Revamped Training Program Seeks to Keep Pace With Changing Facilitiestest

By Dan Hounsell, Editor

March 2015

Institutional and commercial facilities are in a constant state of flux. They expand, age, and take in all kinds of additional technology, people and activities. In response, maintenance and engineering managers need to roll with the changes.

No situation is more challenging for managers than ensuring their staffs — who generally come from diverse backgrounds and bring an array of skills and experiences — have the needed resources to handle the changes in their facilities.

Thomas Nettle Sr., a senior operations manager with Duke Realty in Alexandria, Va., understands the challenge all too well. Several years ago, his department, which is responsible for the maintenance and operations of 49 medical, commercial office and industrial facilities with a total of 10.1 million square feet, faced a daunting training challenge.

“The problem was to develop a system for providing training to a diversified technical staff at all technician levels,” Nettle says. He and his team developed a new training program by re-evaluating staff skills and education, revamping job descriptions, reviewing current training offerings, and structuring new offerings that incorporated vendor and online options.

The resulting training program earned Duke Realty a Facility Maintenance Decisions Achievement Award in 2012 in the personnel management category.