Author: Alex Bell

Everything You Need to Know About Fitwel and Fitwel Certification

Fitwel-certification-building
Fitwel and the Fitwel certification is used around the world for healthier buildings

Fitwel is actively becoming the leader in healthier building construction.

In fact, it’s gaining international traction. Through a partnership with well-known global safety science leader UL, the Fitwel certification system is being rolled out in China where the demand for healthier buildings is rising.

But what is Fitwel? Why does it matter? What are its strategies for improving buildings? And why should you get your building certified through Fitwel?

All these questions and more will be answered in today’s post.

Let’s dive in.

What is Fitwel?

Fitwel is a certification system for optimizing buildings to support human health.

It was developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) alongside the General Services Administration (GSA).

The Center for Active Design (CfAD) is the licensed operator of Fitwel. They were granted an exclusive license to lead future development within the private and public sectors by the Federal government.

CfAD was started by Mayor Bloomberg in New York City in 2011 and since then, they’ve helped inform the design of buildings and public infrastructure in over 180 countries.

The Fitwel certification system is the next step for CfAD to provide a proven standard for health-promoting strategies and building development.

Fitwel seeks to accomplish 7 goals:

  1. Impact Community Health
  2. Reduce Morbidity + Absenteeism
  3. Support Social Equity for Vulnerable Populations
  4. Instill Feelings Of Wellbeing
  5. Provide Healthy Food Options
  6. Promote Occupant Safety
  7. Increase Physical Activity

Why is Fitwell Important?

According to Fitwel, there are 3 major reasons buildings should consider getting Fitwel certified:

  1. Approximately 49% of building owners are willing to pay more for buildings demonstrated to have a positive impact on health.
  2. Approximately 45% of investors own impact investments (investments centered around environmental, social, and governance performance) or are interested in owning them.
  3. Approximately 97% of users report ease of use, and 84% understand how their buildings support health thanks to access to the information and performance data needed to certify a project.

What are Fitwel’s Strategies for Improving Buildings?

Becoming Fitwel certified means you adhere to specific strategies laid out by Fitwel.

There are 2 types of buildings they focus on:

  • Workplace buildings.
  • Residential buildings.

Let’s take a look at the strategies they propose for each.

Strategies for Workplace Buildings

Here are some of the strategies Fitwel proposes for creating healthier workplace buildings:

  1. Location – optimizing transit access and walkways to support greater opportunities for physical activity, social equity and foster positive impacts on community health.
  2. Building Access – offering support for carpools, bikes, and pedestrians to support multi-modal access to buildings and opportunities for regular physical activity.
  3. Outdoor Spaces – creating provisions and policies for outdoor amenities, such as walking trails and smoke-free spaces to support mental and physical health.
  4. Entrances & Ground Floor – building entryway systems and appropriate lighting to promote improved air quality and access to health-promoting amenities.
  5. Stairwells – developing accessible, visible, and well-designed stairwells to present a convenient way for building occupants to add physical activity to their day.
  6. Indoor Environment – implementing smoke-free building policies and providing an asbestos-free interior to limit prolonged exposure to harmful airborne substances and pollutants in indoor environments

Strategies for Improving Workplaces:

Here are some of the strategies Fitwel proposes for creating healthier residential buildings:

    1. Dwelling Units – providing daylight, views, and operable shading at workspaces to assist in reducing morbidity and increasing comfort, while also instilling feelings of well-being.
    2. Shared Spaces – building kitchen facilities and an exercise room to promote health outside of the individual workspace.
    3. Water Supply – providing an ADA compliant water supply on every floor to allow residents access to fresh water.
    4. Restaurants & Groceries – establishing standards for healthy food and beverages that must be met by all on-site sit-down restaurants to increase access to healthier restaurants and food choices.
    5. Vending Machines & Snack Bars – offering pricing incentives for healthy snacks to help reverse the negative health impacts of traditional vending machines.
    6. Emergency Procedures – providing an Automated External Defibrillator and associated testing schedule to improve coordination and timeliness of emergency response.

What are the Benefits of Becoming Fitwell Certified?

There are 4 big benefits of getting Fitwel certified:

  1. Signal to employees, residents, investors, and others that you prioritize wellness within the design, development, and operations of buildings.
  2. Integrate the best strategies that science has to offer to optimize health within a building.
  3. Ensure that your company is leading the industry on the next frontier of sustainability.
  4. Improve the health of your employees or residents as well as the surrounding community.

How Do You Get Fitwel Certified?

To get Fitwel certified, go here.

You’ll pay $500 annually to use Fitwel’s portal and $6,000 per project you want to be certified.  

What Are Other Ways You Can Optimize Your Building for Health?

If you’re concerned about improving your building design for health and wellness beyond Fitwel certification, we can give you a variety of books, videos, and courses you can use, such as:

  • Creating Healthy Workplaces: Stress Reduction Improved Well-being and Organizational Effectiveness
  • The Corporate Wellness Bible: Your Guide to Keeping Happy Healthy and Wise in the Workplace
  • Healthy Organizations Win: How to Harness Your Organizations Maximum Potential

If you want these resources and many more, schedule your free consultation with Enterprise Training below.

Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!

Schedule Free Consultation

A Simple Breakdown of the NY State Sexual Harassment Laws

ny state sexual harassment laws #metoo sign
The NY State Sexual Harassment Laws have been implemented to protect more employees than before.

Update: As of October 1st, 2018, the New York State Government has revised its sexual harassment training requirement deadlines. Each existing employee must have their initial training completed by October 9th, 2019, not January 1st. New employees hired after October 9th, 2018 must be trained “as soon as possible”  – meaning within a reasonable amount of time from their hiring date. Learn more about the updated requirements by visiting the ny.gov FAQ.

Both New York City and New York State have passed new sexual harassment training requirements for all employers and employees, making it the most expansive in the nation.

Employers will have to abide by these new rules starting next month and beginning of next year.

We’ll go over all the dates, details, and requirements below.

What are the New York State Sexual Harassment Training Requirements?

The governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, signed the FY 2019 budget on April 12th.

It includes provisions for a variety of programs, including new sexual harassment training requirements for every single employer in the State of New York.

By October 9th 2019, employers must implement an annual sexual harassment training initiative.

Here’s a brief overview of requirements under the new law:

  • Sexual harassment guidelines that conform to State standards.
  • A detailed outline that shows precisely what constitutes sexual harassment.
  • A list of provisions and remedies available to victims of sexual harassment through federal and state agencies.
  • A display of employee rights under the law as well as access to the proper legal forms to file a complaint.

The policies you implement must conform to Section 201-g of the new labor laws.

Thankfully, the state of New York has released an initial draft of a model sexual harassment training manual that you can implement. These are the minimum requirements, so if you create your own manual, you have to meet or exceed these requirements.

Your training initiative must also be participatory, which could include interactive web-based training that:

  • Asks employees questions as part of the training.
  • Facilitates answering questions asked by employees.
  • Requires feedback from employees about the training and its materials.

