Trade Show Schedule – 2012

December 21, 2011

NFMT Conference and Expo

Date: March 13-15, 2012
Location: Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD

Our Booth: 2446

TFM Forum

Date: April 17, 2012
Location: Sentry Centers West, New York, NY

AIA 2012 National Convention and Design Exposition

Date: May 17-19, 2012
Location: Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC

Our Booth: 2012

RECon The Global Retail Real Estate Convention

Date: May 20-23, 2012
Location: Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV

Our Booth: 514

BOMA 2012 – The Every Building Show

Date: June 24-26, 2012
Location: Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, WA

Our Booth: 442

Filed under: Trade Shows — admin @ 3:45 pm

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Lasertech Floorplans proud to announce our acceptance into the BOMA 360 Ambassadors Program

November 16, 2011

Lasertech Floorplans announced as Ambassador

Effective November 14, 2011, Lasertech Floorplans is proud to be recognized as an Ambassador to the recently announced BOMA 360 Program. The BOMA 360 Ambassadors Program helps vendors and suppliers to the commercial real estate industry connect with customers by serving as a valuable resource to BOMA International and to BOMA 360 applicants and designees.

The BOMA 360 Performance Program is designed to recognize outstanding achievement and provide a tool that can be used to market buildings as meeting and exceeding best practices and that it operates to the highest standards of excellence; helping to both keep existing tenants and attract new tenants. Other rating programs only focus on a specific area of operations, such as sustainability. The BOMA 360 Performance Program takes a 360 degree evaluation of all major areas of a property’s operations and management practices.

According to a recent study conducted by Kingsley Associates, buildings that achieve the BOMA 360 Performance Program® designation have higher tenant satisfaction scores in 47 out of 50 categories relating to tenant relations compared to commercial office buildings without the BOMA 360 designation.

The BOMA 360 program is unique because it validates and recognizes commercial properties that demonstrate best practices in all major areas of building operations and management, not just a single area like other designation and certification programs. A building does not receive the BOMA 360 designation unless it meets the rigorous criteria that evaluates six major areas of property management and operations: Building Operations and Management; Life Safety/Security/Risk Management; Training and Education; Energy; Environmental/Sustainability; and Tenant Relations and Community Involvement.

Click here to see the current list of BOMA 360 Ambassadors.

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BOMA 2010 Standards – A Summary

January 11, 2011

Click here to download a Summary of the new Standards, and how they may affect your building.

Are you aware of the new BOMA Floor Measurement Standards and possible impact on your buildings?

For nearly 95 years, BOMA International has sponsored the standard method for measuring Floor area in office buildings. This BOMA Standard has been accepted and approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). It is the method of measurement used by building owners, managers, facility managers, occupants, appraisers, design professionals, measurement professionals, leasing professionals, lending institutions and others to compute rentable areas in office buildings throughout the United States, Canada, and many other countries throughout the world.

The 1996 Standard (Z65.1-1996) has been used for office buildings for the past 14 years. Up until 2004, the Standard simply consisted of an Office Standard for calculating Rentable areas in typical office buildings that had some ground floor retail areas. In 2004 BOMA released the Industrial Standard, to be applied to all buildings that had more than 50% of space classified as ‘non-office’. This Standard has been updated in 2009, and ANSI-certified (Z65.2-2009).

However, in 2007 a major new initiative was announced between BOMA and IFMA (International Facilities Managers Association) to adopt and release a ‘Unified Approach for Measuring Office Space’. Both organizations realized they needed to standardize common terms and definitions used by both leasing and facilities management professionals. This document was to become the new basis of all future BOMA Measurement Standards.

In the past year, BOMA has released new Standards (Office 2010) for multi-tenant and single-tenant office buildings in compliance with this IFMA/BOMA Unified Approach, as well as for Retail, multi-unit Residential and Industrial space. They are currently working on a new Standard for mixed-use space as well.

How does this affect me?

If you own buildings with any of the following situations, then you should be aware of the impact of the new Office 2010 Standard on your Rentable areas:

- Single tenant buildings

o These may now be leased based on ‘Exterior Gross Area’ (formerly Gross Building Area), or Rentable.

- Office buildings with exterior circulation

o Exterior circulation may be considered as Rentable area now under the new Standard

- Buildings with structured parking areas included within the building

o These are now considered as part of the Exterior Gross Area

- Office buildings with any of the following types of space: (these areas must all be calculated and disclosed under 2010 Standards)

o Mezzanine space

o Restricted headroom space

o Connectors (between buildings in a complex)

o Vault space (beneath sidewalks)

Also, the calculation of load factors and distribution of common area space is treated a bit differently under the new 2010 Standards, all of which will affect Rentable areas of individual tenancies.

