Volume IV, Issue 2
Spring 2011
Whether it is the latest health food craze or social network, each season a new trend is adopted. This mentality also applies to keeping up with the pace of property and facility management developments. Being in the know regarding current best practices and thinking ahead to the future is necessary to accelerate your success, achieve objectives, and maintain vision.
This issue of the Boost focuses on what you need to know this spring in order to stay abreast of industry advances. Provided within are helpful strategies, educational offerings and insight to keep you updated!
Interested in a particular topic that you would like the next Boost to focus on? Let us know! We encourage you to provide feedback to the Boost editors. Your input is highly valued.
Back to Top
Spotlight
Spring Cleaning. Understanding the value of clean data vs. dirty data.
Virtually all aspects of facility management have become data intensive. The amount of facility data compared to just ten years ago has increased exponentially. There is more to know, a greater need to know, more urgency to know, and an increased expectation from our customers that we will know it. Therefore, it is imperative to keep track of your data. What use is information on codes, products, environmental liability, technologies, law and regulatory changes, and other matters if it is out-of-date or inaccurate?
Data collected and data stored loses its value if the data is not also maintained. Beyond measurable costs, all information has enormous strategic value: value in its use and potential damage if it is lost. The biggest danger is not sabotage or loss, however; it is obsolescence. Data and information are highly dynamic and require active maintenance. Ignoring or postponing this work can silently undermine the validity of your facility database and render parts of it useless or irrelevant.The most effective way to keep your database up-to-date is simply through regular, routine management. Database maintenance must be part of someone’s job description and regular duties. It should be included in standard operating procedures. In addition, enough time must be allocated to edit existing data and add new data every time a project is completed, a milestone is reached, or a batch of service calls has been completed.
This article is adapted from the Facilities Information Management chapter of BOMI International’s course Fundamentals of Facilities Management.
Investing in Career Growth.The importance of continuing education to advance your career.
From rewriting our resumes multiple times to tweaking each cover letter ever-so-carefully to incorprate the best buzz words, we all spend many hours preparing for our future careers. So there is no doubt that receiving the call that offers you the job you want is a huge sigh of relief. But after a brief celebration, reality sets in once again. Accepting an offer does not mean the work is over; it is really just beginning. For many, it is easy to fall victim to the comfort and security of landing the position you worked hard to get. However, if you want to maintain your position and your competitive advantage, you must continue your education. If you do not, the one that does may be taking over your responsibilities.
Industries are updating technologies and implementing new strategies constantly, and you are expected to keep up with these advances. A new practice can be introduced one month, be state-of-the-art a few months later, then become passé the next. To ensure your employer views you as an asset, it is important to be able to evaluate the cost and benefit of adopting the right practice now, while anticipating the cost and benefit for tomorrow.
As depicted in the Diffusion graph below, you cannot lag too long or you will find yourself behind the curve, and possibly dismissed from the position you once celebrated.
Expert Opinion: Investing in career growth from an expert point of view.
Mark Boehnlein, RPA®, FMA®, CPM, CLP
Managing Director, MJB Real Estate Services
Secretary/Treasurer, BOMI International
Boost: Companies are turning to the internet and other technologies to complete business transactions; such as purchasing and shipping products, staffing services, educating employees, working remotely, etc. What click-and- mortar technologies are replacing the more traditional brick-and-mortar processes?
Mark: The world continues to be an ever changing place to do business. It is truly a point and click process. By way of example, companies are utilizing more and more web-based applications for building operations. These advances in technology are easily accessible and provide a wide-range of benefits. For instance, the internet allows our engineering staff to access BAS and EMS systems remotely; we have the ability to program, monitor and adjust our building mechanical systems from home, the car or even another building. This technology eliminates unnecessary costs and increases efficiency; thus minimizing overall operating expenses, increasing NOI, and escalating the ultimate value of a property.
Boost: Are these technologies eliminating jobs?
Mark: Not eliminating, but expanding the role of workers, where individuals have to become more technical savvy, relative to being computer literate. We currently have four generations in the workforce–Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X-ers and Generation Y-ers, and we will soon add Generation Z-ers. The latter generations grew up with technology, and many Baby Boomers and Traditionalists have made an effort to embrace it. The ones that have are able to keep up with newer thought processes and move forward; the ones that have not are being left by the wayside. Education plays a key role in understanding how technology has improved communication, which has changed the whole process of how we do things. Smartphones, email, social media, etc. are all tools used daily in businesses worldwide. If you are going to work in today’s society, you have to be accessible. This is the reality of the world.