Here are a few additional points New York employers should know:

  • Your employees should complete their sexual harassment training before October 9th, 2019.
  • Every year at any time during the year, each of your employees must complete sexual harassment training again.
  • New employees should complete their sexual harassment training within 30 days of starting work.
  • You should teach sexual harassment training classes in the language of the employees taking the training.

What Is the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act and Its Requirements?

Only a month after Governor Cuomo signed the NY state sexual harassment laws, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act on May 9th, 2018.

Any employer with 15 or more employees (which includes interns) is now required to provide them with sexual harassment training by April 1st, 2019.

Similar to the New York state sexual harassment laws, under this bill, employers will be required to conduct training for their employees every year.

While the law only requires training for employers with 15 or more employees, it allows employees working for any-sized business to file a sexual harassment complaint and be protected under this law.

Here’s what the training must cover:

  • A description of sexual harassment that explicitly refers to it as “a form of unlawful discrimination under city, state, and federal law.”
  • A list of sexual harassment examples.
  • A description of your process for handling sexual harassment claims.
  • A description of the sexual harassment claims process available to employees through the NYC Commission on Human Rights, the New York State of Human Rights, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
  • A list of what constitutes employer retaliation against an employee who files a sexual harassment complaint, and how retaliation is prohibited under the law.
  • A description of how bystanders can intervene if they see or suspect sexual harassment happening to others.

It’s not just employees who must undergo this training, supervisors and managers must be trained as well, especially on their responsibilities when a sexual harassment complaint is filed.

New employees must be trained within 90 days of being hired, unless they received training at their last job.

All employees must undergo sexual harassment training each year, any time of the year.

Use This to Help Conform to the NY State Sexual Harassment Laws

Using the model manual New York provides is a great start to designing and implementing sexual harassment policies that conform to the law.

But if you want to go above and beyond the minimum requirements, or if you want a way to implement training quickly, we can help.

We’ve created NY State compliant courses on preventing sexual harassment for both management and employees.

These courses live in a full service learning management system (LMS) that provides assignment due date configuration, chasing email reminders, and full course completion status reporting on demand.

Check out a course sample below:

And if you want to find out more about these resources and many others, get your free consultation with Enterprise Training below.

Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!

Schedule Free Consultation

How to Get a Cut of $10.5 Million in Safety Grants from the DOL

Safety grants cash in
If you qualify for safety grants, now is the time to cash in.

Want a cut of $10.5 million in safety grants?

Here’s your chance.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration just published a notice in the Federal Registrar that $10.5 million is available through Susan Harwood’s Training Grants.

There are 3 specific grants in total:

  1. Targeted Topic Training Grants.
  2. Training and Educational Materials Development Grants.
  3. Capacity Building Grants.

We’ll go over each of these grants, who can access the funding, and how to get your hands on these funds.

But before we do, let’s define Susan Harwood Training Grants.

What are Susan Harwood Training Grants and Who Was Susan Harwood?

Susan Harwood Training Grants are awarded to “provide training and education programs for employers and workers on the recognition, avoidance, and prevention of safety and health hazards in their workplaces and to inform workers of their rights and employers of their responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act.”

They’re run by OSHA, which established the original grant program in 1978, then known as New Directions.

In 1997, it was renamed in honor of the late Susan Harwood, a former director of the Office of Risk Assessment in OSHA’s Health Standards Directorate, who died in 1996.

For 17 years, Susan Harwood helped develop OSHA standards to protect workers exposed to bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos and lead in construction.

What Does the Grant Program Support?

The safety grants program supports the creation of educational programs and in-person training for the following:

  • Workers and employers in small businesses
  • Industries with high injury, illness and fatality rates
  • Vulnerable workers, who are underserved, have limited English proficiency or are temporary workers.

The purpose of the grants is to fund training and education for workers and employers to help them identify and prevent workplace safety and health hazards.

What are the 3 Types of Grants?

Susan Harwood Training Grants are provided for 3 distinct types of training:

  1. Targeted Topic Training.
  2. Training and Educational Materials Development.
  3. Capacity Building.

Let’s look at each one:

Targeted Topic Training Grants

This type of safety grant is exclusively focused on training and educating workers and managers on identifying and preventing workplace hazards.

Training and Educational Materials Development Grants

This type of safety grant assists leaders in developing, evaluating, and validating training materials that cover specific OSHA topics that are high-quality enough to be used in a classroom.

Capacity Building Grants

This type of safety grant aids organizations in developing and expanding their capacity to provide safety and health training and education.

You can apply for either of these 2 types of Capacity Building grants:

  1. Capacity Building Pilot.
  2. Or Capacity Building Development.

Capacity Building Pilot grants help organizations assess their training and development needs so they have a clear plan before implementing a whole safety and health education program.

Capacity Building Developmental grants help organizations develop the capacity to effectively provide full-scale safety and health training and education.

Who’s Eligible to Get a Grant?

Unfortunately, not everyone who needs or wants these grants are eligible to receive them.

Here are the only organizations eligible for Susan Harwood Training Grants:

  • Nonprofit organizations, including qualifying community and faith-based organizations, employer associations and labor unions.
  • State and local government supported institutions of higher education.

How do you apply for the grant?

If you’re eligible and want to apply for a Susan Harwood Training Grant, simply visit Grants.gov and register your organization through the site.

The registration process typically takes 3-5 days to process.

After that, you can submit an application for the grant of your choice.

Want to Accelerate Your Safety Training Programs?

While in-person training has its merits, it also has its drawbacks…

They’re normally more expensive than other forms of training (which is why safety grants are so important).

They’re time-consuming and require all your employees to be in the same place at the same time.

And the training can’t be repeated or played over – if employees wanted to refresh their memories, they would either have to take excellent notes (which, as you know, doesn’t always happen) or you would have to hire someone for another training session.

But you can avoid all of this by supplementing in-person training with Elearning.

It’s much cheaper.

You’re employees learn faster (and retain more information).

And they can learn anytime, anywhere, and go back to the training whenever they want.

If you’re interested in seeing how Elearning can enhance your existing training and development program, get your free online training consultation below.

Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!

Schedule Free Consultation

NYC Local Law 196: How to Comply (Without Getting Hit with $5,000 Fines)

NYC local law 196 job site safety
Local law 196 was created in order to protect workers through additional safety training

New Yorkers, are you prepared for unannounced safety checks at your construction site?

If not, you could be hit with a $5,000 fine or more.

This according to bill Intro 1447-C, otherwise known as Local Law 196, which was signed into law by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on October 16, 2017.

Later in this post, we’ll explain what Local Law 196 requires, who it affects, and how to comply with it so you don’t get hit with any fines.

But first, let’s see exactly what it is.

What is Local Law 196?

Falling-related fatalities for construction workers reached an all-time high in 2017, totaling 10 deaths according to New York’s Department of Buildings (DOB).

Local Law 196 was introduced to prevent that number from climbing in 2018 and beyond.