Other important changes in the new Office 2010 Standard are:

· A building owner may now elect to choose between 2 types of BOMA calculations:

o Method A (legacy method, with load factors varying by floor), or

o the new Method B (1 single load factor calculated per building)

· Capped Load Factor

o The new Office Standard allows for the designation of a ‘Capped Load Factor’, thereby allowing you to ensure load factors do not exceed local market conditions, yet still be within BOMA Standards!

How can LASERTECH^® FLOORPLANS help?

LASERTECH^® has served as an Official Recognized Floor Measurement Standards Interpreter from 2004 through 2010, and is fully committed to ensuring you have the latest information and knowledge to make the best informed decisions about your buildings and space area measurements.

If you are a current LASERTECH^® client, you have already made the investment in having accurate LASERTECH^® floorplans prepared of your buildings and BOMA lease calculations in accordance with Standards in place at the time. For a free recommendation and evaluation of your building’s current drawings and lease plans, simply call your LASERTECH^® FLOORPLANS representative. We will review your building and make a recommendation, based on building type, configuration, and tenancy, with no obligation.

If you are a new client, we will be happy to review your building’s current drawings and lease plans and make a recommendation, based on building type, configuration, and tenancy, with no further obligation. Simply call your LASERTECH^® FLOORPLANS representative.

www.lt-fp.com

(888) 393.6655 / (888) 825.2112

Filed under: BOMA Standards — admin @ 4:57 pm

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The Lowdown on BOMA Interpreters – What you need to know

December 17, 2010

In 2004, BOMA decided to appoint 1 professional measuring firm as its ‘Official and Exclusive Interpreter’ of the BOMA Floor Measurement Standards, of which there was really only 1 Standard at the time, the 1996 Office Standard. LASERTECH Floorplans was offered this role, which we accepted and filled from 2004 through 2009. We paid a fee of $10,000 per year to BOMA for this privilege, and in return agreed to field questions from the public on the Standard, and to offer a written opinion where required. Our voice was considered as the official voice for BOMA on all such questions received. The benefit for the public was that there was 1 source of interpretations of such Standards, resulting in consistent interpretations for all.

As part of our role, we developed our online KnowledgeBase of questions/answers, now available through our website. This was the first available source of such information online that we are aware of.

In 2004, the BOMA/SIOR Industrial Standard was released, and we quickly became familiar with that Standard as well.

It should be pointed out that in addition to offering opinions on the Standards, our core business was performing laser-accurate as-built surveys for architects and property managers. Part of this business often involved doing a BOMA anlaysis of a building, implementing the Standards currently in effect. With our state-of-the-art LTS survey system operational since 2001, we have been able to measure buildings more accurately and faster than any competitor, to 1/8″ accuracy. What sets us apart is the fact our software is both CAD based and survey-knowledgable. This enables us to deliver the most accurate existing-conditions drawings possible with technology of today, which is ultimately the first step in doing any BOMA analysis of a building. Without accurate measurements, the calculations become a moot point!

We have been implementing the BOMA Standards in our projects since 1995, with all of our surveys backed up and guaranteed by our $2 Million E&O insurance. We stand by our results!

The fact that we had technology no one else had developed, and that we had been doing BOMA surveys for 10 years certainly swayed BOMA in their decision to appoint us in 2004. $10,000 per year sealed the deal of course, which we did pay through 2009.

In the 2006-9 time period, BOMA and IFMA began moving towards common language in their Standards, and the wheels were put in motion to not only rewrite the current BOMA Standards, but also to develop additional standards, for example for Retail buildings, mixed use, residential buildings, and single-tenant buildings.

We chose not to get heavily involved in the creation of new standards here at Lasertech, instead believing that it would better serve the public for us to take an objective outside view of the Standards in their final format, the same as the public would receive and be trying to interpret. We offered opinions early on in the process, but it became apparent early that there were more than enough participants in the committees, and we instead focused on our role as interpreter and more importantly, implementation!

As well, BOMA then brought in a program to open up the Interpreter program, basically stating their desire to have every measuring firm signed up as ‘Official Interpreters’. Their stated goal was to collect $5000 per Interpreter PER STANDARD initially. Not surprisingly, there was no interest from any of the measuring firms out there!

Finally, by 2010, as the new Standards were making there way out to release, the program was modified so as Interpreters would pay $5000 per year for the right to offer Interpretations, and to be thereby recognized on the BOMA.org site. We, along with 3 other firms, served in this role through 2010.

Of course now the problem that we see is with so many Interpreters, and with so many new Standards, confusion abounds, not only amongst Interpreters, but more importantly the public.

