Facilities Management Services

Commercial landscapes need irrigation. But, in many areas across the country, water is scarce, and conservation is critical. According to a report by the American Water Works Association (AWWA), Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional (CII) landscapes utilize 2.4 billion gallons of water per day. Meanwhile, the EPA reports that at least 40 states anticipate water shortages by 2024. So, when it comes to landscaping and irrigation, how can businesses save water while also preserving aesthetically pleasing environments?

To try to answer this question, we dive (get it?) into the areas of water capture and conservation.

Rainwater: Free Water for Landscaping and Irrigation

Let’s start with no-cost water—rainwater! One of the simplest ways to conserve water and lower irrigation costs is to capture rainfall and stormwater using rainwater barrels or cisterns. This strategy reduces dependence on municipal water supplies while decreasing the burden on local water infrastructure. Especially in regions facing water scarcity or drought conditions, rainwater harvesting conserves precious freshwater resources. What’s more, state and local agencies offer rebates and other incentives to companies that harvest rainwater.

According to a report by the American Water Works Association (AWWA), Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional (CII) landscapes utilize 2.4 billion gallons of water per day—a rate estimated to be twice that of per acre residential use.

Not only does rainwater harvesting make sense in droughted regions, but it can also provide environmental benefits in wet years and climates. Case in point, as California saw recent record-breaking storms, vast amounts of rainwater swept across parking lots and roofs, carrying pollution into streams and rivers while threatening erosion and straining storm management systems. Capturing and utilizing rainwater on-site, where it can be managed effectively, creates a free water supply while reducing the environmental impact of runoff.

Although pure rainwater is soft water and excellent for irrigation, stormwater often contains chemicals or sediments. To counter this, cisterns or larger rainwater harvesting systems can incorporate filtration mechanisms to remove debris and pollutants.

Revisiting Sprinkler Systems

Sprinkler systems for landscapes are necessary but often inefficient. Frequently, their dispersed water misses their targets, washes away over concrete, evaporates, or continues to spray even when it’s raining. The result isn’t just water waste. Energy is also wasted in pumping water from storage facilities. Fortunately, sprinkler systems can be modified and upgraded to benefit the landscape and your bottom line. Here are just a few possibilities:

Changing systems to suit the specific plants being watered can save a huge amount of water and benefit the plants at the same time. For example, bubblers work well for trees, while driplines are ideal for raised beds and sloped areas, where a slow application of water prevents runoff and soil erosion.

If a new irrigation system isn’t possible, consider retrofitting traditional pop-up spray heads. Switching heads to multi-stream rotational nozzles or matched-precipitation rotators can reduce water usage by 30 to 45 percent. And because they use fewer gallons per minute and distribute water more uniformly, these spray heads prevent overwatering and promote healthier plants.

Soil and weather sensors can be integrated into existing sprinkler systems, playing a crucial role in water conservation. Soil sensors monitor moisture levels in the soil, enabling irrigation to occur only when necessary. Weather sensors gather data on temperature, humidity, rainfall, and evapotranspiration rates, allowing for real-time adjustments to watering schedules based on actual weather conditions. Using either of these types of sensors can result in significant water savings and promote efficient water usage.

Permeable Paving: Water-Saving Hardscaping

Hardscapes are an essential part of commercial landscapes. Unfortunately, impermeable surfaces such as traditional concrete can lead to water runoff and evaporation, contributing to soil erosion and water pollution.

There is an alternative though—permeable surfaces. These surfaces function similarly to their traditional counterparts but with the added benefit of allowing water to percolate into the ground or a drainage system through openings or porous joints. Permeable hardscape materials include options like porous asphalt, pervious concrete, and permeable interlocking concrete pavement (PICP). These alternative surfaces offer a sustainable alternative for some hardscape areas, including several advantages:

Stormwater Management: Permeable paving reduces stormwater runoff by allowing rainwater to infiltrate the ground rather than flow into storm drains. This minimizes the risk of flooding and the need for wet detention ponds.

Groundwater Recharge: By allowing water to penetrate into the soil, permeable paving contributes to groundwater recharge. This is particularly important in areas where water availability is limited, and conserving water resources is crucial.

Reduced Heat Island Effect: Permeable surfaces absorb less heat than traditional impervious surfaces like concrete or asphalt. This helps mitigate the urban heat island effect, where urban areas become significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas.

Improved Water Quality: Permeable paving facilitates natural filtration of stormwater as it percolates through the ground. The filtration process helps remove pollutants and contaminants, enhancing water quality and protecting local water bodies.

Cold Weather Advantages: Permeable paving has also been found to reduce the need for road salt. In fact, research from the University of New Hampshire showed permeable asphalt needs 0 to 25 percent of the salt typically applied to regular asphalt.

