The First Facility Management Blog

In the third quarter of 2008, The Garland Company, Inc., a Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer and distributor of high performance solutions for the building envelope, was the recipient of two regional and one national awards honoring its contributions in a variety of areas.

As a first time member of Inc. magazine’s Inc. 5000, Garland was one of only 67 Ohio companies recognized as one of the United States’ fastest growing private businesses. The Inc. 5000 has become a benchmark for innovative, dynamic, and successful companies in the nation. Alumni include such companies as Microsoft and Oracle.

The City of Cleveland Department of Economic Development in cooperation with the Cleveland Citywide Development Corporation recently honored Garland Industries with its Brownfield Redevelopment Award. This award honors Cleveland-based companies for their accomplishments in assisting the local economy. Garland’s CFO Chuck Ripepi explains, “Our decision to invest in this property, adjacent to our corporate headquarters, is evidence of Garland’s ongoing commitment to help grow the economy of Cleveland, where many our workers reside.”

For the ninth consecutive year, Garland was selected by the Employers Resource Council (ERC) as one of the top 99 places to work in northeast Ohio. The ERC is northeast Ohio’s largest employers’ association serving over 1,000 organizations with nearly 400,000 employees in 22 counties. As a NorthCoast 99 award winning company, Garland was evaluated on a number of employee focused criteria, including compensation, benefits, health and safety, training and education, diversity, communication, and community service and involvement.

According to Wally Barch, who is a director of recruiting and training for Garland, “These recognitions demonstrate the commitment Garland has made to attracting and retaining top performers. In today’s competitive economy, finding the best people is directly tied to a company’s performance in three critical areas: a track record of aggressive growth, involvement in its home community, and a supportive, people first culture. Garland is proud to have been recognized for our achievements in all three areas this year.”

Photo by: Timothy Hursley—The Arkansas Office

Architect Kyu Sung Woo has designed a new graduate housing complex for Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. The 115,000 square foot project is a part of the university’s ongoing effort to house 50% of its graduate, professional, and doctoral students, further supporting a strong residential campus community and helping to alleviate pressure on the local housing market. The scheme houses 215 beds in over 30 different suite types, and includes a faculty director’s suite, a fitness room, study lounge spaces, a multipurpose room, and a garage that extends under the building, its courtyard, and a new public open space along Memorial Dr.


The 10 Akron St. project occupies a prominent location on the Charles River, at the corner of Memorial Dr. and Akron St., and is one of a series of new residences for Harvard affiliates as well as low and moderate income units built for local residents. Adjacent is Peabody Terrace Housing by Jose Luis Sert, with whom Woo studied and worked. Visible from across the Charles River, the design composition is a seamless extension of the campus, recalling the scale, massing, and textures of Harvard’s traditional brick river houses and wood frame neighborhood context, with references to Sert. 

From the river side, the six story brick block with glassy bay windows, is appropriately scaled to active Memorial Dr. and the river. Along Banks St., the siding on the low rise, wood clad building refers to adjacent three story wood frame houses and Peabody Terrace’s vertical concrete formwork. The massing composition of these two building elements forms a courtyard open toward the public open space Harvard provided to the City of Cambridge. Together, the courtyard gesture and the park establish a contemporary gateway to campus. The entry portal at 10 Akron St. frames an axial view of the Sert complex through the courtyard and the park, and a section of the building cantilevers over the outdoor deck to preserve sightlines from the community to the river at street level. Projecting bay windows create shade and shadow, animating the façades, and capture remarkable views of Charles River and Boston beyond. 

At the individual scale, architectural detail, material selection, and color palette create familiar, yet contemporary textures and surfaces. Double height curtain wall windows at the corners reveal two story study lounges. Internally, to foster a sense of community, studies and other public spaces distributed throughout the floors and the extra wide open stairs are opportunities for spontaneous encounters. Subtle changes in material and the use of localized intense colors at unit entries punctuate corridors that end with striking views of the outdoors. Apartments are designed for maximum flexibility in furnishing and partitioning, made more spacious with glazing and bay windows.