Ultimately, as has always been stated by BOMA and all committee members, the Standards are a guideline, and subject to interpretation and application by measuring professionals. We at Lasertech recognize that our expertise continues to be in the accurate measurement and documentation of existing buildings, and of course where BOMA calculations are required we do have the expertise and knowledge of having worked with all versions of the Standards over the past 15 years to ensure that the proper Standard is implemented for our clients, and to ensure they are implemented in the full spirit of the Standards as intended by BOMA!

We have decided to opt out of the BOMA Interpreter program, as we feel those best qualified to offer interpretations on the new standards are those who wrote it. We ourselves will ask questions to other Interpreters where we feel there needs to be an interpretation of some perhaps vague or confusing wording in the manuals, or in their accompanying drawings.

The public should realize that those who write the Standards are not always best qualified to measure and document buildings, and implement the actual calculations as outlined in the Standards. And also to keep in mind that the Interpreters program is largely a marketing tool, by both BOMA and those Interpreters paying for the annual right to be so recognized.

We prefer to continue to grow our business through outstanding service, unparalleled accuracy, and a business model that allows us to continue to offer our service to architects and building owners on a truly international scale.

This in no way is intended as a knock against current Interpreters, or BOMA, but simply a clarification of our position and role at Lasertech Floorplans, as we move into 2011. The Standards in their current form, though not perfect, are a huge improvement from what we had back in the 90s. All committee members and BOMA are to be congratulated for providing the tools for all of us to work with , to ensure we can best serve our clients when it comes to lease area calculations. We look forward to continuing to do our best in the interpretation (unofficially) and application of all BOMA Floor Measurement Standards.

Filed under: BOMA Standards — admin @ 6:12 pm

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BIM – Issues for Building Owners

August 31, 2010

Building Information Modelling – Click to read about Issues for building owners

Filed under: Interesting articles — admin @ 5:34 pm

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Are you ready for the new BOMA 2010 Measurement Standards?

June 23, 2010

Filed under: BOMA Standards, Magazines and newsletters — admin @ 2:12 pm

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BOMA Standards – ANSI certification approved May 2010

June 5, 2010

Effective May 12, 2010, the following Standards are now ANSI approved, with the following ANSI designations:

1. The 2010 Office Standard is now referred to as: Office Buildings: Standard Methods of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA Z65.1 – 2010)

2. The 2009 Industrial Standard (formerly 2004) is now referred to as: Industrial Buildings: Standard Methods of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA Z65.2–2009)

3. The 2009 Gross Area Standard is now referred to as: Gross Areas of a Building: Standard Methods of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA Z65.3 – 2009)

In addition, the upcoming new Retail Standard and Multi-Unit Residential Standard are both currently going through the ANSI approval process.

Filed under: BOMA Standards — admin @ 9:47 pm

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What you need to know about the new BOMA Measurement Standards and Office Buildings

April 2, 2010

As you may or may not know, BOMA has released a new Office Measurement Standard this year, in January 2010. This is in addition to the Gross Area Standard that was released late 2009; together, these new Standards are intended to replace the BOMA 1996 Floor Measurement Standard for office buildings. For Industrial / Retail buildings, the 2004 Industrial Standard is still the recommended Standard to use (for any building that is more than 50% non-office).

There is a lot of confusion out there at this point as to which standard to follow, and the intent of this blog is to attempt to clarify. In addition, I would encourage you to submit specific questions you might have on any of the Standards in our Knowledge Base, from our home page.

Many are confused when it comes to single-tenant vs multi-tenant, and which standard would apply. There is no single answer, but its important to understand the intent of each of the Standards, and the differences. At the end of the day it is up to the building owner as to which Standard will be used for his/her building.

First, if you have a single-tenant building, BOMA does allow for leasing based on the “Exterior Gross Area”, as defined in the Gross Area Standard (2009). It is important to note that this is NOT Rentable area (as defined in the 1996 or 2010 Office Standards). EGA is simply calculated to the building exterior, but does exclude void areas, exterior decking and balconies. It does include parking areas within the building. There is no load factor calculated, nor common areas defined.

This does not mean you MUST use EGA for single-tenant buildings, it is just allowed, and is fairly common practice. Keep in mind if you need to compare your building to other, multi-tenant buildings, you cannot compare EGA with Rentable; Rentable is typically about 10% less than EGA, as it excludes vertical penetrations (stairwells, elevators) and most of the exterior wall thickness.

So the first decision you need to make with single-tenant buildings is whether to lease based on EGA, or Rentable. Also, all things being equal, the rental rates should be less for leases based on EGA vs Rentable, due to the space that is excluded from Rentable area.

