VFA Launches Thought Leadership Webinar Series on Facilities Capital Planning
Boston, MA (PRWEB) October 23, 2013 -- VFA, Inc., the leading provider of end-to-end solutions for facilities capital planning and asset management, today announced its 2013-2014 webinar series, "Deliver Strategic Value From Your Facilities Capital Investment." The series, focused on best practices and key learnings for facility managers, will feature one webinar each month with speakers including industry leaders and rising stars in facilities management.
The series launches on Wednesday, October 30, 2013 at 2 p.m. ET with "Developing a Chief Facilities Officer Mindset," presented by Skip Smith, vice president of supply chain and physical asset services for Catholic Health Initiatives and past president of the American Society of Healthcare Engineers (ASHE). Smith will discuss the evolution of the facilities management professional, largely driven by the fact in most organizations, facilities represent the second largest expenditure behind human resources. If managed well, this shift to an increasingly important and strategic role can be a positive development for facilities management professionals, providing opportunities to grow and develop in their careers and increase their contributions to organizational success. To register for this webinar, visit the VFA website.
Upcoming webinars include:
• November 21: Susan Buchanan, vice president of sustainability services, LEED AP, VFA, Inc., will present "Where Can You Save? Integrating Energy Audits into a Facilities Capital Planning Program" at 2 p.m. ET. Facing a budget crunch, many facility managers are being pushed to focus on energy savings opportunities. But where to start and how to cost-effectively get the necessary data? Taking detailed systems data, occupancy and operations information, as well as utility data, an informative energy audit can add another dimension to project prioritization and facilities capital planning. Buchanan, a frequent industry speaker, will discuss energy modeling and how its integration into facilities capital planning can solve a major challenge for facility managers.
• December 12: Marco Benitez, director of analysis, assessment and risk management, Florida International University, will present "Establishing an Ongoing Facilities Capital Planning Program - Part I: Getting Started" at 2 p.m. ET. Often, the process of planning for facilities capital spending takes place on an annual, as-needed basis, and may not look out further than a year or two into the future. The benefits of establishing an ongoing program, however, cannot be overstated. It’s important to define a clear, data-driven capital planning process that sets expectations; to maintain condition and other key facility data to ensure your plans are based on reliable information; and to benchmark and monitor progress. Benitez manages the lifecycle asset management process at FIU, developing a facilities capital planning program for more than 8.4 million square feet valued at $2.4 billion.
• January 16: Ken Fletcher, deputy director of facilities, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, will present "Establishing an Ongoing Facilities Capital Planning Program - Part 2: Enhancing the Program" at 2 p.m. ET. Once organizations have gained control of their facility portfolio with a clear understanding of current conditions and the cost to address issues, and put a defensible capital budget in place, what’s next? With technology, process change and stakeholder buy-in, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has taken facilities capital planning and management to the next level. As an award-winning leader in the field, Fletcher used process redesign, sophisticated data analysis and innovative technology to successfully transform facilities capital planning into a strategic initiative that supports the critical mission of the Lab.
The remaining schedule for 2014 is as follows (specific dates and times to be announced on VFA’s Events Calendar):
• February: Your Facilities Users: Improving the Customer Experience
• March: Identifying and Reducing Risk in Your Facilities
• April: Site Linear: Assessing and Analyzing Assets Beyond Your Buildings
• May: Best Practices for Prioritizing Facilities Capital Investments
• June: Innovative Trends in Facility Data Collection
• July: Beyond Condition Data: Functional Adequacy
• August: Building a Business Case for a Facilities Capital Planning Program
• September: Running an Effective Facilities Capital Planning Program: What Resources Do You Need?
To connect with VFA, please follow us on Twitter at @VFAINC, or visit our blog, Foundations, which provides information to readers that serves as a foundation for intelligent facilities capital planning and management.
About VFA
Headquartered in Boston, VFA is the leading provider of end-to-end solutions for facilities capital planning and sustainability. VFA solutions uniquely combine facility assessment services, web-based software and business consulting services to enable customers to manage every stage of the capital asset lifecycle—from requirements gathering and long-term planning to capital budget creation and spend management. More than 650 organizations in corporate, education, government and healthcare markets have relied on VFA solutions to strategically manage their capital assets. VFA’s flagship software product, VFA.facility®, is currently used to manage more than 4 billion square feet of real estate. For more information, please call 800-693-3132 or visit http://www.vfa.com.
Ellen Cliggott, VFA, Inc., +1 (617) 772-8221, [email protected]
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