Facility Management 3: Relocation and Operational Issues

Course Introduction

Facility Life Cycle 3, Relocation and Operational Issues, provides an overview of issues related to office moves, facility maintenance, risk management, and current issues for facility managers. Among the topics you will study are relocation scheduling, types of maintenance plans, ergonomics, disaster recovery and planning, computer-aided facility management (CAFM), and alternative work arrangements. In this course, you also begin to develop the practical skills needed to perform an office move by carrying out a major project related to a strategic office relocation. In addition, you continue to acquire the people skills required for facility management by studying the skills you will need to be an effective supervisor.

Course Objectives

After mastering the material in this course, you will be able to

• strategically plan for and carry out a move (Lesson One);
• strategically plan for the occupancy and start-up process, and post-occupancy evaluations (Lesson One);
• carry out a maintenance program, including inventory management, tenant improvement, and staff management (Lesson Two);

• Course Preview

  • 4 lessons
  • 4 assignments
    • 10 writing exercises
    • 8 team discussion forums
  • 1 Final Project and 3 Final Project discussion forums
  describe the features of a CMMS application for facility operation and maintenance (Lesson Two)
• develop an energy management plan and benchmark facility energy performance (Lesson Two)
• identify needs for ADA compliance and develop solutions (Lesson Three);
• identify security needs and implement a security program (Lesson Three);
• plan and execute a disaster recovery program, including employee education (Lesson Three);
• analyze ergonomic issues and oversee modifications (Lesson Three);
• solve indoor air quality problems (Lesson Three);
• adapt the facility for alternative work environments (Lesson Four);
• develop and implement a commute trip reduction plan (Lesson Four);
• select appropriate computer-aided facility management software (Lesson Four);
• exercise the skills required for time management and conflict resolution (Lesson Four); and
• identify skills needed for employee performance management problem solving, planning, and delegation (Lesson Four).

The Online Environment

Your online course offers several advantages to the traditional classroom, including the comprehensive Online Student Handbook, the ability to communicate electronically with students and with your instructor, and links to a rich array of UW Library Services.

Online Student Handbook

This handbook answers questions about your online learning course, such as how to purchase your text, schedule an exam, obtain a transcript, and get technical help if you need it. The handbook also provides additional resources, such as how to order books or journals from the library and how to study for an online course.

Communication with Your Instructor and Student Peers

• Online Discussion Forums, designed by the University of Washington award winning Catalyst team, allow you to communicate with other currently enrolled students and with your instructor. We encourage you to use the forum to exchange ideas, resources, and comments about your course work with other students in this course. This unstructured forum is monitored by your instructor.
• You can use e-mail to ask me a question or preferably post your question on the forum. We will reply on the same forum.

UW Library Services

As an online student, you have access to a wealth of Web resources compiled to provide fast, easy access to information that supports your online learning experience. Organized by subjects, UW Library Resources link you to sites with help for writing and research, study skills, language learning, and library reference materials. All links have been assessed for credibility and reliability, and they are regularly monitored to ensure their usability.

About the Textbooks

In FLC 3, you will continue to use Facilities Planning and Relocation by David Owen. Owen's book will help you develop a schedule and budget for a move; assist with the installation and moving of furniture and equipment; guide you through the follow-up process after occupancy; and provide you with wonderful work sheets and checklists.

You will continue to use Facility Management by Rondeau et al, and in addition, you will find the new text, Facility Design and Management Handbook (FDMH) by Eric Teiholz particularly useful in this course. You will find useful discussions of maintenance and operations, ADA (Americans with Disabilities), security, disaster avoidance and recovery, and ergonomics in both of these texts.

As with FLC 1 and FLC 2, you will hone your writing skills by completing exercises from Writing that Works by Oliu.

About the Course

FLC 3 includes four lessons and four assignments, and a final project. You will also find key terms highlighted throughout the lessons and two scheduled class teleconferences. And as in previous FLC courses, you will seek out a mentor for this course.

To successfully complete this course, you must

• Complete reading assignments in the texts and the online Web Reading Assignments.
• Complete and submit all written exercises for each assignment.
• Actively contribute to the online team discussions for each assignment.
• Fulfill your team responsibility in completing a final project.

About the Lessons and About the Assignments and Final Project discuss the lessons, assignments, and final project in more detail.

Reading Assignments

For most of the lessons, readings are assigned from your texts. The online commentaries serve as an introduction to the topics covered in the texts. We recommend that you read the commentaries first, then the textbook(s) assignments, then any supplementary Web readings.

Key Terms

Most lessons include terms that are important to the concepts you will learn in the lesson and are intended to serve as guides to your study; these terms are highlighted where they appear in the text, and are also shown in a sidebar and compiled at the end of the lessons. You will be expected to use the terms in your written work and presentation material whenever possible. You will find the terms defined either in the lesson commentary, the assigned readings, or both.

