The First Facility Management Blog

The 3rd annual Chicago CANstruction® Competition successfully raised over 70,000 pounds of food for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. In addition, the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) donated $2,500 to the organization, both of which will help make significant strides towards feeding hungry people across Chicago. The gala event on June 11 was attended by over 200 guests.

CANstruction® is a design and build competition that benefits local food banks across the nation. It allows local architects, engineers, and construction companies to create incredible structures using canned goods, while using their design skills to fight hunger. All of the canned goods used in the structures are donated to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Help Feed a Mouth, Lend a Hand by Klein and Hoffman

NATIONAL AWARD WINNERS
JURORS’ FAVORITE
“CANtilever with Souper Graphics”
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP/Mortenson Construction

STRUCTURAL INGENUITY
“CANtilever with Souper Graphics”
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP / Mortenson Construction

BEST USE OF LABELS
“Hope” (pictured, above left)
TGRWA

MOST CANS (over 7,000!)
“Food Bank”
Eckenhoff Saunders Architects

HONORABLE MENTION
“This global eCANomy is fishy”
SmithGroup

HONORABLE MENTION
“Can I Have Another Scoop?”
Halvorson and Partners, OKW

LOCAL CHICAGO AWARD WINNERS
PEOPLE’S CHOICE
“HUNGER IS NO JOKE.”
HDR Architecture, Inc.

AIA/SEAOI AWARD “MAKE NO SMALL CANS”
“CANtilever with Souper Graphics”
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP / Mortenson Construction

CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY AWARD “IN DEMAND”
“Put Out the Fire – End Hunger Now!”
RJN Group

This year’s teams included:
Bailey Edward Design Inc.
BLDD / Gilbane
Booth Hansen
Bovis Lend Lease
BSA Lifestructures
Eckenhoff Saunders Architects
Epstein / Areotek
Firm
Gensler
Ghafari
HDR
Klein and Hoffman
Larson Engineering
Nagle Hartray Danker Kagan McKay Penney Architects
OKW Architects and Halvorsen Engineering
RJN Group
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Smithgroup
TJRWA
V3 Companies
Willis HRH

CANstruction® once again ran in conjunction with The Merchandise Mart’s NeoCon® World’s Trade Fair, the country’s largest conference and exhibition of contract furnishings for the design and management of the built environment.

Recycling office paper is a concern for many facility managers (fms), and it can be a challenge to coordinate an effective program—one that educates building occupants which paper goes in what bin, informs maintenance staff how to handle said paper, and includes a recycling firm that does the job right. Well, fms with $95,000 on hand can begin recycling office paper in-house this fall by purchasing a machine being offered by Tokyo-based Nakabayashi.

Paper's in one end and out the other with Nakabayashi's new machine.

The machine, designed to work right in an office, converts used copier paper into toilet rolls. The company is marketing the equipment as being able to produce two rolls per hour from about 1,800 sheets (close to 16 pounds) of A4-sized paper.

The nearly $100K price tag aside, one would need to find out how much energy the machine uses to “recycle” the office paper. But who knows, you may never have to buy toilet paper again!

It’s nearly the end of 2008, which for many people means one thing: the office holiday party. Whether it be a luncheon, dinner, or after work get together, the folks at QuintCareers.com offer the following advice for proper behavior at the gathering, after all it is a work function:

1. Do remember that although office parties are intended as social events to reward employees and raise morale, they remain strictly business events. Do act as though your behavior is being observed every minute (because it probably is).
   So in other words, no break dancing to the soundtrack of Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo.*
    
2. Don’t pass up the invitation to an office party; not attending could hurt your reputation. And when you attend, do spend at least 30 minutes at the party for appearances. But don’t overstay your welcome by partying until the wee hours.
   Just being there is fine, but don’t spend the whole time in the corner on your Blackberry checking your friends’ Facebook status.
    
3. Do conduct yourself professionally at all times. Don’t use the office party as an excuse to blow off steam. It’s still a company function, so proper etiquette and decorum matter.
   This means you don’t challenge anyone in HR to an arm wrestling match.
    
