The First Facility Management Blog

After spending most of this week covering the ASIS security show, I have seen an abundance of criminal deterrents for the work environment. But even after visiting thousands of booths and sitting in millions of classes (that’s what it felt like, trust me), I can’t say I came across a solution for this outrageous security violation.

By the way, today’s Friday Funny was submitted by TFM FM Frequency Columnist Jeff Crane. He has supplied us with several other “Funnies” and writes a monthly op/ed/humor piece in the magazine. You can get a better sense of Crane’s tongue in cheek perspective (including his most recent column) here.

Bill Dougherty owns a company that manufactures and installs coin operated car wash systems called Magic Wand Inc. These are complete systems, including the money changer and money taking machines.

Dougherty’s company installed a car wash system in Fredericksburg, VA. The problem started when the new owner complained that he was losing significant amounts of money–several hundreds of dollars, in fact–from his coin machines each week. He went as far as to accuse Dougherty’s employees of having a key to the boxes and ripping him off.

Dougherty just couldn’t believe that his people would do that, so he set up a camera to catch the thief in action. Well, they did catch the thief on film! Check out this sequence of photographs:

That’s a bird sitting on the change slot of the machine.

The bird had to go down into the machine and back up inside to get to the money.

This bird has three quarters in his beak.

Another amazing thing is that it was not just one bird — there were several working together. The starlings were initially attracted to the glint of the coin cup, more than likely, since shiny objects are used by these birds to attract mates or incorporate into nests (not to buy sodas or snacks from a vending machine–see today’s related post here).

The truth of this story has been verified on Snopes, the Web site that debunks Urban Legends. To read the full Snopes explanation, click this link.

BOMA International and members of the commercial real estate industry have recognized 14 North American commercial properties with The Office Building of the Year (TOBY) and Earth Awards. The TOBY winners were recognized for excellence in office building management and operations in specific categories of building size or type.

To win the international award, the office buildings first won both local and regional competitions. Judging was based on community impact, tenant/employee relations programs, energy management systems, accessibility for disabled people, emergency evacuation procedures, building personnel training programs, and overall quality indicators. A team of expert industry professionals also conducted a comprehensive building inspection.

The winners of the 2006-2007 TOBY Awards in the 14 categories:
* In the Renovated Building category, the winner is First City Tower, Houston, Texas. The property is managed by CB Richard Ellis and owned by FC Tower Property Partners, LP.

* In the Historical Building category, the winner is The Hurt Building, Atlanta, Georgia. The property management company is Harbor Group Management, and the owner is Hurt Financial Associates.

* In the Corporate Facility category, the winner is USAA Phoenix Campus, Phoenix, Arizona. The building is owned and managed by USAA Real Estate Company.

* In the Medical Office Building category, the winner is Westgate Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas. The property management company is Cambridge Healthcare Management Inc. and the owner is Cambridge Holdings.

* In the Government Building category, the winner is 90 Church Street, New York, New York. The property management company is Boston Properties, and the owner is the United States Postal Service.

* In the Suburban Office Park Low-Rise category, the winner is Pacific Ridge Corporate Center, San Diego, California. The property management company is Brandywine Realty Trust and the owner is BOI-Pacific Ridge, Inc.

* In the Suburban Office Park Mid-Rise category, the winner is LakePointe Office Park, Charlotte, North Carolina. The property management company is Childress Klein Properties, and the owner is Childress Klein Properties and TIAA-CREF. TFM FM Frequency Columnist Jeff Crane was part of this winning management team!

* In the Industrial Office Park category, the winner is Eagle Hill Business Park, High Point, North Carolina. The property management company is Liberty Property Trust, and the owner is Liberty Property Limited Partnership.

* In the buildings Under 100,000 Square Foot category, the winner is Courvoisier Centre I, Miami, Florida. The property management company is Jones Lang LaSalle, and the owner is TishmanSpeyer.

* In the 100,000 to 249,999 Square Foot category, the winner is the Maitland Promenade II, Maitland, Florida. The property management company is Triple Net Properties, and the owner is Maitland Promenade LLC.

* In the 250,000 to 499,999 Square Foot category, the winner is Two Memorial City Plaza, Houston, Texas. The building is owned and managed by MetroNational.

* In the 500,000 to One Million Square Foot category, the winner is Fourth & Madison, Seattle, Washington. The building is managed by Hines Interests Limited Partnership, and owned by TIAA-CREF.

* In the Over One Million Square Foot category, the winner is The Towers at William Square, Irving, Texas. The building is managed by Cousins Properties Services, and owned by TIAA Realty Inc.

* The Earth Award winner is Adobe Systems Incorporated, San Jose, California. The building is managed by Cushman & Wakefield, and owned by Adobe Systems Incorporated. This facility was covered in the April 2007 issue of TFM. Read the story by BOMA International’s Brenna Walraven here.

The TOBY Awards are sponsored by Securitas Security Services USA.