Have you seen media reports about Earth Hour? By far, the images used most often to illustrate participation (or non-participation) in Earth Hour are buildings. Here is an older image that illustrates the point, by Ryan McCarthy. Some of the recent media highlighted successful participation and others are talking about lagging participation. In the Toronto…
I’m constantly surprised when I talk to FM professionals who haven’t implemented an FM system to manage their responsibilities, whether it’s CMMS, CAFM, IWMS or other systems for managing processes, space or maintenance. Having started my career over 20 years ago at a company who had an FM system back then, to not have an…
There’s a lot of evidence that the typical Key Performance Indicator (KPI) methods of trying to ensure you get performance from an outsourced or subcontracted service provider don’t work the way you think. In this Video (see below), Daniel Pink, author of “Drive : The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” presents research that tells…
I had a conversation recently with a client, the head of a large facilities department. We were talking about the difference between those who get involved and advance their knowledge and those who don’t. Which one do you think are more likely to get ahead in their careers and deliver results for their employers? It’s…
For some reason. I’ve been seeing a lot of articles recently about using information for decision making. Some in our industry, but lots in other areas as well. What this confirms to me is that the Facility Management industry is a business function in addition to a technical or tactical function. The methods, approaches, skills…
The best way for Facility Managers to get ahead is to keep on top of the latest issues, solutions, technologies and processes. The internet has made it much easier to access information, with the availability of content from magazines, online portals and blogs. But finding good resources isn’t always easy, since the internet can be…
Facility Managers often give themselves and their departments the worst space in their facility. It’s sort of like the shoe maker’s children not having shoes. We give good, productive space to other departments, including other support groups like HR, IT, finance and others. Yet we often neglect the needs of our own staff. In one…
In the December 2010 issue of Canadian Facility Management & Design magazine, the magazine’s editor Pamela Young interviewed me about Facility Management and about my new book “Managing Facilities & Real Estate” Here’s how she began the article: “Managing Facilities & Real Estate, by FM consultant and Strategic Advisor principal Michel Theriault, is hot off…
I recently visited a facility for a meeting and my experience demonstrated why you need a good capital plan and adequate funding. At the facility, I had to park in their multi-level above ground parking facility, which was really the only choice unless you wanted a long walk. It was so busy, I ended up…