Facility Management and Office Development Strategies to Support the Hybrid Work Model

Office design and occupational health - has research been left behind?

This study investigates the facilities management (FM) strategies utilised in managing commercial properties in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria, to provide actionable insights to enhance FM practices in the region. The study examines the morphological characteristics of commercial properties, identifies FM strategies employed, evaluates their effectiveness, and explores factors influencing their success. Contingency Theory was adopted as the theoretical framework. Employing a survey research design, data were collected from a representative sample of 185 facility managers out of the 318 registered in Lagos Metropolis. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit quantitative data, which were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods with SPSS software. The findings reveal that architectural design, maintenance standards, and signage are critical attributes driving property appeal, while public transport accessibility and landscaping are key areas requiring improvement. Customer service excellence, cost management, and technology integration emerged as pivotal FM strategies, although challenges remain in long-term planning and automation. The effectiveness of FM strategies varied, with preventive maintenance and Total Facilities Management (TFM) contracts rated highly, but areas like cost reduction and technology implementation showing room for growth. Factors such as skilled personnel shortages, budget constraints, and external economic conditions significantly influenced FM strategy effectiveness. It is recommended that FM practitioners prioritise the integration of robust workforce development programs alongside advanced technological adoption to address skill gaps and enhance operational efficiency. Additionally, efforts should be directed towards enhancing landscaping and public transport accessibility to improve commercial properties' overall appeal and functionality.

This paper proposes data envelopment analysis (DEA) as a suitable data analysis tool to overcome facility management (FM) benchmarking difficulties: FM performance benchmarking analysis is often unsophisticated, relying heavily on simple statistical representation, linking hard cost data with soft customer satisfaction data is often problematic. A case study is presented to show that DEA can provide FM personnel with an objective view on performance improvements. An objective of the case study is to investigate the relative efficiency of nine facilities with the same goals and to determine the most efficient facility. The case is limited to nine buildings in FM on four inputs and nine output criteria. The paper concludes by demonstrating that DEA-generated improvement targets can be applied when formulating FM outsourcing policies, strategies and improvements. Facility manager can apply DEA-generated improvement targets in formulating FM outsourcing policies, specifications development, FM strategy and planning. FM benchmarking with DEA can enhance continuous improvement in service efficiency and cost saving. This will help reduce utility cost as well as pollution. This paper fills the gap in the research of FM benchmarking by applying DEA which studies both soft and hard data simultaneously. It also contributes to a future research of a trade-off sensitivity test between FM cost, services performance and reliability.

In this paper the authors discuss challenging interrelations between the contemporary architectural practice and the expanding facility management (FM) sector. After defining FM and determining the part of it that is directly dependent on an architectural expertise, the authors identify possible interests in combining knowledge between the two fields, both dealing with the built environment. The empirical part of the research is a study of the current development of FM concepts and strategies in Serbia, and examination of the position and a possible impact of the local architectural practice. A systematization of local real-estate from the point of FM includes three different groups of objects: the ones with integrated FM strategy in the early design stage; the ones with imported FM strategy from international firms; and the last incomparably largest group of objects that desperately need an appropriate FM concept. The methodology of tracking the FM related knowledge has been applied with the aim to recognize key actors in the FM knowledge exchange on the national level, as well as to understand current position and propose possible activities for the local architectural community.

This paper proposes Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) as a suitable data analysis tool to overcome facility management (FM) benchmarking difficulties: FM performance benchmarking analysis is often unsophisticated, relying heavily on simple statistical representation, linking hard cost data with soft customer satisfaction data is often problematic. A case study is presented to show that DEA can provide FM personnel with an objective view on performance improvements. An objective of the case study is to investigate the relative efficiency of nine facilities with the same goals and to determine the most efficient facility. The case is limited to nine buildings in FM on four inputs and nine output criteria. The paper concludes by demonstrating that DEA-generated improvement targets can be applied when formulating FM outsourcing policies, strategies and improvements. Facility manager can apply DEA-generated improvement targets in formulating FM outsourcing policies, specifications development, FM strategy and planning. FM benchmarking with DEA can enhance continuous improvement in services' efficiency and cost saving. This will help reduce utility cost as well as pollution. This paper fills the gap in the research of FM benchmarking by applying DEA which studies both soft and hard data, simultaneously. It also contributes to a future research of a tradeoff sensitivity test between FM cost, services performance and reliability.