It mandates that workers at certain job sites receive 40 hours of safety training, while supervisors at certain job sites receive 62 hours of safety training.

What are the Local Law 196 Requirements and Who Needs to Be Trained?

These are the people on your job site who must be trained:

  • New entrants to construction.
  • Supervisors such as construction superintendents, concrete safety managers, site safety coordinators, site safety managers, and competent persons.
  • Workers at job sites with a Site Safety Plan as well as job sites with a superintendent, site safety coordinator or site safety manager.

There are 3 phases of Local Law 196. We’ll cover each and explain exactly what is required of your workers and supervisors.

Phase 1

Phase 1 of Local Law 196 has already been initiated. It started on March 1, 2018.

That means all workers and supervisors at this point must have received a minimum of 10 hours of training. New entrants to your construction site are required to complete this training prior to working.

Phase 2

Phase 2 of Local Law 196 begins on December 1, 2018. All workers at this point will be required to carry at least a Limited Site Safety Training (SST) Card.

To obtain a Limited SST Card, you have to do ONE of the following:

  • Complete OSHA 10 and undergo 20 additional hours of training specified by New York’s DOB. This includes 8 hours of training about preventing falling-related fatalities.
  • Complete OSHA 30
  • Complete a 100-hour program approved by the DOB.

All supervisors at this point must complete site safety training to obtain their requisite SST Supervisor Card.

Phase 3

Phase 3 of Local Law 196 begins on May 1, 2019.

At this point, all workers are expected to have their training complete, which could be any of the following:

  • OSHA 10 in addition to 30-45 hours of training approved by the DOB, which of course includes those 8 hours on the dangers of falling workers and objects.
  • OSHA 30 in addition to 10-25 hours of training approved by the DOB, including 8 hours of preventing falling-related accidents.
  • A 100-hour training program approved by the DOB.

And again, supervisors will have to complete site safety training to get their SST supervisor card.

How Can You Meet the Local Law 196 Requirements?

If you completed any of this training online before October 16, 2017, it will be recognized and accepted as valid.

However, any training you take after that date will have to be in-person training or actively proctored online training – meaning, a person oversees your online training to ensure you’re present for the entirety of the training course.

Once you complete the course, you should receive a wallet-sized Site Safety Training Card that must include specific information and security features, such as:

  • Unique identification card number.
  • Photographs of the person to whom it was issued.
  • Date of course completion.
  • Expiration date.
  • Name and address of provider of issuance.

Who is Exempt from Local Law 196?

Not everyone needs to undergo additional training or obtain a Site Safety Training Card.

Here’s a list of everyone exempt from Local Law 196:

  • Delivery persons
  • Flag persons
  • Professional engineers
  • Registered architects
  • Department-licensees and Department-registrants (excluding safety professionals)
  • Workers at job sites that only involve minor alterations or the construction of a new 1-, 2-, or 3-family home

What Happens if You Violate Local Law 196 Requirements?

As we alluded to earlier in this post, owners of job sites with workers who don’t meet Local Law 196 requirements will face stiff fines.

If the DOB discovers an untrained worker on a construction site, the owner of the site, the permit holder, and the employer of the untrained worker will each be given a $5,000 civil penalty.

And if the permit holder hasn’t kept a detailed log that demonstrates all the workers on-site are trained, they’ll be hit with a $2,500 penalty.

Recap of Local Law 196

Just to make sure you understand what you need and when you need it to comply with Local Law 196, here’s a quick recap.

  • March 1, 2018 is when all workers are required to have at least 10 hours of training to be able to work
  • December 1, 2018 is when all workers (old and new) need to at least have a Limited SST Card and all supervisors need to have an SST Supervisor Card
  • May 1, 2019 or September 1, 2020 is when all workers must have an SST Card

And so it’s crystal clear on how to get an SST Card, here are the requirements again:

How Workers Obtain an SST Card

  • 10-hour OSHA training plus 30 additional SST training hours
  • 30-hour OSHA training plus 10 additional SST training hours
  • 100-hour DOB sponsored training

By the way, if you have 40 hours of SST training before December 1, 2018 you can simply obtain a full SST Card without getting the Limited SST Card.

How Supervisors Obtain an SST Card

  • 30-Hour OSHA
  • 8-Hour Fall Protection Course
  • 8-Hour Site Safety Manager Refresher Training
  • 4-Hour Supported Scaffold User Training
  • 2 hours of each of the following topics:
    • Site safety plans
    • Toolbox talks
    • Pre-task meetings
    • General electives,
    • Specialized electives,
    • Drug & Alcohol Awareness

This card will be valid for a 5-year period and will require 16-hours of SST training to renew.

And there you have it.

Everything New York construction workers, supervisors, and site owners need to know about Local Law 196.

Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!Schedule Free Consultation

Sustainable Development in Government: 5 Strategies for Implementing EO 13834

sustainable development government
Sustainable development in government is achievable with the right strategies for implementing EO 13834

Is your government agency sustainable?

If not, it should be.

President Trump signed Executive Order (E.O.) 13834 on May 17th, 2018 and it “directs Federal agencies to manage their buildings, vehicles, and overall operations to optimize energy and environmental performance, reduce waste, and cut costs.”

The Federal government is leading the way on this initiative for sustainable development in government and has achieved substantial energy savings (which we’ll review later in this post).

To help you meet the standards outlined in EO 13834, we’ll tell you what outcomes your agency is expected to achieve, when you’re expected to achieve them, and a few easy ways to begin developing a sustainable government agency.

What Are the Goals of Executive Order 13834?

EO 13834 sets forth 8 goals that the head of each federal agency is expected to meet in the most cost-effective way possible.

These are the goals of EO 13834:

  1. Achieve and maintain annual reductions in building energy use and implement energy efficiency measures that reduce costs.
  2. Meet statutory requirements relating to the consumption of renewable energy and electricity.
  3. Reduce potable and non-potable water consumption, and comply with stormwater management requirements.
  4. Utilize performance contracting to achieve energy, water, building modernization, and infrastructure goals.
  5. Ensure that new construction and major renovations conform to applicable building energy efficiency requirements and sustainable design principles; consider building efficiency when renewing or entering into leases; implement space utilization and optimization practices; and annually assess and report on building conformance to sustainability metrics.
  6. Implement waste prevention and recycling measures and comply with all Federal requirements with regard to solid, hazardous, and toxic waste management and disposal.
  7. Acquire, use, and dispose of products and services, including electronics, in accordance with statutory mandates for purchasing preference, Federal Acquisition Regulation requirements, and other applicable Federal procurement policies.
  8. Track and, as required by section 7(b) of this order, report on energy management activities, performance improvements, cost reductions, greenhouse gas emissions, energy and water savings, and other appropriate performance measures.

When Do You Need to Achieve the goals of EO 13834?

Unlike Obama’s sustainable development in government policies, which was supposed to carry through 2025 (but was rescinded to make way for EO 13834), President Trump didn’t set deadlines for his energy-saving executive order.

