2014 TFM Readers’ Choice Awards

TFM Readers' Choice

By TFM Editors
Published in the January/February 2014 issue of Today’s Facility Manager

Numerous companies offer products and services that meet the diverse needs of facility management (FM) professionals. And each year, Today’s Facility Manager (TFM) asks its 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. The winners are presented here with information about each company.

HID Global
HID Global

ACCESS CONTROL

HID® GLOBAL
HID Global’s iCLASS SE® platform including iCLASS Seos™ is the company’s standard for highly adaptable, interoperable, and secure access control solutions. It enables customers to future-proof their access control systems while simplifying how identities are created, used, and managed using smart cards, mobile devices, or both.

ADA & ERGONOMICS

WOOSTER PRODUCTS INC.
WOOSTER PRODUCTS INC.

WOOSTER PRODUCTS INC.
Make every step a safe one. Anti-slip stair nosings and treads help to prevent slips and falls and eliminate costly lawsuits. Wooster offers nosings for new construction or treads for existing steps; both are useful indoors or outdoors for all types of steps. Photoluminescent NITEGLOW® nosings and treads are code compliant, long lasting, and high quality.

BUILDING AUTOMATION SYSTEMS

JOHNSON CONTROLS, INC.
JOHNSON CONTROLS, INC.

JOHNSON CONTROLS, INC.
The Metasys® building automation system ensures all facility systems—comfort controls, lighting, fire safety, security, and equipment—operate together to optimize efficiency and reduce cost. With an IT-based infrastructure, software, and wireless capabilities, Metasys building management is the one integrated network that coordinates and organizes all the information logically, then delivers it where and when users need it.

BUILDING MATERIALS

GEORGIA-PACIFIC GYPSUM
GEORGIA-PACIFIC GYPSUM

GEORGIA-PACIFIC GYPSUM
Georgia-Pacific Gypsum panel products, such as Dens® Brand fiberglass mat gypsum panels and ToughRock® gypsum boards, are recognized for increasing the durability and resiliency of structures. The company’s DensDeck® Roof Boards, with nearly 30 years of experience, are the ideal substrate for a wide variety of roofing systems. DensDeck panels can be used as a thermal barrier or cover board to protect against insulation damage, footfalls, and hail.

CABLING & CABLE MANAGEMENT

LEGRAND/ WIREMOLD
LEGRAND/ WIREMOLD

LEGRAND®/WIREMOLD
Legrand is committed to developing new products that make meeting rooms more efficient with built-in flexible cable management. One example is the Evolution™ Series Wall Box, which provides power, communications, and audio/video to wall-mounted flat screen monitors in conference and meeting rooms and training facilities.

CARPET

MANNINGTON COMMERCIAL
MANNINGTON COMMERCIAL

MANNINGTON COMMERCIAL®
Collaboratively designed with Corgan Associates, Connected uses rich texture to define space in open floor plans, while staying connected to the total design. Each layered pattern works independently, or as an integrated system within a single facility. Custom color accent stripe options are available. Mannington Commercial offers “choices that work.”

CARPET FIBERS/TREATMENTS

INVISTA/ANTRON
INVISTA/ANTRON

INVISTA/ANTRON®
Antron® carpet fiber is constructed with type 6,6 Nylon polymer and exceptional fiber engineering, and it is treated with DuraTech™ soil resistance treatment. Carpet of Antron nylon is tested against the Antron Brand Performance Standards Program, the highest fiber performance standard for durability.

CEILINGS/CEILING TILES

ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES
ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES

ARMSTRONG® WORLD INDUSTRIES
Armstrong offers a wide variety of ceiling clouds and canopies to improve acoustics in open plenum spaces without sacrificing aesthetics. Both options absorb sound on both their front and back surfaces, resulting in greater sound absorption than a continuous ceiling of the same surface area.

 

CLEANING/MAINTENANCE PRODUCTS

KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSONAL
KIMBERLY- CLARK PROFESSIONAL

KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL
Did you know, more than a third of employees are germ-conscious and care about the health and cleanliness of their workplace? Kimberly-Clark’s Healthy Workplace Project program offers fun and engaging events that teach to HYGIENIFY: wash, wipe, sanitize to help break the chain of germ transmission. Healthy, happy, productive employees can mean satisfied tenants for you.

CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION (CCTV)

SONY
SONY

SONY
Sony Electronics’ Security Systems Division produces a full line of professional security and surveillance technologies that set industry standards for image quality and performance. The company’s products—including its Sony SNC-HM662, a 360° hemispheric-view dome IP camera—are used by organizations of every type and size to promote safety, manage risks, and improve operations.

CONFERENCE ROOM FURNITURE & EQUIPMENT

STEELCASE
STEELCASE

STEELCASE
RoomWizard is a room scheduling system that solves the dilemma of connecting workers to meeting spaces. RoomWizard works with a variety of calendar systems so meetings can be managed seamlessly via web, laptop, or smart phone.

DATA CENTER MANAGEMENT

SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC
SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC

SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC
StruxureWare™ Data Center Operation for Co-location addresses the needs of data centers with multiple tenants, including wholesale, retail, managed hosting, and cloud providers. The offering optimizes data center equipment and space by providing real-time status updates on data center capacities, including data center power, cooling, and available space, to help identify constraints for future expansion and to allocate equipment and resources better.

 

DOORS/DOOR HARDWARE/LOCKS

SARGENT (ASSA ABLOY)
SARGENT (ASSA ABLOY)

SARGENT (ASSA ABLOY)
SARGENT Manufacturing Company, an ASSA ABLOY Group company, was established in the early 1800s and is recognized as a pioneer in commercial door hardware. SARGENT continues to be a leader in product innovation with cutting edge technology and high quality products.

 

ELEVATORS/CONTROLS

THYSSENKRUPP ELEVATOR
THYSSENKRUPP ELEVATOR

THYSSENKRUPP ELEVATOR
A ThyssenKrupp Elevator geared to gearless modernization lowers energy costs and reduces power consumption. Replace old equipment with microprocessor controls with advanced dispatching, an efficient AC drive system, and compact gearless machines. Operating costs can be reduced by up to 56%.

 

EMERGENCY POWER

GENERAC
GENERAC

GENERAC
Generac Industrial Power provides facility managers a broad range of innovative standby power solutions. These include single generator sets up to 2 MW, paralleled solutions up to 100 MW, revolutionary standby power systems like Gemini® that have two generators in a single enclosure for space saving, and the only Bi-Fuel™ generators that are EPA-compliant from the factory.

EMPLOYEE ID/BADGE PRINTERS

MATICA TECHNOLOGIES
MATICA TECHNOLOGIES

MATICA TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (FORMERLY DIGITAL IDENTIFICATION SOLUTIONS)
Even though Digital Identification Solutions has changed its name to Matica Technologies, Inc., they are still offering the most reliable printers on the market, like the EDIsecure XID 8300. This printer is ideal for many card applications and is completely field upgradable for encoding, single to dual sided printing, and lamination. Its reliability and affordability make it a perfect fit for organizations.

ENERGY MANAGEMENT

JOHNSON CONTROLS
JOHNSON CONTROLS

JOHNSON CONTROLS, INC.
The Panoptix® solution gives users total control, from anywhere at any time. It’s driven by a suite of cloud based apps that allows facility professionals to see exactly how every system, subsystem, and device is functioning, and to take actions to improve performance.

 

FACILITY MANAGEMENT SERVICES

STAPLES FACILITY SOLUTIONS
STAPLES FACILITY SOLUTIONS

STAPLES FACILITY SOLUTIONS
At Staples Advantage, protecting human and environmental health is an essential part of their commitment to helping businesses meet sustainability and safety objectives. The Sustainable Earth by Staples® line of products features an efficient, affordable, safer, and more sustainable alternative to traditional cleaners. The Sustainable Earth by Staples Neutral Cleaner is formulated using ingredient alternatives that clean, degrease, and deodorize most hard surfaces without harmful chemicals.

FACILITY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

AUTODESK
AUTODESK

AUTODESK®
Autodesk Building Design Suite, which includes Autodesk Revit 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 managers.

FIRE/LIFE SAFETY PRODUCTS

SIMPLEXGRINNELL
SIMPLEX GRINNELL

SIMPLEXGRINNELL®
Products from Tyco SimplexGrinnell are designed with the needs of customers in mind. Their latest innovation is Simplex TrueAlert ES—a family of intelligent notification appliances designed to provide better protection, maximum ease of use, and lower operating costs.

