Facilities Management News

To send Government Facilities Management news to The McMorrow Government Facilities Management Report,
please e-mail: governmentfm@mcmorrowreport.com

Work/life balance contributes to job satisfaction

MENLO PARK, Calif.—Professionals interviewed by OfficeTeam identified work/life balance (28%) and opportunities to learn and grow (27%) as the top contributors to their job satisfaction. The results are in line with those from a similar survey in which managers were asked about the factors most tied to employee morale.

The survey of workers also revealed differences by age: Respondents between the ages of 35 and 44 were most concerned with work/life balance (46%), and those between the ages of 18 and 34 indicated the greatest interest in opportunities to learn and grow (37%).

[ page top ]

HD camera use growing in police departments

WELLINGBOROUGH, UK—IMS Research forecasts that despite police department budgets coming under increasing pressure across the USA, the HD (High Definition) camera market onboard police cars is set to grow at more than 20% over the next four years. This is just one of the findings from IMS Research’s latest report on the mobile video surveillance equipment market.

Currently WatchGuard Video’s 4RE solution is the only HD solution specifically designed for the police in-car video surveillance market. However, a number of other mobile video surveillance equipment manufacturers are currently developing HD solutions, with release dates ranging from between 9-12 months.   

[ page top ]

Best places to work in the Federal Government

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service has released the 2011 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings.
The top 10 Best Places to Work large federal agencies are:

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Government Accountability Office
• Smithsonian Institution
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Social Security Administration
• Department of State
• Intelligence Community
• Office of Personnel Management
• General Services Administration

The top five small agencies:

• Surface Transportation Board
• Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
• Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
• Peace Corps
• Farm Credit Administration

The complete rankings are available at www.bestplacestowork.org

[ page top ]

Keeping safe with new OSHA directives

WASHINGTON, D.C.—OSHA has updated its Federal Agency Targeting Inspection Program (FEDTARG) directive for fiscal year 2012. FEDTARG directs programmed inspections of federal agency establishments that experienced high numbers of lost time injuries during FY 2011.

The directive outlines the procedures for carrying out programmed inspections at some of the most hazardous federal workplaces. OSHA will inspect all establishments reporting 100 or more lost time cases (LTCs) during FY 2011; 50 percent of those establishments reporting 50 to 99 LTCs; and 10 percent of those reporting 20 to 49 LTCs.

GSA focuses on preventing corruption

CLEVELAND, Ohio—The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is partnering with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cleveland to provide businesses with ethics training to prevent corruption and stop bribes and kickbacks. “Integrity and ethics are the building blocks of good business and sound government,” said Regional Commissioner J. David Hood of GSA's Great Lakes Region Public Buildings Service. “Contractors seeking to do business with the federal government must meet a high threshold, and it is our job at GSA to educate businesses how to meet and exceed those standards. Ethical business practices should be the norm, not the exception.”

[ page top ]

HUD and VA to provide housing

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will provide $5.4 million to public housing authorities in 18 states to supply permanent housing and case management for 676 homeless Veterans in America. This is the fourth and final round of the FY 2010 VeteransAffairsSupportive HousingProgram (HUD-VASH) funding to support homeless veterans.  

[ page top ]

Study looks at transportation and finance

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and the Center for Excellence in Project Finance at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) have partnered to produce a review of transportation governance and finance for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

The study, “TransportationGovernanceandFinance: A 50-State Review of State Legislatures and Departments ofTransportation,” focuses on transportation finance and the roles and relationships among the branches of state government that are most active in transportation issues.

[ page top ]

Cities will recuperate by December 2014

BALTIMORE, Md.—Metro areas will be slow to regain their pre-recession employment levels—many of them into the next decade—according to forecasts by the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM).

The report is not all bad news. It anticipates that the nation’s gross domestic project will jump from a sluggish 1.9% growth during the first half of 2011 to 3.5% for the second half and that by December 2014 more than half of metro areas will have returned to their previous peak employment level. (The report’s forecasts are based on assumptions Congress will extend the debt ceiling without any disruptions to the national and global systems.)

The report and key findings can be found at: www.usmayors.org

[ page top ]

GSA makes lighthouses available

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is offering 12 historic lighthouses, at no cost, to eligible state or local entities, non-profit corporations, historic preservation groups, or community development organizations. The lighthouses available this year are some of the most emblematic of the important role lighthouses have had in the nation's history.  They include the Ile aux Galetts Light, Port Austin Reef Light, and Alpena Light in Michigan; the Brandywine Shoal (pictured), Ship John Shoal, and Miah Maull Shoal Lights in New Jersey; Race Rock and Orient Point Lights in New York; the Point Tuna Light - also known as Punta Tuna - in Puerto Rico; the Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse in Wisconsin; the Fowey Rocks Light in Florida; and San Pedro's Point Fermin Light in California.

[ page top ]