Without concrete timetables, federal agencies are free to meet the goals of EO 13834 on their own time, in a way that best suits their budget and other needs.

How’s the Federal Government Doing in Sustainable Development?

The Office of Federal Sustainability has compiled a “scorecard” on federal agency performances regarding energy efficiency and sustainability.  

Every agency had their fiscal year 2016 performance assessed according to the goals set forth by Obama’s sustainable development executive order.

The Office of Federal Sustainability will update their metrics to conform to President Trump’s Executive Order 13834 proposals when assessing these agencies for fiscal year 2017.

Even still, these scorecards give a good indication of how well the federal government is doing in regards to sustainable development.

For example, here’s how the U.S. Department of Energy did on their scorecard:

  • For Scope 1&2 GHG Reduction Target of 50.0% by 2025: 42.3% reduction in 2016 and on target
  • For Scope 3 GHG Reduction Target of 25.0% by 2025: 19.3% reduction in 2016 and on track
  • Reduction in energy intensity in goal-subject facilities compared with 2015: 9.4% and on track
  • Use of renewable electricity as a percent of facility electricity use: 24.1% from renewable sources and on track for 30% by 2025
  • Use of clean energy as a percent of facility energy use: 22.6% of federal building electric energy and thermal energy is clean energy and on track
  • Reduction in potable water intensity compared with 2007: 29.3% and on track for 36% in 2025

While not all government agencies have achieved as much progress in sustainable development as the U.S. Department of Energy, they’re all undertaking initiatives to meet their sustainable development goals – which should inspire you to do the same.

Strategies You Can Implement for Sustainable Development in Government

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) recently announced their Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2018-2022 which emphasizes saving taxpayer money through the more efficient management of federal real estate.

They revealed a few of their strategies for successfully reducing energy and increasing efficiency, such as:

  • Monitoring temperature settings, operating schedules, and routine maintenance.
  • Installation of LED lights and low-flow water fixtures as part of smaller renovations.
  • Disposal and congressionally-funded renovation of older buildings and construction of more-efficient new buildings.

In addition to GSA’s strategies, we’ve compiled a few more below that you can implement today to kickstart (or embolden) your government sustainability development initiatives.

Create a Team

You can’t turn a government agency green on your own. You’re going to need the help of a dedicated team of individuals who share the same goals and vision for an eco-friendly office and organization.

Plus, one of the biggest benefits of creating a “green” team is employees can better inspire fellow employees than a top-down announcement or memo from management can.  

Reduce Consumption of Office Supplies

Once you have a team, you can implement projects for them to oversee, such as the reduction in office supplies consumption.

Tiny changes like this are a great way to begin a sustainable development program and can substantially decrease the amount of waste that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

Use Energy-Efficient Lighting

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, By 2027, widespread use of LEDs could save about 348 TWh (compared to no LED use) of electricity: This is the equivalent annual electrical output of 44 large electric power plants (1000 megawatts each), and a total savings of more than $30 billion at today’s electricity prices.

If you want to cash in on those savings, you can easily swap your incandescent light bulbs for LED, halogen, or compact fluorescent light bulbs.

But before you toss your inefficient light bulbs in the trash, make sure to recycle them at a local Batteries Plus store or other light bulb recycling facility.

Dispose of Electronic Waste

Light bulbs aren’t the only thing in your office you should dispose of properly, almost all of your electronics, inks, and toners should be recycled as well.

The EPA has a handy list of all the places that will accept your electronic waste and Earth 911 allows you to search your area for the nearest ink and toner recycling facility.

Go as Paperless as Possible

According to the EPA and the Clean Air Council, The average office worker in the U.S. uses 10,000 sheets of paper.

While going completely paperless is probably impossible for your government agency, you can take the following steps to get closer to a paperless office:

Sustainable Development in Government Beyond EO 13834

The goals of Executive Order 13834 are admirable, and should absolutely be pursued.

But the sustainable development of government shouldn’t just be about following a mandated set of policies. It should be about striving to use the taxpayer’s money wisely, decreasing your carbon footprint, and actually caring about preserving the environment.

You’ll need more education and information beyond the tips we provided here to meet the expectations of EO 13834 and to pursue sustainability goals beyond them.

We’ve created a number of courses, ebooks, and videos to help you implement an optimal sustainability development plan.

Some of these include:

  • Sustainable Development for Public Administration
  • Sustainable Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Principles and Practices for Sustainable Operations and Management
  • Advanced Sustainable Lighting Design – Reports
  • Sustainable Building Technology
  • Characteristics of a Sustainable Organization

And much, much more.

If you want to get your hands on these resources and many others, then sign up for a free 14-day trial of Enterprise Training below.

Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!Schedule Free Consultation

7 Revit 2019 New Features That Users Wanted and Revit Delivered

 

Revit 2019 new features diagram
The Revit 2019 new features incorporated user feedback to upgrade and create their industry-standard tools

The Revit 2019 new features have been revealed…

And they’re better than everyone expected.

Revit’s official blog walked through all of the new features, but in today’s post, we’ll summarize some of the top features of Revit 2019, most of which were requested by users and delivered by Revit.

Revit 2019 New Features

“Or” in Filters

”Or” in filters was the #1 most requested new feature for Revit 2019, garnering over 1,000 votes.

Older versions of Revit limited users to only using the “And” rule when creating filters. In Revit 2019, you can create view filters with multiple rules and nested sets with a combination of the “And” rule and the “Or” rule.

Tabbed Views and Multi-Monitor Support

Tabbed views and multi-monitor support were some of the other top-requested new features of Revit 2019 and deliver a streamlined workflow for maximizing your workspace.

You can organize views exactly how you want, see which views are open at any time, and even draft views out of Revit and onto a second monitor for serious Revit users.

Double-Fill Patterns

Double-fill patterns was another top user-requested feature that allows you to apply foreground and background fill patterns to create more complex graphical renditions.

Double-fill patterns can be used on filled regions, object-level overrides, and cut settings of materials.

It also gives you access to realistic renderings such as metals, woods, carpets, and many more elements.

Complex Piping Networks

Complex piping networks in Revit 2019 improved the hydronic networks, enabling the design of more complicated piping networks.

Older versions of Revit required you to learn a lot about configuring connectors and knowing where to input data for common scenarios.

Not anymore.

You can easily create headered systems, hydronic bridges, and one-pipe primary loops. These improvements allow you to see flow and pressure drop on each pump throughout your network.

You can even analyze pumps in parallel and compute flow from duty and standby pump quantities.

Split Tool on Railings

The split tool simplifies the creation and modification of railings with a single click of the mouse.

Previously, you were forced to copy and paste one railing, then modify both.

Now when you split a railing, you’ll see elements that display the path sketches independent of each other for faster designing.

Uncropped Perspective

Uncropped perspective allows you to deactivate the crop region and navigate in a perspective view on a full window.

Older versions of Revit wouldn’t allow you to deactivate crop region in perspective views.