PurposeThis paper is a continuing exploration into facilities management (FM) strategy through the arrangement of its decision choices. The purpose of this paper is to identify the existence of FM operation strategy and to add empirical evidence to this subject to the field of FM and property management. Its main objectives are to gain insights into the arrangement of the FM strategic choices in operation and its relationship with business strategy.Design/methodology/approachThe study investigated the configurations of operational approaches and activities that should reflect strategic decisions. The investigation was undertaken through a study of four reputed shopping malls located in Bangkok. The relevant data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the key FM persons of each case study, plus archival document searches, and observations of operational processes. Subsequently, the data were examined in a cross-case analysis to identify the key patterns of relationships between the FM operational arrangements and the business strategy of the mall.FindingsThis study found that the functional scheme of FM adopted in operations was deliberately related to the needs of business strategy and the operations of the given shopping mall. A range of strategic choices for FM operations was also found. Certain choices are shared among the case studies, while their arrangements varied according to the particular business strategy and context.Research limitations/implicationsThe number of case studies was rather limited, while the results were predominantly involved with a single type of facility.Originality/valueThe study identified the pattern of strategic choices entailed in the FM operations in shopping malls. The findings add to the understanding on FM strategy by widening the perspectives about the strategic choices of FM operations and how they are connected with the business strategy and operation model of retail estate. It adds empirical evidence and case studies regarding FM operations and its strategic features.

This study aims to analyze the management of educational facilities and infrastructure at MAN 1 Aceh Tamiang through the application of management functions, namely planning, organizing, implementing, and monitoring and evaluation. The research method uses a qualitative descriptive approach with data collection through observation, interviews, and documentation. The results of the study indicate that the planning of facilities and infrastructure is carried out in a participatory manner by considering strategic needs and school budgets, although educational technology development planning still needs to be improved. The organization of facilities and infrastructure is carried out with a clear structure and organized division of tasks, involving the principal, vice principal of infrastructure, treasurer, inventory administration staff, and room coordinator. The implementation of this systematic management of facilities and infrastructure has supported the creation of an effective and efficient learning environment, although budget constraints are still a major challenge. This study contributes to the development of an adaptive and participatory model of educational facilities and infrastructure management, as a reference for other schools in optimizing educational facility management in order to improve the quality of the learning process. In addition, the results of this study also serve as a basis for policy makers in formulating more effective and efficient funding and facility management strategies.

Purpose– This study aims to identify the job characteristics that would boost the personal and work outcomes (e.g. job satisfaction, internal motivation and output quality) of facility managers (FMs) in Singapore based on the Job Characteristics Theory.Design/methodology/approach– The research method is a survey method, and data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 34 FMs through electronic mail and by post.Findings– Usingt-test of the mean, 23 out of the 39 identified job characteristics are found to be significantly present in FMs’ jobs. Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed that the job characteristics that are significantly correlated with personal and work outcomes of FMs include those that use a variety of skills, in which task identity is present, task is significant, allow autonomy, provide feedback and meet FMs’ growth needs.Research limitations/implications– The Job Characteristics Theory is found to be applicable to FMs’ jobs, but this needs to be generalized carefully because of the relatively small sample size.Practical implications– It is recommended that the significant job characteristics that are identified in this study be designed and incorporated into FMs’ jobs. These include setting up teams where members play their parts well; a reward system when a job is done well; a career path with ample opportunities for promotion; and communication channels that are clear and precise.Originality/value– Important job characteristics that could boost FMs’ job satisfaction, internal motivation and quality of work are identified. In addition, job characteristics that could reduce their likelihood of leaving the profession are also uncovered. These job characteristics should be designed into FMs’ jobs, so that firms have high performing and motivated FMs.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the strategy, selection and perception of facility management (FM) services and the effect it may have on perceived building quality.Design/methodology/approachData was collected through a survey distributed to board members of cooperatives for newly constructed buildings in Sweden. Responses from 394 cooperative boards were included in the data set and analysed. The difference in cooperative choice of FM strategy and satisfaction with FM services was examined with non-parametrical Kruskal–Wallis tests and the effect of FM strategy and satisfaction with FM services on perceived building quality was examined with a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test.FindingsThe results suggest information asymmetry and indicate urgent need for an objective accreditation system for FM services, which will inform and assist housing owners in the FM selection process. The study validates the hypothesis that facilities management strategies applied by housing cooperatives have a significant effect on perception of building quality.Practical implicationsThe findings will assist developers, facility and property managers to understand the needs and services valued by the housing cooperative. The findings highlight the information asymmetry, restricted techniques and weak signalling methods among FM services, and advocates promoting an objective accreditation system for FM services.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the discussion on the concept of building quality and the results presented provide a better understanding of facilities management strategy on perception of building quality.