Back to Basics with Regular Landscaping and Irrigation Maintenance

Finally, regular and vigilant maintenance can be one of the simplest and most effective ways to conserve water. Small measures like regularly checking your irrigation system for leaks, and repairing them promptly, will go a long way toward lowering bills.

Regularly replenishing mulch around plants and shrubs is another effective practice for water conservation. Mulch acts as a protective layer on the soil surface, shielding the soil from direct sunlight and wind exposure. It helps retain soil moisture, regulates soil temperature, and suppresses weeds that compete for water resources.

Know Your Soil

Another water-conservation optimizer is knowing more about your landscape’s soil composition and your local water quality. With the help of a smart landscaping professional, this information can be used to set irrigation schedules to match the specific needs of the soil and plants. Soil that has high clay content, for instance, may require less frequent watering but for longer durations to ensure proper water infiltration. Conversely, sandy soils may need more frequent but shorter watering sessions to prevent excessive runoff.

And There’s More

These solutions can do more than help you create a sustainable, cost-effective landscape. They can help pave the way to achieving LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification for your facility. Not only does LEED Certification prove your building or facility is energy-efficient and eco-friendly, but it also demonstrates a company’s broader commitment to environmental, social, and governance concerns while attracting employees and investors with similar values.

Landscaping and Irrigation Solutions: Try One or Try All

Rainwater harvesting, updated sprinkler systems, permeable hardscapes. Just one of these measures can make a difference—not just when it comes to preserving a valuable resource for future generations, but also to your bottom line. With available rebates and a potential draw to sustainability-minded investors, it might be time to try out all of our suggestions.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) matters. The negative effects of poor indoor air quality on building occupants have been known for some time, and when the pandemic struck, discussions around poor IAQ became a hot topic again.

While the pandemic has receded, buildings and facilities owners and operators remain keenly aware of indoor air quality—not just because poor IAQ adversely impacts people’s health, but also because of its impact on business’ bottom lines. In fact, according to the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), inadequate IAQ costs the US economy more than $10 billion a year due to lower staff productivity and increases in sickness.

So, what factors contribute to the deterioration of indoor air quality, and what can be done to improve IAQ for occupants? To help answer these questions, we delve into some of the hazards and offer steps you can take to keep your building and its occupants healthy and happy.

Understanding Your Building’s Indoor Air Quality

The first step in improving indoor air quality is understanding its current condition. Just as outdoor air quality is tested and monitored to provide information for public health, IAQ testing and monitoring are crucial for ensuring that a building is safe and comfortable for its tenants, occupants, and visitors.

Fortunately, indoor air quality can be tracked and tested easily with handheld devices that show real-time component (pollutants and particles) levels in the air. What’s more, several devices can relay this information to mobile apps, providing actionable information to facilities management personnel.

Subpar IAQ can be attributed to a range of pollutants and the possibility of several being present simultaneously—all with hazards. Some indoor air pollutants can be two to five times worse than outdoor pollutants. That’s why the EPA’s Science Advisory Board rates indoor air quality among the top five environmental risks to public health.

It’s important to note that there are no definitive standards for indoor air quality. However, the CDC, ASHRAE, OSHA, and the WHO provide guidelines for maintaining clean air in buildings. And there is widespread agreement when it comes to bad-air culprits.

Contrary to the belief that improving IAQ comes with high costs, the reality is that the investment in IAQ improvements can result in better productivity and increased tenant retention, ultimately outweighing any initial expenses.

Hazardous Measurable Pollutants to Monitor

Here are some of the more dangerous pollutants that building operators should monitor and test for.

Particulate Matter (PM): Some particulate matter or PM— dust, dirt, soot, or smoke—can be seen with the naked eye, but that which is too small to be seen can be even more hazardous. PM is measured by size: PM2.5/PM10 (particles with a diameter of 2.5 or 10 micrometers, respectively). To get an idea of how small particulate matter is, the average human hair is about 70 micrometers in diameter. These particles can get into the lungs and potentially cause damage to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): VOCs are gases that are emitted from everyday products. Some may be harmless, such as the terpenes that come from cutting into an apple or peeling an orange. However, many—glues and adhesives, building materials, and even cleaning fluids—contain VOCs that are hazardous to human health, especially over the long term. Studies at Harvard’s T. H. Chan School of Public Health show that occupants exposed to high VOCs had significantly lower cognitive function scores, echoing other reports showing that low IAQ can cost businesses through reduced productivity.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2): CO2 is measured in parts per million (ppm), and increased levels can cause discomfort, fatigue, and reduced cognitive function. CO2-producing culprits include burning oil, gas, and coal. But human beings also produce CO2 with every exhale, so a combination of high occupancy and low ventilation in a room can mean less oxygen, resulting in the symptoms mentioned above.
Mold: It’s well known that mold spores can produce allergic reactions or even severe respiratory infections. Although spore measuring systems can detect spore counts around visible mold, they do not capture the full range of exposure. A better way to approach potential mold growth is to measure relative humidity (RH) and take proactive measures to reduce levels if they are too high. In addition to RH, dew point is another important measurement. If the indoor air temperature drops below the dew point temperature, condensation can occur on surfaces, leading to moisture accumulation with the potential for mold growth. Visual inspections and identifying musty odors are also important and reliable ways to identify the presence of mold.