This new feature lets you work faster in fullscreen mode using the uncropped perspective views which provide an immersive experience when viewing and working with your design model.

You can easily switch between the default 3D views and move around freely with navigation commands such as Zoom, Pan, and Orbit.

Custom Steel Connections

Custom steel connections give you new edit tools to modify structural framing and column elements with ease.

Now you can connect structural members together using plates, bolts, and anchors within the 3D model.

How to Download Revit

You can download a free trial of Revit here or buy Revit 2019 through a monthly or yearly subscription.

Get Revit Training

If you want to take your Revit skills to the next level, you can start with our on-demand Revit training.

Whether you’re a beginner to Revit Architecture or you want to sharpen your skills, we have a variety of educational modules to help you learn Revit quickly and effectively.

Access all of our Revit training materials by signing up for a free trial of Enterprise Training below.

Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by starting your free trial of our Autodesk Revit training today!

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Top 5 AutoCAD 2019 New Features You Should Be Excited About

 

AutoCAD 2019 new features
The AutoCAD 2019 new features upgrade core functions and add essential new tools

Autodesk officially revealed the AutoCAD 2019 new features…and you’re gonna want to see them.

These changes reveal a new direction for Autodesk and attempt to accomplish a few different goals:

  • Simplify the AutoCAD software package
  • Increase the value they deliver to their subscribers
  • And allow engineers to work and collaborate online seamlessly.

We’ll show you how they accomplished those goals with the new features in AutoCAD 2019.

The Top 5 AutoCAD 2019 New Features

Specialized Toolsets Bundle

This is the most noticeable change in AutoCAD 2019.

Autodesk moved away from offering a variety of software products to bundling their core verticals into a single subscription to AutoCAD 2019 – known as One AutoCAD.

Now you get access to 7 specialized toolsets in addition to AutoCAD 2019:

  • Architecture (previously known as AutoCAD Architecture)
  • Mechanical (previously known as AutoCAD Mechanical)
  • Electrical (previously known as AutoCAD Electrical)
  • Map 3D previously known as AutoCAD Map 3D)
  • MEP (previously known as AutoCAD MEP)
  • Raster Design (previously known as AutoCAD Raster Design)
  • Plant 3D (previously known as AutoCAD Plant 3D)

These toolsets allow you to expand the work you do at no additional cost apart from your initial subscription.

DWG Compare Tool

The new DWG Compare tool is one of the most exciting new features in AutoCAD 2019.

The old Drawing Compare tool from AutoCAD Architecture was good, but it didn’t have the functionality or flexibility that the new DWG Compare tool has.

DWG Compare does the same thing as the old Drawing Compare tool – compare two versions of the same drawing. But DWG Compare offers greater control over this process in the following ways:

  • You can specify which colors are used to identify the differences between the versions you’re comparing.
  • You can control whether text should be included or excluded from the comparison.
  • You can place a revision cloud around a single change or a group of changes.
  • And running DWG won’t alter your existing files. Instead, the comparison will be shown in a third drawing.

These new functions breathe new life into the Compare tool and make it even more useful than it was before.

Shared Views

The traditional way of collaborating on designs required you to convert your DWG file into a PDF to share with your teams.

With the Share View tool, you can share your designs with stakeholders within or outside your company without releasing your original drawing files.

AutoCAD 2019 hosts the design in the cloud, generates a shareable link, and lets project stakeholders view, review, measure, comment, and markup the drawing in their own web browser.

This streamlines the previously clunky process of using different file formats to get feedback on your designs.

And all the feedback you receive is saved in the file you share and can be implemented on your own AutoCAD desktop application.

AutoCAD Web App

This feature of AutoCAD 2019 isn’t an upgrade, it’s a completely new way to use the software.

It’s the first time you’ll be able to access, perform, and share your drawings directly from the web – no installation required.

Just go to the web app and login and you can start working from anywhere.

Here are the key features of the web app:

 

  • DWG file access (Share View)

 

  • Core 2D Drafting and Editing Tools such as Polyline, Arc, Revcloud, Offset, Trim, and Dimension
  • Original AutoCAD Technology that provides the same authenticity and precision as the desktop version of AutoCAD 2019

With so many similar features, the AutoCAD web app could be a replacement for the desktop version in the near future.

AutoCAD Mobile App

Why stop at a web app when you can create a mobile app, too?

With the AutoCAD mobile app, you can view, edit, create, and share CAD across Windows, Android and iOS phones and tablets.

The mobile app was designed for users working on-site and features a few mobile-only tools to enhance the power of AutoCAD in the palm of your hand, such as:

  • DWG File Access which gives you full access to your rich DWG files from the cloud and also allows you to download DWGs onto your device so you can work offline without internet connectivity.
  • Magnifier and Object Snap which lets you make accurate edits and measurements.
  • Quick Trim and Measure which lets you make quick edits with a single tap on the screen.
  • Laser Measurements which lets you take measurements using the Leica DISTO by connecting your mobile device via Bluetooth.
  • Annotations and Photo Attachments which enable you to log quick observations from the field using annotation tools like shapes, arrows, text, highlights, and photos directly on your drawings.

How to Buy AutoCAD 2019 (and How Much it Will Cost)

Since Autodesk is bundling 7 toolsets with AutoCAD 2019, it makes sense to raise the price – which they did by about 7%.

Instead of the $1,470 per year subscription you may be used to, the new AutoCAD subscription price is $1,575 yearly, and $195 monthly, which you can check out here.

How to Download AutoCAD 2019 for Free

If you’re not sure AutoCAD 2019 is right for you, get a free trial here.

What Should You Do after Getting AutoCAD 2019?

Upgrade your AutoCAD skills, of course.

If you want to get better with AutoCAD and any of its included toolsets, we got you covered.

From the beginner basics to the expert secrets, we’ll help you master AutoCAD 2019.

You can check out all of our AutoCAD programs by signing up for a free trial below.

Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by starting your free trial of our Autodesk AutoCAD training today!

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Local Government Cybersecurity: It’s (Really) Bad, but You Can Save It

 

local government cybersecurity
Local government cybersecurity is currently highly insecure, but the situation can be improved

Local government cybersecurity is in bad shape, and many local governments are being attacked at an escalating rate as a consequence.

Atlanta’s municipal government was crippled by a ransomware attack.

Baltimore’s 911 dispatch system was hacked by an unknown person or group.

The city of Allentown, Pennsylvania was attacked by malware known as Emotet.

And More than 2,000 Windows-based computers at CDOT offices in Colorado were brought down by a virus known as SamSam.

What do all these attacks have in common?

They all involve local governments and they all happened earlier this year.

Your local government could be next.

To help you prevent a potential attack, we’ll show you why local government cybersecurity is in such poor condition, the top threats local governments face, and a few surefire local government IT solutions you can implement immediately.

How Bad is State and Local Government Cybersecurity?

Really, really bad.

At least, according to the Cybersecurity 2016 Survey conducted by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), in partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).