Boost: What is the value of implementing sustainable methodologies in the property management industry?
Mark: My comment above in the discussion on technology–eliminate unnecessary costs and increase efficiency; thus minimizing overall operating expenses, increasing NOI, and escalating the ultimate value of a property–can also be applied to sustainable methodologies. Energy conservation is at the forefront of industry trends. Commissioning and re-commissioning of building systems has become even more critical with regards to peak performance, conservation and sustainability. Energy Star ratings and LEED® certification programs are becoming increasingly popular as corporate stewardship of the environment continues to build. Companies who participate in green initiatives in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint enjoy a two-prong win-win situation. Not only are these efforts portrayed as having a positive impact on society, generating publicity, but they also positively impact the overall quality and value of a property. Due to an increase in sustainable awareness through education tenants are looking for spaces that are ecologically responsible. Since the demand is there, property professionals are at a huge advantage in terms of marketing the building.
Back to Top
Educational Offerings
Instructor-led Online Courses. There is still time to take advantage of our online learning atmosphere.
Take advantage of our online learning atmosphere and:
- Experience convenience/flexibility
- Maintain your busy schedule
- Easily access course material
- Interact with fellow learners
Try a demo!
Explore all of the additional advantages of our Instructor-led Online education programs.
Visit our eCampus and enter demo as your username and password.
Sustain Smart Series. Increase your knowledge of sustainability by registering for our NEW online program.
The Sustain Smart Series is a new online educational program designed to:
- Increase sustainability knowledge so you can make informed decisions
- Address current and relevant information on all aspects of sustainability
- Provide you with strategies to evaluate and implement sustainable best practices
Series 1 begins August 1.
Visit www.sustainsmart.com to learn more about the new program!
Back to Top
Updates & More
PRSM enhances their membership program with BOMI International's education programs.
Our new partnership enables PRSM to offer an additional layer of education, designation, and certification opportunities to its retail and vendor members, who will earn Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits for BOMI International courses. BOMI International courses will provide PRSM members credentials to exceed their career objectives. Members will learn in a setting that is most convenient for them, including instructor-led online courses, onsite classes at the corporate location, semester-length classroom courses, accelerated review (condensed classes three or four days in length), and self-study. A sampling of the courses that BOMI International will provide is as follows (all courses are part of recognized designation and certificate programs):
- Air Handling, Water Treatment, and Plumbing Systems
- Asset Management
- Boilers, Heating Systems, and Applied Mathematics
- Budgeting and Accounting
- The Design, Operation, and Maintenance of Building Systems (Part I and Part II)
- Energy Management and Controls
- Fundamentals of Facilities Management
About PRSM
PRSM is the leading membership association that empowers Retail Facilities Professionals to make informed business decisions by delivering best practices, education, forums, and partnerships. For more information on PRSM, please visit www.PRSM.com.
Receive incentives for taking approved BOMI International courses.
If you are a Pepco customer, you can take pre-approved BOMI International courses and receive a reimbursement from Pepco through their C&I Energy Savings Program! The Pepco C&I Energy Savings Program provides partial reimbursement for training enrollment and/or tuition costs for building operation personnel who support commercial and industrial facilities in Maryland. Each approved applicant is qualified to receive a cash incentive for tuition costs up to a maximum of $1,000 per course.
Visit our Pepco page for additional eligibility details and requirements.
Ensuring Your Recognition. Whether you are about to graduate, or already have, make sure your efforts are recognized.
Graduating soon?
You have put in the time and effort to earn your BOMI International designation or certificate—now you deserve recognition for it! Coming soon, BOMI International will publish a monthly list of students who achieve a BOMI International designation or certificate. The list will be grouped by designation/certificate program and posted on our website in an effort to recognize the prestigious achievements of our graduates. Included in the list will be: graduate’s name, city, state, and country.
Already graduated?
Please be sure to keep your information current. You may revise your profile at any time by visiting our Alumni and Graduate webpage. It is important to provide BOMI International with accurate, updated information so we are able to deliver you the same! Also, remember to visit our Career Development page for valuable tools on how to use your BOMI International designation or certificate to gain and/or maintain your competitive advantage within the industry.
If you would like to see additional resources here, please contact a Customer Development Representative at service@bomi.org or call 1.800.235.BOMI (2664).
Back to Top