In recognition of World Facility Management Day, we’re taking a moment to highlight the reality behind the role.
The title may sound like a joke, but if you have ever managed a facility or critical infrastructure, you already know it is not.
Facilities do not care about sleep, holidays, kid events, illness, or vacations. In fact, if you ask anyone in this field, they will probably agree the most common time for something to fail is a long holiday weekend. No data to back that up, but I would bet on it every time.
Urban Dictionary defines 25/8 as ALL THE TIME. More than humanly possible. And that is exactly what the job feels like.
There is never enough time. Not in the day, not at night, not across the week. The to do list does not shrink. It multiplies.
One of my favorite sayings is “Facility Manager,” because “freakin’ miracle worker” is not an official title. And while it feels true some days, the reality is a little different. The people relying on facility teams to keep everything running might expect miracles, but behind the scenes it is a lot less magic and a lot more grit, experience, and persistence.
Even with redundant systems, strong maintenance programs, and solid planning, you cannot control everything, even with a strong foundation in industrial automation and facility systems design. Weather, wildlife, human behavior, aging infrastructure, or sometimes the perfect storm where the primary system fails and the backup decides to follow right along. It happens.
And sometimes, it looks like this:
Someone notices a “small” leak on their way out on a Friday night. They do not want to bother anyone, so they put a trash can under it and head home. By the time it is discovered, the trash can is overflowing, water has traveled farther than it should, and now the fire alarm is going off. Not because of a fire, but because a smoke head filled with water and triggered the system.
At 3:01 am, while you are on vacation, your phone rings. It is the monitoring company calling to report a trouble signal. Then they quickly add that it has already cleared.
So you called to tell me nothing is wrong?Or someone responsible for their own fire alarm system calls first thing in the morning, frustrated after being woken up multiple times overnight. “Do you know what it is like to be awakened over and over again?”
Yes. Yes, I do.
Especially when you have just come back from maternity leave and are already up every few hours. But you take a breath, bite your tongue, and offer sympathy anyway.I bet you have never had someone walk into your office and hand you a container with a baby copperhead snake in it while you are sipping your morning coffee.
That happens too.Or learning the hard way that a rag with linseed oil can self ignite if it is not handled properly.
Or that some of the chemicals used in labs can turn a small mistake into a fire risk faster than you would expect, sometimes with something as simple as sneezing.Speaking of fires, I remember coming home one day and saying, very casually, I legitimately put out a fire at work today.
Calm and controlled in the moment, because that is what the situation required. Moving quickly to make sure it was fully out before the sprinklers activated and created an even bigger mess.
They were impressed. To me, it was just part of the day.Then there are the geese.
A call comes in that no one can get into the building because a group of geese has claimed the front entrance. People are standing back, unsure what to do. So out you go, armed with the most effective tool available, a golf umbrella. For whatever reason, they hate it. You chase them off, they scatter, crisis resolved. Somewhere, someone is watching on a security camera laughing. But the door is clear and people can get inside.
And just when you think things are calm, the gremlin shows up.
Not at a convenient time.
11:01 pm. Holiday weekend. Right on schedule.Something that has been running perfectly decides this is the moment.
So what do you do?
You accept a truth that most people outside of facilities do not fully understand. You will never get to the bottom of the list.
Not because you are not good at your job. Not because you are not working hard enough. But because the list is not designed to end. It evolves as fast as the building does.
A chiller does not care that it is Saturday.
A leak does not wait until after your kid’s game.
A fire alarm panel does not check your calendar before it sends a trouble signal at 3:01 am.So you stop measuring success by “done” and start measuring it differently.
You prioritize what keeps people safe.
You protect what keeps the business running.
You learn the difference between noise and signal.Most of the time, you are doing it without having all the information. You piece things together, connect dots, and sometimes have to get creative just to keep things moving.
You are constantly re-prioritizing. What felt urgent an hour ago might not be now, and what seemed minor can quickly move to the top of the list.
And you get very comfortable making judgment calls with imperfect information.
You also build your own early warning system.
You learn the sound of your equipment. Not just when it is broken, but when it is about to be.
You notice the small things. A slight change in vibration. A new rattle that was not there last week. A temperature that is creeping, not spiking. A small bubble forming in a ceiling tile that should not be there. A complaint that does not quite make sense yet.Those are the tells. And catching them early is the closest thing you have to control.
It is not that you always know exactly what to do.
It is that you know what not to do.
That is experience.
You rely on your vendors, because the right ones become an extension of your team and help you get through the moments you cannot handle alone.
You rely on your team, because no one does this alone.
And you build relationships across the business, because at some point you will need grace, time, or budget you did not plan for.
And maybe most importantly, you learn to let some things go.
Not everything is urgent, even if it feels like it in the moment.
Not every request needs to be solved today.
And not every problem has a clean, permanent fix.
Facilities management is a constant negotiation between what should be done and what can be done.
That is the 25/8 reality.
It is not about doing everything. It is about doing the right things, at the right time, with whatever you have in front of you.
And somehow, most days, it works.
Not because facility managers are miracle workers.
But because they have learned how to operate in the middle of controlled chaos and keep everything moving anyway.
And that perspective tends to stick with you. It shapes how you approach problems, how you plan, and how you support the people who are still living the 25/8 reality every day.
Especially on days like World Facility Management Day, it’s worth recognizing the people doing that work behind the scenes.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone, reach out to our team if you ever want to compare notes.
About the author
Melissa Verdery is the Client Solutions Manager at Hallam-ICS, based in Apex, NC. Melissa joined the company in 2023, and has brought over 22 years of expertise in developing, constructing, and managing life science R&D facilities. Her superpower lies in building strong relationships with stakeholders to surpass business objectives, while her passion for fostering meaningful connections remains at the heart of her work.
In her role, Melissa leverages her extensive knowledge of commercial R&D buildings and mechanical systems to support the growth of Hallam-ICS in North Carolina. She excels in driving market presence, identifying opportunities, and providing tailored solutions to clients, all while nurturing a sense of purpose within the local life science community.
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About Hallam-ICS
Hallam-ICS is an engineering and automation company that designs MEP systems for facilities and plants, engineers control and automation solutions, and ensures safety and regulatory compliance through arc flash studies, commissioning, and validation. Our offices are located in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Vermont, North Carolina and Texas and our projects take us world-wide.