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Navigating the Journey to AI-Ready Buildings by Schneider Electric

William Attardi on August 20, 2026

This paper explores how AI systems can be implemented and operated in commercial buildings to address the significant challenges that facility managers and building owners face today and in the immediate future. It also considers the wide range of benefits and new opportunities presented by the adoption of AI-enabled technologies and platforms, as well as all the key requirements for implementing AI in commercial buildings and across real estate portfolios. Download the paper: Navigating the Journey to AI-Ready Buildings | Buildings

White Paper: Navigating the Journey to AI-Ready Buildings by Schneider Electric

William Attardi on August 5, 2026

This paper explores how AI systems can be implemented and operated in commercial buildings to address the significant challenges that facility managers and building owners face today and in the immediate future. It also considers the wide range of benefits and new opportunities presented by the adoption of AI-enabled technologies and platforms, as well as all the key requirements for implementing AI in commercial buildings and across real estate portfolios. Navigating the Journey to AI-Ready Buildings | Buildings

BAS: Five Global Trends That Will Define Your Strategy

William Attardi on July 17, 2026

Building automation is entering a smarter, more connected era, but outdated systems, rising energy costs and workforce gaps can quickly limit performance. This article explores five global trends shaping BAS and shows how AI, cloud-based platforms, integrated controls and intelligent retrofits can improve efficiency, strengthen resilience and protect long-term investments. Read it now to build a future-ready strategy before today’s limitations become tomorrow’s obstacles.

Specifying Sustainability with Confidence

William Attardi on June 30, 2026

Sustainability is no longer a separate design consideration—it is central to how buildings are planned, specified, operated and evaluated. This cross-brand eBook brings together timely insights on the evolving practice of specifying for sustainability. From navigating LEED v5 and understanding standardized Environmental Product Declarations to evaluating biomaterials, healthier interiors, energy-saving solutions and next-generation product selection tools, this resource is designed to help built environment professionals make more informed decisions with confidence. Whether you are designing a new space, renovating an existing building, managing a portfolio or advising clients on better material choices, this eBook offers a practical look at the tools, trends and strategies shaping sustainable specification today. Specifying Sustainability with Confidence: Your guide to smarter product selection, material transparency and high-performance buildings | Buildings

Facility Management Market Expected to Nearly Double by 2035 by Elaina Myers

William Attardi on June 24, 2026

As commercial and institutional buildings become smarter and business operations more interconnected, facility management is emerging as a powerful force behind efficiency, sustainability and long-term organizational success. The global facility management market is on a strong growth trajectory, with new research from Global Market Insights  projecting the industry will expand from more than $2.45 trillion today to over $4.70 trillion by 2035.  Several factors are driving this growth. Rapid urbanization, continued investment in smart infrastructure and rising demand for efficient building operations are reshaping the landscape. Facility management is no longer viewed solely as a maintenance function but as a critical discipline that supports workplace productivity, occupant safety and long-term resilience. Facility Management Market Expected to Nearly Double by 2035 – Facility Management Facilities Management Quick Read

Successfully Incorporating AI Into Building by Gretchen Catlin

William Attardi on June 4, 2026

Operations Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as one of the most practical tools: not as a replacement for skilled staff, but as a workforce multiplier that captures knowledge, sharpens decisions and extends the capacity of the teams we have. Key Takeaways:

  • With a large portion of the facilities workforce nearing retirement, AI can help preserve critical institutional knowledge before it is lost.
  • AI can improve facility operations by supporting predictive maintenance, analyzing data and streamlining everyday tasks such as communications, documentation and capital planning.
  • Organizations can successfully adopt AI by starting with small, practical applications while addressing cybersecurity, cost and workforce training considerations.

Successfully Incorporating AI Into Building Operations – Facilities Management Insights

AI Analytics Step In as Energy Standards Tighten and Resources Shrink by Laurie Gilmer

William Attardi on February 17, 2026

Meeting energy and emissions reduction targets, particularly as they become more stringent, can be tough for many facilities. Between the need to operate efficiently, emerging BEPS requirements and balancing limited resources, facilities teams need help identifying where improvements can be made. Enter AI analytic tools, which can analyze building automation data, energy use patterns and even weather data to identify operational inefficiencies, make recommendations for optimizing setpoints and start-up times and identify inconsistencies in performance data. This leads to efficient overall system operations. Advances in AI for facilities……have become part of the toolkit that helps managers meet their goals of having efficient, safety and compliant facilities that meet the needs of the people who occupy them. AI Analytics Step In as Energy Standards Tighten and Resources Shrink – Facilities Management Insights

