What Happens When Disaster Planning Becomes Daily Operations?

Disaster planning is no longer reserved for rare emergencies. It's becoming a core part of facility management.

In this episode, IFMA's Director of Knowledge and Insights, Dr. Matt Tucker is joined by Holley Henderson and Dr. Mark Wilson of Chemical Insights to discuss how extreme weather, wildfires and cascading disasters are changing the role of facility managers. Together, they explore exposure science, building resilience, chemical hazards after disasters and why today's facility managers are making critical decisions with limited information.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 - Why facility managers are becoming frontline resilience managers
• 1:30 - Meet Holly Henderson and Dr. Mark Wilson
• 3:40 - Why disasters are becoming part of daily operations
• 5:00 - When frequent disasters lead to complacency
• 5:50 - How climate change is increasing exposure risks
• 7:00 - The hidden chemical hazards inside buildings
• 8:20 - Why lead and asbestos remain long-term risks
• 10:00 - Making critical decisions with limited information
• 11:00 - Can AI improve disaster response?
• 12:00 - Why resilience is now a core FM skill
• 14:00 - Are buildings designed for multiple disasters?
• 15:30 - How exposure science informs better FM decisions
• 17:00 - The overlooked danger of residual dust
• 18:45 - Why post-disaster cleaning matters more than you think
• 20:00 - What are cascading disasters?
• 21:00 - Planning for more than one disaster at a time
• 22:30 - Why disaster planning is never one-and-done
• 23:45 - Balancing business continuity with occupant health

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