Here’s what they found:

  • 44% of all respondents said they experience cyberattacks on a daily basis
  • 39.9% of local governments DO NOT catalog and count attacks
  • 66.4% of local governments use an informal system of cybersecurity management, as opposed to a formal system
  • 62.4% of local governments have NO IDEA whether they’re being breached or not
  • 51.3% of local governments say they’re not practicing better cybersecurity because they receive no end-user training whatsoever

These are dismal findings and point to a worrying lack of proactive steps being taken to protect vital information and infrastructure in local governments across the nation.

The most disturbing data-point is the non-existence of cybersecurity training for end-users since end-users are most likely to fall prey to a hacker’s traps and tricks.

Without a formal system of cybersecurity, a record of attacks, and proper cybersecurity training, you’re exposing your agency to a variety of serious cyberthreats.

What are the Greatest Cybersecurity Threats to Local Governments?

We recently listed cybersecurity predictions for 2018 that don’t look good, but we didn’t focus specifically on cyberthreats.

So we looked at what others predict as the greatest cyberthreats to local government. Here are a few we found from OneNeck IT Solutions:

Denial of Service Attack (DDoS)

A DDoS attack is a cyberthreat that attempts to shut down a system or make it inoperable by flooding it with traffic from multiple sources.

Hackers build networks of infected computers, called botnets, by spreading malicious software to machines – allowing them to control those infected computers remotely to carry out a DDoS attack.

This is a favorite attack used against governments. Even the NSA website was brought down by a DDoS attack.

Social Engineering

Social engineering is a catch-all term that refers to various methods of manipulation used against end-users to install malicious malware or steal data.

Phishing is one of the most common forms of social engineering. It relies on fake emails embedded with malicious links that install malware when clicked or fake websites that steal your login information after you’ve entered it.

All forms of social engineering attempt to trick you into giving the hackers control over your machine or access to information they can use to extort your agency.

Advanced Persistent Threats (APT)

APT is a set of continuous computer hacking processes that use stealth tactics to infiltrate your network and remain undetected for as long as it takes to gain access to privileged information and steal sensitive data.

APT attacks may initially use phishing or any other social engineering scam to create one or multiple backdoor entry points, allowing other hackers to worm their way into your network, slowly chipping away at the rest of your IT security layer until they’re discovered or achieve their objective.

How to Improve Government IT Security

The sad state of local government cybersecurity combined with the dangerous cyberthreats they face paints a grim picture for the future, but all is not lost.

There are numerous steps local governments can take to improve IT security across their organization.

Here are some of the most important steps you can take today and into the future:

Perform a Security Assessment

How do you know if your local government is secure?

By inspecting and testing your entire IT infrastructure to identify and secure weaknesses externally and internally.

By knowing your vulnerabilities, you can direct your limited resources to fix the weakest links in your cybersecurity chain.

Work Together with Other Governments

Governments from the federal to the state and local level are under attack from cybercriminals. To beat them, governments need to join forces to share knowledge and resources.

Intergovernmental cooperation strengthens your cybersecurity position by learning from the successes and failures of other governments’ IT security policies while gaining access to experts you may not have in your agency.

Outsource IT Security

Speaking of IT security experts, they’re not always kept in-house. And in many cases, IT experts who are trained to handle the looming threats of today (while anticipating the threats of the future) are difficult to find in the public sector.

That’s why many local governments choose to outsource their IT services.

Plus, since the lack of appropriate funding is often pointed to as one of the biggest reasons why robust cybersecurity in local governments is lacking, it makes sense to hire a private company that will cost far less than hiring in-house staff.

Enable User Access Management

User access management, also called privileged access management (PAM) is a method of controlling what information each team member can access.

Since end-users are typically the weakest cybersecurity links in your organization, and hackers rely on tricking them to gain access to more privileged information, it logically follows that you should restrict end-users’ access to sensitive information whenever possible.

Most people in most positions only need a specific set of data to do their jobs.

Therefore, they should be restricted from accessing any information outside of that core data set to protect your agency from infiltration in the case that an end-user falls victim to a phishing attack, for example.

Adopt the NIST Framework

The NIST Framework provides a common language and systematic methodology for managing cybersecurity risks.

The latest version of the NIST framework was released on April 16, 2018.

According to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, “The voluntary NIST Cybersecurity Framework should be every company’s first line of defense. Adopting version 1.1 is a must do for all CEO’s.”

But it’s not just made for the private sector. The NIST Framework has been successfully adopted by federal, State, and local governments.

According to NIST Director Walter G. Copan, “The release of the Cybersecurity Framework Version 1.1 is a significant advance that truly reflects the success of the public-private model for addressing cybersecurity challenges.”

Establish a Cybersecurity Culture

Every employee in your agency should be hyper-vigilant against impending cyberthreats.

It’s not just managers, commissioners, and elected executives who have to worry about these threats. In fact, it’s their job to instill a cybersecurity awareness culture from the top-down.

In the same way that you can create a culture of continuous learning in your agency, you should attempt to create a culture of continuous cybersecurity learning and training in your agency.

Train Your Employees

We’ve been harping heavily on the vulnerability of end-users, which is why the most important cybersecurity tip we can offer you is to train your employees.

There’s no high-tech substitute for smart, safe, and knowledgeable employees. They are your last line of defense against threats.

A hacker can send out all the phishing emails he wants, bypassing all your internet and email security systems. But if none of your employees fall for the scam, your data will remain safe.

So what’s the best way to train your employees in cybersecurity?

Find and use high-quality cybersecurity training resources.

But where can you find cybersecurity training made specifically for local governments?

Right here at Enterprise Training. Below are just a few of the many guides we have available for you.

  • Cyber Threat!: How to Manage the Growing Risk of Cyber Attacks reveals the extent of the cybersecurity problem, and provides a plan to change course and better manage and protect critical information.
  • Cyber Security Culture: Counteracting Cyber Threats through Organizational Learning and Training provides in-depth research to assist managers in forming policies that prevent cyber intrusions, put robust security systems and procedures in place, and arrange appropriate training interventions.
  • The Information Systems Security Officers Guide: Establishing and Managing a Cyber Security Program Third Edition provides information on how to combat the ever-changing myriad of threats security professionals face by presenting practical advice on establishing, managing, and evaluating a successful information protection program in a corporation or government agency.

And here’s a sample video from one of our cybersecurity courses:

If you want these guides and even more cybersecurity training, then contact us below to get started with a free 14-day trial of Enterprise Training.

Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!

Schedule Free Consultation

 

6 Cybersecurity Predictions for 2018 That Don’t Look Good

 

cybersecurity predictions 2018
Our cybersecurity predictions for 2018 see old threats and new threats rising up

Cybercrime is escalating, and no one is safe.

The costs of data breaches will reach $2.1 trillion globally by 2019, according to Juniper Research.

That’s 4x the estimated cost of data breaches in 2015.

Major corporations like Equifax have been breached while major city Governments like Atlanta were shut down and extorted earlier this year.

