From the Editor
If you’re like many facility executives, you’re looking at your 2009 budget and wondering how you’ll ever be able to make it work. You’re probably sick of reading articles that begin with some variation of “In this challenging economy, (insert tip here) is a sure fire way to save some money.” But, at this point with the light at the end of the tunnel still not immediately apparent, it’s probably hard to discount anything that could help.

So why not ask occupants for suggestions? Many veteran facility executives say that asking the people who spend 40 or more hours a week in their buildings often provide the best ideas for ways to save on operational costs – especially energy. Beyond the common-sense ideas such as turning computers and lights off at night, occupants can offer practical suggestions on operational changes that could help facility executives deal with shrinking budgets. And that’s important, because even small energy-efficiency purchases with short paybacks may not be possible right now. If it comes down to a maintenance engineer losing his job or doing a relamping project or implementing a new controls system, most facility executives will make sure the guy keeps his job and plan for the energy efficiency project whenever the economy recovers.

Have you received good suggestions from occupants?  If so, I’d love to hear about them and pass them on to others to use as well. 

I wish you way more than luck!


Cheers,

Greg Zimmerman, editor

Green Strategies
Green Buildings Don’t Have to Compromise Longevity, Maintenance
Here are tips on how to take advantage of the potential inherent in green buildings for minimizing operations and maintenance costs.

In the News
Green Guide for Operations Released
The latest version of the Green Guide for Health Care for Operations expands the scope of previous versions of the guide, and emphasizes intergrated operations, education and continuous improvement. 

Green Toolkit
Sample Occupant Survey
Oftentimes, one of the best ways to capture occupant suggestions is to solicit their opinions in the form a “satisfaction survey.”  Here is a sample survey to help get you started creating your own.

Green Pulse
Have you ever received a great money-saving tip from an occupant?

- Yes, and we saved hundreds.
- Yes, but it didn’t work.
- No, we rarely talk to occupants. 

Click here to answer and view results.

GreenTech Conference & Exposition

LEED-EB: Operations and Maintenance
Join Craig Sheehy, President/CEO of Envision Realty Services, at this session at NFMT 2009 for an update on strategies facility executives can use to position their facilities for LEED certification.