by Richard Stukey — “The revolution in building design” became a popular expression a decade or so ago, as concern for the environment skyrocketed among the public and politicians. Since that time, the definition of green buildings has expanded from more obvious fixes — such as insulation, high efficiency windows, doors and HVAC systems — to an entirely new and comprehensive way of looking at every aspect of the way buildings are designed and constructed — including dual flush toilets, photovoltaic roof panels, sophisticated building controls, and shower rooms for bicycle commuters.
Since the start of the new millennium architects, building planners, contractors, engineers, and vendors of building systems have all clamored for new ways to provide systems for energy-saving, sustainable buildings.
Today little has changed in regard to the popularity — if not necessity — of constructing energy efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable buildings. The importance of these buildings is evident on the cover of just about every building trade magazine and at every building trade show. In fact, GreenBuilder recently reported that despite the bad economy, the number of new LEED® certified buildings grew by 14 percent last year.
Enter Green Building Operations and Maintenance
Over the last several decades, facilities professionals have learned that sustainability isn’t just about new construction — which only makes up about two percent of buildings in the United States — but just as importantly about the other 98 percent of buildings that have been around for some time. Along those lines, the US Green Building Council (USGBC) adopted LEED® 2009 Green Building Rating System for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, a set of performance standards for certifying the operations and maintenance of existing commercial or institutional buildings and high-rise residential buildings of all sizes, both public and private. The intent is to promote high performance, healthful, durable, affordable, and environmentally sound practices in existing buildings.
But the USGBC and other facilities organizations had seen the importance of green operations and maintenance years before the latest existing building LEED ratings were published. Between the outcry from the public for more environmentally friendly ways to operate and maintain buildings — and the pressure on chief building engineers from their organization’s executives to cut maintenance budgets — energy efficiency was no longer an option but a necessity.
So what does that mean to you as a chief building engineer or facilities executive? “Energy efficiency is still the low hanging fruit of cost efficiency and environmental impact,” explained an architect and building planner for a major university. “In addition to saving money and the environment, energy efficiency programs improve building comfort and create goodwill for your organization.”
Fortunately, as the public and facilities engineers quickly understood, energy efficiency is only one aspect of sustainability. Concerns over carbon pollution, water quality, indoor air quality and other sustainability requirements continue to grow, and building operations and maintenance professionals are faced with additional challenges — and opportunities.
The change in emphasis is evident in everything from the growing popularity of energy efficient light bulbs to the increasing use of sophisticated electronic controls that do everything from switching lights on and off based on building occupancy to adjusting heat and humidity for body heat as people enter rooms.
The ultimate goal of all the new technology and processes is “the intelligent building.” A recent issue of IFMA Journal defined the intelligent building as “a building that integrates people, process and technology in an efficient and sustainable manner through the use of high levels of integrated technology.” But operating and maintaining the intelligent systems that comprise those buildings — including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, renewable energy systems and sources, information technology, control systems and management software — means this: operations professionals must have a comprehensive set of skills, training and experience to operate those systems in a cost-effective manner.
Sustainability experts stress the importance of maintenance in ensuring that buildings systems operate in an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient manner. As Bill Gregory, sustainability director for Milliken & Company — a carbon-negative manufacturer of commercial carpeting — recently told FEJ: “We can make the greenest products in the world, but all of that is negated if they are not properly installed and maintained.”
The New Age of Cyber-Maintenance
The revolution in building operations and maintenance is currently being fueled by a parallel revolution in building information software, including computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), computer aided facility management systems (CAFM), integrated work management systems (IWMS), enterprise resource systems (ERP), building automation systems (BAS), energy information systems and energy analytics software, and building information modeling (BIM) software that can consolidate information about a building and then produce a computerized 3D model of it.
Until recently, BIM software was used in the design and construction stages, but today the software is increasingly used for maintenance and operations, allowing facilities managers and chief building engineers to “see” what a building problem looks like and learn about recommended solutions, before they even visit the site or send teams out to correct problems — saving facilities countless hours of time.