Class Teleconferences

There are two class teleconferences scheduled during this course—one with the first lesson and one with the third lesson. The first, worth 2 points toward your grade, will be a "kick-off " conference to help orient you to the course. The second will focus on your final project, allowing you to ask your instructor specific questions about the project.

Class teleconferences are meant to provide you with an opportunity to talk with the instructor and other students in the class. You will be able to ask questions and get an immediate response. You should receive teleconference instructions with your registration materials.

See the Course Schedule for teleconference dates and times. Because the first teleconference counts towards your grade, students outside the specified time zone should notify the instructor to make other arrangements, if necessary.

You can also set up conference calls with your final project team by contacting Emily Gunther, 206-616-4720, egunther@extn.washington.edu.

Your FLC 3 Mentor

As in FLC 1 and 2, you will have the opportunity to apply what you are learning to the real world. In FLC 3, you will establish a relationship with a mentor, an experienced facility manager, and through interviewing your mentor, you will see practical applications of the concepts you study. You may keep the same mentor for FLC 3 that you had for FLC 2.

About the Lessons

There are four lessons in FLC 3; each lesson is two to three weeks in duration. For Lessons One and Two, extensive online commentaries help you focus on the main points of the text readings. For Lessons Three and Four, the focus is on current issues, such as ergonomics and alternative work environments. Instead of relying primarily on the commentaries and texts for information on these topics, you will rely on information from a variety of Web sites, selected for their professional presentation of the issues.

Lesson One: Planning and Executing a Facility Move

In this first lesson, we will discuss strategic plans for a facility move and prepare preliminary and final schedules for the move project. We will learn how to strategically plan for the occupancy/startup process, and carry out all procedures related to follow-up after occupancy.

Lesson Two: Maintaining Facility Systems

Lesson Two describes the areas of a building that typically are the facility manager's responsibility with regard to operations and maintenance, and describes the different types of maintenance and how they are part of an effective preventive maintenance program.We will learn to develop an energy management plan and describe the inventory management process. We will also identify key aspects of tenant improvements, as well as effective maintenance administration and core skills in management and supervision of employees and contractors. Finally, we will observe and discuss how what we are learning is relevant to our work experience.

Lesson Three: Risk Management

Lesson Three identifies issues pertaining to the following list, and discusses how you can develop action plans to address them:

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• security
• disaster recovery and planning
• indoor air quality
• ergonomics

Lesson Four: Current Issues in Facilities Management

In our final lesson, you will learn to recognize the issues involved in and develop an action plan for the following:

• transportation management
• alternative work environments
• commute trip reduction
• managing a satellite office facility
• computer-aided facility management software
• cost-benefit analysis
• developing skills needed for a supervisory position

About the Assignments and Final Project

There are two types of assignments for this course that count towards your grade: writing exercises and class or teams discussions (so participation counts). Your final project also counts toward your course grade.

Writing Exercises

There are two to three writing exercises for each lesson. For the first exercise, you will write a short memo that will enable your instructor to assess your writing skills. Other assignments are from several paragraphs to two pages in length.

Class/Team Discussions

In FLC 3, you'll continue to participate in online discussion forums, but there will be some changes. In FLC 1 and 2, satisfactory participation was measured by one substantive response to each discussion question, or a thoughtful response to another student's posting. In FLC 3, you will work in two teams—a forum team and a final project team. Satisfactory participation will consist of one original, substantive posting and one thoughtful response to a posting from a team member.

Each forum team will have three days to gather responses to the discussion assignments and post to the Team Summaries forum. Please remember that if you cannot participate in the team online group discussion, it will be your responsibility to work out with your team members a way to make up your assignment.

We will visit each of your team forums from time to time to validate that everyone is participating. Your grade for the forums will reflect whether or not you (1) contributed to the forum, and (2) demonstrated thoughtful application of course concepts to the discussion.

Twice during the course, we will let you know how we have graded you on the forums. You will receive the first grade after you have completed the Lesson Two discussion forum. This grade will reflect your participation in Lessons One and Two. You will receive your second grade after you complete the final project. This grade will reflect your participation in Lessons Three and Four and the final project

Final Project

In lieu of a final exam, you will work as a team member to carry out a final project in which you will develop a plan to relocate a small business. The project parameters will be the same for each team. You will be given sufficient information (floor plan, data about the business, and so on) to complete the project. For details, see the Final Project link on your syllabus.

Assignment Submission Guidelines

You will submit assignments using the "Submissions" link on your Course Syllabus.

• Refer to the Course Schedule on your online Course Syllabus for due dates.
• Make arrangements with the instructor in advance if you must turn in any assignment late. You may lose credit if you fail to do so.
• Save a copy of each assignment as a precaution.
• Please see individual lesson assignments for specific details.

You will submit a hardcopy of your final project report to both of your instructors.

