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Neutralizing chemical warehousing pain points
Julie Bernhard Distribution & WarehousingWarehouse space might be hot at the moment, but for chemical manufacturers, 3PLs and distributors — this space can actually be hard to come by. In a session at WERC 2018, conducted by William Miller, director of business development of the Faure Brothers Corp., attendees tackled the issues they all face while trying to provide responsible care of regulated and hazardous chemicals. The group collaboratively hashed out what they found to be the most challenging aspects of this particular warehousing vertical. "The question really boils down to — does the warehouse really know how to handle chemicals?" said one attendee.
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Study shows reducing water use cuts greenhouse gases
Scott E. Rupp Facilities & GroundsA new study by the University of California, Davis suggests that the reduction in water consumption in California resulted in a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. In 2015, California implemented water-saving regulations, requiring a 25 percent across-the-board cut in consumption. The result of that mandated reduction was a savings of 525 million gallons of water during that one-year period. Good news, but what’s the relation between a drought and a reduction in water use cutting greenhouse gases?
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How to reassure your patients about practice cleanliness
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationPatients are becoming more and more informed about the important issue of cleanliness when they visit the doctor's office. This is a good thing, because your patients' concern about germs in the treatment environment should be your concern, and your staff's responsibility. According to the Centers for Disease Control, a surprising 48 percent of healthcare workers don't wash their hands between patients.
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Negotiating commercial leases: Negotiate for free perks
Dale Willerton and Jeff Grandfield RetailFor many commercial tenants, negotiating a good lease or lease renewal against an experienced agent or landlord can be a challenge. While an entrepreneur focuses on marketing and managing, savvy real estate agents and brokers are specialized salespeople. Their job is to sell tenants on leasing their location at the highest possible rental rate. Whether you are leasing a new location for the first time or negotiating a lease renewal for your business, here are two money-saving tips.
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Nashville’s vision advances as new flight arrives
Matt Falcus Transportation Technology & AutomotiveMay 4 saw a significant moment in the history of Nashville International Airport (BNA) when a new nonstop, long-haul flight from London arrived. However, the arrival meant a rushed effort to provide a gate capable of accommodating the Dreamliner aircraft in the weeks leading up to the event. It is just the latest step in the vision to transform the airport by 2023. The new five-times-weekly nonstop flight to London is the first time in 25 years that the two cities have been linked, and the first long-haul service at BNA for just as long, following the demise of the former American Airlines hub at the airport.
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Getting the training right for flammables
Andrew Gaved EngineeringAs any reader of past columns will know, the ongoing mechanism of the F-Gas regulation, with its emphasis on moving the industry to lower-GWP refrigerants via bans and quota reductions, has caused European cooling businesses to do a lot of soul-searching. Now, the urgency of the message appears to be percolating through the industry. But, the advent of lower-GWP refrigerants also brings with it serious longer-term considerations. The fact that the majority of alternatives in the future will have some degree of flammability has given rise to concerns that the current engineering base does not have the right skills to handle them.
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Urban design gone wrong: Lazy frontages
Lucy Wallwork Construction & Building MaterialsWith a generation of city planners brought up reading Jane Jacobs, another term you are likely to find peppering their documents today is "active frontages." However, walking in the shadow of blank walls in many of our cities today, it becomes clear that we are not always living up to Jacobs’ aspirations. Active frontages are designed to make a street more visually engaging. That does not necessarily mean the bohemian café-lined streets of Paris or Brooklyn but can be much more prosaic — it might be a handyman’s store, a gym or even a house frontage.
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Negotiating commercial leases: Cap your operating costs
Dale Willerton and Jeff Grandfield RetailFor many commercial tenants, negotiating a good lease or lease renewal against an experienced agent or landlord can be a challenge. While an entrepreneur focuses on marketing and managing, savvy real estate agents and brokers are specialized salespeople. Their job is to sell tenants on leasing their location at the highest possible rental rate.
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IoT revolutionizing water management systems
Scott E. Rupp Facilities & GroundsThe internet of things (IoT) is playing a substantial role for every entity, organization and individual, and the real benefits are still coming to light. While the term was introduced in 1999, the concept took hold in the middle of the current decade. Research firm Gartner estimated 6.4 billion internet-connected things were in use worldwide just two years ago — and expects three times that many in use by the start of the next decade.
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EPA resources for managing and reducing waste
Scott E. Rupp Facilities & GroundsThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers a guide to reducing waste for commercial building facility managers. For those in the profession, the guide might be old news, but for rookies and veterans alike it serves as a good educational tool for those who manage office buildings, schools, stores, hotels, restaurants and other commercial and institutional buildings.
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