In keeping with Harvard’s university wide commitment to sustainable building and campus operations, the project was designed to achieve high level LEED certification. Green minded finishes include regionally sourced siding with recycled content; renewable bamboo flooring and wall paneling and low VOC finishes; building systems are designed and engineered to minimize energy usage. Landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates designed a seasonal garden with groupings of trees and clumped plantings native to New England, connecting the courtyard to the riverfront terrace. In the courtyard, serrated and diagonally laid paving edged with large river smoothed rocks recall peaceful stone gardens. 

A new survey indicates that building service contractors (BSCs) are actively involved with keeping their customers happy by conducting customer service surveys. The survey was conducted the first week of October 2008. Over 5,000 readers to the monthly Tornado Industries e-newsletter were invited to participate.

Nearly 60% of the respondents indicated they conduct ongoing customer service surveys. The largest percentage (46%) conduct surveys monthly to semiannually and another 24% conduct annual surveys.

Additionally, more than 80% said that conducting these surveys were either a “mid-level” or “high” priority. The respondents also said the main reason for conducting the surveys was to evaluate their workers.

Very few reported using new technologies such as online survey systems, which allow customers to answer a variety of questions on a Web site. Instead, 44% indicated they simply call their clients; about 20% mail or e-mail clients a questionnaire, while most of the others install a suggestion/comment box in client facilities.

And what happens if a problem is reported? According to the survey:

• 56 % of the BSCs said they first fix the problem and then call the customer to discuss the issue.
• About 33% said they call the customer first before any action is taken to address the problem.
• 6% said they investigate the issue first, then contact the client.
• 6% said they take no action at all.

Value in Customer Service Surveys

According to Accenture, a Chicago-based management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company, poor customer service drives nearly half of all business customers to take their business elsewhere. This applies to virtually all types of service providers—including BSCs.

“Ensuring customers’ needs are being met should be a commitment in every organization,” says Jolynn Kennedy, marketing manager at Tornado. “It is something that has to be continuously worked on and is critical in helping any organization better understand their customers needs and challenges.”

In regards to the BSC customer service survey, Kennedy said it was interesting that so many BSCs call their clients to check on service status. “Many BSCs feel it is a more personal level of contact that helps them keep close to the client,” she says. “It is a very good way to head off potential problems and maintain customer loyalty.” 

More than 150 respondents took the survey. The survey has a “confidence rating” of 95%, indicating that even if more people took the survey, the responses would be about 95% the same. 

The worldwide RFID market will exceed $5.3 billion in 2008, according to a new forecast from ABI Research. Annual revenue growth will increase over the next five years, accelerating over the mid-term as high growth, high volume applications, such as supply chain management, ID documents, ticketing, and contactless payment, drive shipments.

Excluding automobile immobilization, the market is expected to experience a 15% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2008 through 2013. Forecasts peg the market at $9.8 billion in 2013, or approximately $8.2 billion without automobile immobilization.

According to research director Michael Liard, “To a casual observer the five year CAGR for the RFID market as a whole may not seem impressive at face value. In this case, however, ABI Research notes that traditional applications with single digit and low double digit five year compound annual growth rates continue to dominate current and near term RFID market revenue share. In terms of overall market growth, if these ‘traditional’ applications—access control, automatic vehicle identification, automobile immobilization, and ID documents—are removed from the equation, the 2008-2013 CAGR for total RFID systems revenue exceeds 20%.”

ABI Research believes it is still too early to tell what impact the state of the global economy will have on the RFID market. Investments are still being made in RFID companies, consolidation continues, and contracts are being awarded. Liard cautions, “We understand that the impact of economic events is often not immediate, however, and we expect to be in a better position to gauge how the economy is impacting RFID adoption and spending at the end of the year. In our opinion it often takes three to six months for any economic impact to be felt. Many of the vendors and users we have asked about a potential slowdown indicate no real change in RFID projects as yet.”

