by Brianna Crandall — February 3, 2012—This April, the International Facility Management Association’s (IFMA) third annual Facility Fusion Conference & Expo will help facilities, design and real estate professionals strengthen their competitive advantage through instructor-led educational courses, an expo showcasing the latest workplace products and services, cutting-edge facility tours, and other professional development and networking opportunities.
Held April 11-13 in Chicago, Illinois, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, Facility Fusion will bring together a collection of industry experts offering new ideas, proven strategies and best practices attendees can implement immediately to heighten productivity and improve operations within their building portfolios. The event will feature industry-leading keynote speaker presentations, 84 educational sessions, and an expo with more than 85 exhibiting companies.
Keynote speakers include author, speaker, and career and life coach Kaplan Mobray, who will present “The 10 Ls of Leadership: Become the Leader Others Want to Follow;” author, corporate consultant and CEO of Chaos Over Len Merson, who will deliver “Changing Chaos Into Productivity;” author and London Business School Fellow Steven Sonsino, who will speak on “Reinventing Your Leadership Future: Are you Ready for the Next Phase of Your Leadership Life?”; and business strategy authors and speakers Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz, with the theme “Go for No: Yes is the Destination; No is How You Get There.”
Education sessions highlight ways built environment professionals can make a more effective business case to the C-suite; engage building occupants on sustainability initiatives; identify best practices that don’t break the bank; build their professional presence; and use Building Information Modeling to increase efficiency and productivity. The sessions will cover such topics as sustainability benchmarking, efficient space management, food service and employee wellness, effective communication with senior leadership, mobile workforce management, making corporate real estate strategy decisions, defining environmental performance metrics, utilizing value engineering to meet budget constraints, and developing a strategic facilities plan.
Representatives from Brown University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Kaiser Permanente, the National Institute of Building Sciences, the Smithsonian Institution, Bentley University, HOK, Humana, the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories, BAE Systems, CBRE, Johnson Controls, Jones Lang LaSalle and Planon will present at the education sessions.
The Facility Fusion expo will also run Wednesday through Thursday. Open to the public at no cost, the expo will feature more than 85 exhibiting companies showcasing the latest products and services impacting the workplace, including CORT, George Mason University, Office Depot, Toshiba International and the U.S. Department of State, among others. Thursday’s expo will be themed “Chicago Day” and feature appearances by Miss Illinois 2012 Ashley Hooks and Miss Illinois 2010 Ashley Bradarich, an IFMA member who currently works in the FM profession, in support of the charitable IFMA Foundation.
Thursday’s expo will also include solutions arenas highlighting educational content and new product demonstrations, featuring presentations from Fox RPM and TekWorx. The final day of Facility Fusion will also include behind-the-scenes tours of several Chicago-area facilities, including the Jewelers Building — featured in “Batman Begins” and “Transformers” — UPS’ Chicago Consolidation Hub, and Willis Tower, formerly the Sears Tower.
FMLink is a Participating Publication for the Facility Fusion show.
