**Knocking at the door: trends affecting facility management\
\
Deborah Hensel**\
\
As facility management professionals struggle to keep up with a heavy
demand in their daily workload, the world continues to turn, churning up
a host of new technologies and trends that have the potential to create
dramatic changes in the industry.

IFMA's board of directors and its forecasting team are committed to
keeping track of those trends in order to keep members informed and
provide appropriate educational opportunities to ensure professionals
stay ahead of the curve.

Some of the latest developments that bear watching are:

Open-plan offices

"What the hell was Bob Propst thinking?" was the opening line of an
article, in TIME magazine\'s European edition, asking what our future
offices would look like. Three decades ago, Propst dreamed up these
modular boxes of moveable walls for furniture- maker Herman Miller.
"Action Office," a revolutionary and legendary product, would breakdown
hierarchies, stimulate creativity and promote teamwork.

Unfortunately, the special-application tool soon became a universal tool
enabling facility mangers to "shoehorn" more and more people into less
and less space. Few companies have not made reducing real estate costs a
top priority. Few companies are completely void of cube farms. It is
only a matter of how many and who gets them.

Today, MBA-cartoonist Scott Adams is immensely rich thanks to Dilbert's
deft lampooning of office-space constriction utilizing Propst's
formidable "tool." Almost universally, inhabitants find the reconfigured
space to be: tight, monochromatic, uninspiring, noisy and dehumanizing.
The once-neutral term "cubicle," by definition "a small space," now is
pejorative. The preferred corporate word for the tool is now
"workstation."

Through it all, the open office vs. the closed office has become perhaps
the most hotly debated topic among end-users and workplace
professionals---those who configure the cuboidal dwellings eventually
appearing on the installer's blueprint. According to some horror
stories, it is not uncommon for brain-capital workers like writers and
programmers to be stunned into an apoplectic state when told they'd soon
be moving out of offices and into cubes.

Because it saves money, those assigned to cubes often muse that the idea
is appealing to top management, cloistered in plush offices. Cubists
also content that the line of demarcation between cube and office is
drawn arbitrarily, rather than based on workflow and productivity needs.
This can create a divisive "haves-and-have-nots" corporate culture,
where line workers believe empowered decision-makers do not "feel their
pain." Tearing down walls doesn\'t always lead to cooperation and
sharing ideas. Even when these positive aspects are accentuated,
tradeoff costs---like a loss of privacy and creative thinking---can
outweigh them.

One malcontent cube prisoner posted a new definition of cubicle on the
Internet site "Revenge of the Cubicle." It reads, "A cubicle is a big
gray vacuum put on this earth solely to suck the drive, energy and
confidence out of aspiring young people."

In a study of 13,000 workplace users titled "Using Office Design to
Increase Productivity," BOSTI Associates found workers perform quiet
computer work 62 percent of the time and are on the phone for another 11
percent. To maximize productivity, it is especially important that the
environment be distraction free for this solo work. Meetings, breaks and
chores compose the remaining pieces of the time-use pie chart.

Regardless of one's personal view on the merits of the workstation, it
is readily accepted that the design has been friendly to the adaptation
of new technologies in the workplace. Pre-wired panels provide a high
degree of flexibility in configuring and installing computers, printers,
scanners, phones, faxes and PDA docking stations.

However, the open plan may be a barrier to the implementation and
adoption of speech-recognition systems. Without serious reconfiguration
efforts to reduce noise dramatically, it will never become a mainstream
productivity tool and workers may be relegated to
ergonomically-hazardous keyboards.

Almost as a counterculture to Dilbert, recent introductions of hybrid
products from office furniture companies have begun appearing and are
gaining in popularity. Square shapes and one-colored low walls are out.
Multi-colored, flexible panels in a variety of heights are in. Because
these variable shapes are on wheels, workers can move them around as
needed---several times a day if necessary. Aggressive sound suppression
also is becoming more of a priority.

Cynthia Froggatt, a consultant, author and speaker who holds a master's
degree in facility management, has proffered a unique alternative.

"If you really want to have a positive effect on productivity while
using company resources wisely, why not give employees the tools and
encouragement to work how, where and when they are most effective?" she
says. Set them free from the standard cubicle and "embrace the virtual
workplace."