This study determined the effect of relocating workers from traditional to activity-based offices on objectively measured sitting patterns. Office workers (n=493) from five office-sites within a large Swedish government agency were included in a controlled study of a natural intervention (2015–2017). At four sites, traditional offices were replaced by activity-based offices, while workers at one site with no relocation acted as controls. Sitting, standing and walking were measured objectively for 5–8days in a sub-sample (n=110) using accelerometry (Actigraph). Total sitting time (% of working time) and time spent in short (<5min), moderate (5–30min) and prolonged (>30min) uninterrupted periods in sitting were determined. Intervention effects were determined at 3- and 12-month follow-ups using linear mixed models adjusted for baseline age, gender and office type, and stratified by office-site (referencing controls). The relocation to activity-based offices did not result in an overall effect (across sites) on occupational sitting time (all p>0.05), while walking time had increased significantly by 1.4% of the working time at 12months compared with controls. Heterogeneous results were found across offices after 12months on total sitting time compared with controls (estimated change −18.3% time–1.4% time), prolonged sitting (change −18.3% to −3.8%), walking (change 0.5%–3.5%) and standing (change −1.4%–13.9%). In conclusion, relocation to activity-based offices had a limited overall effect on occupational sitting patterns in the studied organization, but differed considerably between office sites. Site-specific determinants of sitting behavior in activity-based offices need be identified.

This research was conducted to examine/find out whether there is management of facilities and infrastructure in achieving learning effectiveness and to find out how the management of facilities and infrastructure is carried out at STT Baptist Medan. This type of research is qualitative. Data collection from informants was obtained through observation, interviews and documentation. The qualitative data obtained will be analyzed through the stages of data collection, data reduction, data display, and drawing conclusions/verification. The results of the research show that the management of facilities and infrastructure in achieving learning effectiveness at STT Baptist Medan includes the following: analyzing the needs and planning of educational facilities and infrastructure, procurement, inventory, utilization, maintenance, removal and supervision. Through the management of educational facilities and infrastructure carried out at STT Baptist Medan in accordance with theory and in the field, learning effectiveness can be increased, because when facilities and infrastructure are used effectively and efficiently they can contribute to education, namely: facilitating the learning and teaching process. When students and lecturers experience ease in accessing information and learning, the abilities of students and lecturers can increase so that interactions during learning can take place effectively and efficiently.

