All Eyes Turn to Atlanta
IFMA's 2010 World Workplace Conference & Expo opens Oct. 27 at the Georgia World Congress Center, giving thousands of facility management professionals a look at the newest products, greenest buildings, and best strategies for their careers and their operations back home.
- By Jerry Laws
- Oct 01, 2010
Facility managers from all over will descend on downtown Atlanta this month to attend one of the best events on their calendar, the International Facility Management Association's 2010 World Workplace Conference & Expo at the Georgia World Congress Center. Packed with timely educational sessions in a dozen tracks, six facility tours, networking events, and a two-day expo (Wednesday, Oct. 27, from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.), World Workplace has it all.
The expo includes a mammoth Green Zone and large booths from companies offering energy control equipment and services, furniture, carpeting, software, security services, lighting, cleanup and janitorial services, engineering and construction services, and much more. Topics addressed in educational sessions include climate change, space utilization, financial issues, energy management, security, green rating systems, outsourcing, eliminating potential OSHA violations, construction, international FM, and management guidance for specialized facilities (such as a military facilities or religious facilities).
The meeting's keynote speaker at 10 a.m. Oct. 27 will be former U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, who will speak about recent trends in workplaces and the global workforce. The event also features two personal development power speakers: consultant and author David Nour, CEO of The Nour Group Inc., speaking on "Relationship Economics," and Linda Edgecombe, author and Certified Speaking Professional, whose talk is titled "Batteries Included: Lessons to Energize and Balance Your Life."
Facility Tours
ASHRAE's headquarters building is one of six tours included in the program. Three tours were sold out as of early September, including a tour of the three-story Southface Eco Office, which has a green roof and earned both Platinum LEED and ENERGY STAR certification. This leaves available the tours of the ASHRAE building, InterfaceFlor's carpet manufacturing facility, and the Georgia World Congress Center itself.
The ASHRAE building is a showpiece of green building and management, having received LEED Platinum Certification in the New Construction 2.2 rating system and an ENERGY STAR from EPA. InterfaceFlor's manufacturing facility is ISO certified 9001 and 14001 and runs partly off solar and landfill gas. The Georgia World Congress Center is the country's fourth-largest convention center at 3.9 million square feet.
About the Author
Jerry Laws is Editor of Occupational Health & Safety magazine, which is owned by 1105 Media Inc.