Maintaining Good Indoor Air Quality

Once you have tested your building’s indoor air quality, what are the best ways to maintain good IAQ? Whether you are starting with a good IAQ report card or find your facility’s IAQ lacking, here are key considerations to keep the good air flowing:

Air Filtration: For optimal filtration, install the highest-rated filters your HVAC will allow, preferably MERV 13 (or better) and HEPA filters that can effectively manage PM2.5. Your circulation rate is critical, too. Air should have a constant flow through the filters, even without cooling or heating being on. Changing filters frequently and regularly is also vital, especially if your system is carrying a lower MERV-rated filter.

Adequate Ventilation: Increasing the amount of outdoor air ventilation can dilute and remove VOCs by delivering a sufficient supply of fresh outdoor air while effectively removing stale air. To make this process energy efficient, utilize energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) or heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) to enhance ventilation. Ramping up ventilation rates can raise concerns about energy consumption and cost. Studies show that doubling the ventilation rate recommended by ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers) incurs a cost of less than $40 per person per year in various climate zones (and with ERVs can be as little as $10 per person). Meanwhile, the resulting productivity boost equates to $6,500 per person per year.

Proper Cleaning Practices: While regular cleaning can minimize dust, allergens, and pollutants, there’s a paradox: Some cleaning fluids emit VOCs. If possible, rely on low-toxicity, environmentally friendly products. If there is ever a need to use fluids with high VOCs, ensure adequate ventilation is in place. Additionally, make sure your cleaning crew is knowledgeable about VOCs, following effective cleaning protocols.

Regular Facility Maintenance: Maintaining your HVAC systems, including cleaning and inspecting air ducts, coils, and vents, will go a long way toward better IAQ. Address leaks and water intrusion as they arise, and monitor humidity levels to avoid mold growth. If humidity is high, humidifiers or dehumidifiers can maintain optimal RH levels.

Indoor Plants: Plants aren’t just aesthetically pleasing. They also boast IAQ benefits. Not only will indoor plants brighten your building’s interiors, but they can also help absorb certain VOCs and reduce CO2.

Indoor Well-Being

Improved indoor air quality is not only crucial for occupant health and safety, but it also provides tangible benefits for building owners and managers. Contrary to the belief that improving IAQ comes with high costs, the reality is that investing in IAQ improvements can result in better productivity and increased tenant retention, ultimately outweighing any initial expenses. By committing to a comprehensive IAQ strategy, commercial building owners and managers can create a healthier, more productive, and more attractive environment for their occupants, leading to long-term success and satisfaction for all stakeholders involved.

If you are seeking better indoor air quality for your building, maintenance or management of your facilities, or even if your building's systems are not meeting the demands of your operations, PRIDE Industries can help you to get your building working for occupants and your organization.

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“Our state is on track to lose 10% of its water supply by 2040.” So said California Governor Gavin Newsom in a speech announcing incentives to encourage the replacement of water-thirsty lawns with drought-tolerant landscaping. And California is not alone. One state over, the Nevada Legislature recently enacted a law prohibiting the use of irrigation for non-functional (i.e., purely ornamental) grass at commercial properties.

States are getting serious about water-wise landscaping and are making efforts to ensure outdoor spaces are more sustainable. This is apparent not only from the laws they’re passing, but also the cash rebates that many municipalities are offering to encourage owners and managers to transition their grounds to drought-tolerant landscaping.

These rebates are just one of the many benefits of switching to eco-friendly grounds. Water conservation and reduced maintenance costs are two other plusses. To reap these benefits and make the most of sustainable grounds and landscapes, building owners and managers should keep the following methods and tools—and rebates—in mind.

Drought Tolerant Landscaping: It’s Not Turf

According to the Nevada Water Authority, approximately 825,000 gallons of water per year can be saved for every 15,000 square feet of land converted to water-smart landscaping.

Grass and lawns are the most water thirsty of landscaped areas. In fact, according to the Nevada Water Authority, approximately 825,000 gallons of water per year can be saved for every 15,000 square feet of land converted to water-smart landscaping. That’s a lot of water—and money—saved.

One way to create water-smart landscapes is to replace turf with xeriscape, terrain that requires little or no irrigation and is typically comprised of native and adaptive plants. These plants and shrubs naturally thrive in dry conditions. They’re also more resilient and can be as aesthetically pleasing as more water-thirsty options. Planting native or adapted plant species that are well-suited to the local climate also reduces the need for mowing, chemical applications, and other types of maintenance.