Unlocking Smart Efficiency: Your Guide to AI-Ready Buildings

William Attardi on November 18, 2025

Discover how AI can optimize energy, comfort, and operations and how you can lead smarter, more sustainable buildings. Navigate the transition to AI-ready buildings.  This whitepaper offers insights into energy optimization, alarm management, sustainability reporting, and predictive maintenance.  Gain actionable strategies, real-world case studies, and a clear roadmap to harness AI for smarter, more efficient, and future-proof building operations.  Unlocking Smart Efficiency: Your Guide to AI-Ready Buildings | Buildings

Honeywell Study Reveals More Than 80% of Commercial Building Managers Plan to Increase the Use of AI to Optimize Operations

William Attardi on March 8, 2025

Honeywell released the findings of its AI in Buildings study, which revealed that 84% of commercial building decision makers plan to increase their use of AI in the next year to help them improve security, streamline energy management and integrate predictive maintenance. In this study of U.S. building managers and decision makers with more than 250 building occupants, Honeywell found that across property types, respondents are increasingly using AI to help improve process efficiency, productivity and operations. However, since most respondents (92%) reported challenges in hiring skilled, tech-savvy individuals, a greater opportunity remains ahead for building operations to tap into AI’s capabilities to enhance employee training, augment their current workforce and ultimately help upskill labor to support the sector’s rapidly changing needs.  Honeywell study reveals more than 80% of commercial building managers plan to increase the use of ai to optimize operations

It’s Back to School – How Some of Our Most Acknowledged Universities Got Their Name – Who were the true visionaries who would donate half of their estate to sculpting the minds of the future. These stories are monuments to history and culture. Let’s take a stroll through academia’s memory lane and uncover the origins of these storied university names!

  1. Ah, Harvard! The Ivy League giant was once a small college in the Massachusetts Bay Colony settlement called New Towne. But where did “Harvard” come from? Enter John Harvard, a clergyman who, in 1638, decided to bequeath half his estate and his library (a whopping 400 books!) to the fledgling college. Grateful for this generous gift, they promptly named the institution after him.
  2. A gem of New Haven, Connecticut, Yale is another Ivy League powerhouse known for its prestigious law and drama schools. It owes its name to Elihu Yale, a wealthy merchant who, in 1718, donated a modest shipment of goods (including portraits, books, and textiles) to a struggling collegiate school. Those goods were auctioned off, raising a much-needed £562 –a small fortune at the time.
  3. Dartmouth is renowned for its beautiful rural setting, nestled in the picturesque town of Hanover, New Hampshire. It was named after the Earl of Dartmouth, William Legge, a British nobleman who supported the college’s founding –despite never actually setting foot in America!
  4. Brown, this Rhode Island Ivy University, known for its open curriculum and emphasis on student choice, was founded with a mouthful of a name – the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. It was renamed in 1704 for Nicholas Brown, Jr., a prominent merchant whose family donated generously to the school.
  5. Perched atop a hill overlooking Ithaca, New York, Cornell is celebrated for its diverse academic programs and its stunning natural surroundings. Founded by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, this university was unique for its commitment to practical education, allowing students the freedom to choose their own course of study. It was a revolutionary notion at the time, which would guide a curricular reform across the country.
  6. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford is renowned for its entrepreneurial spirit and its close ties to the tech industry. But this California powerhouse has a touching origin story. Leland Stanford, Jr., the founder’s son, tragically died young from typhoid fever. His father Leland Sr., railroad magnate and former state governor, and his mother Jane, founded the university in his memory, ensuring his legacy lived on through the pursuit of knowledge.
  7. This North Carolina research giant, known for its strong medical and law schools, underwent a bit of a name change in its history. Originally called Trinity College, it was renamed Duke University in 1924 after James Buchanan Duke, a tobacco and electric power industrialist who founded the American Tobacco Company. He established The Duke Endowment, to which he donated throughout his life and left half his estate after his death.
  8. Nestled in Nashville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt is a renowned research university with a vibrant campus life. It owes its name to “The Commodore,” Cornelius Vanderbilt, a shipping and railroad magnate, who provided the initial gift to establish the university.
  9. Texas businessman William Marsh Rice provided the initial funding for this Houston university, but did not live to see its opening. He was murdered by his valet as he slept, in a plot to forge the man’s will. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, Rice University flourished through the years, becoming an institution known for its strong engineering and science programs.
  10. Who was Harvard named after? Origin of university names