If you decide to go with Rentable, then you have 3 choices basically as to which Standard to use. It is highly recommended that your leasing language be referenced, to see if there is specific reference to a Standard or methodology to use.

If your leases refer to ‘current BOMA Standards’, then you should go with the new 2010 Office Standard, as that is the current Standard, and likely will be for the next 10 years or so. If reference is made to the 1996 BOMA/ANSI Z65.1 Standard, then you should use that Standard (or of course update your lease language to reference 2010 Standards). (Note that this is no longer an ANSI Standard, it should simply be referred to as the BOMA 1996 Office Standard.)

If you go with the new 2010 Office Standard, then you need to be aware that there are 2 methodologies defined in this Standard, and it is up to you as to which one to use. Both can apply to single or multi-tenant buildings.

Methodology A is referred to as the Legacy Method, simply because it is an update to the 1996 Standard, and will result in different ‘load factors’ for each floor. It is the simplest to implement, and the most accurate and fairest methodology, in terms of the distribution of common areas throughout the building. Each tenant in a building is allocated a pro-rated share of building common areas (areas for the benefit of all tenants in a building), as well as a pro-rated share of the floor common areas on THEIR FLOOR ONLY (that would be restrooms, mechanical closets, etc that service their floor only).

Methodology B is referred to as the Single Load Factor Method, as it results in 1 single load factor for the building. Each tenant on each floor will have the same load factor used in the calculation of their Rentable area. This can be viewed as unfair of course by tenants on floors with little common area (eg ground floor), and beneficial to tenants on floors with lots of common area. It basically averages throughout the building.

Its important to note that the total rentable in the building will be the same under Method A or B. The decision comes down to whether you want a single load factor for the building, or floor by floor factors.

The other option of course is remaining with the 1996 Standard. The total Rentable for the building will not vary significantly from 1996 to 2010, though we are seeing some increases on ground floor, as the rules for when you can calculate to the building line (exterior) vs the inside or dominant portion, have been relaxed somewhat. As a result, we are able to include exterior wall thickness more under 2010 vs 1996, and thereby increase the RSF of the building.

There are some other advantages to the new 2010 Standard over the 1996 Standard, which I will elaborate on at a later date.

Filed under: BOMA Standards — Tags: BOMA, boma 2010, BOMA Standards, floor measurement standards — admin @ 1:59 pm

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One size does not fit all: the new BOMA Standard 2010 for office buildings

January 11, 2011

An interesting article on the new BOMA Standards, a legal perspective. Text follows below.

Canada
October 19 2010

Author page »

The Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) recently released: Office Buildings: Standard Methods of Measurement and Calculating Rentable Area (2010) (“BOMA 2010”). This publication is the latest in a succession of BOMA Standards, which have been widely used for the measurement of the rentable area of office premises since 1915.

The new publication contains many revisions and additions to the previous BOMA standard of 1996: Standard Method for Measuring Floor Area in Office Buildings (“BOMA 1996”). We are about to give you a glimpse into what’s new.

Major Changes from BOMA 1996

Both standards were designed to create what is colloquially referred to as the “gross up”. The most significant change from BOMA 1996 is that BOMA 2010 includes more than one option for calculating the “load factor” (being essentially the multiplier applied to a tenant’s area to attribute to the area of the tenant’s premises a share of the common area). Method A (the “legacy method”, contained in BOMA 1996), allows users the option of calculating the load factor on a floor-by-floor basis. Method B (new in BOMA 2010, called the “Single Load Factor” method) allows for the calculation of a single load factor to be shared by the entire building. The total rentable areas of a building are the same regardless of whether Method A or B is chosen. However, in citing BOMA 2010, reference must be made to either Method A or Method B, and they cannot be combined.

Method A results in some floors having a higher “load factor” than others, because the building amenities and service areas are located in certain areas; a higher load factor can be unattractive to tenants, and ultimately make the floor less “leasable”. Prospective tenants generally prefer floors having a higher percentage of usable space to common area. Simply put: tenants don’t want to pay a lot for what they share. Accordingly, floors with a lower load factor lease more quickly and sometimes at better rates, even though from the vantage point of a landlord concerned about lease-up, these floors may not be the ideal location for a prospective tenant. When the floors with lower load factors are full, the remaining floors (with higher load factors) arguably become harder to lease. Method B controls the way rentable area is allocated amongst the floors so that all tenants, regardless of floor, are allocated the same percentage for calculation of their share of building amenities and service areas using a new concept called “Base Building Circulation”, a minimum common area required for access to and use of such amenities and service areas.