Unfortunately, things will get worse before they get better.

Below we list our cybersecurity predictions for 2018 and beyond.

Our hope is that this list will help you identify and guard against increasing cyberattacks.

Top Cybersecurity Predictions for 2018

Simple Password Logins Are Increasingly Risky

81% of hacking-related breaches leveraged either stolen and/or weak passwords, according to the 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report from Verizon.

This trend is predicted to continue if companies and governments don’t use stronger logins such as multi-factor authentication or risk-based authentication.

Cyberattackers Will Rely on AI to Hack Your Data

Why do the work yourself when a computer can do it for you?

That’s exactly what many hackers thought as they began implementing AI-powered cyberattacks.

Here are a few ways hackers can execute attacks using AI:

  • Phishing, spam, and fraud using chatbots
  • AI-powered password hacking
  • AI attacks on AI cybersecurity software

Attacks on IoT Devices Will Rise

It’s only getting easier for hackers to infiltrate the Internet of Things. That’s partly driven by the increasing prevalence of IoT devices.

More than half of major new business processes and systems will incorporate some element of the Internet of Things by 2020, according to Gartner, Inc. This applies to government agencies as well.

The most common method used to hack an IoT device is a botnet – a collection of compromised IoT devices, such as cameras, routers, DVRs, wearables and other embedded technologies, infected with malware.

IoT botnets spread fast, attempting to infect as many devices as possible, potentially compromising hundreds of thousands of machines.

The infamous Reaper botnet infected a million networks alone.

Carefully choosing what IoT devices you use and don’t use is one of the few ways to minimize these types of attacks until security for these devices becomes more robust and effective.

Cyber-Hijacking Will Become More Commonplace

As more transportation systems operate automatically (without safeguarding their software), hackers will be able to hijack their systems remotely and demand a ransom before relinquishing control.

Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek demonstrated their “zero-day exploit” on a Jeep Grand Cherokee back in 2015 – software that lets hackers send commands through the Jeep’s system to its dashboard functions, steering, brakes, and transmission, all from a laptop that may be across the country.

The rise of self-driving cars in the next few years will make this issue even more urgent.

GDPR Will Force Companies and Governments Globally to Strengthen Security or Face Stiff Fines

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into effect on May 25, 2018 and will mark a new era of mandatory cybersecurity compliance in the EU and across the world.

The GDPR was “designed to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens data privacy and to reshape the way organizations across the region approach data privacy.”

While the GDPR can be seen as a big step in the right direction, it does scare many businesses and governments globally who are far away from complying with these new regulations.

Some U.S. based companies will fall under the jurisdiction of GDPR if they operate in other countries or target customers in other countries.

And if companies or governments under the jurisdiction of the GDPR don’t report a breach to a regulator within 72 hours, they could face fines of 2-4 percent of global revenue.

State-Sponsored Cyberattacks Will Increase

As cyberattacks become cheaper and easier than traditional warfare, hostile Governments will naturally use them more and more to exploit their rivals’ vulnerabilities.

According to The Hill, “A suspected North Korean hacking campaign has expanded to targets in 17 different countries, including the U.S., pilfering information on critical infrastructure, telecommunications and entertainment organizations, researchers say.

Cybersecurity firm McAfee released new research on the hacking campaign this week, calling it Operation GhostSecret and describing the attackers as having “significant capabilities” to develop and use multiple cyber tools and rapidly expand operations across the globe.”

That’s just one example in a string of examples of States initiating cyberattacks on other States.

Governments must ensure that their networks are isolated from the internet, their systems are extensively checked regularly, and their employees are trained to identify and prevent cyberattacks.

What Can You Do to Guard Against These Cybersecurity Threats in 2018?

Knowing your enemy is only half the battle.

The second half is knowing how to prevent them from attacking you and knowing what to do if you are attacked.

We’ve compiled a few critical resources to help you train your employees and protect your agency against cybercriminals.

  • Cyber Threat!: How to Manage the Growing Risk of Cyber Attacks reveals the extent of the cybersecurity problem, and provides a plan to change course and better manage and protect critical information.
  • Cyber Security Culture: Counteracting Cyber Threats through Organizational Learning and Training provides in-depth research to assist managers in forming policies that prevent cyber intrusions, put robust security systems and procedures in place, and arrange appropriate training interventions.
  • The Information Systems Security Officers Guide: Establishing and Managing a Cyber Security Program Third Edition provides information on how to combat the ever-changing myriad of threats security professionals face by presenting practical advice on establishing, managing, and evaluating a successful information protection program in a corporation or government agency.

And here’s a sample video from one of our cybersecurity courses:

If you want to discover powerful tools, tactics, and strategies for protecting your organization against cyberattacks, then you need to get these critical guides.

How do you get them?

By contacting us directly and getting a free 14-day trial of Enterprise Training below.

Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!

Schedule Free Consultation

Top 6 Updates in the PMBOK Guide 6th Edition

 

PMBOK Guide 6th Edition Project Management
The PMBOK Guide 6th Edition has been released with some major changes for project managers

It’s official:

The Project Management Institute (PMI) finally released PMBOK Guide 6th Edition on September 6, 2017.

While the 5th edition of PMBOK was 616 pages, PMBOK 6th edition was capped at 978 pages.

Quite an update.

Plus, it includes the Agile Practice Guide which is 183 pages long.

This large of an update raises many questions, such as:

  • What are the key changes in PMBOK Guide 6th Edition?
  • What are the differences between PMBOK 5th and 6th edition?
  • How can you prepare for the PMP Exam using PMBOK 6th Edition?

In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the answers to these questions so that by the end, you’ll know what makes PMBOK Guide 6th Edition different from the last edition and how to use it to become a better project manager.

But first, for those who are new to project management, let’s quickly review the definition and purpose of PMBOK.

What is the Project Management Body Of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide?

PMBOK is an acronym for A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge.

It’s the gold standard for the terms, practices, strategies, and methodologies you need to know to be an effective project manager.

Since 1996 – when the first edition of PMBOK was published – the Project Management Institute has updated the PMBOK every 4 or 5 years to help keep all project managers up-to-date on the latest standards and practices in the industry.

To this day, the PMBOK Guide has provided industry-neutral guidelines to project management so that they can be applied across a wide variety of disciplines, industries, experience levels, budgets, and timelines.

What are the Key Changes in the 6th Edition of the PMBOK Guide?

PMBOK Guide 6th Edition has 362 more pages than PMBOK Guide 5th Edition.

That means a lot has changed.

We can’t go over everything here, but we’ll show you the key changes to the current edition you must know.

Let’s dive in.

