Lighting accounts for between 35% to 70% of a building’s total energy consumption but also can contribute to the wellbeing of building occupants.  This session will look at solutions that will enable you to evaluate and implement an energy-management initiative, as well as the strategies that should be considered to focus on occupant wellbeing specific to lighting, with a focus on lighting controls.  With this knowledge you will be able to identify your facility’s energy savings potential and effective ways to proceed with the initial lighting system design or doing a lighting retrofit. We will also consider other key methods to track and reduce energy costs during and after the design process.

Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM), the maintenance management strategy originally developed in the 20th century by the airline industry to assure the reliability of jetliners, has for several decades been utilized by well-run facilities as an advanced maintenance management tool. This presentation will provide an introduction to RCM principles and to the comprehensive, risk-based approach to facilities management that RCM provides. The speaker will describe the transition from reactive and time-based maintenance strategies to proactive, condition-based methodologies that optimize asset performance, safety, and cost-efficiency. The presentation also outlines the RCM decision tree, aligning maintenance actions with regulatory standards (such as NFPA), and highlights the importance of continuous improvement, training, and data-driven decision-making. Case studies also will be included. The information can help move your facility to a very improved level of efficiency.

The City of Sunnyvale has embarked on the first phase of its Civic Center Modernization project, a multi-phased plan to modernize the 26-acre campus that includes the City Hall, Main Library, and Public Safety Headquarters. The first phase of the project included the new City Hall, new Emergency Operations Center (EOC), renovations to the Public Safety Headquarters, and site improvements. City Hall is LEED Platinum Certified and designed to meet Net Zero Energy by utilizing a microgrid and combining a battery energy storage system with a 1,653-panel solar array. The new EOC building is a dedicated Emergency Operations Center that is built to LEED Gold standards. Hear many interesting details about the Civic Center Modernization Phase 1 Project and gain ideas you can apply at your facility.

Strategic planning for facilities departments often stumbles out-of-the-gate due to inexperience or lack of data and quickly descends into a tactical planning exercise. Whether it is the chaos from “too many cooks in the kitchen” or a fundamental failure to identify the linkages between one’s business unit and the organization’s strategic initiatives, the activities we refer to as “Strategic Planning” are often anything but strategic. In this session, facilities engineers and managers will learn the simple and key components to crafting a flexible and adaptable process to align their team’s strategy with the overarching goals of their organization. Attendees will also learn how to develop scorecards, playbooks and other tools that drive the tactical execution of strategy. Strategic planning is not difficult when you have the right building blocks.

As facilities managers know, California has been a leader in requiring energy benchmarking – it has been mandated for years by the state and cities for tracking energy use in larger buildings. But California requirements have gone beyond benchmarking of energy to Building Performance Standards (BPS) – i.e. tracking the carbon emissions of certain large buildings is now an additional requirement. This session is designed as a practical, interactive conversation grounded in what facility and asset teams are facing right now across California. The discussion will start with where we are today – benchmarking requirements already in place for many larger buildings – and connect that to what’s emerging next with Building Performance Standards, drawing on resources like the California Building Decarbonization Hub to clarify timelines, reporting expectations, and policy direction. Rather than staying at the policy level, the presentation will work through how these changes show up in real decisions – operations, capital planning, and long-term asset performance. The speaker will share common missteps in the field, especially around sequencing, and offer a no-regrets pathway that prioritizes understanding your data, reducing load, and making smarter, better-timed investments. Attendees will leave the session with clarity, confidence, and a strategy they can effectively use at their facility.

In 2023, the National Fire Protection Association updated its NFPA 70B, which outlines proper electrical maintenance -- changing it from “recommended practice” to a “standard”, thereby making compliance required.  In this presentation, the speaker will describe essential steps needed to develop an electrical maintenance program in accordance with the NFPA 70B standard. This includes: well-documented procedures, meticulous records, thorough personnel training, and a structured plan for routine inspections, testing, and corrective actions based on the condition and significance of the equipment. Find out what you need to know to ensure your company's compliance and safety.

Accessibility in facilities is often driven by ADA and applicable state and local regulatory compliance (restrooms, entries, parking lots are main examples), but often not considered is the role of preventive maintenance in keeping accessibility on-target and on budget. PM teams are often the first to detect accessibility issues: loose handrails, deteriorated curb ramps or door hardware that exceeds allowable force. Training maintenance staff to recognize such conditions integrates accessibility into everyday operations. Creating an accessible maintenance checklist within existing facility software can formalize this process and documenting these results reduces future backlog and promotes continuous improvement. Industry data shows that unplanned retrofits typically cost 25-40% more than accessibility upgrades performed during scheduled maintenance work. Thus, when accessibility improvements become integrated into capital planning they not only support multiple facility objectives but reduce costs. Learn the details in this valuable presentation.

This presentation will assist facilities managers with concepts of green stormwater infrastructure (e.g., bioretention), including design guidance, maintenance considerations like irrigation, weeds, pesticides and litter removal. Learn how you can achieve important water quality and aesthetic goals for the property you manage, while also keeping maintenance requirements in mind. Whether you are interested in bioretention or a pervious pavement system for managing stormwater runoff from parking lots, rooftops or streets, or whether you manage a larger campus, this presentation will provide valuable information that can help you improve your site. A variety of photos will be included, with examples of do's and don'ts.

The NFPA 70E standard includes a focus on arc flash/short circuit analysis and mitigation on low- and medium-voltage systems. Learn what you need to know about the arc flash/short circuit study (required by OSHA) that is part of the standard, and with which you need to comply. If the study indicates that some of your equipment is underrated and has high incident energy levels, maintaining the equipment can be difficult. This session will show how a facility can lower incident energy levels and properly deal with equipment found to be underrated.

This session will review select changes in the California Energy Code between the 2022 and the 2025 versions (the 2025 version began taking effect in January 1, 2026). The speaker will discuss the major changes and the ramifications they can have on HVAC systems. Details on minor changes, like efficiencies of equipment or envelopes, also will be included.

San José State University supports a dynamic campus community of nearly 40,000 students across more than 200 acres, requiring a coordinated and adaptable approach to emergency management. This session will provide an overview of the university’s Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and, more importantly, the partnerships and coordination structures that bring the plan to life. Attendees will learn how emergency preparedness extends beyond a written document through continuous collaboration, training, exercises, and relationship-building across campus departments and external agencies. The presentation will explore how the EOP serves as a living framework that evolves through after-action reviews, tabletop exercises, operational feedback, and real-world incidents.

The National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code (NFPA 72) -- provides the latest safety provisions to meet changing fire detection, signaling, and emergency communications demands for facilities. In addition to the core focus on fire alarm systems, the Code includes requirements for mass notification systems used for emergencies. The speaker will explain the latest NFPA 72 revisions in the 2025 and 2022 editions. Topics to be discussed include smoke detector spacing, fuel gas detection, acoustic leak detection, and carbon monoxide detection criteria. Battery and power-related updates also are included. Learn what you need to know to ensure that your facility is in compliance. 

Building exteriors are comprised of a wealth of areas that are prone to water intrusion – doors, windows, facades – as well as areas that lend themselves to vandalism. This presentation will describe how to prioritize maintenance inspections and take timely actions (waterproofing, graffiti prevention) to avoid deterioration and related expenses.