Introduction. Mentoring and professional development opportunities influence job and career satisfaction. Review of the Literature. Job and career satisfaction are multifactorial. The purpose of this study was to compare job and career satisfaction between physical therapists (PTs) who were residency trained and PTs who were neither residency nor fellowship trained and between PTs who were fellowship trained and PTs who were neither residency nor fellowship trained. Subjects. Licensed PTs in the United States. Methods. An online survey was distributed asking questions regarding job satisfaction and career satisfaction. Respondents were categorized as completing a residency, fellowship, both, or neither. Responses were respectively summed, then compared between groups: residency versus nonresidency/nonfellowship and fellowship versus nonresidency/nonfellowship. Frequency analyses and Mann–Whitney U tests were performed. Results. A total of 3,080 survey responses were analyzed. Residency-trained PTs had an overall higher job satisfaction score (P = .03) and higher career satisfaction score (P = .05) when compared with non–residency-trained or non–fellowship-trained PTs. Fellowship-trained PTs reported higher job satisfaction (P &lt; .001) and career satisfaction (P = .001) compared with non–residency-trained or non–fellowship-trained PTs. Residency-trained PTs rated the importance of their work being interesting and learning/improving in their work of greater importance to their job satisfaction compared with non–residency-trained or non–fellowship-trained PTs (P &lt; .05). Whereas, fellowship-trained PTs rated factors such as their jobs being positively challenging, fulfilling, and interesting, having sufficient independence, and were learning/improving in their work of greater importance than non–residency-trained and non–fellowship-trained PTs (P ≤ .004). Discussion and Conclusion. Results from the study support previous evidence that PTs overall have high job/career satisfaction and residency/fellowship training may further enhance job and career satisfaction. Findings provide valuable insight and are relevant to all PTs as well as stakeholders involved in professional and postprofessional physical therapy education and those making hiring decisions and potential employment opportunities.

Activity-based offices (ABOs) have become increasingly common. Yet, longitudinal studies investigating the effects of change are rare. This three-wave longitudinal study compared perceptions of privacy and office support, satisfaction with the work environment, and well-being in an organization that renovated private offices into an ABO (maintaining assigned desks). Questionnaires were administered four months before and eight and 21 months after the change. Data on 34 employees from the first and 21 from the second follow-up were analyzed. Privacy, perceived office support for work tasks, and work engagement decreased at both follow-ups. No effects were found on perceived office support for interaction or job satisfaction. Satisfaction with the work environment decreased at the eight-month follow-up. This study’s long follow-up demonstrated the negative effects of office redesign on the perception of privacy, support for work tasks, satisfaction with the work environment, and well-being.

The optimization of logistics in large building complexes with many resources, such as hospitals, require realistic facility management and planning. Current planning practices rely foremost on manual observations or coarse unverified assumptions and therefore do not properly scale or provide realistic data to inform facility planning. In this paper, we propose analysis methods to extract knowledge from large sets of network collected WiFi traces to better inform facility management and planning in large building complexes. The analysis methods, which build on a rich set of temporal and spatial features, include methods for noise removal, e.g., labeling of beyond building-perimeter devices, and methods for quantification of area densities and flows, e.g., building enter and exit events, and for classifying the behavior of people, e.g., into user roles such as visitor, hospitalized or employee. Spatio-temporal visualization tools built on top of these methods enable planners to inspect and explore extracted information to inform facility-planning activities. To evaluate the methods, we present results for a large hospital complex covering more than 10 hectares. The evaluation is based on WiFi traces collected in the hospital's WiFi infrastructure over two weeks observing around 18000 different devices recording more than a billion individual WiFi measurements. For the presented analysis methods we present quantitative performance results, e.g., demonstrating over 95% accuracy for correct noise removal of beyond building perimeter devices. We furthermore present detailed statistics from our analysis regarding people's presence, movement and roles, and example types of visualizations that both highlight their potential as inspection tools for planners and provide interesting insights into the test-bed hospital.

In the authors’ experience, many companies still run somewhat immature facilities management (FM) operations, built on ad-hoc premises, with no holistic view. Deploying a holistic FM concept not only gives the organisation the opportunity to save more money, but also helps to shift the focus from cost and quality to cover proactivity and innovation in addition. In this way, FM can become a strategic asset and even a competitive advantage. Deploying a holistic FM concept will help to show the breadth and depth of the importance of FM within the organisation, and can contribute to moving FM up to a strategic level. The authors’ model of a holistic FM concept consists of five elements: FM strategy and goals, governance model, internal cooperation and communication, service delivery, and performance and cost management. When setting a new course for FM operations, the authors believe it is important to make sure as many parts as possible are thought of and melded together. By reviewing and using these five elements one can go a long way.