The latest release of ABI Research’s RFID Forecasts provides extensive data on RFID revenues and unit shipments, segmented by technology, application, and vertical market (aerospace & defense, automotive, commercial services, diverse manufacturing, government [non-military], health care/life sciences, retail consumer packaged goods [CPG], retail in store, transportation & logistics, and “other”). It is a component of the firm’s RFID & Contactless Research Service.

Some of your office mates may have decided to release their inner child and dress up for Halloween today. Sure there are pirates, political candidates, and ghosts as possibilities. However, how many of them decided on a workplace theme costume? 

The following, courtesy of Careerbuilder.com, is a list of 10 office related stylings that may scare people more than any mask ever would.

1. A Day Off: Using black lettering, write Nov. 7, 2008 or Dec. 1, 2008 on an orange shirt. When people ask what you are, say, “A day off!”

2. Running Late: Show up to the office with messy hair and disheveled clothes with your pajamas showing underneath.

3. Vending Machine: Dress in black and fasten snacks to yourself with the cost of each item displayed. To be really evil, place an “out of order” sign on the real vending machine and charge your co-workers for your snacks. When they pay, make sure you throw their snacks on the ground as the vending machine does.

4. Office Gossip: Make up fun stories about your co-workers. Fasten the stories to yourself and put the name of your favorite grocery store tabloid on a hat. Hang around the watercooler and invite people to read the latest news.

5. Pink Slip: No one ever wants to be served the dreaded pink slip at work. Wear a pink slip over your work clothes and chase your co-workers.

6. Post-it Note: Wear all yellow. When people say “Trick or treat” at your cube, pass out real Post-it notes.

7. Red Tape: Buy red tape and tape it all over your clothes and cubicle. When people ask what you are, make them cut through some red tape to get the answer.

8. Leftover: Wrap yourself in aluminum foil and give yourself an aluminum swan hat. Place a sign on your chest that says, “Anything left after 4 PM Friday will be thrown away!”

9. Happy Hour: Wrap a tie around your head and carry around an empty (yes, empty) martini glass with you throughout the day. At 5 PM, scream, “Happy hour!”

10. Headhunter: Carry a mannequin or doll head around with you, holding it by the hair.

From the staff at TFM, have a happy and safe Halloween.

To help reduce energy use and help the environment the City of San Leandro, CA recently approved a contract with Siemens Building Technologies, to build a 330 kilowatt cogeneration facility at the city’s water pollution control plant (WPCP). Expected to save 60% in plant energy use, the new power plant has the potential to reduce CO₂ emissions by 1,500 tons per year, or the equivalent of planting 1,500 new trees. The new facility represents a major step in helping the city meet its goal of reducing San Leandro’s greenhouse gas emissions by 25% below 2005 levels by 2020.

“Any way you look at this project is a win-win,” says San Leandro mayor Tony Santos. “We are cutting the city’s energy costs and reducing the city’s impact on global warming; reusing a waste product, namely, grease; and using only funding that is specifically dedicated for this purpose, preserving our general fund monies for critical city programs. It is exciting to be at the forefront of cities taking on this type of project and look forward to all the benefits it will bring.”

The $5.6 million agreement with Siemens includes design, construction, and maintenance for the cogeneration system. Project costs will be covered by WPCP enterprise funds, which according to San Leandro officials are collected annually from city sewer service fees and will be used for maintaining and improving the plant. The new facility will also take advantage of applicable rebates, including a $255,000 self-generation incentive program (SGIP) rebate from local utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E).

“The city of San Leandro has put themselves at the forefront of municipal sustainability and energy efficiency by embarking on this innovative renewable energy project,” says Mike Kearney, sr. director, U.S. energy & environmental solutions for Siemens Building Technologies. “Through the conversion of waste to energy, this new cogeneration plant not only takes advantage of local resources, it is kinder to the environment—through reduced greenhouse gas emissions—and will operate at a lower cost.”

