FM Position is Growing
According to EarnMyDegree.com, eight professional fields are expected to see major job growth in 2008. Ranked at number five is “Facility Support Services,” which includes occupations such as property managers and building/facility coordinators/managers. Facilities that are expected to see large growth include government, commercial, real estate firms, hotels, universities and hospitals.

If advancement in this industry is the goal, consider some of the following tips:
• Identify the desired job and become familiar with where these opportunities are.
• Get to know what jobs fall within the major industries.
• Determine the skills necessary to meet the requirements for the job.
• Locate and research ideal companies.
• Keep a positive attitude and be ready to jump in and work.
• Explore education and career development opportunities.

Visit www.cleanlink.com for this full survey.


USGBC Revises LEED-EB
According to Steve Ashkin, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced that the revisions to LEED-EB have been approved by an overwhelming majority.

According to Doug Gatlin, vice president for market development at the USGBC (who was the LEED-EB program manager until recently) “It passed member ballot with flying colors. In fact, we received over 2,110 votes in all. Quorum requirements were for 1200! In addition to this, 98 percent of all votes were positive. This is a very high number of ‘yes’ votes, so we can take this as a strong endorsement from the membership.”

The revision of LEED for Existing Buildings means good news for the cleaning industry. In the new version, green cleaning is now a prerequisite, which means cleaning managers going after LEED certification must implement green cleaning — further accelerating demand for green products and services.

According to reports, the Core Committee has introduced a new credit worth up to two (2) points for conducting a “custodial effectiveness audit,” which for the first time will reward facilities who do superior cleaning and will create an incentive for others to improve.

While more effective cleaning should result in healthier buildings, cleaning managers should consider what happens to their business if building owners demand more cleaning. Experts comment that this is considered a win-win for building owners and their occupants, the cleaning industry and the environment.

Other important changes include:
• Slightly changing the name to LEED for Existing Buildings:
Operations & Maintenance as a way to clarify how this rating system is to be used.
• Clarifying that green cleaning requires “effective” cleaning as opposed to just switching to a few green products.
• Adding Environmental Choice as an additional option to Green Seal for “certified” products to make compliance even easier.
• Reorganizing the credits to make finding all of the green cleaning credits simpler.
• Including language that requires the development of a program to encourage handwashing.
• Clarifying language on equipment requirements and adding some additional language for Carpet and Rug Institute-certified products.
• Adding language that allows janitorial paper products derived from rapidly renewable resources or made from tree-free fibers, in addition to those made with recycled content.


APPA Updates Web Site
APPA, (formerly the Association of Physical Plant Administrators) an association serving educational facilities professionals, has announced the revision of it’s Web site. The address hasn’t changed but the site’s look, feel and navigation structure have been transformed. The Web site’s new look and enhanced functionality give users the ability to efficiently access and personalize information for their specific needs. Visit the new site at www.appa.org, take a look around, buy a book or register for a course, and send your feedback to webmaster@appa.org.


LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
To Whom It May Concern:
In the November issue of Housekeeping Solutions you featured an article focusing on soaps and sanitizers. While reading this article, I noticed a couple of points that were not mentioned but are important to note, specifically in health care operations.

First, cleaning managers should understand that alcohol-based hand sanitizers are not effective against c-diff (Clostridium Difficile). Anyone who is in contact with c-diff should use soap and water to clean their hands. When the push towards alcohol-based hand sanitizers first came out, this was not a known fact, but it is now very important to stress in health care facilities.

My second point is that it was primarily health care institutions who pushed for the transition to alcohol-based foam hand sanitizers. Facilities across the country experienced huge problems with the gel sanitizers dripping from the dispensers onto the floors. We also noticed that people traditionally use too much product and literally splash it on the floors when they put their hands together to rub in the product. The resulting splashes caused white spots on the floors where it landed, removing the floors finish.

— Dennis Owens, CHESP Director Environmental Services Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island

Click here to read this article from our November issue.

Submit letters to the editor at: corinne.zudonyi@tradepress.com.




POSTED ON: 2/1/2008