By Facility Executive Editors
Published in the January/February 2015 issue
Numerous companies offer products and services that meet the diverse needs of facility management (FM) professionals. For the past 22 years our editors have asked readers to vote for their preferred vendors in a variety of categories. For this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards, the survey included more than 40 categories, and FM professionals were asked to indicate what companies they rated highest based on product aesthetics, product reliability, value, and customer service.
ACCESS CONTROL
ASSA ABLOY
The IN120, from ASSA ABLOY Group brands Corbin Russwin and SARGENT, offers 802.11 WiFi in the most streamlined design yet. Using WiFi infrastructure allows easier, more cost-effective installations. HID® multiCLASS® SE™ technology enables support for multiple credential types and mobile access.
ADA & ERGONOMICS
Humanscale
The Diffrient Smart chair backrest has a tri-panel fit much like a custom-tailored shirt, providing instant lumbar support using Humanscale’s Form-Sensing Mesh Technology. Smart automatically adjusts to the body weight of each sitter to provide ideal recline support.
BUILDING AUTOMATION SYSTEMS
Siemens Building Technologies
The APOGEE® building automation system from Siemens lets facilities integrate multiple building systems, regardless of manufacturer or installer. In addition, it allows facilities to achieve greater flexibility through open protocol interoperability, and to expand, upgrade, and optimize systems easily.
BUILDING MATERIALS
Georgia-Pacific Gypsum
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific is a leading manufacturer and marketer of building products, tissue, packaging, paper, cellulose, and related chemicals. The company employs nearly 35,000 people worldwide. Billions of square feet of DensDeck® roof boards have been installed in thousands of commercial roofing systems worldwide for nearly 30 years. DensDeck and DensDeck Prime panels feature the mold resistance, fire resistance, strength, and dimensional stability built into the entire Dens® portfolio.
CABLING & CABLE MANAGEMENT
Legrand®/Wiremold
Legrand is committed to developing new products that make meeting rooms more efficient with built-in flexible cable management. One example is OFR Series Overfloor Raceway, an ADA compliant system designed for installations where access through floors and ceilings is not an option.
CARPET
Mannington Commercial®
The company offers a wide variety of flooring products—carpet, LVT, resilient sheet, rubber, and more—each designed to work as a coordinated portfolio. Connected Collection helps define spaces through changes in texture, pattern, and color cue, while staying connected to the total design.
CARPET FIBERS/TREATMENTS
Invista/Antron®
Antron® carpet fiber is a high performance ingredient designed to help spaces look great on day one, as well as years down the road. Whether it’s style and flexibility, long-term performance, or whatever the floor demands, it’s worth a closer look, at carpets made of Antron® fiber.
CEILINGS/CEILING TILES
Armstrong® Commercial Ceilings
Armstrong Ceilings is constantly innovating to provide facility managers with easy-to-specify products and programs tailored to meet changing market needs. As a result, Armstrong continues to offers a very broad standard and custom portfolio of total ceiling solutions for every type of space.
CLEANING/MAINTENANCE PRODUCTS
Staples Facility Solutions
Staples Advantage continues its commitment to protect human and environmental health, while enabling businesses to meet their sustainability and safety objectives. The Sustainable Earth by Staples® line of products features efficient, affordable, safer, and more sustainable alternatives to traditional cleaners. The Sustainable Earth by Staples Neutral Cleaner is formulated for daily use to clean, degrease, and deodorize floors, walls, stainless steel, porcelain, metal, and glass, without using harmful chemicals or leaving residues behind.
CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION (CCTV)
Sony
SNC-XM632 is an attractive, functional full HD IP minidome camera, with an Exmor CMOS sensor, SD card slot, 90dB wide dynamic range, 113° horizontal viewing angle, XDNR, image stabilizer, built-in microphone, RJ45 connector, IK10, IP66, and PoE.