The WPCP treats an average of 6 million gallons per day of municipal and industrial wastewater and is the largest single consumer of electrical energy of all city facilities. Currently, the plant uses PG&E supplied energy to run wastewater treatment operations. The plant also produces some 96,000 cubic feet per day of methane gas (a greenhouse gas shown to be 21 times more potent than CO₂), most of which is burned off and not reused. The new co-generation facility will now use all the methane gas to fuel specially designed reciprocating engines (large internal combustion motors) to spin generators that will produce the electricity needed to power the plant and treat the wastewater. 

In addition, the heat produced by the reciprocating engines will be recycled in effect and used to raise the temperature of the water needed in the treatment process. This system is efficient because it uses normally discarded methane to create both electrical energy and heat; hence, the term cogeneration.

The proposed facility features three major components: three 110 kilowatt generators that produce 285 kilowatts of continuous electrical energy needed to power the plant; a gas conditioning facility that cleans and cools the methane from the WPCP’s digester (making it suitable to fuel the reciprocating engines); and a grease receiving station that will accept additional waste grease from commercial waste haulers to enhance the digester process and increase methane gas production. With the new system, not only will the city be recycling grease from companies throughout the local area, it will improve the performance and efficiency of the generators while generating revenue from grease disposal fees.

Prior to construction, the project will require review and approval by the city’s Community Development Department and permits from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Construction on the facility should begin in late summer 2009, after the necessary permits and reviews have been completed.

Based on its recent analysis of the energy service company (ESCO) industry, Frost & Sullivan is pleased to recognize Honeywell with the 2008 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Green Innovation of the Year. With its renewable energy profiling model, Honeywell is marking its path as a participant in innovation by helping its customers identify and implement renewable energy solutions that are not only environmentally sound, but also fiscally responsible. 

“Honeywell is the first organization to introduce an all-encompassing renewable energy profiling model that allows it to isolate where the markets are for specific renewable energy technologies that provide strong economic drivers for its customers,” explains Frost & Sullivan consulting analyst Devin Castleton. “This provides an optimum advantage for customers who are not only motivated by environmental stewardship but also by economic value.” 

The general concept behind the profiling model is the benchmarking of the variables of a renewable energy project for every location in North America, thus calculating which renewable technologies are most viable and provide the quickest payback. Honeywell can then offer a number of ways to finance the suggested projects, including performance contracts and power purchase agreements, in which Honeywell owns the asset and sells the power to the client. 

The different variables Honeywell considers for its customers include renewable fuel availability, local electricity, gas prices, heating and cooling degree days, rebates and incentives, and deal structures. After examining all of these variables, Honeywell models them against a collected database of more than 55,000 potential customers—colleges and universities, hospitals, and federal and state governments, and other organizations—across North America. 

The database gives Honeywell an accurate vision and analysis of any energy project, with any customer, at any location. Honeywell can provide not only  guidance on which renewable technology a customer should use given a set of unique variables, but also a financial forecast derived from the intricate details the profiling model calculates. 

Honeywell uses the data in the profiling model to create a renewable energy scorecard for each customer. This tool illustrates and evaluates the impact of several technologies and provides the customer with a full range look at the different types of renewable energy resources available, along with financial modeling parameters for each technology. 

“The renewable energy scorecard is a data driven solution to a complex issue,” says Kent Anson, vice president of global energy for Honeywell Building Solutions. “It’s important that environmental stewardship makes good business sense too. Our profiling model and the scorecard take the guesswork out of the equation.” 

The renewable energy scorecard is part of an ongoing effort at Honeywell to help its customers maximize the use of renewable technologies and cut energy costs. Over the past three years, the company has helped a variety of customers install biomass, solar, and geothermal technology. 

These projects are expected to reduce annual carbon emissions by 21 million pounds and nitrous oxide emissions by 187,000 pounds, which is equivalent to removing more than 6,500 cars from the road. The switch to a renewable energy source also is expected to help these customers trim millions from their utility bills. 

Honeywell’s commitment to further developing and utilizing green energy, and helping its customers apply it feasibly, demonstrates a set of best practices that have been recognized by Frost & Sullivan research. Frost & Sullivan presented Honeywell with the 2008 Green Innovation of the Year Award, and expects the company to further its role as an innovative market leader in the long term. 

