlights of COVID-19-related industry webinars happening this week include:
- ISSA — “US Government’s Ongoing Response to COVID-19” (free, April 15, 12 pm-1 pm CDT): An update on fast-moving government affairs related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the full spectrum of the cleaning industry
- IFMA — “COVID-19 Series #3: FM Challenges During the Pandemic” (April 15 at 7:30 pm CDT): Discussing measures FMs have put in place and ideas and strategies for moving forward, in a Town Hall-style meeting
- ISSA — “Automation Amidst the New Normal” (April 16 at 12:00 pm CDT): Part 1: “How Automation Helps You Meet the Uncharted Demands of a Pandemic:” The implementation of automation to meet coronavirus-forced demands on cleaning
- IFMA — “Leading FM Conversations: Coronavirus Preparedness” (April 16 at 4:00 pm HKT): Session 1: Driving Advanced Asset Maintenance Strategies; Session 2: Proactive IT – OT Cybersecurity Management for Building’s Digital Transformation: Case Sharing and Best Practice
If you are unable to attend these webinars or missed other recent ones, many are available after the transmission date — check the organization’s website. For the three organizations mentioned above, webinar information is available on their coronavirus resources webpages:
- BOMA International’s Coronavirus Resource Center
- IFMA’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource Center
- ISSA’s Cleaning and Disinfecting for the Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)
Keep checking FMLink’s Calendar of Events for FM Professionals for updates.
