ERAPPA June 2024 Newsletter

Chapters - Erappa

Dear ERAPPA Colleagues,

Note from the ERAPPA President, Patty Smith

The ERAPPA Annual Conference is 117 days away today!

That equates to about 80% of an NFL Football Season, approximately the number of instructional days in a college academic semester, and the time before the opening ceremony of the 2024 ERAPPA Annual Conference in Valley Forge, PA (September 29 through October 2, 2024). Per tradition, the conference activities begin with the ribbon cutting leading to the Hall of Resources with 100 Business Partner exhibit booths where attendees enjoy meeting new acquaintances and re-engaging with old friends and colleagues.

Registration is OPEN!! Will we see you there? I hope that this is a rhetorical question as anyone in the Eastern Region of APPA knows this is the annual meeting of choice to learn, grow, and enrich your knowledge of facilities management. From first line supervisors to Vice Presidents, we are one solid unit that comes together annually to enjoy the offerings of outstanding keynotes, 25 educational sessions, and the enjoyment that is associated with the Monday Night Networking Event. You do not want to miss this, and I encourage you to get more involved in the Association. ERAPPA Board positions to be filled at the 2024 Annual Meeting include:

President Elect

Secretary

Vice President for Member and Community Engagement

Vice President for Professional Development

Vice President for Annual Meetings

Position descriptions, time commitment, length of term, and suggested experience at the Chapter level can be found on the ERAPPA Website (https://www.erappa.org/board/). Interested members should submit a completed application to the Past President, Sherri Vucci, vuccish@si.edu.

On a personal note, admittedly, I am a very enthusiastic member who is engaged at the national, regional, and chapter level. The more I learned about the APPA association, the thirstier I became. I needed the service to my chapter, region, and national APPA as much as they desired my service. I raised my hand.

Now, it is your turn to get involved! Active member? Say yes to a call from your Chapter Board. Active Chapter Board Member? Consider the rewards of seeking an ERAPPA Board Position.

See you in Valley Forge, PA-- September 29 to October 2, 2024.

Patty Smith ERAPPA President Director of Facilities Cabrini University

Do

Upcoming Chapter Events

Chapter Start

DVAPPA Tuesday, June 11, 2024

KAPPA Tuesday, June 11, 2024

MD/DC APPA Thursday, June 13, 2024

NJAPPA Thursday, June 13, 2024

Spring Meeting

Spring Meeting Erie

Summer Meeting

Spring General Membership Meeting

OCFMA Monday, June 17, 2024 Annual PD Workshop at Fanshawe

SNEAPPA Tuesday, June 18, 2024

NYAPPA Tuesday, July 16, 2024

NJAPPA Friday, November 1, 2024

AAPPA Thursday, November 7, 2024

DVAPPA Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Summer Meeting

Summer Meeting

Fall General Membership Meeting

Fall Meeting, Halifax

Winter Social

Quinnipiac University Takes Campus Experience to Next Level with

Autonomous Floor Cleaning

BACKGROUND

At Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, the Facilities team is responsible for cleaning 50,000 square feet of space every week across campus buildings used by the school’s 10,000 students. Quinnipiac University’s new Recreation and Wellness Center is the school’s most utilized facility and a central part of the campus community. The enormous space houses multiple athletic courts with many different surfaces. “From about 6 a.m. until midnight, there’s always some group in the building doing something,” says Jon Terry. “Our athletic teams and recreation leagues, people coming to work out and workout classes run out of this space. That means there is always something to be done from a cleaning perspective.”

Terry and his team have faced the same labor challenges as every other organization over the past several years. “We’re always balancing staffing challenges while ensuring we’re keeping our campus spaces as clean as possible and meeting our high standards,” he says. “Our team does a fantastic job. But we just did not have enough time to clean every space as often as we would like, or to get to all the small-but-important details all the time.”

The expansion of the Recreation and Wellness Center gave Terry the opportunity to purchase new floor cleaning equipment.

The Facilities team already had multiple Tennant cleaning machines, but wanted to explore all their options to see if innovative floor cleaning equipment could help them address specific challenges and add value in new ways.

“Facilities teams across the United States are asking ‘How can we leverage AI and technology?” says Terry. “How could we leverage technology to increase productivity, and figure out how to do more of the things we were not getting to, and therefore, improve the student/ community experience in our buildings?”

Another goal was to elevate the Facilities team as an example of Quinnipiac’s commitment to innovation and sustainability. “We want to be a staple for the university to market our forward thinking,” says Terry.

