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Slam Dunk In Chicago

The 2006 TFM Show™ takes it to the next level.

By Jillian Ruffino

Facility managers left their properties behind for three days to prepare for the year ahead at the 2006 TFM Show™ at Chicago’s Navy Pier. In every profession, it is important to stay on top of the latest trends, best practices, and newest resources. This is particularly relevant for facility managers, where every major development in technology, world events, and the environment has a deep impact on the way everyday people work, relate, and live.

This year has seen a considerable modernization and construction boom for facility professionals, which is only one of the many reasons the 2006 TFM Show had the highest number of registered attendees ever.

Recognizing the importance of education and the often limited budgets of many facility executives, the TFM Show offered a completely free program this year, while remaining steadfast in its commitment to the highest standards.

A diverse group of participants from 49 states and 16 countries traveled to Chicago to take advantage of TFM’s conference and exhibit hall. Unseasonably warm weather welcomed this assembly of men and women to the Navy Pier, where exhibits were on display from April 10-11 and classes were held April 10-12.

The Next Level

The conference provided an extensive array of sessions, offering facility managers classes in eight topics, and covering subject matter ranging from lighting retrofits to security issues in the age of terrorism. With the theme, “The Next Level in Facility Management,” the program featured more than 80 high profile speakers, including Charles Foti, attorney general for the State of Louisiana, and Lee Evey, president of the Design-Build Institute of America (and former manager of the Pentagon Renovation Program, specifically during the attacks of 9/11). Speakers focused on the biggest concerns for this year’s attendees, including budgeting, sustainability, security, and technology integration.

Intent on preparing themselves for the future of facility management, attendees packed conference rooms and paid careful attention to the experts.

Monday morning kicked off with North Kansas City Hospital’s Kenneth Williams’ Building Envelope class, “The Perils of Fast Track Construction.” The Building Envelope sessions examined topics relevant to the exterior of facilities.

Williams spent the session illustrating the effects of fast tracking on budgets. He established the four factors critical to the success of any building project, detailing cost, quality, duration, and safety, and informed his listeners of the decisions that often need to be made when speeding up a project.

Bruce D. Groves from Emilcott kept his full classroom engaged throughout the session.

Facility managers were also out in large numbers to learn more about Interiors. These lectures focused on features, such as furniture, design, and space planning, that affect workers every day.

Smart maintenance practices were another aspect of the Interiors track. When asked what he expected to gain from his experience at the show, one attendee said, “I was looking to see what types of technologies were available that would make maintenance easier. I was looking for procedures, processes, and products that I could use, take back, and pass on.”

Steven S. Spencer of State Farm Insurance headed up a session titled, “Maintaining Quality While Reducing Costs.” Spencer introduced new maintenance concepts to help decrease spending. Hard facts were used to corroborate his economical ideas.

Budgeting was also addressed in the Applied Management track. This area explored the corporate side of the job, consisting of cost efficiency, management, and company strategies.

“Best Practices in Developing a Project Management Organization (PMO)” revealed a new way of thinking about this facet of the facility management profession. The interactive class, conducted by C. Richard Panico of the Integrated Project Management Company, Inc., illuminated strategies to increase project coherence, reduce expensive mistakes, and enhance portfolio organization. Participants completed a hands on PMO based on specific criteria in order to help them to understand the material.

A favorite presenter once again this year was Dean Kashiwagi of Arizona State University, whose Applied Management session explored successful management techniques despite the inevitable budget cuts that every facility professional is familiar with. As one attendee put it, “This guy is good!”

For one attendee, the Energy and Lighting sessions, which concentrated on the various topics associated with energy resources, were the highlight of the show. Mark Nelson, deputy commissioner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts said, “I’ll tell you, the

trade show was very valuable. The first seminar I went to was about bi-fuels and generators. That’s hot where we are right now, because we’re getting involved in demand response energy management, and it all has to do with emergency generators.”

Another Energy and Lighting class that sparked excitement was “Managing Energy Outlays When Prices are Soaring (Parts 1&2),” led by John Studebaker of Studebaker Energy Consulting. Studebaker and his students examined utility bills in order to identify savings opportunities. Attendees gained knowledge that could be applied to other costly services such as natural gas, fuel oil, propane, and telecommunications.

