How Facility Services Can Elevate Workplace Culture

The Right Facility Services Partner Can Help Transform Your Organization

From pristine and sparkling spaces to clean air and excellent amenities to well-maintained equipment and resources, a welcoming, smooth-running facility can boost employees’ moods and keep them engaged and productive. In fact, researchers have found that prioritizing factors such as natural light, acoustics, aesthetics and air quality can lead to more satisfied employees, reduced absenteeism, increased productivity and higher rate of employee retention.  

For these reasons, identifying a facility services partner who understands your organization, acts as an extension of your team and aligns its goals with yours can have an enormous effect on your organizational culture and your employees’ overall health and quality of life.

A positive workspace environment can have profound impacts

The myriad effects of a good office environment are well understood and documented—and they make a lot of sense. A healthy and happy environment promotes focus, allows for greater creativity, and advances collaboration and problem solving. At UG2, we understand that attention to ergonomics, different types of light, quality air, and comfortable temperatures not only increases physical comfort, but it also elevates mental health and wellbeing—and demonstrates that you care about the people spending time in the space and the concerns that matter to them.

Minor issues can have a disproportionate effect

A dripping faucet. Misdirected mail. Empty paper towel dispensers. Rattling HVAC. A flickering bulb. An overflowing recycling bin. Confusing signage. Tripping hazards on stairs. Storm debris strewn across a walkway. A system shutdown for repair with no warning. These issues are highly preventable—but they take place routinely in a facility that’s not receiving adequate attention. And even if just one or two of these indicators of neglect come up regularly, their impact will snowball. A responsive team that pays close attention to detail, knows your space, communicates well, and prioritizes preventative maintenance means you won’t waste time on those issues.

Personalized attention strengthens partnership and community

A successful facilities management approach is grounded in authentic relationships. Employees thrive when they know what to expect from the teams cleaning and managing their spaces and facilities. UG2’s focus on interpersonal communication and responsiveness means your own employees and tenants feel heard and valued as their concerns are prioritized. And our impressive employee retention rate means you’ll have a solid, consistent team that knows your facility and is personally invested in the wellbeing of the people who inhabit it.

Care, communication and consistency are critical

Regular communication and transparent practices help build confidence. Feedback loops and creative problem solving demonstrate a caring and respectful attitude. UG2’s teams are trained to be forthcoming about timelines, to demonstrate accountability, and to maintain consistent practices, protocols, and approach. These factors, along with ensuring continuity on the team that serves your facility, are critical to the dynamics of the relationship, and to our ultimate success in our partnerships.

Sustainable solutions demonstrate respect for your facility and your people.

From using eco-friendly products, championing green initiatives, and offering energy audits to delivering the latest technology for data management, maintenance, and reporting, UG2 leads the way in combining forward-looking problem solving with an emphasis on sustainability, efficiencies, and cost savings. That matters to your employees—which means it makes a difference to your bottom line.

Excellence in facility services is about building a culture of trust

At UG2, we are committed to helping you run a well-functioning organization, with the refinements, process improvements, tools, and technology to support that commitment over the long term. If you’d like to learn more about the many ways our excellence can support excellence in your workplace, get in touch today.

Increase Efficiencies While Protecting Our Planet 

The benefits of running a facility that focuses on sustainability and energy efficiency are countless. Not only does a green building attract visitors and tenants, but it can also save your facility unnecessary costs. Building a facility management program that emphasizes sustainable practices might be less time-consuming and costly than you think, and your return on investment can make a huge impact. By implementing these tactics, you can run a more efficient facility while protecting our planet.     

1. Implement Occupancy & Motion Sensors 

Smart technology can play a major role in boosting sustainability in your facility. Sensors allow facility managers to detect the traffic of people coming in and out of a room or area without physically being present in the space. These sensors provide information to an automated system that informs an action. Occupancy or motion sensors can be incorporated in:  

Indoor Climate Control 

HVAC sensors make accurate adjustments based on whether they detect occupants in a certain room or space. This allows for a more accurate approach to reducing the energy consumption used for heating or cooling. For example, sensors could prevent energy from being used to blast air conditioning in an empty conference room. 

Lighting Fixtures 

Sensors also work in tandem with lighting fixtures by triggering lights to turn on/ off or dim in a space based on occupancy and movement. Not only does this save energy and costs, but it also prolongs the life of your bulbs or equipment so fewer replacements are needed.  

