The new Cal/OSHA indoor heat regulation for California workplaces is now in effect. Understanding its requirements can help keep your company in compliance and protect the health of your workers. For many industries, from construction to manufacturing, these rules represent a significant shift in how indoor heat risks are regulated and managed. This article will… Read more »
Top 10 Basics for Maintenance Departments to Ensure Indoor Environmental Quality
Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) plays a crucial role in ensuring the health and comfort of occupants spending time within your building — whether they are employees, customers, or visitors. And if you’re a building owner or a maintenance director, a large part of your job is to make sure your facility provides a clean, safe,… Read more »
How to Pass LEED Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Testing
Healthy building certifications are in strong demand. The COVID-19 pandemic increased concern about indoor air quality, and environmental sustainability has never been more of an issue than it is today. Money spent to boost the environmental credentials of your building is an investment in the health of both your company and your people. We’ve earlier… Read more »
HVAC Systems Maintenance in Healthcare Settings
Hospitals, clinics, and other specialized healthcare providers present a unique environment where air quality is paramount. Hazards such as surgical smoke, aerosolized medications used in treatments, and airborne infectious agents are commonplace in healthcare and go well beyond the challenges faced in a typical office building or school classroom. The healthcare environment is further complicated… Read more »
How To Respond When There Is an Environmental Health Problem In Your Building
As public awareness of the impact of the environment on human health heightens, so do the demands of employees to work in a safe, healthy environment free of hazards. Concerns over the health of a building, commonly referred to as Indoor Environmental or Air Quality (IEQ or IAQ), can affect the comfort, health, productivity, and… Read more »
Emergency Response Essentials
A water pipe bursts inside one of your properties, and your maintenance staff responds quickly to stop the flow. After that, you’ll have to make sure areas incurring water damage are addressed and the salvageable building materials are dry before you can begin the work of returning your property to its former condition. You’re in… Read more »
Air Sensor Technology and Indoor Air Quality
A direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a heightened awareness of indoor environmental quality by both building occupants and property owners in the built environment. Direct-reading air quality instruments have long existed to monitor indoor air quality pollutants in real-time. Still, in recent years, advances in sensor technology have resulted in an expansion… Read more »
What Should Be Included in an Emergency Response Plan Gap Analysis for Multifamily Properties?
Emergency response plans are an essential part of multifamily property management. When troubles present themselves (and they invariably will) the emergency response plan is the guide that can turn chaos into calm and deliberate action. The property management team that knows the plan and has practiced the plan is miles ahead of the team that… Read more »
New Illinois Smoke Detector Law 2023: Understanding the Updated Regulations
As of January 1, 2023, a new smoke detector law went into effect in Illinois, bringing significant changes to how Illinois residents protect their homes from the dangers of fire. The Illinois General Assembly updated the Illinois Smoke Detector Act with additional safety requirements that mandate the installation of smoke detectors with sealed, long-term batteries…. Read more »
Green Building Certifications: Do You Need One?
How healthy is the building? Is the air and water quality in this building safe? Is ventilation adequate? Questions like these were gaining popularity prior to the COVID pandemic, but are now top of mind for anyone who works in or visits the space. Employers, employees, residents, management, visitors — all care about the health… Read more »
Multifamily Property Owners Can Benefit from the SB 721 Inspection
California multifamily property owners have until January 1, 2025 to complete the first inspection required under SB 721. That bill requires all exterior elevated elements (EEE) be examined for safety. Elements affected are those designed for human use that have a walking surface elevated more than six feet above ground and are constructed of load-bearing… Read more »
Healthy Building Fundamentals: An Overview of the Process
The healthy building movement is not a new idea (it is decades old), but voices in support of a closer look at building health were amplified sharply by the COVID pandemic. Property owners who gave the healthy building concept little thought pre-pandemic are now taking a closer look — and for good reason: Building health… Read more »
How to Prevent Mold Growth on Rental Properties
Mold Growth Prevention on Rental Properties Mold growth prevention and mold removal methods are two of the most frequent tenant-related issues faced by rental property owners and managers — both residential and commercial. While proactive building maintenance and incident response procedures certainly play a critical role in keeping mold and mold-based problems from occurring, getting… Read more »
How Recent Changes to RRP Rules Affect Property Management
Renovation, repair, and painting (RRP) rules were created by the EPA to protect building occupants and workers from the hazard of “lead poisoning.” Other federal and local bodies are also concerned about the dangers of lead in construction, making it all more important to be aware of the pertinent regulations before beginning a project in… Read more »
Illinois Fire Code Exit Doors: Compliance Guidelines for Safety
Fire safety is of paramount importance in building design and occupancy, and Illinois is no different in maintaining stringent requirements for egress during emergencies. The state’s fire code, in alignment with broader standards such as the International Fire Code (IFC) and the Life Safety Code, outlines specific mandates for exit doors—components critical to safe and… Read more »
Trends in Multi-Family Property Maintenance During the Pandemic
Multi-family apartment communities have always presented unique challenges to the people who own them, work at them, and live in them, but the COVID-19 pandemic created situational difficulties on a scale most of us have never before witnessed. FACS works with multi-family management teams nationwide, so we’re positioned to not only help staff navigate the… Read more »
To Modify or Not to Modify, that is the Question – Building Ventilation Systems and COVID-19 – FACS Update #12
The main transmission routes for SARS-CoV-2 are direct contact or respiratory droplets (aerosols) during close contact (within six feet for 15 minutes) with an infected person. However, according to an early release CDC report due out this July, whether SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted by aerosols remains controversial. The following discussion will try to shed some… Read more »
Planning to Reopen an Unoccupied Building – Considerations for Your COVID-19 Safety Plan: FACS Update #3
Shelter-in-place orders, social distancing, working from home, and other epidemic response guidelines implemented on the Federal and State levels can result in secondary issues in commercial buildings such as offices, restaurants, and businesses that may have been vacant or minimally occupied for extended periods of time (i.e., more than a few days). Need for additional… Read more »
7 Steps to a Mold and Moisture Plan for Property Management
Property managers are paid to keep occupants happy and facilities on track. Throw in a recurrent “black mold” problem, water damage from a leaking pipe, or a full-blown flood and mold growth emergency … and the property manager’s job can seem overwhelming. That’s why strategic planning is crucial. With a properly thought-out plan in place,… Read more »
Wildfire Smoke and its Impact on Your Home
Massive wildfires continue to devastate the west coast and are expected to increase as we enter fire season. These wildfires cause millions of dollars in damage, neighborhood displacement, and emotional distress for property owners and occupants. In the wake of this destruction, many property owners, insurance companies, and neighboring residents are looking for answers. Has my home been impacted? What needs to be cleaned? Is it safe for me to clean it myself?