 

FLOORING

ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES
ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES

ARMSTRONG® WORLD INDUSTRIES
Armstrong, the trusted leader in commercial flooring, provides facility managers with design options, durable performance, easy maintenance, and budget friendly solutions for every space. The company offers a broad portfolio of LVT, BioBased Tile®, sheet, linoleum, VCT, laminate, and hardwood products. Armstrong BioBased Tile is made with BioStride® a BioBased binder derived from rapidly renewable, domestic corn. This product is composed of 85% North American limestone, an abundant natural resource, which provides strength and durability in high traffic and rolling load real life situations.

FURNITURE

HERMAN MILLER
HERMAN MILLER

HERMAN MILLER, INC.
Design at Herman Miller is about solving real problems for people, and creating inspiring designs that help people do great things and organizations perform their best. Living Office is a holistic solution that improves the total experience at work.

 

FURNITURE-REFURBISHED

DAVIES OFFICE REFURBISHING
DAVIES OFFICE REFURBISHING

DAVIES OFFICE REFURBISHING, INC.
You may not believe it, but this is remanufactured. Furniture doesn’t have to be your standard cubicle; it can be anything you want it to be. Other manufacturers follow current design trends—Davies remakes them.

 

FURNITURE-SEATING

HERMAN MILLER
HERMAN MILLER

HERMAN MILLER, INC.
Design at Herman Miller is about solving real problems for people, and creating inspiring designs that help people do great things and organizations perform their best. The company’s Mirra 2 advances how you sit using less materials with greater performance.

 

GROUNDSKEEPING/FACILITY FLEET

CUSHMAN/EZ-GO
CUSHMAN/EZ-GO

CUSHMAN/EZ-GO
Cushman® industrial vehicles are built to move products, people, and raw materials efficiently across sizeable indoor or paved areas. They’re tough, tenacious, and powered by hard working, emissions-free electric motors.

 

HVAC/INDOOR AIR QUALITY (IAQ)

TRANE
TRANE

TRANE®
Trane offers the commercial marketplace a more than 100 year history of innovation and engineering excellence in addressing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and indoor air quality needs. The Trane exclusive Cool Dry Quiet CDQ™ technology can improve dehumidification levels 20% to 300%.

LAMPS AND BULBS

GE LIGHTING
GE LIGHTING

GE LIGHTING
Offering more lumens from fewer LED modules for increased energy savings, the Albeo™ ABHX Series LED Luminaire uses heat sinking and LED technology to deliver a wide range of light outputs in high and low bay applications. GE Lighting has a positive track record in designing and building award-winning LED lighting solutions. Its world-class engineers combine the best available components with innovative optical, electrical, and thermal designs to create LED lamps and lighting systems that are optimized for performance.

LUTRON
LUTRON

LIGHTING CONTROLS

LUTRON
Founded in 1961 by Joel Spira, Lutron introduced the world’s first solid state dimmer, and continues to deliver innovative, energy saving lighting and shade control for every customer need. The Quantum Total Light Management System integrates lighting and automated shading solutions, digital ballasts and LED drivers, and occupancy and daylight sensors under one system for new or retrofit applications.

AT&T
AT&T

OFFICE TECHNOLOGY/COMMUNICATIONS

AT&T
AT&T provides creative solutions to businesses in facilities management. The AT&T Distributed Antenna System (DAS), small cells, and AT&T Enhanced Push-to-Talk improve in-building connectivity and make it easier for facility managers to communicate with each other in near-real time.

GEORGIA-PACIFIC PROFESSIONAL
GEORGIA- PACIFIC PROFESSIONAL

PAPER PRODUCTS (CAFETERIA, RESTROOM)

GEORGIA-PACIFIC PROFESSIONAL
Georgia-Pacific Professional is a provider of hygienic dispensing systems, towels, tissues, soaps, air fresheners, wipers, cups, plates, cutlery, and napkins. They serve a wide range of market segments, providing washroom, wiper, and food service solutions for office buildings, education, healthcare, restaurant, lodging, and manufacturing facilities through product brands like enMotion®, Compact®, Dixie®, EasyNap®, SmartStock®, and Brawny Industrial®.

BIRD-B-GONE
BIRD-B-GONE

PEST/BIRD CONTROL/DETERRENTS (TIE)

BIRD-B-GONE®
Bird-B-Gone products are proudly manufactured in the U.S. and carry industry leading guarantees. They make it their business to stay on top of the latest advancements in the bird control industry by incorporating new technologies with tried and true methods to develop the most effective bird deterrents available. The company thanks you for your support and friendship.