Cleaning and Disinfection  

It’s a given that your facility should be safe and clean at all times, but it’s also important to not overuse your resources and personnel when it’s unnecessary. Motion sensors in spaces like bathrooms allow for devices to detect movement and use this data to decide when cleaning and disinfection is needed. The more people that come in and out of a bathroom, the more often disinfection is automatically triggered.  

2. Switch to LED Lighting 

A simple, but reliable way to make your facility more sustainable is to switch to energy-saving LED lighting. Not only do these bulbs use less power, but they also last up to 12 times longer than typical bulbs, which means less waste and replacement. They even contain less harmful materials and are overall the most sustainable choice. 

3. Use Green Cleaning Practices 

Swap out your old cleaning products with green cleaning solutions made without harsh chemicals such as nonylphenols, phosphates, or sulfuric acid. Work with a facility services provider that complies with OSHA regulations and is consistent with the U.S. Green Building Council LEED specifications. Your facility is cleaned on a daily basis and by using green practices, you can better manage your resources and improve the well-being of those in your space.  

4. Schedule a Complete Energy Audit 

A complete energy audit can help facility management uncover problems that weren’t visible before, which can make a huge impact on your energy expenses. Issues with insulation, equipment functioning, or air quality can be tricky. Audit teams can help you create the best plan of action while considering the usage and occupancy trends in your space. This will allow your team to implement a tailored energy program that uses innovative solutions to help you optimize the operations of your facility while saving money and reducing your carbon footprint.  

Partner With UG2 to Create a Sustainability Plan 

At UG2, our teams are trained with the goal of treating our customers and the planet with the utmost respect and care. Our experienced staff can help you create and execute a plan for your facility that combines industry best practices with the latest innovations to ensure a clean, healthy, and sustainable space for all. Contact us today to learn how we can transform your facility.  

Our Operations & Maintenance and Janitorial Experts Share Insights

Conversations with members of Team UG2 reveal broad expertise in sustainability practices— a perspective and approach that goes beyond jargon and buzzwords. For many who have been in the industry for decades, “green” is simply a new way to describe the sensible, creative problem-solving that has always been a demand of successful facilities management (FM).

That perspective, combined with UG2’s commitment to embrace innovation and data-informed practices, makes for an approach to sustainability that is both a longstanding core value and an area where we are continuously working on the forefront of change.

Sustainability can be accessible, practical, and impactful.  Aspects of technical expertise, such as in the operation of electric motor controls, have been a core contributor to sustainability efforts since long before the language of sustainability entered mainstream lexicon. For example, regularly scheduled retro commissioning—fine-tuning a building’s systems to ensure they are running at optimal performance—is a vital part of an ongoing operations and maintenance strategy that delivers continuous return-on-investment.

Headaches and hassles can reveal new solutions. Battery load shedding and rolling blackouts can often wreak havoc on building and business operations—but these hassles have also yielded important innovations. From a technology and infrastructure standpoint, load shedding has pushed businesses to advance more efficient solutions which will benefit their bottom line in the long term. FM teams have found success by introducing battery backup systems and redundant power sources such as solar power and generators.

Advanced water conservation strategies are going mainstream. Facility engineers are well aware that a seemingly basic shift to auto faucets and auto flush can have a tremendous impact—for example, one high rise facility saw their water consumption reduced by half by introducing auto technology throughout the building. Now the industry is  striving  toembrace strategies like water saves, which recycle the water used every time you clean a cooling tower.  

The COVID-19 pandemic elevated the importance of facility services. We all experienced firsthand how facility services led the way in making spaces safer during the pandemic, from ensuring cleaner surfaces to enabling fresh air exchanges. The importance of partnering with skilled FM teams was underscored in a report from the consulting company Deloitte.  It  analyzed the impact of COVID on FM and identified a major shift in focus to performance over speed, resulting in an increasing number of key performance indicators related to operational excellence, quality, and overall outcomes. The same study found that the facility manager’s contributions and importance have gained prominence as the role shifted from an operational to a strategic position.

Getting tenant buy-in can take some creativity. The return to in-person work and the effort to strike a balance with remote work has had a tremendous impact on how built spaces are used, and facilities managers are key  sages when it comes to introducing efficiencies in line with those adversities. Essential to success is a proactive facility services approach that includes a strong communications plan that allows managers to work hand-in-hand with tenants on smart energy practices—especially when buildings are at lower occupancy.

