Building Systems

COVID

Strategies to reduce the risk of COVID in schools

Schools should implement these layered prevention strategies to mitigate the risks of COVID infection or transmission to the school community and beyond.
IAQ combos arresting airborne spread of COVID

IAQ combos arresting airborne spread of COVID

Commercial building operators could use a combination of air exchange, filtration and purification to comply with the industry-leading guidance for arresting airborne spread of pathogens and contaminants.
hospital

Smarter care at Vaughan’s first hospital

Through the doors of Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, the first hospital to ever rise in Vaughan, Ontario, life’s health challenges are met with comfort, safety and lots of natural light.
air filter

Maintaining schools for second pandemic winter

Every team should create a checklist, and then continually review their internal systems—floor by floor—to reveal any possible failure points.
healthcare facilities 

Guidelines inform resilient healthcare facilities 

Newly released guidelines offer a standard for approaching the planning and designing of healthcare facilities from a resiliency perspective.
Vancouver

Digitizing fire protection for facility inspections

With fire equipment, the biggest culprit for non-compliance issues usually involves obstructions blocking fire extinguishers and hoses from view.
remote work

A cybersafe return to the workplace

At last, our buildings are ready to catch up with the conveniences and expectations that future users have come to expect in the 21st century—and COVID has been the much-needed accelerant for this transformation in the building industry.
campus

Campus high-rise brings health to new heights

Dingy is a word that conjures thoughts of old institutional spaces. Academic buildings with dimly-lit hallways and windowless classrooms punctured with fluorescent glare. Rarely are
zero carbon

Ottawa hockey facility a zero carbon first

How AMPED Sports Lab and Ice Complex in Ottawa, Ontario, became the first Zero Carbon Building Performance Standard certified arena.
building technology

How to optimize building technology management

Leveraging appropriate service technology and integrated service tools can ensure buildings are safe and properly maintained. 
FM

Pandemic intensifies evolving role of FM

Facility managers are no longer viewed as a back-office function, but rather “a strategic instrument to attract and retain talent and create a great experience,”
low-carbon

Can purchases help reverse global warming?

When considering products with recycled content, pay attention to the types of recycled materials that are in them.
emissions

The future of green building is retrofit

With the right market signals and incentives, Canada can create a retrofit economy now that would yield skilled jobs for the Canadian economy, operational savings from energy and carbon reduction and better, healthier buildings for Canadians.
toxic chemicals

What toxic chemicals are lurking in our buildings?

In the age of COVID, it's also important to consider how chemical exposures influence our ability to fight disease.
water efficiency

ASHRAE & IAPMO unite on water efficiency document

The document will combine ASHRAE's and IAPMO’s respective standards to offer complimentary guidance and references.
managers

Why FMs can’t sell ideas to senior management

Facility managers require resources to accomplish tasks, but other departments within the organization need the same and limited resources.
energy

Rethinking the demands of facility operations

Facility owners and managers must rethink the demands of existing operations and systems to deal with rapidly fluctuating capacity.