SOLUTION

As they evaluated options for the expanded Recreation & Wellness Center, Quinnipiac’s longtime Tennant sales representative gave the Facilities team a demo of the company’s fleet of autonomous floor cleaning machines. Terry saw the potential right away. “We thought, ‘If we can give this pretty routine task of floor cleaning to a machine, then we can focus on those details that make a difference,’” he says.

To build the business case for an autonomous mobile robot (AMR), Terry started by calculating the upfront difference in purchase price between a traditional manual cleaning machine and an AMR. Then, Terry estimated benefits like runtime, additional square footage that could be cleaned, and additional work the Facilities team could do with the saved labor hours. “We saw this as an opportunity for us to take our already high service level and bring it to an even higher level,” Terry says.

To ensure due diligence, Quinnipiac also demonstrated other autonomous floor cleaning machines. The T7AMR and T380AMR outperformed the competition, and Terry recognized that the Brain technology was the best-in-class option from the interface side: “The Tennant and Brain combination was really next level,” says Terry.

RESULTS

The Tennant T7AMR quickly made an impact that was both felt and clearly seen by the Quinnipiac University Facilities team. “We can visually see our Recreation and Wellness Center is cleaner,” says Terry. “We’re cleaning more frequently, and every time we take the machine out, it’s bringing back dirt and debris.” The T7AMR also enables the Facilities team to make sure the Recreation and Wellness Center’s hallways are cleaned daily. “That is particularly important now that we have a new foodservice area in the building. That space brings more traffic, more spills, and we want to ensure we are keeping that highly visible area consistently clean,” Terry explains.

The benefits extend beyond floor cleaning as well. Before the T7AMR, it was common for staff to spend more than 10 hours a week operating manual floor cleaning machines. “Autonomous cleaning gives us a huge chunk of that time back, so our staff can focus on the details they weren’t always able to get to,” says Terry.

With their first autonomous cleaning machine exceeding expectations, the Facilities team is looking at other opportunities to apply this innovative technology. Construction on two new academic buildings is underway on the Quinnipiac campus, and Terry is looking at whether the layouts and flooring types will be a good fit for autonomous floor cleaners. “We’re hoping to build the success case off of this first machine to make the case for additional machines,” he says.

Terry says this big-picture impact elevating the “customer experience” for facility users, as well as enhancing the broader reputation of Quinnipiac University is most valuable of all.

“Cleaning is more critical than ever in this day and age, and the Tennant T7AMR shows how Quinnipiac is staying at the forefront of technology and innovation that helps to create clean spaces and a safe, healthy, thriving campus environment.”

Jon Terry Director of Facilities

Quinnipiac University

ERAPPA Board Member

© 2024 Tennant Company

Hank Dozier- NNECERAPPA Champion

Our Chapter Champion section in each newsletter while showcase one member from one Chapter who made a considerable contribution to the Chapter or to ERAPPA.

History: Our NNECERAPPA Chapter was first discussed as a possibility by some school facilities leaders from our northern New England states while at an Eastern Region conference in 1978. These folks went on to schedule the first meeting for the formation of the Northern New England Chapter (NNECERAPPA) on October 24, 1978, at Plymouth State College. There, this group took the steps to make it official, including new Bylaws and a Constitution.

Hank’s Timeline:

October 1978 Hank was in a leadership role in Facilities Management at the University of New Hampshire. Elections were held at the first chapter meeting and Hank Dozier became the first chapter Vice-President, serving a two-year term. As one of the 18 facilities people attending from 14 schools, Hank Dozier is one of the three-remaining Charter Members who are current Emeritus members.

March 1979 At the second chapter meeting, held at the University of Maine, Hank was selected to chair a committee of six, the “Standing Chapter Committee on Educational Services”, now known as the Professional Development Committee.

Fall 1979 Hank hosted the third chapter meeting at University of New Hampshire.

Fall 1980 Hank was elected to a two-year term as Chapter President.

Spring 1984 When at the last hour, the planned host school was unable to fulfil their host responsibility, Hank stepped up and rose to the occasion to host the chapter meeting at the Quality Inn in Dover.

Spring 1987 Hank was granted an Honorary Membership by the chapter when he left the region to pursue the postion of Facilities Director outside the Region, at a college in Beaumont, Texas.

1987 Hank left Texas to take on the Facilities Director role at a St. Andrews College in Boca Raton, Florida before returning to the New England area to live in Portland, Maine.