The Safety classes dealt with every aspect of the health and well being of workers. The welfare of a building’s occupants is never far from a facility manager’s thoughts, and many of them must have had this very concern in mind when they filed in for “Effectively Managing Environmental and Occupational Safety and Health Programs as a Facility Manager.” Taught by Bruce Groves of Emilcott, an instructor that one attendee described as an, “…excellent and passionate presenter,” the session helped students get up to date on compliance with regulations concerning worker safety and protection. Cutting back on work related injuries and illnesses, reducing costs, and identifying the best practices in the industry today were major themes.

The Environment seemed to be on everyone’s checklist this year. One facility can have an enormous impact on the surrounding ecology, and sustainable practices, design, and management were all hot topics. When asked what type of information he hoped to get from the show, one attendee responded that he wanted to learn more about, “…the green programs and how we can qualify for—and get certified in—green, environmentally acceptable programs at our facility.” Many echoed his statement.

Vuk Vujovik, LEED AP, of Legat Architects, led “Functional Sustainability: Facility Planning for High Performance,” a look into sustainable technologies and LEED-based design. The presentation weighed the costs and advantages of these alternatives.

Security concerns were also covered in several popular classes. The protection of a facility and its occupants was a primary concern for many facility managers at this year’s TFM Show. Attendee Philip Webb of Sarasota, FL-based Northern Trust Company explains his reasons for taking part in the conference: “Responding to disasters—that’s why I attended. That’s what impacts us the most. Look at Florida and all of our institutions along the coast. We went through [Hurricane] Wilma. We had been impacted in various locations and would like to get a better handle on it.”

Keeping facilities safe from terrorism was another consideration addressed in the conference. Israeli security experts Ofer Azoulay, SFW LLC, and Alex Udler, GSC, helped attendees to take, “An Honest Look at Physical Security In the U.S.” This two part series examined policies already being implemented in other countries to secure facilities against this type of danger. Facility professionals learned the most effective and proactive means of keeping a building from harm.

Monday’s Keynote Discussion, “Surviving the Crisis—Disaster Recovery & Strategic Planning,” included the very personal and intimate experiences of the panelists in some of the past few years’ major disasters, including 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Here TFM Show Co-President Ted Coene introduces the panel.

Broadening this theme, Monday’s Keynote Panel Discussion, “Surviving the Crisis—Disaster Recovery & Strategic Planning,” reflected many of the issues explored in the security sessions. Moderated by Barney F. Pelant, owner and director of Barney F. Pelant & Associates, the panelists first examined traditional, outmoded disaster recovery tactics, which typically followed a pattern of reacting once catastrophes had already occurred. The panel then outlined a new plan, detailing responsive, aggressive solutions.

Panelists included John A. Jackson, president of Albright Advisors, LLC, Dawn Ulrich, director, The Houston Convention and Entertainment Facilities Department, and (previously mentioned) Lee Evey and Charles C. Foti, Jr.

All of the panelists had firsthand experience in some of the major disasters of the past few years. Foti’s part in last year’s catastrophic hurricanes gave the audience an intimate glimpse into Katrina’s wreckage. With his Louisiana drawl and his southern charm, Foti treated the audience to a practical and very human recollection of his state’s tragic experience.

Tuesday’s Keynote Panel discussion, “Today’s Facility Manager...Tomorrow,” proved to be an engaging and informative look at the future of facility management. Stu Carron (below, middle) answered questions from the audience while panelist Ward Komorowski (left) and George Lohnes (right) wait to respond.

Evey shared his memories of heading up the multiphase reconstruction at the Pentagon, before and after it was damaged on 9/11. The audience was so engrossed by his story that one could hear a pin drop when he spoke, despite the venue—the space was filled to capacity with a standing room only crowd.

One attendee responded: “I both learned a great deal and was personally moved by the disaster recovery seminar.”

The Technology and Engineering sessions also drew large numbers. With new discoveries and advancements always on the horizon, facility managers must continue to learn throughout their careers. Some of the information covered in the technology and engineering classes were VoIP, wireless technology, and computer aided management approaches.

Many attendees were in Chicago this year to get a better handle on these concepts. Thomas Elward of Secure Law, Ltd., explained his reasons for taking part in the show: “Trying to stay up with the technology and talking to the different presenters on the opportunities that are there is the key issue for me.”

