Jones Lang Lasalle’s 3-30-300 rule postulates that organizations spend on average $3 for Utilities, $30 for Rent/Built Space and $300 on Payroll per square foot per year. As facilities managers, the perceived circle of control has been on the “3” and the “30”, with little attention paid to the “300”. They have spent the last decade or two on reducing their operational and energy costs. While they have been successful at achieving their goals, it sometimes has been done with minimal focus on occupant comfort, health, or safety. These factors have been shown to have a significant impact on the productivity of an organization’s greatest asset, the people. This perception has drastically changed during the COVID pandemic when occupants started asking the facilities managers – “Is my building safe to occupy?”. A recent survey of prospective college students’ parents, identified Indoor Air Quality as one of the top concerns for university selection (Campus cleanliness and indoor air quality ranked in top three most important factors for college or university selection (jll.com)). This attention to occupant health has brought the facilities manager to the head of the table to answer this question.
Unfortunately, there is not an “easy button” to quantify and communicate the health or safety of facilities. There are several organizations out there now that have a product or certifications to evaluate buildings with occupant health and sustainability at center stage. But most, if not all, require a significant monetary and/or time investment. These are all great organizations with excellent initiatives, but many facilities managers cannot make these investments. However, they are still left with the task of conveying the health of their building(s). It is also imperative that they can also continuously monitor that condition by use of smart building technology.
It is for this reason that APPA Board has decided to make Healthy, Smart Buildings a key initiative. At present, a small group of industry experts are leading the charge to develop a self-assessment, decision-making framework for healthy buildings with investment in smart technologies across a campus or real estate portfolio.