“Ultimately, the model does exactly what it was designed to do—identify renewable energy technologies that will contribute to the preservation of the environment and the reduction of energy resources that pollute the air and emit harmful greenhouse gases,” continues Castleton. “Honeywell’s model helps initiate projects that will have a lasting, positive impact on the next generation of residents.” 

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated unique product design and development initiatives, aligned with a sustainable and environmentally conscious objective within its industry sector. The award signifies the company’s identification of a unique and revolutionary solution with significant environmental benefits, while presenting tremendous market potential simultaneously. It also signifies that the company’s overall business strategy is sound and poised for success. 

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices.

As part of a growing green movement within the gaming industry, Global Gaming Expo (G2E) the industry’s main trade show and conference recently unveiled a new carbon offset program designed to mitigate the greenhouse gases associated with the event’s exhibition hall. The program sponsor, Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., has purchased carbon offsets to counteract the estimated 161 metric tons of carbon dioxide produced at the hall, which is equivalent to a U.S. household’s total emissions over 15 years. Additionally, individuals attending the trade event can mitigate their own carbon footprints by purchasing carbon offsets on the G2E Web site. G2E 2008 is scheduled to take place November 18-20 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“G2E’s new carbon offset program is a reflection of the industry’s ongoing commitment to implementing cutting edge sustainable business practices in our casinos across the country,” said Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., president and CEO of the American Gaming Association. “The gaming industry continues to be a leader in the broader business community in a number of areas, including environmental stewardship.”

Carbon offsets are an increasingly utilized, easily accessible, and economical approach to addressing pollution and climate change. Carbon offset purchases fund reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by supporting projects such as wind farms, solar plants, and other energy efficiency initiatives. By funding these projects, consumers and businesses can balance out or offset negative impacts on the environment. NativeEnergy, a carbon management and renewable energy marketing company that will administer the G2E program, has published additional information about carbon offsets and how they work on its Web site.  

Harrah’s sponsorship is one component of the company’s CodeGreen program, a comprehensive, company wide environmental sustainability effort. It will purchase G2E 2008 carbon offsets from NativeEnergy, which worked with Harrah’s earlier this year to offset the emissions created during the World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas. Experts at NativeEnergy estimate that 161 metric tons of carbon dioxide will be produced at the 325,000 square foot G2E exhibit hall from electricity and HVAC use, as well as waste production. 

“For more than five years, CodeGreen teams at Harrah’s have implemented dozens of environmentally sustainable programs at our casinos, and we continue to aggressively pursue opportunities to creatively address environmental challenges and responsibilities,” said Gary Loveman, chairman, CEO, and president of Harrah’s Entertainment. “Carbon offsetting is a very affordable method of mitigating the impact of travel and energy used during events. We’d like to encourage G2E attendees to join us by purchasing carbon offsets to make this year’s conference and trade show a more eco-friendly event.”

The carbon offsets purchased for G2E 2008 will support the Cascade Sierra Solutions (CSS) Trucking Efficiency Project. CSS is an Oregon-based nonprofit that helps provide locally owned trucking companies and owner-operator truckers with energy efficient products such as auxiliary power units, aerodynamic devices, and new, more efficient wheels and tires at affordable prices. CSS also provides its clients with regulatory advice, installation contracting, and below market financing to help them cut costs and lessen their environmental impact. CSS estimates that, depending on the services provided, most of their clients reduce their trucks’ emissions by 10 to 60 metric tons each year—the equivalent of converting five to 25 average cars into hybrid models.

“It’s a win-win situation for both the trucker and the environment,” says Ray Butler, a truck driver based in Creswell, OR. After upgrading his 2000 Freightliner truck with a Tempco Idle Solutions auxiliary power unit, Michelin X1 singe-wide tires, aluminum rims, and a Dorian pressure monitor, Butler estimates that he saves 76 gallons of diesel fuel each week. 

