The First Facility Management Blog

A new comprehensive guide for sustainable development in the federal government has earned an award from the Federal Planning Division of the American Planning Association. Titled “The New Sustainable Frontier – Principles of Sustainable Development,” the guide was published in September 2009 by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). Jonathan Herz, of the GSA’s Office of Governmentwide Policy, authored the publication with the assistance of Anica Landreneau of architectural firm HOK and Matthias Ruth of the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland.

The guide is being recognized as part of the GSA Sustainable Development Education Initiative, which was selected as the winner in the “Outstanding Sustainable Planning, Design and Development Initiative” category.

The authors of the 40-page guidebook—which includes a foreword by Ray C. Anderson, founder and chairman of Interface, Inc.—declared that: “Today’s world is decidedly not sustainable and neither are the Government’s operations. But both of them can be.” To that end, it provides specific principles for “How to live sustainably as a species on a finite Earth into the indefinite future.”

“The economy is a social structure within the greater ecosystem,” explain the authors. “The ecosystem is not subservient to the economy. Without a high quality of matter and energy to transform into goods and services, the economy is on a shaky foundation. We need to connect the laws of thermodynamics back to our economic and ecological decision-making.”

“Incremental change will not be sufficient,” the authors declare. “Existing policies, programs and rating systems must be examined in a closed-loop context; their limitations understood and their applicability reconsidered.”

To request a copy of this PDF, send an e-mail to tfm@groupc.com with the words, “Sustainable Frontier” in the subject line of your e-mail.

Roof Express, a provider of roof asset management services based in Greenwood  Village, CO, has been approved as a vendor with the  U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and awarded a five-year contract, effective September 4, 2009. The contract is within the Facility Maintenance and Management schedule of the GSA.

“Roof Express has provided roof asset management services on over 4,500 buildings and 42 million square feet of roof area for the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Navy. We are currently implementing roof asset management services for an additional 2,000 buildings and 16 million square feet of roof area for the Air Force,” said Richard Rast, President of Roof Express. “We are excited to have secured a contract with GSA, and believe we are in a position to provide the best roof management consulting service available to the U.S. Government.

A project Roof Express has already worked on for the U.S. Navy involved surveying and providing recommendations on 6.5 million square feet and over 600 buildings in the Washington D.C. Naval District.

Under the GSA Schedules (also referred to as Multiple Award Schedules and Federal Supply Schedules) Program, GSA establishes long-term, government-wide contracts with commercial firms to provide access to over 11 million commercial supplies (products) and services that can be ordered directly from GSA Schedule contractors or through the GSA Advantage!® online shopping and ordering system. GSA Schedules offer customers direct delivery of millions commercial supply items and services at volume discount pricing, in addition to the potential benefits of shorter lead times, lower administrative costs, and reduced inventories.

“Roof Express has become a much needed liaison between our individual Air Force Bases and the Major Command by providing comprehensive roof surveys, data management, reports and training for our personnel. The online database housing our roof information is easily accessible to all levels for optimal decision making and the immediate implementation of critical projects,” said Barbara Wilt, ACC/A7OI, Command Structural Engineer. “We are thrilled that Roof Express is now an approved vendor, providing another contract vehicle that may allow us to reduce lead times and conveniently solicit their services.”

The U.S. General Services Administration has submitted a $5.55 billion spending proposal to Congress highlighting the public building projects it plans to accomplish with funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  The Recovery Act directs $750 million to renovate and construct federal buildings and courthouses, $300 million to renovate and construct land ports of entry and $4.5 billion to convert federal buildings to high-performance green buildings. The International Facility Management Association is working with GSA as an industry partner to educate the public about GSA’s efforts.

The complete list of projects will be made available online at: www.recovery.gov.

“GSA welcomes this unprecedented and exciting opportunity to contribute to our nation’s economic recovery, address strategic energy goals and reinvest in our public buildings,” said acting Administrator Paul F. Prouty.  “We are ready to move forward with speed, tempered by careful consideration of our responsibilities and accountability to the American taxpayer.”

GSA’s Public Buildings Service is responsible for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of thousands of federally owned facilities for more than one million civilian employees of the federal government.

Projects were selected based on the speed at which jobs can be created and how much added energy efficiency can be gained.  GSA will award $1 billion dollars in the first 120 days.  All contracts will be awarded within the next two years.

Because GSA’s priority is to create or maintain jobs, an emphasis was placed on projects that could be awarded in the shortest amount of time.

Investing in its existing infrastructure will help reduce GSA’s backlog of repair needs, increase the value of federal assets and prolong their useful life, further conserving our country’s resources.  The money will also lessen our reliance on costly operating leases by providing some government-owned solutions for long-term housing requirements for our federal customers.

Projects are funded across the country, providing benefit for local and state economies, and every state should see at least one GSA project related to the Recovery Act.

“We can help get people back to work,” said Anthony Costa, acting Commissioner of GSA’s Public Buildings Service. “We can help stimulate the economy by getting money flowing to the building industries – to construction workers, electricians, plumbers, air conditioning mechanics, carpenters, architects, and engineers.”

A nationally managed, regionally executed Program Management Office has been established to oversee all Recovery Act projects. The office will be staffed with experts in various fields to support the regional teams delivering the projects. Resources will come from a redeployment of existing GSA officials, the use of permanent and temporary hires, contract sources, and temporary rehires. GSA does not anticipate significant increases in permanent employees.