4. Don’t bring the party lampshade, gag gifts for the boss, or any other crazy stuff you might do at a personal holiday party.
   Leave your talking puppet and ventriliquist act at home.
    
5. Do enjoy yourself at the party. Employers spend the big bucks to reward their employees, so be sure to enjoy the only holiday gift you may be getting from the company.
   Smile like you mean it, even if you are getting the party instead of the bonus check you were hoping to use for your child’s college fund.
    
6. Don’t pull the nightclub attire from your closet for the event—and do ask whether the attire for the party is formal or casual. The party is still a business function, so conservative party clothes are a good choice. So, do remember to skip anything too revealing or too flashy. Keep your reputation for good taste intact.
   This means don’t break out your old Saturday Night Fever white three piece suit and keep that hideous Christmas sweater with reindeer and the glowing Rudolph nose from your great aunt Mildred in the closet.
    
7. Do keep your hands to yourself. Don’t flirt and do avoid any other inappropriate behavior. The office party is not the time to end your career with the company by doing something inappropriate or illegal.
   Just think cell phone camera + YouTube=unemployment.
   
   
8. Don’t spend all evening talking business.You’ll forever have the label as the office bore.
   Not talk about work? But what else do I have?
    
9. Do keep all conversations positive and upbeat. Don’t spend the evening complaining, bragging, correcting, whining, or ridiculing. And do avoid controversial subjects (such as religion, politics, etc.) and off-color jokes.
   This is quite the conversation limiter. What else is there to talk about? This means all current events are off the table and no talking about your family. And no “So three guys walk into a bar….”
    
10. Don’t monopolize conversations—and, especially, don’t talk about yourself or your accomplishments all night. Do show interest in others. Do be gracious and thank coworkers and team members for all their help and hard work during the past year. And don’t even think about gossiping about others.
    Welcome to the most boring party ever. Another drink please?
     
11. Do keep one hand free during the night so that you can offer handshakes to people as they come by. And do keep your drink in your left hand, so you are not offering people a cold, wet handshake all evening.
    Or just wear the helmet that allows you to hold and sip on two drinks at once. Problem solved.
     
12. Don’t feel you need to drink excessively just because it’s an open bar. And don’t pig out at the food buffet either. Moderation is key. You can always eat and drink more after the party. What? And then pay for it myself? That’s crazy. What’s wrong with four or five Southern Comforts with lime and setting the record for most mini egg rolls eaten in an hour?
     
13. Do take the time to network and schmooze with people at the party who can influence your career or who you may not see regularly, such as top management, people from other departments, and employees from other locations. A holiday party is a great event to begin building or strengthening business relationships, so do introduce yourself and build your network.
    This may be difficult. See rule numbers eight, nine and 10.
    
    
14. Don’t assume everyone celebrates the same holiday, so don’t go overboard with the “Merry Christmas.”
    Go with “Happy Arbor Day” instead. Everyone loves a tree.
     
15. Do be sure you know exactly who is invited to the party. Spouses or significant others are not always on the guest list for office parties. And if guests are permitted, don’t bring an inappropriate person as your guest.
    Yes, make them wait in the car instead.
     
16. Don’t forget to thank the person responsible for the planning and coordinating of the party. And do consider sending a thank you note to top management for hosting the party.
    To Whom It May Concern, Thank you for the splendid party. Sorry for throwing up on your shoes. Hope we can do it again next year.
     
17. Do inquire about office policies on providing car or cab service for employees attending the holiday party. And do appoint a designated driver or do hire a cab yourself if the company is not willing to provide the rides home. Don’t drink and drive.
    There is nothing funny about drinking and driving. Don’t be stupid. It’s your life and could be someone else’s.

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.

(Left to Right) ITT Employees Bob Allen, Tim Ryan and Leo Bartoski wrote the lyrics to ‘Industrial Safety Rap’ to highlight the importance of workplace safety.