G2E’s carbon offset program is part of the gaming industry’s commitment to environmental stewardship. Major casino companies, like Harrah’s, have executed sustainability programs at their casinos. For example, the new 76 acre, mixed-use Las Vegas building project, the MGM Mirage CityCenter, is pursuing LEED certification. Additionally, International Game Technology (IGT) has implemented several internal waste reduction efforts, and, since January 2008, more than 143,000 pounds of electronic materials from IGT’s Reno, NV, facility have been recycled. Boyd Gaming’s Las Vegas Suncoast Resort recycles kitchen grease and previously implemented an asset recovery program to save money on lost silverware and glassware. The program has been expanded to include cardboard, paper, plastic, and even food, which is now turned into compost resulting in a 70% reduction of the trash sent to the local landfill. Finally, in addition to its efforts with carbon offsets, Harrah’s CodeGreen teams continue efforts to retrofit 40 casino properties with environmentally sustainable programs.

Nearly three quarters of American office workers believe that social networking is a growing trend in the workplace, illustrating a significant opportunity for workspaces to embrace collaboration as never before. As organizations learn how best to bridge communications between the Millennial and Boomer generations working together, a recent Workplace Index Survey on the nature of work—commissioned by Steelcase, a global office environments manufacturer—digs deeper into how this might be achieved.

Through a survey of nearly 300 office workers in the United States, 71% of respondents foresee social networking sites playing a larger role at work in the future, with the majority of those using social networking tools under the age of 34. Only 28% of office workers report having a profile on one or more of these sites, 68% of 18-24 year olds, and 48% of 25-34 year olds. This data shows a significant trend—networks are now living both in and outside of the workplace—and workspaces need to accommodate this increased interconnectivity.

“Social networks, at their core, are simply trust relationships that exist between people,” said Chris Congdon, manager of corporate marketing for Steelcase. “To that end, social networks in the workplace are not new, but with the advent of the Internet, their reach now extends beyond the hours of the workday. These networks often exert more influence on an organization’s success than the traditional hierarchy, and companies would do well to translate that popularity into the daily lives of their workers.”

The idea has legs. Though the study shows that just 37% of workers currently utilize social networking Web sites for professional purposes, 66% see value in using these sites to network with other professionals. Beyond networking, workers of all ages also consider the sites useful in marketing their company (59%) and recruiting talent (58%).

The problem lies in that this view is not always shared among key decision makers. While many workers appreciate the potential of social networking sites within the workplace, there are still challenges facing widespread use of them within an office setting. More than half of those surveyed believe that these sites compromise productivity, even though less than a third of workers with a social networking profile report using the sites at least once a day. Additionally, most white collar workers say that their workplace discourages or restricts the use of these sites (59%), and of those employers who discourage social networking sites, 37% have a policy that restricts or blocks employee access at work.

“What this demonstrates is a need for companies to think out of the box and ask themselves if rather than blocking these sites, what their takeaways can be. Employees are communicating with co-workers inside and outside of the workplace, so how can companies create environments that encourage and fosters that communication?” asks Congdon. “The workplace is as much virtual as it is physical and organizations that embrace this new reality will reap its rewards.”

Additional survey findings include:

• The most popular social networking sites among white collar workers include: MySpace (66%), Facebook (46%) and LinkedIn (22%).
• 73% of workers who have a social networking profile report that they are “friends” with their colleagues. 
• 65% of workers have not signed onto social networking to maintain personal privacy, although of those who do have profiles, 56% of workers do nothing to maintain the personal privacy. A quarter of workers use privacy controls to partially or completely block co-workers from viewing the full content of their profiles.
• The majority of respondents sign onto social networking sites to reconnect with family or friends (82%) or because family or friends are users (76%).
• Those workers who do not have a social networking profile cite a variety of reasons for not using the sites including general disinterest (75%), lack of time (54%) or the fact that they are too much of a distraction (38&).

The Steelcase Workplace Index Surveys address pertinent issues in today’s work environment. This continual workforce feedback is essential to the development of Steelcase’s knowledge of the workplace and to the company’s product development and corporate ventures aimed to increase worker effectiveness and productivity.