Maximize efficiencies, overall experience, sustainability, performance and much more

Samar Kawar serves as UG2’s Senior Vice President of Information Technology. In Facility Executive’s recent article, she highlights the numerous benefits Facility Managers can reap by utilizing The Internet of Things (IoT). 

In “The Cost of NOT Investing In IoT”, Samar explains that too few facilities are using IoT to its fullest potential. With the data, insights, and automation it offers, it should be the obvious choice. But, in many cases, managers are intimidated by the concept of rapidly changing technology and the cost of implementing it. But, in reality, NOT investing in IoT can create much more damage than any potential costs or risks. 

START WITH THE STRATEGY

IoT can be used in many different ways, so it’s important to establish which areas are most aligned with your facility’s goals. Samar breaks down some common IoT uses:

1. OCCUPANT EXPERIENCE: COMFORT AND SAFETY

It’s not surprising that Covid-19 has affected how comfortable occupants feel about returning to office spaces on a regular basis. One study showed 87% of employees don’t want to return to their workplace full-time. Samar highlights that facility management must do everything possible to make spaces more inviting to occupants.

With fewer people occupying facilities, technologies like sensors and QR codes can help minimize the possibility of risks. Samar provides some examples:

• Automatically alerting janitorial staff about restocking needs
• Triggering heating and cooling systems
• Controlling lighting based on occupancy
• Detecting air quality levels
• Submitting service request tickets via cellphones
• Requiring QR codes to access specific areas

2. ENERGY SAVINGS AND SUSTAINABILITY

Not only does 35% of electricity used in the U.S. go towards commercial buildings, but roughly 30% of the energy buildings use goes to waste. Samar explains that IoT can help eliminate waste and costs. 

• Smart thermostats can control temperature and lighting based on occupancy and trends.
• Internet-connected window shades can be triggered by light levels to open or close. 
• Sensors can help regulate indoor climate control in order to lessen power consumption.

Reducing emissions both helps the planet and marketability since many tenants consider sustainability to be an extremely important factor when leasing space. 

3. WORKFORCE ALLOCATION AND PERFORMANCE

The daily occupancy of a facility can be unpredictable. Because of this, facility managers need to be able to make efficient decisions about workforce allocation. In today’s world, workforce shortages are prevalent, so making the best use of talent is key.

Samar tells us that IoT allows facilities to adjust to real-time needs and enhance performance. An example of this is sensing the occupancy of areas to ensure janitors are not over or under-cleaning. Also, when equipment is connected to the internet, it can be monitored remotely so engineers can report to more urgent needs. 

When in-person attention is required, janitors and engineers can use Near Field Communications (NFC) tags that time/date stamp and log their location into a system so managers can track it. NFC tags can also track employee movement to measure productivity. 

4. PROLONGING EQUIPMENT LIFE

Samar explains that preventative maintenance is fundamental to minimize costs and keep equipment healthy for as long as possible. IoT helps monitor equipment, analyze trends, predict when components need replacing, and send alerts to technicians. 

Partner With an Innovative Facility Services Provider

With more extensive use of IoT comes a larger set of data which poses the risk of information overload. AI tools can sort through data to locate relevant points and generate suggestions. Data analysts or facility service partners can also assist in managing the data.

All in all, Samar reiterates that the smartest choice for facility management is to invest in IoT in order to lower costs, increase efficiency, and attract/retain tenants. Finding the right service partner with IoT knowledge and experience is the first step in creating a successful plan for your facility. 

For more information about how technology plays a crucial role in facility management, read the full article at Facility Executive, or get in touch with TeamUG2.

Resources

rs.ivanti.com/reports/ivi-2663-everywhere-workplace-report-2022.pdf

www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/about-commercial-buildings-integration-program

Engineering Insights for Your Facilities

Buildings are one of the top generators of greenhouse gases. Some studies say they account for 39% of the world’s total global carbon emissions. For years, there’s been talk about achieving net zero emissions in commercial buildings. Recently in the past 12 months, talk has turned to action.

More than 130 American cities have joined the Cities Race to Zero, a United Nations-backed campaign to rally urban leaders to achieve zero carbon. Cities in bell-weather states like California and New York have started creating plans and instituting requirements.

For example, San Francisco’s Climate Action Plan calls for eliminating onsite fossil fuel emissions in large existing buildings by 2035. And a study commissioned by New York City, which committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, found that achieving a net zero target would require making energy efficiency improvements to more than 900,000 buildings as well as electrification of heating and hot water in up to 642,000 buildings.