2017 - 2023 Hank represented the Emeritus members of the chapter by chairing the Emeritus Committee of 21 members, working with the chapter board and other committee members.

The APPA President & CEO Search Committee members:

Jessica Abbott, Co-Chair

Luis Rocha, RMA

Ada Baldwin, SRAPPA

Kim Case Nichols, PCAPPA

Daryush Esmaili, ERAPPA

Lynne Finn, MAPPA

Luis Morales, CAPPA

Mary Vosevich, SRAPPA

Lindsay Wagner, Business Partner

Andy Brantley, Association Partner

Steve Glazner, APPA Consultant

Pete Zuraw, Business Partner

APPA President and Chief Executive Officer Search Update

After a devasting cancer diagnosis, Lander Medlin, APPA’s President and CEO since 1996, stepped down to focus on her health. APPA’s Board of Directors appointed APPA Chief of Staff and HR Director, R. Holly Judd, as Interim President and CEO. In February, APPA contracted with Opus Partners to lead the search for APPA’s new President and CEO.

In March, APPA’s Executive Committee carefully selected an inclusive and representative search committee by inviting nominations from regional leaders and key APPA stakeholders. These nominations were vetted and approved by the full APPA Board.

To date Opus has reached out to some 400 prospective candidates with over 60 individuals of varying backgrounds having submitted applications. In mid-May, the Search Committee reviewed applications to select candidates for firstround interviews.

APPA Update

Dues

APPA’s 2024 – 2025 membership year began on April 1st. Ensure to renew and submit your APPA and ERAPPA dues to maintain all the benefits of membership! Institutional Primary Representatives will have received renewal notifications. If you are unsure who your primary representative is, you can contact APPA’s Member Services Team at membership@appa.org

APPA Spring 2024 Conference

Over 350 facilities professionals descended on Nashville April 15-17 for APPA’s soldout revived in-person 2024 Spring Conference. The event featured pertinent sessions on topics including engaging the workforce, women in facilities, capital planning, school safety, and the sustainable campus. Additionally, attendees benefited from a networking reception, the opening and closing sessions, and three days of exceptional networking in the spirited city of Nashville. Business Partners contributed to the overall learning through both informal conversations and presentations.

Attending the national APPA educational conference has always proven to be beneficial. Why? With six US and Canadian regions, and five international chapters in attendance, I learned about what opportunities and challenges are present in their worlds. While the ERAPPA region deals with snow, the PCAPPA region has the challenges of rain and landslides, and the interior regions are faced with droughts. Networking every minute during breakfast, lunch, or even enjoying a nightcap, I learn how others face reality and have overcome adversity. We add more tools to our toolbox!

The educational contributions of our ERAPPA members to two of the 21 sessions at the conference made me particularly proud of our Region.

Mary Grube, Stephanie Barnes, and Patty Smith were panelists in the session Women in Facilities, Bias2Belonging. These women shared their work experiences in a male dominated field with an audience of over 40 attendees. The common theme was bias and microaggression behavior still exists, and navigation is not easy. However, with continued education and persistence in engaging more women in the field of facilities, especially in the trades, the workforce will continue to evolve. This group is presently working on an Affinity Group for those who are in and want to support the growth of Women in Facilities.

Cameron Christenson, Princeton University, presented his work on campus master planning. His audience benefited from real time interaction, contributing to the session by sharing experiences. Master planning is not what it used to be. More than ever this task is moving in a different direction. The changing landscape of learning, technology, and mobility to change as needed, has prompted a deeper look into this process.

The APPA Spring 2024 Conference was not one to have been missed! Make plans to attend APPA2025 And for you and your colleagues, look for the opportunities at APPA U in San Antonio, Texas, June 24-27.

Jessica Abbott, Wolcott Public Schools

APPA U

APPA U offers the convenience of both the Institute for Facilities Management and the Leadership Academy in one location, taught by faculty from across the association to help professionals envision the full spectrum of the facilities management profession.

The next APPA U takes place in June in San Antonio, Texas

• Leadership Academy, June 25 – 27, 2024

• Institute for Facilities Management, June 24 – 27, 2024

• Supervisor’s Toolkit (Spanish), June 24 – 27, 2024

APPAconnect Listserv

APPAconnect, APPA’s new member-only listserv, is an exclusive, memberonly platform for facilities professionals to network with peers, discuss challenges and solutions, explore best practices, and get quick answers to pressing questions related to our day-to-day work. You will get answers to your most pressing facilities-related questions while sharing insights and experiences with other APPA members.