Although interoperability of these software systems is the goal of many facilities managers, building information modeling (BIM) is the software that has most recently captured the imagination of the industry. “Today’s buildings are increasingly sophisticated and the need for information to operate and maintain them is vital,” David A. Jordani, FAIA, wrote in a recent issue of The Journal of Building Information Modeling (“BIM and FM: The Portal to Lifecycle Facility Management,” Spring, 2010). “Unlike the design/construct phase, the information needs of FMs (facilities managers) persist for the lifecycle of the facility. Multiply the information exchange challenges experienced during design/construct across the lifecycle of a facility and you have a sense for the magnitude of the problem — and the opportunity. Even small gains will add up to significant improvement and cost savings.”
Dark Cloud on the Horizon
But while all of these new technologies offer great opportunities to lower the cost of facility operations and maintenance — and improve the environment in the process — with those opportunities come challenges. Today’s highly complex buildings make it increasingly difficult for facility executives to find maintenance and operations professionals who have the knowledge, skill and experience to maintain and operate today’s high tech building systems.
“While serious facility managers are locked in on green technologies and energy reduction, there is also a dark cloud on the horizon, and that cloud is the lack of qualified maintenance technicians,” said Steve Hoyt, facility manager for the National Headquarters of American Red Cross (at EMCOR). “The labor pool in this country is shrinking with each passing year and the quality of that labor is falling like a stone. Green technology is readily available and has been for decades; qualified technicians to maintain them are not.”
Many facilities professionals wonder why there is a shortage of workers in the skilled trades when so much opportunity exists. While some believe the complexity of the new systems may be scaring people away, others suggest a different reason.
Bob Siemerling, director, Engineering & Maintenance Management at United Therapeutics Corp., explained it this way: “Too many parents feel that Johnny’ will never survive without going to college and getting into an executive position. But my mechanics make more than most MBAs,” he said, describing the building trades as “a great and honorable service.”
AFE’s Role in the Building Operations and Maintenance Revolution
That is where organizations like the Association for Facilities Engineering (AFE) have begun playing an increasingly important role. “AFE acts as an information-sharing resource for all of the new products and services now available to the people who maintain, operate and manage buildings and other facilities,” said Wayne Carley, executive director for AFE. “Whether it is through our webinars, Chapter lectures and facility tours, or our education and certification programs, we strive to be continually at forefront of the revolution in building maintenance and operations. It is a mission that not only helps to improve the lives of the members who comprise AFE, but also the lives of the organizations and communities our members serve.”
For a member-driven organization like AFE, these new technologies mean new opportunities and challenges. As more members get more experience with these technologies, AFE hopes to use both existing and new methods to disseminate that information to other members and the facilities engineering community at large.
Along those lines, AFE recently expanded several new programs to keep members aware of these new technologies, including:
- Webinars hosted by facilities experts with hands-on experience
- Networking opportunities where members exchange ideas at meetings and benefit from expert talks and tours of well-known facilities
- LinkedIn and Twitter sites where facilities professionals are able to discuss their successes and challenges
- Updated Certification curriculum to ensure that AFE Certified professionals have a latest, comprehensive knowledge of the latest advances in the 10 core competencies
- AFE Publications like the Facilities Engineering Journal, which have increasingly focused on new technologies, procedures and maintenance management strategies necessary to operate and maintain intelligent buildings.
In addition to providing members with the information they need to thrive as part of the revolution in building operations and maintenance, Carley added that AFE has another important mission in these changing times. “We want to encourage facilities engineers to feel pride about the vital services they provide to their organizations and the community at large,” he said. “By helping to lead the revolution in building operations and maintenance, AFE members are doing their part to create organizations and larger communities that are greener, safer and more cost-efficient — and AFE wants to constantly remind our members of the importance of their work.”
Richard Stukey is senior editor of the Facilities Engineering Journal.