Workplace privacy

Big Brother definitely has his eye on the workplace as more and more
companies install a variety of monitoring devices and software to
protect their business interests. An April 2001 survey of its members by
the American Management Association (AMA) showed 82 percent of
respondents are using some form of electronic monitoring and/or
surveillance, and another 77 percent are actively monitoring employees'
communication and productivity.

Tracking telephone use (time spent and numbers called), reviewing voice
mail messages, video-recording employees, storage and review of computer
files and e-mail messages and monitoring Internet activity have become
commonplace practices---all perfectly legal.

Why all the spy tactics? Sixty-eight percent said they do it to protect
the company from legal liability, while another 60 percent cited
security concerns as the reason. Another 45 percent indicated that
productivity and performance measurement were a concern.

At work, the Internet can be a great resource for those jobs that are
research-intensive, but it is also a huge temptation for slackers who
waste company time browsing sites for entertainment, sports, shopping
and "adult" content. Software packages like SurfControl Superscout,
Elron IM Web Inspector, eSniff 1100, Resource Monitor and Websense
Enterprise Software filter the access of such sites, and the AMA study
shows 65 percent of companies surveyed use some means to restrict
Internet use even though personal access is allowed.

While 39 percent said they allow personnel full and unrestricted
personal use of the office e-mail system, a total of 44 percent either
limit usage to emergency or family communications or allow no personal
use whatsoever. Incidents like the electronic sharing of "blonde jokes"
led to firings at The New York Times in 1999, and the next year, similar
incidents touched off terminations at Dow Chemical.

In his book, "The New Battle Over Workplace Privacy," author and human
resources consultant William Hobart wrote that a well-drafted company
policy on these issues will help minimize the potential for
conflicts---and lawsuits---over privacy issues.

"A firm's employee handbook or personnel policy manual should let the
employees know that the company will respect the private lives of its
employees unless they become involved in actions that may adversely
affect the company or its customers," he said. "In that case, the
company has the obligation to protect itself and its customers from harm
and can undertake the measures indicated in the policy."

Eighty-one percent of respondents in the AMA study said they have a
policy for e-mail use, and another 77 percent have written rules for
Internet access. Most said they inform employees by memo, e-mail or
verbal notification from supervisors---an ounce of prevention that could
help eliminate a pound of pink slips.

The real estate downturn

It's not news to anyone that the bust in the once-flush dot-com world
has created a surplus of real estate, in Silicon Valley and in other
tech hot-spots around the country. The dot-com and technology sectors
that fueled the real estate market in recent years have diminished in
2001. Data centers sit idle.

One positive outcome is the ability to find sub-leased space at reduced
rates as tenants with long-term contracts are working to dispose surplus
space. However, the downside is that some architectural and design firms
that serviced the dot-coms did not get paid and are now involved in
bankruptcy litigation.

Other architecture and design firms continue to do well by assisting
corporations as they resize and contract, and commercial movers continue
to do well in either a contracting or expanding market.

The dot-com disaster isn't the only factor involved in the real estate
downturn. A general economic slowdown has also driven a rise in vacancy
rates in most major U.S. cities, and there is also an associated
decrease in new development.

In Canada, 2000 was a record year for growth, and it is anticipated that
in 2001 the demand for office space will level off and likely decrease.

Wireless technology

Bluetooth is defined as a standard for wireless "connections" and
communications developed by a consortium of electronics manufacturers.
It allows electronic equipment, such as computers, cellular phones,
PDAs, instruments and control devices to communicate and operate.
Bluetooth uses short-range radio frequency and works on a protocol
standard.

Bluetooth technology seeks to eliminate the need for cabling among
electronic devices by creating an open industry standard for wireless
communication. Any Bluetooth-enabled device will work with another
regardless of the different function. Bluetooth specification uses
spectrum transmission with frequency hopping, to reduce interference
from other devices.

The benefits are many: it is wireless, it eliminates problems with
cabling and connectivity, it is convenient and low-cost. Bluetooth's
signals transmit through walls so a printer that would otherwise take up
space on your desk could be placed across the room from your PC.

However, Bluetooth technology has not matured. It will be some time
before people with high-tech needs can be satisfied. In the future with
Bluetooth-enabled equipment, you will be able to make a cellular
Internet connection with your cell phone and surf the Web on your
laptop, all wirelessly.

This technology also raises security questions. Bluetooth uses 128-bit
encryption and frequency hopping. It is expected that Bluetooth devices
will only communicate with other user-approved gadgets. There is also
the problem with frequency conflict as Bluetooth transmits on the same
frequency as scientific, industrial and medical traffic as well as
microwave ovens, amateur radio operators and another wireless standard
called IEEE 802.11, used by an increasing number of local area networks
in homes and small offices.