APPAconnect combines the email simplicity of APPA’s former listserv with the most useful functions of digital community platforms, including archiving and searching messages. APPA’s Listserv already has over 175 FM professionals signed up! As the list grows, and more APPA members find this valuable resource, it will undoubtably become the go-to place for answers. Be sure to check it out! Go to the APPA website, log in, go to myAPPA, and click on the APPA-connect quick link to get started.

Future ERAPPA Annual Meetings

ERAPPA 2025 – Atlantic City, New Jersey – September 28 - October 1, 2025

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Theme: Guide Your Future

Host Committee Chairs: Amy Baker & Sue Maddalena

ERAPPA 2026 – Providence, Rhode Island – September 20 - 23, 2026

Omni Providence Hotel & Rhode Island Convention Theme: Revolutionary Ideas

Host Committee Chairs: Melissa Bergeron & Jessica Abbott

Learn, grow, and benefit by volunteering and making these events a success!

KAPPA BUSINESS PARTNER ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE

KAPPA chartered a new committee in October 2023 to assist with retaining and growing membership, while providing business partners opportunities to get more involved at a local level. The idea for this committee arose from the initiative endorsed by the ERAPPA Business Partner Committee.

The primary goal of the KAPPA Business Partner Engagement Committee is to promote events, assist with mailing lists/communication efforts, and support other activities to grow/retain chapter membership.

Seven business partner members volunteered to join the committee at the KAPPA 2023 Fall Conference. The Committee, through sub-committees, took action on several key initiatives including:

• Establish KAPPA Business Partner Etiquette/Protocol Guidelines

• Support Conference Planning

• Evaluate KAPPA Content and Conference

• Sell the Value and Engage Young Professionals

• Support Marketing & Communication Efforts

• Pursue Collaborations

Members commit to one or more of these initiatives, and the committee meets monthly via Microsoft Teams to discuss progress and next steps.

Board support and advocacy is critical to the success of the committee, and the KAPPA Board has been highly engaged. Transparency and collaboration are paramount to ensure progress. Board members are invited to all Committee meetings and many attend on a regular basis. The Director of Membership and Community takes all necessary decisions to the Board for approval, and this support has enabled the Committee to make quick progress in several areas. For example, a protocol document – Business Partner Conference Etiquette – has been developed, approved, and shared with all business partners registering for the upcoming KAPPA 2024 Spring Conference in Erie.

The Committee Co-Chairs would be pleased to share additional information with ERAPPA chapters upon request.

By Cristina Roth and Brian Richards

ERAPPA 2024 September 29 - October 2, 2024

Attendee registration is open! Sign up soon to lock in your attendance and don’t forget to book your hotel room.

Why should you attend ERAPPA?

There will be more than 100 Business Partners on hand to share solutions, providing the products, services, and knowledge to ensure you are better prepared to Lead to Inspire. Amazing sponsors to date include Stantec, Roth IAMS, Entech Engineering, IMEG Group, PJ Dick, Tarkett, archSCAN.

Tremendous Professional Development sessions brought to you by our peers from across the Region that will share experiences that will help you address how to Lead to Inspire for your campus. The educational tracks include: Achieving Efficiency Saving and Investment, Organizational Leadership, Planning for the Future, Sustainability and Innovation, and Transformational Leadership.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER PLENARY SPEAKER

Grace Killelea

Author, The Confidence Effect and CEO of GKC

Group

Sponsorship Information

Valerie Smith

Author and President of Swarthmore College

The Hall of Resources is a fantastic opportunity to educate ERAPPA attendees about your company’s products and services or talk about your latest campus project. As a Business Partner Sponsor, your company’s representatives will have access to all the educational sessions of this exceptional conference, as well as multiple opportunities to network, interact and gain valuable face time with decision makers.

We are delighted to offer some new sponsorship opportunities this year! You can find more information on our website, ERAPPA2024.org.

Hurry – sign up today to join our current sponsors and show your support for ERAPPA and DVAPPA!

Why should you sponsor at ERAPPA?

“archSCAN has participated and exhibited in ERAPPA for the past seven years and we’ve been involved with our local chapter MD/DC APPA for even longer. It is a fantastic organization, mostly due to the people, and the conferences are a perfect mix of business and pleasure. I have gotten a lot of work from my ERAPPA connections over the years. ERAPPA is a must attend event for our business every year!”

- archSCAN, ERAPPA 2024 ‘Voyager’ Sponsor