New Structure of the PMBOK Guide

The PMBOK Guide is divided into 3 major sections:

  1. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
  2. The Standard for Project Management
  3. Appendix, Glossary, and Index

At the beginning of each Knowledge Area, you’ll see 4 new sections:

  1. Key Concepts
  2. Trends and Emerging Practices
  3. Tailoring Considerations
  4. Considerations for Agile/Adaptive Environments

Lastly, as far as the structure of the guide is concerned, Processes have been divided into 3 distinct categories:

  1. Processes used once or at predetermined points in the project
  2. Periodically used or as needed processes
  3. Processes that are used throughout the project

The new structure of PMBOK Guide 6th Edition was designed to make it easier for you to both understand the material better and to use the information more efficiently.

Addition of the Agile Practice Guide

Agile project management has quietly gained acceptance and widespread adoption amongst project managers.

This prompted PMI to include an entire guide to agile best practices.

The guide is broken into 5 sections. The following comes directly from PMI’s website:

  1. An Introduction to Agile – which describes the Agile Manifesto mindset, values, and principles and covers the concepts of definable and high-uncertainty work, and the correlation between lean, the Kanban Method and agile approaches.
  2. Life Cycle Selection – which introduces the various life cycles discussed in the practice guide and covers suitability filters, tailoring guidelines and common combinations of approaches.
  3. Implementing Agile: Creating an Agile Environment – which talks about critical factors to consider when creating an agile environment such as servant leadership and team composition.
  4. Implementing Agile: Delivering in an Agile Environment – which discusses how to organize a team and common practices the team can use for delivering value on a regular basis.
  5. Organizational Considerations for Project Agility – which explores organizational factors that impact the use of agile practices, such as culture, readiness, business practices and the role of a project management office (PMO).

The Agile Practice Guide is intended to give project managers an in-depth dive into the agile framework and demonstrate how it can be used to successfully complete projects faster, at a lower cost, and with less waste.

Changed Names of 2 Areas of Knowledge

Sometimes names have to be changed to accurately reflect the meaning of the names.

Such is the case with 2 major areas of knowledge:

  • Project Time Management
  • And Project Human Resource Management

“Project Time Management” was changed to “Project Schedule Management” to make it clear that PM’s don’t manage “time” they manage people’s “schedules.”

“Project Human Resource Management” was changed to “Project Resource Management” which suggests PM’s don’t just manage people, they manage equipment, supplies, materials, machines, etc.

Changed Names of 9 Processes

Old Name

New Name
Control Communication Monitor Communication
Control Risk Monitor Risk
Control Stakeholder Engagement Monitor Stakeholder Engagement
Perform Quality Assurance Manage Quality
Plan Human Resources Plan Resource Management
Plan Stakeholder Management Plan Stakeholder Engagement
Acquire Project Team Acquire Resources
Develop Project Team Develop Team
Manage Project Team Manage Team

3 New Processes Added to PMBOK Guide 6th Edition

PMI consistently adds new processes to each edition of the PMBOK Guide.

The 3rd edition had 39 processes. The 4th had 42 processes. The 5th had 47 processes. And now the 6th edition of PMBOK has 49 processes in total (because in addition to adding 3 processes, PMI got rid of the Close Procurements process).

Here are the 3 new processes:

Manage Project Knowledge

This process was designed to facilitate a logically sound process of collecting, integrating, and converting raw data into useful knowledge for more informed decision-making.

It includes a “lessons learned register” as an output you can use to track your progress during projects and know when to change your tactics or strategies in the midst of a project.

The emphasis of this process is on continual learning throughout the project, and on capturing knowledge and information so that it can be reused and passed on without getting lost.

Control Resources

Project managers have to be able to assess actual vs. planned usage of people and any other resources.

This process separates resources into 2 categories:

  • “Team resources” which means human resources
  • “Physical resources” which means equipment, material, and supplies

Implement Risk Response

Every project carries with it certain risks that have to be weighed alongside the potential rewards.

The addition of this process will help project managers be aware of the risks they’re undertaking with each project.

“Implement Risk Response” also includes a new risk response called Escalation, which will help PM’s identify risks that fall outside the scope of the project so they can be transferred to the right person on the outside.

Expanded Role of the Project Manager

The role of the project manager is constantly changing as projects become more complex and demanding.

To keep up with the changing nature of projects and their managers, PMI included a new section on defining the ever-expanding role of the PM.

The section also addresses PMI’s “Talent Triangle” which covers the leadership, strategic, and technical skills that every modern project manager should possess (or develop).

Let’s take a look at each segment of the triangle.

Strategic and Business Management

The head of the triangle is called Strategic and Business Management.

In addition to managing the triple constraints of a project, you need to understand how it aligns with overall business goals (which equally applies to government agency goals).

Which means you’ll be expected to develop these skills:

  • Benefits management and realization
  • Business and organizational acumen
  • Business and organizational models and structures
  • Competitive analysis
  • Customer relationship and satisfaction
  • Industry knowledge and standards
  • Legal and regulatory compliance
  • Market awareness and conditions
  • Operational functions
  • Strategic planning, analysis, and alignment

Leadership Skills

The bottom right of the triangle is called Leadership Skills.

PMBOK Guide 6th Edition gives much greater emphasis on leadership skills than the 5th edition.

The leadership skills you should possess as a project manager are:

  • Brainstorming
  • Coaching and mentoring
  • Conflict management
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Influencing
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Listening
  • Negotiating
  • Problem-solving
  • Team building

Technical Skills

The bottom left of the triangle is called Technical Skills.

This means you should possess the skills required in your industry along with these skills:

  • Agile practices
  • Data gathering and modeling
  • Earned value management
  • Governance
  • Lifecycle management
  • Performance management
  • Requirements management and traceability
  • Risk management
  • Schedule management
  • Scope management
  • Time, budget, and cost estimation.

Where Can You Buy PMBOK Guide 6th Edition?

By now you’re probably wondering where you can buy PMBOK Guide 6th Edition.

It’s pretty simple. Go here to buy it directly from PMI.

How Can You Download the PDF Version of PMBOK 6th Edition?

If you’re a member of the Project Management Institute you can download the PDF version of PMBOK 6th edition for free.

How Can You Prepare for the PMP Exam Using PMBOK 6th Edition?

The PMP exam was already changed on March 26, 2018 to reflect the updates in the PMBOK Guide 6th Edition.

Since PMBOK Guide 6th Edition has added 3 new processes, put greater emphasis on the dynamic role of project managers, and focuses heavily on agile and adaptive environments (Scrum, Kanban, etc.) the PMP exam will no doubt be more difficult.

Which means you’re going to need a study guide that will help you navigate these complexities with ease.

So what study guide should you use?

Well, we have several that you can start using today.

We offer a complete track of PMI/PMP 6th edition certification prep training including self-paced courses and exam prep materials. That includes 30+ one-hour courses.

In addition to that, we’ll give you access to an essential PMP study guide:

Achieve PMP Exam Success, 6th Edition: A Concise Study Guide for the Busy Project Manager.

Plus, we’ll give you the PMI Institute’s PMBOK Guide 6th Edition.

So how do you get immediate access to these courses and guides?

By signing up for a free 14-day trial of Enterprise Training below.

Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!

Schedule Free Consultation