According to the Pacific Institute, commercial property managers can reduce landscape water use by 70% to 80% just by replacing turf with efficiently irrigated, climate-appropriate plants. Here are a few of the rebates available for turf replacement:

Southern Nevada Water Authority has a turf rebate program that offers rebates for businesses, HOAs, and multifamily properties. The rebate is $3 per square foot of grass that’s removed and replaced with desert landscaping and is available for up to 10,000 square feet of landscape per fiscal year.
Southern California’s West Basin Municipal Water District is offering rebates starting at $4 per square foot to remove non-essential grass on public properties in their service area. This offer includes free professional advice to help design new, water-wise landscapes. Any federal, state, or city property in the district’s area may qualify for rebates on parcels that range from 250 square feet to 200,00 square feet, with a maximum rebate value of $800,000.
The City of Sacramento offers Turf Conversion Rebates where you can convert to drought-tolerant landscaping and receive up to $1.50 per square foot of replaced turf (up to $50,000).

Smart Irrigation, Smart Savings

The first lawn sprinkler was patented in 1871, and it proved revolutionary in cementing the popularity of grass lawns—despite its inefficient design. Since then, the humble sprinkler has undergone several improvements, including the oscillating sprinkler in 1948 and the introduction of time-based controls in the 1960s. Yet studies show that despite these advancements, as much as 50% of the water used by modern sprinklers is wasted through overwatering. But new advances in sprinkler technology are changing that.

Smart irrigation controllers are among these game-changing technologies. Far more effective than time-based control, smart irrigation controllers optimize water use by employing advanced technology and data analysis. They consider factors such as weather conditions, soil moisture levels, and plant water requirements to ensure precise and efficient irrigation. Most smart irrigation controllers are either weather based or soil moisture based. Both types can tailor watering schedules and run times for a sprinkler or drip system.

Weather-based controllers use various signal technologies to gather temperature, humidity, and even solar radiation readings (typically from a local weather station). The controllers use this data to automatically adjust irrigation schedules, ensuring the landscape receives the optimal amount of water for the current climate conditions.

Soil moisture-based controllers, on the other hand, take a more direct approach. These controllers utilize soil moisture sensors, placed underground, to gather data from the root zone of plants. The sensors estimate the soil volumetric water content—the portion of the total volume of soil occupied by water—and adjust watering accordingly.

The water-saving potential of these smart irrigation controllers and sensors is substantial, as was powerfully demonstrated by an EPA study of an office complex in Plano, Texas. The owners of the complex installed a weather-based irrigation controller, along with rain and freeze sensors. In addition, they committed to regular maintenance and repair work. The EPA study found that after these changes, the complex reduced its water use by 12.5 million gallons of water in the first year alone, for a savings of $47,000. The upgrades paid for themselves in only 1.5 years.

Currently there are multiple local and regional agencies offering rebates on both weather-based and soil moisture-based irrigation controllers, including these water districts:

In Utah, the Washington County Water Conservancy District has a $75 rebate for irrigation smart controllers.
The Santa Clara Water District offers up to $50 for rain sensors and between $300 and $2000 (depending on the number of stations) for weather-based irrigation controllers.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California offers rebates of $35 per station for irrigation soil sensors and weather sensors as part of its Water$mart program. This program covers parts of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, Ventura, and San Bernardino counties.
In Texas, the Water Wise Austin program offers rebates of $300 each for flow sensors, electronic devices that measure and regulate the flow rate of water within pipes, a critical technology for conservation. The program also covers 50% of the equipment cost, per station, for central computer irrigation controller systems, up to $10,000.

Irrigation Drip Systems

While most sprinkler systems could benefit from an upgrade, one approach to watering has long been known to be highly efficient: drip irrigation. This type of irrigation, which has existed for decades in one form or another, exceeds 90% efficiency, making it an effective, well-established technology for reducing overall water use. Drip systems are especially effective for sloped areas, due to the slow rate of water application. In these instances, the water soaks in instead of running off, avoiding soil erosion and water waste.

Although, just like sprinklers, drip systems do need monitoring and maintenance (to ensure they don’t become clogged or spring leaks), they offer other advantages in addition to cost savings:

Soil Moisture Retention: By providing water directly to the root zone, drip irrigation helps maintain consistent soil moisture levels, preventing excessive drying or waterlogging. Maintaining optimal soil moisture levels in this way contributes to the resilience of plants during drought conditions.
Weed Control: Another advantage of drip irrigation systems is that they enable highly targeted watering, which works to starve weeds of water and cuts back on their growth. This in turn reduces maintenance costs.
Preventing Foliar Diseases: Overhead irrigation methods can lead to moisture accumulation on plant foliage, creating a favorable environment for the development of fungal diseases. Drip systems prevent excessive moisture on leaves, reducing the risk of foliar diseases and promoting healthier plants.
Landscape Design Flexibility: Inline drip systems offer flexibility in landscape design and installation. The tubing can be easily laid out in various patterns, allowing precise customization for different plant types, spacing, and landscape configurations.