Even if you’re not in one of the cities that has already committed to reducing carbon emissions, it’s likely that at some point sooner than you think, your city will jump on board.

It All Boils Down to Boilers

Replacing the commercial sector’s predominantly gas-fueled boilers with electric equipment is a critical step on the path. It’s also difficult, costly, and time-consuming. Your ability to transition – and minimize the impact on facility operations – is directly tied to actions your organization takes now. That’s why I advise facility executives to start planning today for inevitable electrification. 

1. Use Preventative Maintenance to Extend Existing Boiler Life

Boilers have a life expectancy of about 20 years. Replacing or upgrading them can cost up to $2 million. Preventative maintenance is key to maximizing the time and value you get from the equipment. It should be part of your daily, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and annual maintenance programs, as specified by manufacturing guidelines.

You want to avoid having to replace/upgrade your gas boiler in the next several years, when perhaps five more years down the road you’ll be required by law to change to electric boilers. And go through another replacement.

Field engineers should gather temperature and load data on their daily rounds and use that data for performance trend analyses – which should be done regularly. If, for instance, a boiler that has been running at 70% load now has to run at 85% to hit a 30-degree delta between supply and return temperature, problems are clearly afoot and need to be addressed.

Make sure to also conduct Flue Gas Analysis for testing boiler emissions. This will also reveal information about corrosion, scale, and leaks.

2. Assess Options for Electric Boilers

Your goal should be to wait as close as possible to your city’s emission-reduction mandate date before replacing your existing boiler. Because electric boiler technology is rapidly advancing, if you transition too soon you risk installing a boiler that is out of date by the time the mandate arrives – and, therefore, not as efficient or cost-effective as it could be. 

However, you do need to start educating yourself on the latest technologies, and which would be best for your facility. Fully electric heat/cool chillers may make the most sense, but they require a larger footprint and the hot water output is 120-130 degrees at best. If your building’s heating load can handle 180 degrees output, you may be able to justify an electronic boiler. Keep in mind that electric boilers are lower cost and smaller footprint but could draw too much energy for larger facilities.

Before you make any decisions, make sure you know the building owner’s objective for the property, and whether it’s a long- or short-term hold. If short-term, they may opt for the less expensive new equipment. If they plan to sell even sooner, they’ll want to avoid replacements by doubling down on preventative maintenance.

3. Plan Ahead

Capital budgets are set 5 to 10 years out, which makes planning now for this expensive transition even more critical. In addition to capital expenses, keep these considerations top of mind:

• Stay close to engineering: Work with professional engineers to understand your building’s amperage capacity and limitations. You need to know exactly what is feasible for the new boiler. For instance, if you have to up your amperage, can the building’s existing wiring handle it?

• Budget for readying your facility: You may need to add in the time and cost it takes to replace Bus Duct and other downstream components to enable the new equipment. Also remember it could easily take six months to receive the equipment you’ve ordered, so plan accordingly.

• Summer time: Any time there’s a major equipment change-over, there will be downtime. Best practice is to do this in warmer months, so you don’t have to shut down heating equipment when it’s cold outside.

• Contingency plan: Make sure to include everything from technology and training to timing of everything so that you maximize the opportunity for success and minimize the impact on operations.

Helpful Reminders from UG2 Facilities Experts

Facility managers can barely say goodbye to summer before they are looking ahead to “the most wonderful time of the year,” a.k.a. the havoc of winter. Even in states that don’t typically get much snow, the potential for extreme weather is real, and that makes preparation key for everyone.

While winter preparedness activities span all our service areas, UG2’s janitorial and landscaping teams face particularly demanding challenges. Team UG2 experts have pulled together some tips to get you moving on your own preparations. It’s never too early to start!

1. Schedule a walkthrough. Stroll the property with responsible stakeholders and note potential problem spots, areas in need of repair, and safe places to stow plowed and shoveled snow.
   
2. Get your plan in place. Meet with your team, review lessons from last winter, and update your plan accordingly.
   
3. Stock up on supplies like fuel and de-icers. Take inventory and making sure there are abundant amounts especially since there are still supply chain delays plaguing the country, so ordering early is key.
   
4. Designate a weather watcher. Identify a forecast master who is  responsible for monitoring the weather outlook and triggering plans.
   
5. Set up snow removal. If your facility or campus can’t handle the snow from a major storm, establish a contract with professionals who can handle it—well ahead of time.
   