Wireless technologies are now starting to hit the corporate world and
experts suggest they will become more prevalent. The virtual office will
become the standard according to a NeTeam executive vice president for
some of the following reasons:

• Companies want to increase the number of laptop users at their
facilities who have access to the company network and the Internet.

• Ease and speed of rearranging floor plans without having to pull
cable.

• Re-wiring is cost-prohibitive in some buildings.

But wireless technology is not a sure thing yet. There are problems with
going wireless: hackers, reliability issues, cost. Some companies
currently find that a combination of wired and wireless systems is best
for now.

Energy

This past year, California suffered at the hands of energy providers and
deregulation gone astray, providing a grim example for the rest of the
country as companies tried to keep their operations going despite sudden
blackouts. In the spring, as chaos reigned and the coming summer seemed
dark indeed, IFMA sponsored two teleconferences to enable California
members to vent their frustrations and share information and solutions.

Months before their doubts were expressed in national news stories, some
teleconference participants grumbled their suspicions that the energy
crisis had been manufactured.

The idea of nuclear power began to look better and better as 59 percent
of Californians said they support building more nuclear plants,
according to a recent poll by the Field Institute. Compare that to the
results of a 1984 poll-five years after the accident at Three Mile
Island in Pennsylvania---in which 61 percent said they were opposed to
nuclear power. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who heads the
president\'s energy task force, has said that at least some of the 65
power plants that need to be built annually to meet future demand ought
to be nuclear.

Meanwhile, an intensive hunt for alternative fuel sources is
underway-and many of these could mean drastic changes for the way
facilities operate. Here's a sampling of some new developments consumers
can expect by 2010, according to a spring 2001 article in Pure Power
magazine:

• One-stop shopping as electric, gas, telecommunications and water
providers converge;

• Battery-powered cars;

• Energy production and distribution systems greatly improved by
technology;

• Fuel cells that reduce the impact of power generation on the
environment;

• Local generation of power and increased use of natural gas;

• Gas-to-liquid conversion for more flexible use and storage;

• Advance lithium-polymer technology to triple battery capacity;

• Bio-engineered crops for fuel use from "energy farms";

• Widespread use of solar cells; and

• Methane hydrate crystal mined from the ocean floor.

Sustainability

The concept of sustainability combines business ethics, corporate social
responsibility and human rights to provide a built environment that
"meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs." That was the definition
presented in the 1987 report by the World Commission on Environment and
Development. In broad terms, sustainability encompasses the efficient
use of resources, corporate policies that protect the natural
environment, a healthy built environment and a higher quality of
life---in short, green buildings.

The greening of the corporate world means facility professionals---now
and in the future---have to be knowledgeable about:

• energy conservation and energy management systems;

• alternative energy systems (photovoltaics, wind energy, fuel cells);

• solar water heating;

• heat recovery systems;

• water and waste management;

• recycling;

• lighting quality;

• noise control;

• indoor air quality; and

• enviroscaping.

Going green may even be worth more green of another kind. According to
the U.S. Green Buildings Council, environmentally friendly and efficient
buildings may actually have a higher worth, which may be reflected in
lower insurance rates or in negotiating a loan.

A changing workforce and a shortage of trades

Where will the next wave of facility managers come from as the current
generation approaches retirement age? And who will populate the trades
necessary to keep facilities in tip-top shape? In the workforce, there
are signs that fewer younger people entering training programs and
vocational training programs are shifting their emphasis to computer
training---a good sign for technology fields, but not for facilities.
Special-ized tradesmen like electricians are reaching their retirement
goal, but the parade of young people aspiring to fill their shoes seems
more like a trickle.

While associations like IFMA are trying to promote and encourage
students to pursue facility management degrees through recognized
programs and scholarships, the

question remains---will the demand soon outweigh the supply of qualified
personnel?

FMJ

**About the author:** Deborah Hensel is the editor of Facility
Management Journal, communications manager for IFMA and a member of
IFMA's forecasting team that has made trend-watching its primary goal.
Team members who contributed to this article include Charles Claar, CFM;
Shari Epstein; Donald Young; Diana Steinman; Angelique Vesey; Jennifer
Uschold; Erica Oliver; and Laura Clark.