We found these municipalities offering rebates on drip systems that may suit your landscape:

Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) offers rebates for businesses to convert areas irrigated by spray heads to drip irrigation. Rebates are at $0.50 per square foot of converted area, with a maximum of 50,000 square feet for each qualified customer.
Cal Water Conservation Rebate program offers $0.50 per square foot of landscape for spray-to-drip irrigation conversion for multi-family residential and non-residential customers; the maximum rebate is $5,000 for converting 10,000 square feet of landscape.
SVC Water is offering commercial customers in the Santa Clarita area $0.75 per square foot for spray-to-drip conversions.

Reap the Benefits of Drought-Tolerant Landscaping

No matter the size of a company’s landscaped terrain, customers and tenants appreciate organizations that embrace sustainability. This means that in following water-wise landscaping practices, companies not only lower their water and maintenance costs, they also please their customer base and burnish their corporate image.

Your Best Landscape

Whether you want to maintain the grounds you already have, or transition to more sustainable terrain, our grounds and landscaping team has the expertise to make your landscapes bloom. Contact us today to learn more about our award-winning services.

From optimizing energy consumption to streamlining maintenance processes, facility engineers play a pivotal role in generating cost savings for businesses and building owners. And although operations vary across industries, there are several fundamental areas where facilities engineering is crucial for optimizing operational efficiency, leading to significant cost reductions.

Here we take a closer look at the benefits that facilities engineering can provide owners and occupants for buildings and their operations across industries.

Maintenance Planning: Extending Asset Lifespan, Minimizing Downtime

In 2018, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) conducted a survey of the country’s building stock. The survey, known as the CBECS (Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey), found that the median construction date of commercial buildings in the U.S. is 1981, with 50% of building stock having been built between 1960 and 1999.

A 400-ton water-cooled chiller operating year-round at a 30% load requires almost 1.9 million gallons of makeup water just to replace evaporation losses.

While it’s no secret that regular maintenance services can extend equipment and building lifespans, reduce downtime, and avoid costly emergency repairs, with such a large stock of older buildings, preventative maintenance needs to be more strategic than ever.

Maintenance from facilities engineering teams that is planned instead of reactive, predictive instead of catch-up, is the optimum approach to smooth building operations, especially for older buildings. In addition to keeping these buildings in check and preventing repairs from becoming replacements, facilities management and engineering that is preventative will also have less negative impact on staff productivity—cutting costs in two ways.

Repairs become replacements when maintenance is deferred. Unfortunately, just because repair is delayed doesn’t mean daily use by building occupants will stop. Take a malfunctioning water heater, for example. Fixing it as soon as it starts to fail keeps a minor repair from becoming and more time-consuming and costly replacement.

Maintenance planning includes regular and timely inspections of all equipment. This will reveal the minor defects that can turn into major problems if not addressed. Regular inspections can uncover things like blocked air returns, missing pipe insulation, and daylight sensors that have been inadvertently covered.

Energy Efficiency: Facilities Engineering for Optimized Operations

From hospitality to healthcare, whether the facility is large or small, implementing energy-efficient measures can significantly reduce utility expenses and increase sustainability.

Across nearly all industries, heating and cooling systems account for as much as 30% of a building’s energy consumption. Engineers can ensure this energy use is continually optimized. Cleaning and maintaining filters, detecting and sealing air leaks (which cause the HVAC system to work harder), and ensuring thermostat settings are adjusted according to weather and building occupancy—all these efforts contribute to improving the building’s efficiency.

Lighting is another area where energy can be saved. Switching to LED products throughout a building can reduce energy consumption by as much as 60% compared to typical lighting. With more sustainable lighting, maintenance requirements drop significantly. LEDs are rated to last 50,000 to 100,000 hours, which—with typical office usage—means it will take 12 to 20 years before a bulb needs to be changed!

With skilled engineers in place, areas of energy inefficiency can be identified using an energy management system (EMS) that monitors and manages energy consumption in real time. If you already have a building automation system (BAS) in place to control electrical and mechanical equipment, you can take efficiency to a higher level by layering in an EMS to provide comprehensive data analysis and reporting. With this additional data, facility engineers can then adjust the BAS to optimize HVAC, lighting, power, and other systems, reducing energy waste and maximizing operational efficiency.

Commissioning

Even with expert technology-aided energy management, as buildings get older operations inevitably experience a “drift” from the optimum efficiency level of a new building or a building commissioned after a change of operations. This drift lowers efficiency and increases costs. To combat this, facilities engineering can conduct further commissioning audits (re- or retro-commissioning).

Through commissioning, operational inefficiencies are identified and necessary adjustments, fine-tuning, or equipment replacements are performed to reset the building operations to optimal performance. Commissioning outcomes not only save costs on energy but also contribute to occupant comfort and overall building performance.