Also of interest is the “capped load factor”. The capped load factor is determined on a floorby- floor basis, and is particularly useful for historical buildings that often have very high load factors. The cap serves to adjust high load factors down into a leasable market range for the building.1 Excluding building service areas from the calculations is not permitted; instead, the building owner, in its sole discretion, can cap the load factor using a “market load factor” (the capped load factor in any event cannot exceed the actual load factor calculated under Method A or Method B); or the building owner can cap the rentable area of an occupant area by multiplying the occupant area by the capped load factor (the capped rentable area in any event cannot exceed the actual rentable area calculated under Method A or Method B). However, BOMA 2010 neither “recommends” capping nor expresses any view on how to set the “market load factor”.

Expanded Definitions and Measurement Methods

BOMA 2010 contains 53 definitions – an addition of 35 definitions over BOMA 1996. BOMA 2010 also revises some of the BOMA 1996 definitions. For instance, in BOMA 2010, “Major Vertical Penetrations” now excludes “voids”, which have their own definition, and “Tenant” becomes “Occupant”. BOMA 2010 also contains new rules for determining the measurement boundaries. BOMA 2010 has, in addition, expanded on the 7-step measurement method of BOMA 1996. BOMA 2010 provides a sub-step classification system to determine the interior gross area of a building and its floors. After classifying the type of space (e.g. “Occupant Areas” (formerly known as “Office Area” and “Store Area”), a user can consult detailed charts and illustrations to establish the position of the boundary line, and determine the interior gross area of the space. This interior gross area is then utilized in the calculation of the R/U ratio, which leads to the calculation of the R/O ratio, and the load factor, and ultimately, the end goal, “rentable area”. It is a rigorous process.

Bells and Whistles

What is most exciting about BOMA 2010 is its availability as an interactive PDF that includes the use of hyperlinks. Users can link to any one of the 45 colour illustrations cited within the text, as well as to zoom in on points of interest and take a closer look at the subtleties of the diagrams. The wide use of colour throughout the illustrations improves their overall graphic resolution and assists the eye in visualizing dimension. BOMA 2010 also contains a number of other helpful inclusions such as built-in answers to frequently asked questions (which feature was previously available as a supplementary document to BOMA 1996).

Adjusting to BOMA 2010

While BOMA 2010 boasts more content, better illustrations and greater sophistication as compared to BOMA 1996, the earlier version may still remain the preferred choice for many. In fact, the labyrinth of measurement concepts and interconnected definitions contained in the 64 pages of BOMA 2010 could leave the casual user pining for the old (slimmer) BOMA 1996 guide. The user of BOMA 1996 needed to master only a handful of definitions (such as “Gross Measured Area”, “Dominant Portion”, and “R/U Ratio”) in order to navigate the methods and equations; but the brevity of BOMA 1996, which admittedly left some terms open to interpretation (but allowed for more easy calculation), has been sacrificed in BOMA 2010 in the name of precision. BOMA 2010 removes some ambiguity in the use of the measurement standard, but in doing so, requires the user to become acquainted with more definitions and ultimately, to spend additional energy reaching the desired goal – determining rentable area. A technical user will no doubt find BOMA 2010 more conducive to accurate calculation, and over time, the new standard may prove to be a more streamlined system offering greater clarity than BOMA 1996. However, for the user accustomed to BOMA 1996, the new version will take much getting used to.

Which to use: BOMA 1996 or BOMA 2010?

With all of this to consider, which standard is the better for you? The answer largely depends on whether you are a landlord or a tenant. BOMA 2010 Method B offers a number of advantages for landlords, brokers and building owners, over BOMA 1996 and BOMA 2010 Method A. The application of Method B’s single load factor method will likely simplify leasing calculations as well as improve the chances of renting out harder to lease floors. It should allow landlords to reduce the undesirability of floors with higher load factors because the standard allows harmonization of all floors into one equal load factor. Conversely, it may be advantageous for a tenant to choose BOMA 1996 or BOMA 2010 (Method A) should its prospective floor happen to be one with a lower overall load factor (as compared to other floors in the same building).

At the end of the day, since BOMA 2010 provides multiple options within its methods for determining the load factor of a floor (and ultimately the rentable area of a premises), and since some landlords and tenants are able to negotiate for the use (however advisable or inadvisable that may be) of old BOMA standards, such as BOMA 1996, and even BOMA 1980, landlords and tenants should always be careful to specify their preferred BOMA Standard of measurement up front in the preliminary lease document (be it a letter of intent or an offer to lease), rather than leave it to argument.

Filed under: BOMA Standards, Interesting articles — admin @ 6:20 pm

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