What do rap music and industrial safety have in common? Most of us would answer, not sure. To Bob Allen, Leo Bartoski and Tim Ryan of ITT Corporation in Morton Grove, Il, rap is a vehicle to promote their message of workplace safety. Allen is a production supervisor in the domestic pump factory and a member of the emergency response team. Ryan serves as the UAW Local 890 safety representative at the ITT Morton Grove facility in addition to his duties as warehouse attendant in the domestic pump warehouse.  Bartoski is also a UAW Local 890 member and an electro mechanical assembler in the domestic pump factory.

Bartoski thought that music might be a fun way to communicate a strong safety message. Ryan and Allen agreed and the three began to write the lyrics to the “Industrial Safety Rap.” They drew from their combined 60 years of industrial experience and wrote the lyrics in about one hour. The lyric in the rap about Captain Hook was included in honor of Ryan’s father-in-law, Julius “Hook” Gartner who worked as a crane operator (thus the nickname Hook) at the ITT facility for more than 45 years.

Bartoski knew that they did not have the skills to put the words to music so he asked his nephews, Greg and Tony Okal, to record the rap. Both Greg and Tony are business majors at Loyola University in Chicago and have been involved in acting and music for a number of years. Although the Okal brothers are not rap fans nor rap artists, they arranged and recorded the song in their basement studio. The result is the “Industrial Safety Rap” that so far has had more than 35,000 hits on its MySpace page and has received air time on several labor radio stations.  

You can hear “Industrial Safety Rap” at www.myspace.com/industrialsafety. The lyrics follow:

Industrial Safety Rap Lyrics

Here’s a little rap about our safety woes

Raising safety is for the pros

Remember health job and peace of mind

Are always most important always worth your time

So listen up…yea…here we go 

Watch your back don’t you abuse it 

With too much weight unnatural movements

Lightly easily and carefully

Or you’re just asking for surgery

Yea…and that’s not fun

Gotta be careful of what you can’t see

Power, wires, electricity

Cause if it’s AC or battery

Just know the shock’ll skip your heart a beat

You’re like a Christmas tree

Safety shoes are always required

And if you don’t wear them you’ll be retired

And if you dance well you’ll never lead

Cause you can’t dance well without your feet

So why you gonna take the chance?

You wanna go to work in the Caribbean

Take the guards off while you’re machining

You’ll be the pirate you wanna be

Now you’re captain hook of —

Hey look no hands

You gotta wear your safety glasses

You can’t take your eyes for granted

Hurt those eyes and a you can’t see

Forever blinded you’re gonna be

Yea you’ll need a dog to lead

Don’t drive too fast or you’ll never last 

Don’t drive too slow or you’ll never go

When you’re driving watch and see 

When you’re gonna drive do it carefully

Oh check your speed

Safety

It’s in your hands

Job safety

You gotta follow the plan

It’s your safety

It’s what you gotta demand 

Safety 

It’s in your hands

This week’s bonus FF post comes courtesy of Wired magazine, which runs an annual Saddest-Cubicle contest. And since Wired caters to the IT audience, nearly all of the finalists were submitted by poor souls from that profession.

 

Pictured here is the winner, submitted by David Gunnells (who also supplied the photo). Julie Sloane of Wired, writes,

David Gunnells is an IT guy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His desk is penned in by heavily used filing cabinets in a windowless conference room, near a poorly ventilated bathroom and a microwave. The overhead light doesn’t work — his mother-in-law was so saddened by his cube that she gave him a lamp — and the other side of the wall is a parking garage. Gunnells recalls a day when one co-worker reheated catfish in the microwave, while another used the bathroom and covered the smell with a stinky air freshener. 

For the other 10 finalists, click this link.

Personally, I think the IT contractor inside a 40-foot steel cargo container is worse than this. Have you put anyone in a work station worthy of this (dis)honor?

After seeing these entries, I have come to the following conclusion: some facility professionals should be ashamed (particularly those at the facilities featured in this segment). The sad thing is, I’m sure we’ve all “worked” in a similarly dismal setup at one point in time. I know I have.