Ideally, commissioning reviews should be conducted every five years. These reviews are essential for meeting the challenges that high-tech facilities such as data centers, healthcare facilities, and labs encounter; and they can be cost-effective even for small businesses.

An ongoing study (last updated in 2022) of Existing Building Commissioning (EBCx) by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that increases in energy efficiency from commissioning saved facilities as much as 19% in energy costs. The research, which looked at 1482 buildings across the United States, showed a median simple payback time of 2.2 years. And based on the results of an earlier version of the study (2009), the energy savings continue for another three to five years.

Although commissioning can sometimes include a recommendation for retrofits, the study showed that over 80% of the energy savings achieved in the surveyed buildings were obtained by scheduling, operation and control changes, and modifying setpoints and advanced resets. But whether operational changes or retrofits, these are all measures that can be conducted by facility engineers and technicians.

Water Conservation

Water conservation saves money and resources—and it’s another area where facilities engineering can make a big difference. Facilities engineers play a key role in designing and implementing water-efficient technologies and practices, which reduce water consumption and its associated costs.

One of the largest consumers of water and energy in a typical commercial building is the HVAC system. Heating and cooling accounts for as much as 48% of a building’s total water use. Facilities engineering teams can take several steps to reduce this water usage and save owners money.

For closed looped systems and cooling towers, engineers can install water meters that help troubleshoot operational problems, track water usage, and enable the benchmarking of water efficiency improvement projects. Additionally, regular inspections by engineers are essential to identify and fix any leaks in closed systems, thus ensuring efficient water use and preventing waste.

The water conservation techniques that are applied to HVAC cooling tower systems, which use water to evaporate and cool air, differ from the approach taken with closed looped systems. In water-cooled chillers, where the water that remains after evaporation is periodically drained and replaced, a lot of makeup water is needed. For example, a 400-ton water-cooled chiller operating year-round at a 30% load requires almost 1.9 million gallons of makeup water just to replace evaporation losses.

By exploring alternative water sources for use as makeup water for cooling towers, facilities engineers can conserve this essential resource. For example, condensate from fan coil units and air handlers can be used as tower makeup water. Gray water (reclaimed water that can be used for non-potable purposes) is another viable source. Even rainwater can be harvested from rain barrels or cisterns to serve as makeup water. By “reusing” water in this way, facilities can reduce the need for fresh water.

Scale buildup in areas with hard water is another cause of inefficient water use—and can even damage cooling towers. To minimize this scale buildup, facilities engineers can blend soft water with the area’s natural hard water. This improves efficiency and reduces water consumption.

Water conservation opportunities can be found in other parts of a building as well. In restrooms and kitchen facilities, for example, retrofitting the aerators on taps and replacing high flow toilets with low-flow versions can significantly reduce water consumption.

Wide-Reaching and Efficient

From the rooftop to the curb, across different sectors and industries, facilities engineering is vital to the smooth running of any building. By leveraging their expertise, facilities engineers can offer opportunities to drive cost savings, enhance operational efficiency, and ensure a sustainable future for commercial buildings.

A Partner You Can Rely On

Want to optimize the water and energy efficiency of your buildings? Our integrated facilities management team has been helping organizations do more with less for more than three decades. Contact us today to learn more.

Since the facility’s opening in 2013, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has struggled to find and retain a reliable, knowledgeable environmental services workforce for correctional and medical facilities. The unique nature of the organization and its facilities—its mission, its need for confidentiality, its sophisticated training requirements, its stringent cleaning requirements, its security clearance mandates, and the people skills required for patient interaction—presented significant challenges to delivering business excellence with a positive social impact.

A Reliable, Effective Workforce

“Before PRIDE Industries, CDCR used an inmate porter system, civil service personnel, and another contractor, but there were a lot of hiring and retention issues with all three,” said a Correctional Business Manager the department. “Then we found PRIDE Industries. Not only did their experience and expertise stand out, but so did their mission to create employment for people with disabilities.”

Beginning with environmental services at facilities in Stockton and Vacaville, in 2019 PRIDE Industries contract with CDCR expanded to the California Medical Facility (CMF), the healthcare service provider at both sites. CMF had experienced emergency environmental services shortfalls due to staffing shortages and put licensure, inmate and employing safety, and patient care at risk.

The PRIDE Industries team’s efforts and infrastructure also resulted in CMF reaching a Healthcare Assessment Maintenance score of 97.1% as of June 2022. These results point to measurable outcomes which preserve the facility’s licensure and its environment of care for patient housing and treatment, ultimately reducing the spread of disease and infection.

The 70 people with disabilities employed by PRIDE Industries at CDCR look forward to working every day. Unlike so many people with disabilities, workers at CHCR are able to experience the dignity of a paycheck and the satisfaction that comes with meaningful work. They’re inspired, and that inspiration has led to low turnover, low absenteeism, and diligent work practices—in other words, business excellence. Many of these employees have advanced in their careers from entry level roles to manager and director responsibilities.