One technology that has everyone excited was discussed in “Multisite Multipurpose VoIP,” with Fredi Sutton-Parks and Paul Inboriboon of the Alzheimer’s Association. The benefits and drawbacks of this latest innovation were examined within the context of a call center application.

The emphasis of technology’s impact on the role of the facility manager was evident in Tuesday’s Keynote Panel Discussion, “Today’s Facility Manager… Tomorrow,” moderated by Stormy Friday, president and founder of the Friday Group. Panelists included TFM’s own Jeff Crane, Tim Springer, and Jim Elledge, as well as George Lohnes of UNICCO, Ward P. Komorowski from Johnson Controls (TFM’s 2005 Facility Executive of the Year), and Stu Carron of JohnsonDiversey, this year’s TFM Facility Executive of the Year.

Each of the panelists was invited to give his expert opinion on the future of facility management. Responses covered a diverse range of topics, from facility management career paths to the environment, but a trend that emerged as the panelists spoke and took questions from the audience was the increased need for facility professionals to interact and consult with information technology experts in nearly every aspect of leadership. Certain burgeoning advances, such as VoIP, were singled out as new major technologies to be prepared for in the future.

Tuesday’s roundtable also addressed the issue of continuing education. When Springer asked if anyone in the audience had gone to school specifically to work in the facilities management field, only a handful responded.

Springer emphasized the importance of education, summarizing the theme of the conference. Facility management is not a static profession; as Ted Coene, executive director of events for the TFM Show, explained, “The ‘Next Level’ is your career.”

The Exhibit Hall
Jim Tebo, facilities manager of NANA Management, came all the way from Alaska to see, “...the latest trends in the facility world, like some of the new technologies.” He and many others had the chance to walk the show floor and and view the cutting edge products on display.

As attendees moved from the keynotes to the exhibit hall, the crowd eagerly waited for the doors to open. Members of the bustling crowd were anxious to get their first chance to check out the latest wares and services on the market. With a widely varied display of goods and resources, ranging from furniture to software programs to signage, there was something to fit the needs of every facility manager.

Several aspects of the attendees drew remarks from vendors. Rand Mako, who was demonstrating Xsite systems furniture at the Kimball Office booth, said, “They’re very knowledgeable. They’re out looking for solutions for their particular marketplace. Most of them are prepared, and they know the questions they want to ask as they go from booth to booth. It’s a very educated market.”

Rick Montgomery of Sensor Switch, an occupancy sensor manufacturer, remarked, “The attendees are from all over the country, which really surprised me, and it’s a steady flow. I haven’t been slow yet. This has been a great show.”

On Monday, a group of facility managers attending the TFM Show acted as judges in the Best of Show competition, anonymously evaluating and scoring the product entries. Items featured in the competition were identified by special signage.

There were 41 products entered in seven categories, including Building Envelope, Energy and Lighting, Environment, Interiors, Safety, Security, and Technology and Engineering. Each category was evaluated by several judges, and the results were submitted at the end of the day to be tallied.

The products were assessed according to four criteria, comprised of application, supporting materials, presentation and knowledge, and appeal to facility management professionals. The winners were announced by TFM Executive Publisher Susan Coene on Tuesday. Immediately after the announcement, winners were given trophies to display in their booths. The following exhibitors won a Best of Show award for their product entry:

  • Building Envelope: High-R-Insulation for High-R-Insulation Systems, an insulation system for metal frame buildings.
  • Energy and Lighting: OSRAM SYLVANIA for DURA-ONE Electrodeless Compact Lamp, an affordable, direct replacement for medium base, incandescent, and compact fluorescent lamps.
  • Environment: 1-800-Got-Junk, for the company’s Full Service Junk Removal services.
  • Interiors: Strong Products Group for Connectrac, a connectivity solution for design flexibility.
  • Safety: Stryker for Stryker’s Evacuation Chair, which enables a single individual to evacuate a disabled or injured person from a multilevel facility safely.
  • Security: CCL Security Products for Super Sesamee Combination Padlock, a product that combines the benefits of solid steel with the weather resistance of all brass.
  • Technology and Engineering: Sonare Technology for Babble, a device that offers privacy in open office or cubicle settings by providing voice masking.
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