BIRD-X
BIRD-X

BIRD-X
For 50 years, Bird-X, Inc. has sold highly effective pest and bird control products that are humane, safe, and environmentally friendly. The best selling QB-4 ultrasonic bird repeller is silent to humans, but exposes birds in unwanted areas to noises that confuse, disorient, and intimidate—an industry favorite used worldwide.

 

SLOAN VALVE
SLOAN VALVE

PLUMBING/FAUCETS/FIXTURES

SLOAN® VALVE COMPANY
Sloan offers more 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 shown here.

AIR CYCLE
AIR CYCLE

RECYCLING PRODUCTS

AIR CYCLE
Air Cycle Corporation’s products and services are designed to enable users to implement a comprehensive environmental program for their facilities. The Bulb Eater® is the most efficient way to recycle large quantities of fluorescent lamps, saving facility managers time and money.

GEORGIA-PACIFIC PROFESSIONAL
GEORGIA-PACIFIC PROFESSIONAL

RESTROOM DISPENSERS/ACCESSORIES (TIE)

GEORGIA-PACIFIC PROFESSIONAL
Georgia-Pacific Professional is a provider of hygienic dispensing systems, towels, tissues, soaps, air fresheners, wipers, cups, plates, cutlery, and napkins. They serve a wide range of market segments, providing washroom, wiper, and food service solutions for office buildings, education, healthcare, restaurant, lodging, and manufacturing facilities through product brands like enMotion®, Compact®, Dixie®, EasyNap®, SmartStock®, and Brawny Industrial®.

KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL
KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL

KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL
The Next-Generation MOD Dispensing System from Kimberly-Clark Professional is the first towel system that can be modified to meet a property’s specific hand drying needs. This sleek, high capacity, hands-free system supports The Healthy Workplace Project commitment to promote better hygiene. Its touchless operation and 1,150′ long towel rolls lead to fewer changeouts and more satisfied users.

 

FIRESTONE BUILDING PRODUCTS
FIRESTONE BUILDING PRODUCTS

ROOFING

FIRESTONE BUILDING PRODUCTS
Firestone Building Products offers the UltraPly™ TPO Platinum™ roofing system, which can be fully adhered or mechanically attached to insulation, and fastened to deck substrates. The system features patented WideWeld™ technology to provide the industry’s widest field seams and mechanically attached wind ratings, while also providing enhanced puncture, tear, and abrasion resistance. This system meets ENERGY STAR® standards for energy savings in warm climates, making it a long-term roofing value for facility managers.

3M INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS
3M INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS

SEALANTS & COATINGS

3M INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS
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.

HONEYWELL SECURITY
HONEYWELL SECURITY

SECURITY SYSTEMS

HONEYWELL SECURITY
Honeywell is a leading global manufacturer of security and automation solutions for commercial applications. From intrusion, fire, and automation systems, to the latest in IP video and access control, the company focuses on technologies that create “connected buildings.”

APCO SIGNS
APCO SIGNS

SIGNAGE

APCO SIGNS
APCO has been designing sign systems since 1966, with a focus on solutions that not only look good but are easy and cost-effective for customers to maintain. Their curved face Arcadia™ system with SignWord laser printed inserts is a leading example.

DYNASOUND
DYNASOUND

SOUND MASKING

DYNASOUND, INC.
Dynasound’s networked sound masking provides control over each and every speaker individually. Other systems cluster multiple speakers in small zones which do not allow precise control on a per-speaker basis. Dynasound systems may be installed above suspended ceilings, under access floors, and in open structure facilities.

GE WATER & PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES
GE WATER & PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES

WATER TREATMENT/PURIFICATION

GE WATER & PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES
GE Power & Water is a leading global supplier of water treatment, wastewater treatment, water reuse, and process systems solutions, along with water treatment chemicals and process chemicals. GE provides proven technologies and solutions for its customers around the world.

 

SOLAR GARD
SOLAR GARD

WINDOW FILMS

SOLAR GARD®
Solar Gard positively impacts lives with products that protect, save, and renew. This innovative spirit is pervasive throughout every aspect of their business, and a deep rooted commitment to research and development is the creative breeding ground for the commercialization of new technologies.

EFCO
EFCO

WINDOWS

EFCO®, A PELLA COMPANY
EFCO Corporation is proud to introduce the newest member to its line of XTherm® products—the HX32 series single hung/tilt window. The HX32 was designed to provide energy saving products for use in commercial, government, educational, and multi-family projects.