CONFERENCE ROOM FURNITURE & EQUIPMENT
The HON Company
Through its Voice of the Customer process, the HON Company listens and produces workplace solutions that customers need to be successful. Preside® Conference Series tables offer styles from cozy café to large conference rooms, and easily adapt to accommodate any space or work style, making it easy for people and ideas to connect.
DATA CENTER MANAGEMENT
Schneider Electric
StruxureWare™ Data Center Operation is designed to provide facility managers with access to all the data and tools they need to operate data centers with multiple tenants, including wholesale, retail, managed hosting, and cloud providers. This offering helps to reduce capital and operational expenses by optimizing power capacity, right-sizing physical infrastructure, and integrating with existing DCIM systems.
DOORS/DOOR HARDWARE/LOCKS
Corbin Russwin
The CL3100 Series Grade 1 lever lock by Corbin Russwin is designed to keep educational and healthcare facilities secure. The lock’s distinct construction features true interlocking between the lock body and latch and provides unparalleled strength and durability. The CL3100 Series exceeds ANSI/BHMA A156.2 Series 4000 Grade 1 cycle test standards.
EMERGENCY POWER
Trane Rental Services
Trane offers a more than 100 year history of innovation and engineering excellence in addressing commercial HVAC and indoor air quality needs. Trane Rental Services offers temporary HVAC solutions and also offers GPS equipped generators for detailed monitoring which provide the power needed to run systems during disaster recovery, planned events, and renovations.
EMPLOYEE ID/BADGE PRINTERS
HID Global
HID Global provides a comprehensive array of printers for custom card personalization. HID Global’s FARGO® Direct-to-Card (DTC) and High Definition (HDP) printers meet the card customization needs of small businesses, global enterprise organizations, and government agencies worldwide.
ENERGY MANAGEMENT
Schneider Electric
A focused approach to building systems, strips away layers of complexity to integrate multiple systems in a building to achieve enterprise-wide facilities management. This uses less energy, enhances security, speeds response times, and maintains optimal environments for occupants as well as saving users up to 30% on energy costs over time.
FACILITY MANAGEMENT SERVICES
DTZ, A UGL COMPANY
DTZ is a global leader in commercial real estate services. Their core capabilities include facilities management, facilities services, corporate and global occupier services, agency leasing, tenant representation, property management, capital markets, building consultancy, research, consulting, and project and development management.
FACILITY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
Autodesk®
Autodesk Building Design Suite, which includes Autodesk Revit software at the core, extends the value of building information modeling (BIM) into the operations phase of the building life cycle. Richly attributed data about building assets and 3D geometry from a Revit model can be integrated with operations and maintenance solutions to streamline handover, increase efficiencies, and lower costs for facility executives.
FIRE/LIFE SAFETY PRODUCTS
SimplexGrinnell®
The fire and life safety products from SimplexGrinnell are built with facility managers and other end users in mind. As a Tyco business, they advance safety and security with connected, Internet-based technologies, and solutions that increase uptime, improve operational efficiency, and reduce overall costs.
FLOORING
Armstrong® Commercial Flooring
Armstrong, a trusted leader in commercial flooring, provides facility managers with outstanding design options, durable performance, easy maintenance, and budget friendly solutions for every space with a broad portfolio of LVT, BioBased Tile®, sheet, linoleum, VCT, laminate, and hardwood products. Natural Creations® Luxury Vinyl Tile is now available with the I-Set™ Installation System, a durable quick installation method that minimizes disruptions and returns revenue-generating spaces to immediate operational status. This all-in-one flooring solution offers proven designs, long-lasting performance, and easy maintenance in an innovative, easy-to-install product that eliminates the need for traditional adhesives. I-Set is suitable for quick turn renovations and fast track construction projects.
FURNITURE
Herman Miller
Locale is an element of Living Office, Herman Miller’s proprietary approach and methodology that enables organizations to customize their methods, tools, and places of work. To facilitate the creation of office layouts where high performance teams can work fluidly, Sam Hecht and Kim Colin of Industrial Facility designed Locale—an elegant solution that recognizes that collaboration and flexibility are integral to good business.