Results of additional parts in the Nature of Work in 2008 series examine telecommuting, naps in the office, and romance at work. Past surveys have covered office gossip, fitness, and workplace and a multi-generational workforce.

The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) has announced the winners of its prestigious Awards of Excellence, recognizing groups and individuals who have made significant contributions to the facility management profession and the association. Awards were presented at IFMA’s annual Awards of Excellence banquet on Friday, October 17, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dallas, in a celebration that capped off IFMA’s World Workplace 2008 Conference & Expo.

“This year’s award winners represent the best in class in volunteer achievement and FM leadership,” said John J. McGee, MBA, chairman of IFMA’s board of directors, who presented at the awards banquet. “The Awards of Excellence provide continuous career support for the association’s members and highlight the importance of advancing the facility management profession, raising the bar, and setting examples for those who follow.”

Winners were announced in 19 categories, with judging panels comprised of industry experts evaluating nominees individually and scoring them in a number of specific areas. IFMA recognizes companies and individuals for their achievements that advance the facility management profession as well as chapters and councils for their outstanding performance in key areas. 

The Sheila Sheridan Award of Excellence for Sustainable Design and Energy Efficient Projects went to Adobe Systems and Cushman & Wakefield. In conjunction with Cushman & Wakefield, Adobe Systems developed and implemented a rigorous program to green its headquarters buildings.

Mark C. Horan, CFM, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City was this year’s recipient of the George Graves Award for Facility Management Achievement. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City has made significant improvements in the areas of design, security, efficient space planning, sustainability, and furniture purchasing. 

The Distinguished Author Award of Excellence for an Article was presented to Bill Conley, CFM, CFMJ, LEED-AP, IFMA Fellow, for his article “Make Yourself at Home With an Alternate Workplace Strategy,” which reinforces the necessity of taking a holistic view of actions and processes by evaluating the range of causes and effects, especially when dealing with culture shifts. Conley has been a contributing author to IFMA’s “Facility Management Journal” for 13 years. 

Diane C. Stegmeier was honored with the Distinguished Author Award of Excellence for a Book for her entry Innovations in Office Design: The Critical Influence Approach to Effective Work Environments, the result of a 10 year research study surrounding the impact of physical space on workplace behavior. The study, which involved more than 140 organizations in 24 countries, resulted in her discovery of what is now known as the Critical Influence System—15 tangible and intangible factors impacting workplace behavior. 

The IFMA Associate Member Award went to Betty J. Friedrichs, LEED-AP, for her active participation in governing and operating the Orange County Chapter of IFMA.

The Oklahoma State University Student Chapter of IFMA was honored with the Student Chapter of the Year Award. 

The Council of the Year Award went to the Corporate Facilities Council of IFMA, which currently has more than 3,800 members worldwide and has placed professional development at the core of its strategic plan.

The Chapter of the Year Award, small chapter, went to the Sacramento Valley Chapter of IFMA for its ongoing commitment to sustainability and educational programming.

The Chapter of the Year Award, large chapter, was given to the Silicon Valley Chapter of IFMA, which has not only provided quality educational and networking programs to its members, but has also broadened its outreach to selected industry sectors such as life sciences to pursue new members.

The Chapter Award of Excellence for Membership Marketing, large chapter, went to both the Denver Chapter and Silicon Valley Chapter of IFMA, with the small chapter award going to the Delaware Chapter of IFMA.

The Boston Chapter of IFMA won the Chapter Award of Excellence for Newsletter Publishing, large chapter, with the small chapter award going to the Madison Chapter of IFMA.

The Chapter Award of Excellence for Web Communication, small chapter, was awarded to the West Michigan Chapter of IFMA.

The Denver Chapter of IFMA won the Chapter Award of Excellence for Professional Development, large chapter, with the small chapter award going to the Greater Triangle Chapter of IFMA.

The Banking Institutions and Credit Unions Council of IFMA received the Council Award for Excellence in Newsletter Publishing.

The Council Award of Excellence in Programs and Professional Development was awarded to the Health Care Council of IFMA.