6. Clear away debris. Every walkway, entry area, parking lot and rooftop should be cleared of clutter, trash, and potential hazards large and small.
   
7. Trim trees and mulch landscaping. Tag overgrown or unhealthy tree branches for removal, winterize your irrigation systems, and layer three-to-five inches of mulch over vulnerable garden areas.
   
8. Protect your greenscape. Make sure to give grass and gardens a wide berth when preparing to pile up snow that could contain harsh additives like ice melt, salt, and sand.
   
9. Repair cracks and potholes in pavement. This goes for concrete structures of all kinds.
   
10. Survey your rooftops. Flush gutters, secure flashings, clear drains, examine tar seals, and check for cracks and dips wherever snow and ice could accumulate.
    
11. Inspect every piece of equipment. Make sure blowers and plows are in tip-top condition, and order replacement parts for any items that require frequent fixes.
    
12. Winterize windows and doors. Arrange for an energy assessment, inspect your facility for gaps cracks, and install storm windows, weather stripping, and weather-appropriate entry mats.

This serves as a reminder and isn’t an exhaustive list even though it is quite long!

Partner with facility operations & maintenance teams to make sure you are fully prepared. Learn about inspecting equipment, maintenance, pipe insulation and other recommendations for O&M teams: https://ug2.com/winter-prep-strategies-operations-and-maintenance/

Gain Insight From the Data Analysis and Reap the Benefits

Industry experts attribute a whopping 70 percent of an asset’s lifetime costs to energy and maintenance expenses. That data lends new urgency to the importance of life cycle cost analysis.

Calculating life cycle cost helps you minimize waste and streamline operations. When it comes to facility management, those calculations are essential to identifying the most efficient and cost-savings approach to operations and maintenance. On the flipside, overlooking life cycle cost analyses brings risks of lost productivity, emergency repairs or replacement, downtime, not to mention safety.

Life cycle cost analysis takes into account expenses such as:

• Acquisition and procurement
• Fuel and energy
• Operations
• Maintenance
• Capital-replacement
• Loans and financing
• Construction
• Repairs
• Restoration
• Rehabilitation
• Updates and modernization

This multi-layered approach might sound complicated—which is a significant reason why building managers and owners tend to avoid it. But partnering with a trusted industry expert can make all the difference. A professional with true expertise in facility management will generate a more accurate analysis that accounts for line items like the time and costs associated with transporting and installing new equipment.

You’ll not only get a data-informed analysis that will save you time, money, and energy, you’ll learn aspects of life cycle valuation that will inform future decision-making well beyond the property or project at hand.

Other benefits of life cycle cost analysis include:

• A better-informed, long-term maintenance schedule that makes the most of employees’ and technicians’ time as well as avoids peak operating periods.
• Accurate repair budgets to inform capital and strategic planning.
• Timely budgeting for water and utilities that accounts for rate of usage and consumption.
• More precise guidance around stocking replacement parts, tools, and equipment.
• Strategies for conserving energy and reducing related costs.

Perhaps most importantly, turning to life cycle cost analysis allows you to prioritize safety, stay in compliance, stay ahead of problems and repairs, which will have a positive impact on every owner, resident, customer and visitor.

Each year on World FM day, the global facilities management community takes time to celebrate the profession and its successes.

For this year’s theme, Leading the Sustainable Future, we talked to some of our leading subject matter experts about the evolution of sustainability efforts.

Matt Montanez, Engineering Manager

“When I was 27 years old and one of the youngest chief engineers in San Francisco, I had a crew of five people for a 650,000 sq. ft building, and we took our energy score from 92 to a 98 within the first year.”

We also saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in utility bills just by changing the way we ran the building, with a retro commissioning of all equipment. The electric and gas provider here actually taught a class on retro commissioning, energy efficiency, and energy saving ideologies using our building as a case study.

Jon Legnitto, Engineering Manager

“I’m passionate about water chemistry because historically it is often overlooked. Staying on top of it is not only the smart thing to do environmentally, it also makes everyday maintenance easier and extends the equipment lifespan.”

COVID has pushed us to think differently about sustainability. Initially, we focused on maximizing the use of outdoor air. Now, we are helping customers understand how they can operate their buildings more efficiently when buildings are at lower occupancy rates due to hybrid or remote work.