FURNITURE-REFURBISHED
Davies Office Refurbishing, Inc.
Transform old, tired looking furniture into contemporary designed solutions. Davies will re-engineer and re-work existing furniture by remanufacturing it to “Like New Like Now” options. Take taller panels, filing, and storage and re-index it to lower heights and workspace solutions.
FURNITURE-SEATING
Steelcase
Technology is the single greatest force driving the changes in the way people work, live, and behave. The new, multiple devices workers deploy throughout the work day allow them to flow between tasks, fluidly and frequently. Gesture is the first office chair designed to support these interactions with today’s technologies. It was inspired by the movement of the human body and created for the way people work today.
GROUNDSKEEPING/FACILITY FLEET
Cushman
Cushman recognizes the importance of job site safety and now offers optional Roll-Over Protection Systems (ROPS) for its line of Hauler utility vehicles, including the Hauler, Hauler X, and Hauler PRO models. ROPS provides full rollover protection and absorbs the impact during an accidental rollover.
HVAC/INDOOR AIR QUALITY (IAQ)
Johnson Controls
The new user interface in the Metasys® building automation system by Johnson Controls transforms building data into intelligence to better manage HVAC, lighting, security, and fire protection systems on one platform. New system configurations, programming capabilities, and additional IT features improve productivity, reduce energy costs, and enhance security.
LED LIGHTING
GE Lighting
GE Lighting invents with the vigor of its founder, Thomas Edison, to develop energy efficient solutions that change the way people light their world in commercial, industrial, municipal, and residential settings. GE works on things that matter to build a world that works better.
LIGHTING
Lithonia Lighting
Lithonia Lighting offers a broad portfolio for lighting applications. Its fluorescent, HID, and LED lighting are recognized for quality, reliability, and solid performance. The company’s portfolio of luminaires includes commercial indoor and outdoor lighting, industrial high bay and special environment lighting, exits and emergency systems, downlighting, decorative residential lighting, and relighting and retrofit products.
LIGHTING CONTROLS
OSRAM SYLVANIA
Polaris 3D® is a scalable lighting control system that empowers owners to maximize the cost-effectiveness and occupant experience of their lighting spaces with a click of the mouse. Developed in North America, the Polaris 3D software is at the core of OSRAM SYLVANIA’s ENCELIUM light management system that facilitates the commissioning, usage, and data analysis of the lighting installation.
OFFICE TECHNOLOGY/COMMUNICATIONS
AT&T Services
AT&T’s cloud-based Unified Communications (UC) Services support collaboration in real time with tools such as instant messaging, conferencing, e-mail, and voice calling. AT&T’s Wi-Fi services can support wireless connectivity throughout a facility and provide an enhanced customer experience.
PAINT
Sherwin-Williams
Harmony Interior Acrylic Latex Paint helps reduce common odors and promotes better indoor air quality. Its Odor Eliminating Technology helps reduce common indoor odors so rooms stay fresher, longer. Harmony’s Formaldehyde Reducing Technology decreases airborne concentrations of formaldehyde and other aldehydes. This technology helps reduce the levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from potential sources like insulation, carpet, furniture, fabrics, and other building materials. Harmony Paint delivers great hide and a durable finish that withstands frequent washings, in a zero VOC formula. Harmony has achieved GREENGUARD GOLD certification.
PAPER PRODUCTS (CAFETERIA, RESTROOM)
Kimberly-Clark Professional
It All Adds Up to Creating Exceptional Workplaces*, Sustainably Delivered. Introduce a facility to the first towels in the industry to contain non-tree fibers—Kleenex® Brand towels containing 20% bamboo fibers. Designed with patented Absorbency Pockets*, so users need fewer towels to dry their hands. The result: more towels left in the dispenser, more time between refills, less paper waste, and, in many cases, less cost for the business.