Below, one of these dedicated employees describes her experience with PRIDE Industries at CMF means to them in her own words.

Patricia’s Story

Patricia Prescott has worked as an EVS technician at CMF since December 13, 2020.

I am an EVS tech. I go into the units that PRIDE Industries my company, cleans. We clean cells, offices, nurse stations, exam rooms and medication rooms, bathrooms. We also clean up floodings, and blood, pepper spray, poop, and on occasion vomit.

I like helping others out. I also enjoy cleaning. It relaxes me and helps me think. It’s also amazing exercise and you learn new things every day.

PRIDE Industries has helped me through some hard times. They’re an amazing company to work for. I am very thankful that they’re patient and understanding with my situation.

Some employers would never think about hiring people with disabilities because in their minds they aren’t capable of doing the job. The word “disability” is off-putting to employers. They have negative thoughts about people with disabilities.

They should take a chance on us and let us prove and show you that we are capable of doing the job. Believe in us, because what if that was you? Wouldn’t you want an employer to take a chance on you?

I am very thankful and appreciate PRIDE Industries. My husband is very sick and he’s in and out of the hospital. PRIDE Industries has been very supportive of me and has helped me out. I continue to have a job and I am able to provide for my family because PRIDE Industries is an amazing company. They understand what I am going through and have programs to help me. They offer me help when I need it. Most important, they hire people with disabilities. This company gives us chances to work, gives us opportunities to put ourselves out there trying new things that we think we were never able to do before.

I never once thought I’d step foot into a prison or let alone be working in one. I love my job and am very happy and thankful for it. I plan on staying and helping PRIDE Industries out just like they have helped me.

Business Excellence with a Positive Social Impacte

In just a few years, PRIDE Industries has helped CDCR and CMF move from having a hard time hiring and retaining employees with service shortfalls that put health, safety, and licensure at risk, to a thriving workforce and a stellar Healthcare Assessment Maintenance record. All the while, employees have experienced life-changing employment experiences.

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It’s no secret that women are underrepresented in C-Suites, but that’s not the only business environment where their presence is scarce. Women in facility management remain few, compared to their male counterparts. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women comprised only 25 percent of all facilities management positions in 2022—with only 15 percent in senior-level FM positions.

Why? Turns out, several factors are involved.

Uncertainty About What Facility Management Is

Let’s start with IFMA’s findings. Related to their recent report, The State of Women in Facilities Management, a survey concluded that the average person doesn’t really know what facilities management entails. And women who are not in the industry are even further from seeing a career path within it.

“When [people] think of FM (Facilities Management), they think of a whole host of things, but don’t really think about the career journey that you can experience in facilities management,” said report respondent and chair of IFMA’s board, Irene Thomas.

IFMA board member and Head of Facilities at Chubb, Lorena Espada, agreed.

“I think there’s a general idea that you need a technical background, which could look more masculine rather than feminine,” she said. “And they don’t know about the management and the other possibilities of the career within facility management.”

IFMA board member Christa Dodoo pointed out that “most people understand FM as a very traditional boiler-room profession” and that “more people need to be aware that FM can now include workplace management strategy, customer service, data analytics, tech, financial aspects, and a focus on the circular economy.”

Gender Disparity in Traditional Caregiving Roles

Women remain disproportionately in caregiver roles, not only for children but for elderly parents. By and large, facilities management positions haven’t accommodated the flexible schedules that caregiving mandates.

Facilities Management Company TalbotForce cites this roadblock, noting that: “Several factors like lack of flexibility [and] rigid protocols that don’t accommodate caregiving responsibilities . . . are responsible for this alarming inequality.”

Louisa Keleher, Women in Facilities Management (WiFM) representative, concurs, asserting that a “lack of flexibility in some workplaces” contributes to underrepresentation.

Brenda Sanchez, Program Integrator at PRIDE Industries, contended with such inflexibility when she was starting her facilities career.

“Before I was working for a nonprofit, when I was doing janitorial project management, the hours were such that I had to bring my daughter with me to work,” said Sanchez. “Thankfully, these were places where that was okay, but many environments won’t accommodate that.”

“Men’s Work” Perception

According to a 2019 report in The Economist, U.S. women still tended choose “pink jobs” while U.S. men tended toward “blue jobs”—a trend that continues to prevail in the facilities management industry.

Perceptions about what constitute “blue” jobs (vs “pink” ones) may be based in a job’s historical context. For example, facility management’s roots are in custodial and maintenance—work that once required substantial physical strength. Though the role has vastly expanded, perceptions outside the industry haven’t yet caught up.

Until relatively recently, marketing materials to promote FM may also have contributed to the “blue” perception.

“When I was first looking to get my certification,” said Annamaria Sanfilippo, Program Manager at PRIDE Industries, “I didn’t see any females represented in the imagery specific to the courses.”