Paul Faleschini, Engineering Manager

“Back when I was an engineer in the field, we saved six months’ worth of water in a 50-story high rise by implementing water saving measures and automating all water faucets and toilets. A major trend today is filtering and reusing the water from cooling towers instead of dumping 1200 gallons every time you clean them.” 

Battery load shedding backup systems have been the trend over the last several years, and implementing them has become more feasible for building owners and managers. In our region, from August through January, you have what they call load shed period with premium charges for peak demand use. Buildings are innovating by setting up battery banks with stored energy to avoid those peak periods.

UG2 Understands the Complexities of Facilities and the Built Environment

Operations and Maintenance (O&M) of a facility is a complex undertaking in a constantly changing environment. Mastering it requires getting to know the unique needs of every customer as well as every facility, and adapting our processes and approach to meet them.

With everything from critical environments and life science to retail spaces, UG2 excels in the face of this challenge because we built our business from the ground up with a customer-focused approach. You’ll hear plenty of companies tout their customer service commitment, but, as with everything we do at UG2, we have the data to back it up — strong subject matter experts at every level of the organization and a 98% customer retention rate.

What explains our ability to excel?

Delivering value to every customer Our well-established expertise and long-term view of customer relationships allows us to manage operations efficiently and effectively, in the most cost-effective manner. We excel at asset and energy management solutions as well as capital planning, and customize our solutions to every facility and customer, so you get exactly what you need — no more, no less.

Keeping ourselves and our teams accountable Our management team is fully engaged in our teams’ processes and priorities. We value transparency and communication as much as you do, so we stay on top of day-to-day challenges and emerging issues. Our commitment to you includes bearing full responsibility for the operations of your site.

Prioritizing training and quality management. We regularly provide every employee best-in-class, ongoing training to ensure they stay at the top of their game. We use leading quality management solutions to monitor workflow in real time and address potential issues in the moment.

Putting safety at the center of all we do. Our proactive approach to safety incorporates ongoing trainings and refreshers for employees at every level and an unparalleled safety audit program. Every decision we make, every training and meeting we hold, begins and ends with an emphasis on safety.

Investing in state-of-the-art resources and equipment We hire and develop the most committed and highly-skilled engineers and maintenance technicians —and then we equip them with the tools, technologies, and innovations they need to keep your facilities running smoothly.

Because operations and maintenance looks different for every customer, we tailor our services to your unique and evolving needs. Without strict service line silos, UG2 can readily leverage lessons learned and best practice between O&M management teams of every industry. This gives every customer the full backing of our knowledge and technical assistance regardless of how big or how small their operation is. At the heart of our success is the relationship and the trust we build with our customers, which informs our approach, our processes, and every decision we make.

Consider these easy, often budget-friendly, strategies for maintaining your energy costs

At a time when building owners and campus managers are more environmentally conscious than ever, keeping energy usage in check should be at the top of everyone’s to-do list. The good news is that there are many cost-effective ways to increase efficiency while reducing energy budgets. With modern trends and increased education in the integrated facilities services profession, finding energy savings opportunities does not mean revamping an entire engineering strategy or installing solar panels and wind turbines (unless you want to). There are numerous ways to create more efficiency in a way that’s often budget-friendly and easy to implement. Possible options include:

Replace toilets with low-flush models that conserve water usage. The newest styles use as little as 1.6 gallons of water per flush, compared to a standard toilet, which can use from 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush. That is a huge savings on your water bill, and it also puts less stress on pipes and other plumbing infrastructure.

Be more proactive with equipment maintenance. Clean cooling and heating coils use less fan and pump energy. Properly lubricated gears, bearings and other power transfer devices operate efficiently and use less energy. When your equipment runs properly,  the need for repairs and potential shutdowns is reduced. Broken and worn out equipment also adds material to the waste stream and increases waste disposal costs. You will save costs over time by being proactive and ensuring that equipment has a longer lifespan.

Install touchless faucets, which lower water usage and provide a higher level of health and safety. These motion-sensor faucets help prevent the spread of viruses and prevent water overflow, thanks to an automatic turn-off mechanism, which means another boost for your water bill savings. They also have self-charging batteries, so you’re not adding to maintenance costs.

Change light bulbs to energy-saving options. Just a few bulbs don’t make much of a difference, but think about the hundreds and possibly thousands of bulbs throughout a facility. LED lighting also reduces hazardous material use and disposal of mercury and other heavy metals. Since each one lasts up to 12 times longer than traditional bulbs, cost savings add up quickly with less replacements, less maintenance time, less universal waste, and lower electricity bills.