PEST/BIRD CONTROL/DETERRENTS
Bird-X
For over 50 years, Bird-X products have protected businesses worldwide from pest birds and the diseases they carry. Bird-X Bird Spikes are environmentally friendly, maintenance-free, and 100% effective everywhere they are installed.
PLUMBING/FAUCETS/FIXTURES
Sloan fixture systems make WaterSense. Sloan has more EPA WaterSense®-certified commercial fixtures than any other manufacturer. The Superdome, Dodger Stadium, and many other customers use Sloan water closet and urinal fixtures with water efficient flushometers, such as this small urinal with a solar-powered SOLIS® flushometer.
RECYCLING PRODUCTS
Rubbermaid Commercial Products
Rubbermaid Commercial Products is dedicated to providing products that facilities can depend on to get the job done safely and efficiently. Element decorative recycling containers provide durable centralized solutions for indoor facilities that need to meet modern environmental and aesthetic expectations.
RESTROOM DISPENSERS/ACCESSORIES
Kimberly-Clark Professional
Better for Your Business. And the Planet. Partner with Kimberly-Clark Professional* to bring in innovative and customizable solutions like MOD* Dispenser Systems. The exterior of the MOD* System can change from black to white to stainless, but it’s all “green” inside when paired with the right sustainable products, such as Kleenex® Brand towels with bamboo fibers.
ROOFING
Firestone Building Products
Firestone Building Products offers quality, sustainable commercial roofing systems, and accessories. From polyiso insulation to reflective membranes, the product portfolio makes it easier to be green. SkyScape™ Pregrown Modular System is part of the newly updated SkyScape™ Vegetative Roof System Portfolio. The system features an engineered design that manages storm water through unitized moisture retention reservoirs. This design encourages airflow beneath the modules which passes through a 1¾” vertical space created by the reservoirs. Built on a foundation of a 100% recycled high-density polypropylene, the unit’s honeycomb design allows for moisture and nutrients to be shared between modules.
SEALANTS & COATINGS
3M™ Stain Resistant Additive SRC-220 is an aqueous fluorinated polyurethane dispersion that, when formulated as a penetrating sealer, adds stain resistance and release, and water and oil repellency characteristics to porous surfaces such as concrete, grout, unglazed tile, granite, clay, slate, limestone, and terra cotta. The SRC-220 concentrate can also be used as an additive to many general coating formulations, and to various construction materials. Suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, it is easily applied, dries quickly, is durable, and causes no significant change to the appearance of the treated surface.
SECURITY SYSTEMS
SimplexGrinnell®
Tyco SimplexGrinnell takes a multi-layered, multi-technology approach in providing integrated security solutions to meet today’s challenges in security and life safety. The company’s experience has shown this is a better approach than relying on a single product set to safeguard people, property, and assets.
SIGNAGE
APCO Graphics
A well designed sign system should be a key element of any facility’s competitive strategy and image. APCO’s Elements 2 range of decorative sign materials, shapes, and finishes allows a sign program to feature a completely custom look while maintaining all the benefits of an easily updatable and fully modular system.
SOUND MASKING
Dynasound, Inc., Soundmasking and Eavesdropping Protection Division
Dynasound’s Network Soundmasking Solutions address each speaker independently (not clustered) to increase worker concentration, productivity, and accuracy. Dynasound is greatly honored to have readers select them for this Readers’ Choice Award in the Soundmasking Category for nine years running.
WATER TREATMENT/PURIFICATION
GE Water & Process Technologies
GE Power & Water designs starting with customer needs to solve customer challenges. When it makes sense, they also co-develop with their customers. The company balances low cost with robustness and reliability and thinks about the ultimate solution when designing products.
WINDOWS
EFCO®, A Pella Company
EFCO Corporation’s XTherm line of products combines Architectural Grade performance, with the improved energy demands for today’s building specifications. This design platform is the foundation for their industry leading combination of structural and thermal performance with aluminum framed fenestration systems.