• For Katherine Randall-Duffy send to
  PO Box 5304, Lacey, WA 98509-5304
• For Cynthia Putam send to
  Putman Price Group Inc.,
  605 First Ave., Ste. 401, Seattle, Wa 98104 USA

Assessment and Grading

Each assignment comprises two parts: writing exercises and online team discussions. The exercises and discussions are worth 58 points, your final project is worth 40, and your first teleconference is worth 2 points, for a total of 100 points. See the Course Schedule on your syllabus for the point breakdown by assignment, as well as for assignment due dates.

Late Assignments

If you know that your schedule during FLC 3 will prevent you from turning in an assignment on time, please notify your instructor the first week of class. If unforeseen circumstances arise that mean your work will be late, let your instructor know before the assignment due date to arrange late submission approval. Without instructor approval, 10% will be deducted from the assignment grade for each day it is late.

Time and Information Management

As with FLC 1 and 2, this course mirrors real-life facility management in terms of the time allotted for accomplishing tasks and the amount of information you will encounter. This section gives you suggestions for managing your study time and for handling the quantities of information you will need to absorb and evaluate in this course.

Budget Time for Assignments

The information in this course is designed to give you a comprehensive overview of the issues and processes that are important to your facility management career. Be sure to budget enough time each week to complete the reading assignments, and the viewing assignments when given. This will help you learn to assimilate and organize the quantities of information that will come your way—through a variety of media—as a facility manager.

Reading Tips

Because facility management is about information, you have a considerable amount of reading to do for this course. You should spend approximately three to five hours per lesson on the reading assignments. Use the lesson objectives and key terms as guides for what you should learn from the readings. As noted above, it will be to your benefit to read the commentaries first, then the readings in Oliu, Owen, Rondeau, and Teiholz, then any additional resources.

Other Resources

FLC 3 Resources

Numerous Internet, book, and professional journal resources relevant to the topics in this course are listed on the FLC 3 Resources page.

Your Personal Facility Management Resource Book

In the introduction to FLC 1, you were advised to start gathering and organizing information on facility management—the material from this course, as well as articles and brochures on facility-related subjects. Continue to add to your resource book throughout this course.

Recall that the developers of the UW Certificate Program in Facility Management suggest that you organize your resource book in a three-ring binder with separately tabbed sections and extra pockets in the front and back for temporary storage of loose sheets. Gathering facility information in this way will help you to integrate key concepts, terminology, and the knowledge of resources that you are learning about in this course. This organizational tool also will be an important resource book for your future employment in the facility management field.

Additional Resources: Enhancing Professional Development

As was recommended for FLC 1 and 2, make a point of regularly looking at professional journals, trade publications, and Web sites for facility-related organizations and businesses. Consider joining a professional organization or listserv; doing so will add to your professional portfolio and keep you abreast of trends in the profession.

About the Developers

Cynthia Putnam, Principal
Putnam Price Group, Inc.

Cynthia has two decades of experience working with clients to implement customer education programs in energy efficiency and resource conservation. She served on the management team of the Washington State Energy Office prior to establishing Putnam Price Group. Her recent work includes directing a national training and credential program in energy efficiency for operators of commercial and institutional buildings.

Cynthia serves on the Sustainability Task Force of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and is a board member of the IFMA Seattle chapter. She is an instructor in the National Sustainable Building Advisor certificate program, and has been a speaker at national conferences including the Summer Study of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy and IFMA’s World Workplace.

Cynthia is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a masters degree in public administration. She and her husband live in Seattle, Washington where they enjoy an active outdoor life in the region’s mountains, forests and lakes.

Katherine Randall-Duffy
Facilities Senior Planner for the State of Washington

Katherine's current responsibilities involve supervision of 7 staff, the oversight of 80+ leased and state owned facilities totaling over 870,000 square feet of office space, budget development and monitoring, and involvement in strategic facilities planning. During her 25-year career with the State, she has participated in the program development, space planning, and relocation of staff into a 409,000 square foot, $63,000,000 office building.  In addition, she has been responsible for the facilities planning and management of buildings ranging from 9,000 to 60,000 square feet.

Katherine is a member of IFMA (International Facilities Management Association) and founded the South Puget Sound chapter of IFMA in 1995. She served as president in 1995 and 1996, and is currently the president.

Katherine was a guest lecturer in the UW Facilities Management Certification Program for the Project Management classes held in the fall of 1995,1996, and 1997. She team-taught the Construction and Operations class (now Operations and Maintenance) in spring of 1998, and taught the FLC 3 distance learning class in the fall of 2000 through 2004.

Katherine received a B. A. in Interior Design from Washington State University (Pullman) in 1981. She received her certification in Facility Management from IFMA in 1993.

Katherine is an avid bicyclist and participated in the Seattle to Portland, STP, 200-mile bike ride 15 consecutive years. In addition, she loves to cook and enjoys modifying recipes to create a new taste.

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