Implement motion-detector lights, in areas that are only occasionally utilized, such as storage rooms, emergency stairways, parking garages, or unused office spaces, since keeping the lights on at all times is an energy drain, but keeping them off can be a safety hazard. Motion-detector lights solve both issues, resulting in a smart energy usage strategy.

Ensure filters are changed regularly. Just like in a home setting, a commercial filter that is clogged or dirty can cause heating and cooling systems to work harder, which means more energy usage and potential shorter equipment lifespan. In any facility or campus, there may be hundreds of different types of filters being utilized in various systems, which means it’s important to stay on top of maintenance schedules.

Another great tactic: Get a UG2 Energy Services Audit. We have some of the top facility services managers and engineers in the industry, and they love to talk about efficiency. They can identify issues like insulation problems, air exchange concerns, and underperforming equipment, which can all be a major impact on your energy efficiency and budget. The audit team also makes recommendations based on occupancy and usage, so you can have a tailored energy program that benefits your operation—and your bottom line.

Contact us today to set up an audit and discover ways you can make your facility or campus into a more environmentally friendly, efficient, cost-effective operation.

The heart of every educational institution is its people – the educators, staff, and students who compose the community. In order to flourish and learn, the community needs a clean, safe, and well-maintained campus. While every school needs a year-round facilities program, there are some tasks that are tougher to tackle during the busy academic year. Summer is a great time to do some off-season work to get ready.

Here are some facility services elements to consider for your campus

Trip and Fall Hazards

Summer is a great time to scan the passageways and walkways for potential hazards such as loose bricks, crumbled cement, overgrown roots, and unseated thresholds. Assign each team member a zone of campus for a walk-through to discover any obstacle or problem that needs repair. It’s easier to shut off an area for maintenance before the students come back to campus. And it’s far better to take the time to conduct the repair now than risk harming anyone in a trip or fall accident.

Deep Cleaning

People are germy, and campuses are loaded with touchable surfaces in classrooms, lecture halls, cafeterias, and dorms. A typical cafeteria checkout keypad has more than 13,000 organisms, this fact derived from a cleaning product firm SaniProfessional. Doorknobs in men’s dorm rooms contain more than 1.5 million bacteria colony forming units per square inch, this fact derived from College Stats. That’s one thousand times the CFU per square inch of a typical toilet seat. Bacteria can live on gym equipment for days.

These germs are just as harmful as cracked pavement to your community’s health. Preventing the spread of bacteria and germs can reduce illness and absenteeism. The summer is a perfect time to deep-clean every surface and to establish a disinfecting and sanitizing routine for year-round practice.

Systems Check and Maintenance

Campuses require significant HVAC and other facilities systems – now is the best time of year to perform routine cleaning and maintenance and to repair any faulty systems. Don’t wait until a plumbing issue creates a no-water situation for an entire dorm or cafeteria; invest in preventive maintenance to minimize impact to the community. Routine cleaning and repairs cost less in time, money, and stress than those done under emergency situations. Schedule systems maintenance for the slower summer months and ensure peak performance for the busy seasons ahead. An added bonus: many routine maintenance tasks result in changes that save energy and improve systems efficiency.

Energy Efficiency

It may be more than just a poorly functioning boiler that is driving up your campus energy costs – every campus should conduct a top-to-bottom energy audit twice a decade. At UG2, we partner with energy specialists to check all energy and engineering functions of the campus, including HVAC systems, hours of operation, occupancy, and sequencing for all controls. The resulting energy profiles enable us to recommissin controls, profile energy usage, and review all energy control measures (ECMs).

These audits often identify more than two dozen conservation measures that pay for themselves over time in reduced energy costs. We also can work with utilities to defray the up-front costs of implementing changes.

Grounds and Landscaping

Well-maintained campuses can be visual show stoppers – students, staff, and visitors all enjoy strolling the grounds. First impressions matter for prospective students, too, so campuses should invest the time to stay on top of the maintenance. Trim low branches and overgrown shrubs, weed and mulch all beds, and review all pathways for obstacles that could hinder leaf and snow removal. Because before you know it, the seasons will turn and we’ll be ready for a new cycle.

Many higher education facilities have the luxury of a “slow” season to manage these tasks. Take the time now to do the deep work and it will be easier to implement a strong routine for facilities maintenance that keeps your campus at its best year round.