Facility Executive

Here’s a scene playing out across more and more federal facilities. A facilities team stands up a new analytics layer or a fresh building management platform. It works — the dashboards are good, the energy data finally lives in one place, everyone is happy. Then, a few weeks later, someone from the agency’s information security office asks who has remote access to the chiller plant, where the platform sends its data, and whether it is in the system inventory.

Commercial grounds maintenance is undergoing a fundamental shift as rising labor costs and staffing shortages force facility managers to rethink traditional workflows. While autonomous mowing offers a compelling solution, successfully integrating robotic equipment requires looking beyond the machine itself and investing in a new operational model.

Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly embedded in how organizations work, but for safety-critical industries, adoption raises an important question: Where can AI improve the work, and where does human expertise remain essential? Fire protection offers a useful example. AI is not replacing engineers or making critical life safety decisions.

By Facility Executive While traditional safety infrastructure is focused on preventing hazards and documenting events after the fact, it frequently fails to support the individual employee at the exact moment they need to signal for help and share their location. In this Q&A with Silent Beacon CEO Kenny Kelley, we examine how wearable safety tools are bridging persistent response gaps with real-time capabilities that support location intelligence, instant escalation, and two-way communication.

A basic understanding of balancing, differential pressure, and delta-T helps facility teams ask better questions, evaluate system performance more effectively, and work more productively with their design and service partners. When operational goals, hydronic design, and control strategies are aligned, buildings are more comfortable, efficient, and easier to operate. Every facility manager has seen it happen: one room is “freezing” while another across the hall stays warm.

By Samar Kawar, UG2 From the September 2026 Issue Most facility leaders are eager to take advantage of AI’s promised improvements in efficiency, cost savings, decision-making, and service delivery. But because AI is moving so fast and its implications are so significant, many are unsure of how and when to pull the trigger. That’s understandable. One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is implementing AI before clearly defining the business problems they are trying to solve.

Security operations are undergoing a fundamental transformation. Advances in cloud connectivity, autonomous technologies, and artificial intelligence are changing how organizations detect, assess, and respond to events across increasingly complex environments. Each year, Securitas Technology’s Global Technology Outlook Report examines the forces shaping the future of electronic security through insights from clients, security professionals, technology innovators, and industry experts.

Facility Executive September 2026 Issue (Volume 39, Number 3) Facility leaders are tasked with protecting people, assets, and operations in increasingly complex environments. They must strike a delicate balance between safety and comfort, with the goal of creating secure surroundings that remain welcoming. In the September 2026 issue of Facility Executive, we explore the unique challenges of an evolving security landscape.

Rich Products is putting underutilized space at its Buffalo, New York headquarters to work, completing a $3.2 million renovation that transforms it into a modern Customer Innovation Center. The redesigned facility combines flexible collaboration areas, advanced digital technology, culinary and hospitality spaces, and dedicated production studios—illustrating how existing corporate space can be repurposed to support evolving business needs.

Small facility devices can create maintenance problems well out of proportion to their size once they’re damaged or tampered with. HVAC units, fire panels, and access-control servers get budgeted, monitored, and maintained on schedule. The smaller devices connected to those systems, such as pull stations, thermostats, smoke detectors, access-control readers, and wireless sensors, get installed once and then receive far less attention than the major systems they support.