Lack of Mentorship—A Domino Effect

Markedly fewer women in facilities management positions means markedly fewer female mentors. Without mentors, young women entering—or considering entering—the field have fewer resources to navigate initial barriers. Once in facilities management positions, the same dynamic holds true. If women don’t see other women breaking the glass ceiling—and learn how they did it—they are more likely to feel discouraged from trying to break it themselves.

“Early in my career, I had one female mentor,” said Sanfilippo. “I recall walking into her office and seeing certifications displayed on the wall, and I made it a goal to be like her. If I hadn’t seen her ‘breaking the glass ceiling,’ I wouldn’t have had the drive to break it myself. A strong female mentor from an early stage in my career prepared me to succeed.”

Lack of Retention

The IFMA report on the state of women in facilities management found that “Women facility managers constitute almost one in every three entry-level FM jobs. However, women hold less than one in five senior-level FM jobs, suggesting that women are not staying in the FM workforce.”

The report doesn’t provide reasons for attrition, but other sources reiterate the factors listed above.

Widening the Talent Pipeline

Women’s underrepresentation in FM doesn’t affect only women. The industry itself is also missing out. Fortunately, there are many organizations that are working to change that.

Way back in 2017, global work tech company Eptura asserted that women may be uniquely qualified to be facilities managers, based on four traits they tend to excel in:

Self-Awareness
Self-Management
Empathy
Social Skills

In a 2021 article, The Glass Hammer, a community for women executives, elaborated on this assertion, boiling it down to a woman’s tendency to possess higher emotional intelligence (EQ). It’s not enough, however, for women already in executive FM positions to know this. Word needs to get out. Thankfully, via organizations like Women in Facilities Management (WiFM), it is.

WiFM, for example, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to furthering the advancement of women in commercial facilities management careers. With sponsors like IFMA and Apex, they do this by creating networking and educational events along with mentorship and scholarship opportunities. Maintaining a robust YouTube presence, they extend their reach nationally.

The Higher Education Facilities Forum (HEFF) is also elevating the voices of women in facilities management. In 2022, HEFF hosted a panel of female facilities management leaders. The “seasoned” participants explored what universities can do to support the next generation of female FM professionals. Their conclusions circle back to educating the public about what, exactly, facilities management is.

“Once you start unpacking what we actually do, that opens up a lot of doors for a lot of people with diverse expertise,” said Bonita Dukes, Clark Atlanta University VP of Facilities Management.

Looking Ahead

Thanks to the tenacity of female pioneers in FM, the industry is becoming more promising for women entering it.

In fact, despite their underrepresentation, female facilities managers in entry-level and early mid-level jobs earn about the same as their male counterparts. And, according to the IFMA report, women in senior-level FM jobs earn “significantly higher pay” than men in similar positions.

“At all levels, we tend to work hard and work smart,” said Sanchez. “We’ve made tremendous strides, and I’m excited to see where we’ll be in five or ten years.”

Deniz Besiktepe, credentialed Facilities Manager and Assistant Professor at Purdue, intends to spend those years informing a new generation of FM professionals.

“One of my goals is to increase awareness of facility management in construction management, in civil engineering, and in all related fields,” Besiktepe says. She goes on to explain why she shifted from architecture to facilities management: “The design process may take a couple of years, the construction process a couple more, but the facility management involves 25, 30, even 40 or 50 years of the building’s life cycle.”

What Can Employers Do?

When it comes to attraction and retention of female FM professionals, employers must begin by eliminating the roadblocks mentioned above. If your organization wants to tap into this “uniquely qualified” talent pool, here are four tips to get started:

Get the word out about what facilities management, in your particular company, is and isn’t. Let it be known that the industry has broadened to include an array of opportunities beyond the boiler room.
Allow more flexible schedules to accommodate caregiving duties. In environments that require 24/7 staffing, Sanchez recommends logging each employee’s availability, allowing for contingency staffing around the clock. Those who provide care in the morning can cover evenings and vice versa.
Create a culture that banishes stereotypes when it comes to work and gender. This begins with recognizing and understanding biases—cultural, institutional, internalized, and unconscious. Include women in facilities management in your DEI efforts.
Provide mentoring programs. Across demographics, studies conclude that mentorship affords numerous benefits—not only to those mentored, but also to the organizations they work for. Specifically, a Cornell study found that mentoring programs dramatically improved retention and promotion rates for “minorities and women”—15 percent to 38 percent.

What Can Women Do?

Of course, women who want to pursue FM need not wait around for the gates to open wider. Sometimes a push is necessary.

This means that, aside from acquiring the right training and experience, women in traditionally male spaces will need to cultivate a certain mindset.

With 17 years of experience between them, Sanfilippo and Sanchez sum it up this way:

“Women entering the FM space must self-advocate,” said Sanchez.

Sanfilippo agreed, adding, “And they have to be tenacious.”

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