Facilities Management Perspective Research Articles

Critical measures for the prevention and control of respiratory infectious diseases in the workplace: a South African facilities management perspective

PurposeThis study aims to comprehensively examine the respiratory infection prevention and control measures used in South African workplaces, particularly in the context of facilities management (FM), during the 2020–2022 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe present research involved pre-crafted semi-structured interviews conducted by University of the Witwatersrand students with FM heads in Johannesburg, South Africa. Recurrent themes were generated using NVIVO software and analysed using frequencies, word counts and word clouds.FindingsThis study identified 119 measures and placed these into two broad categories. Twelve critical measures were found. These measures were further validated by five FM experts, separate from FM heads, who cross-referenced them with WHO guidelines, enhancing the credibility of the findings. Subsequently, challenges with implementing these measures were explored.Practical implicationsThe findings have direct relevance to the work of FM professionals, as they suggest that applying timely and comprehensive infection prevention and control measures can help employees to safely continue to work or return to the workplace during any future epidemic outbreaks.Originality/valueThus far, limited studies have explored critical measures used to prevent and control COVID-19 in the workplaces of developing countries during the 2020–2022 pandemic.

The features of Anglican churches in Malaysia and their maintenance practices

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the history of Anglican churches in Malaysia and discusses their typical features and their respective maintenance practices.Design/methodology/approachA narrative review of 84 literacy sources published between 1967 and 2020 on the development and features of Anglican churches in Malaysia, along with recommendations on maintenance practices from the asset and facilities management perspective. The exploration of churches’ features follows three main disciplines in building maintenance according to the Jabatan Kerja Raya Guideline for as-built buildings in Malaysia.FindingsThe findings of the study have then been tabulated to form a maintenance framework to recommend suitable maintenance practices on specific building components based on different materials. The paper argues that as places of worship, the assets of religious facilities are intangible compared to any other types of building that serve a tangible function (i.e. shelter, commercial or industrial operation). Throughout the exploration of their maintenance practices suggested by vast sources of literature, it is proven that the maintenance of churches is not as straightforward as merely remedying the defects, but it requires the maintenance to radically minimise any disturbance to their aesthetics, thus making maintenance a more challenging task at churches.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a maintenance framework for Anglican churches in Malaysia by categorising building disciplines and their corresponding building components, which supports future research to improve the maintenance practices of religious facilities.

Building climate resiliency in a small, rural eastern Ontario hospital from a facilities management perspective.

Protecting critical building infrastructure and equipment in small, rural eastern Ontario hospitals from intensifying weather patterns is crucial to ensuring continuous, reliable operations-but incredibly challenging. Smaller hospitals face the same climate-driven risks as larger hospitals in urban environments; however, their remote location often means they do not have the same access to resources that are integral to supporting healthcare services and programs. Kemptville District Hospital (KDH) offers first-hand experiences of impacts related to climate change, and how a small, rural healthcare facility rallies to remain agile, ready to respond quickly to weather events to remain a viable community healthcare provider-and a leader. A few contributing factors to climate-induced operational constraints from a facilities management perspective have been highlighted within, including maintaining building infrastructure and equipment, emergency planning with a focus on cybersecurity, policies for change, and the importance of transformational leadership.

Facilities management and earthquake risk reduction: The TURNkey project

Reducing vulnerability and improving resilience of the existing built environment to disaster events is a complex multidisciplinary challenge in which facilities managers need to contribute an understanding of the impact that a disaster event could have on both their hard and soft facilities. Facilities managers also need to identify potential operational, physical and corporate adaptations/mitigations that can support continued business function during and after a disaster event. This paper describes work in progress to develop an earthquake forecasting, early warning and rapid response system that business and critical infrastructure organisations can use as part disaster risk reduction and business continuity planning. Focusing on theory and methods, the paper considers the different aspects of resilience from a facilities management perspective and presents findings from a participatory action research programme that developed a series of use-cases to explore the potential impact of earthquake forecasting, early warning and rapid response on an organisation’s vulnerability and resilience to an earthquake; and identifying physical, operational and organisational mitigation interventions that can reduce an organisation’s disaster risk. The paper concludes the need for facilities managers to understand the different aspects of resilience and to apply the most appropriate to their hard and soft facilities management systems.

Facilities management: towards flexible work arrangement (FWA) implementation during Covid-19

PurposeThis study aims to examine the key components to facilitate flexible work arrangement (FWA) and the issues and challenges arisen in preparing the workplace for FWA during Covid-19, and to recommend better approach of FWA implementation in workplace.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted extensive literature review and case studies approach using interviews and observations to determine the key components to facilitate FWA and the issues and challenges arisen in preparing the workplace for FWA during Covid-19, and to recommend better approach of FWA implementation in workplace. Three offices that owning FWA experience during Covid-19 and featuring flexible workspace concepts, elements and layouts in Klang Valley, Malaysia were chosen as case studies.FindingsFindings have suggested that there are four components required to form flexible workspace for FWA adoption, such as open plan workspace design, task-oriented space, hot desking policy and IT infrastructure. Interestingly, the interview findings do not support the idea that the flexible furniture can facilitate FWA; instead, they believe that versatile, acoustical and aesthetical furniture may be installed when necessary. Among the issues and challenges faced were rearranging and designing open office plan layout, hot desk relocation and reconfiguration of spaces where people may congregate. Lastly, this research recommends that innovative planning software and tools, smart technology and apps, modern IT technology and infrastructure, and digital apps can be introduced to the workplace to help FM manage and monitor the facilities operations, workplace situations and occupancy rates.Originality/valueSince the outbreak of Covid-19, FWA such as “Work From Home” and remote working have become the mainstream in the workplace, affecting how the workplace looks and feels as flexible working is fundamentally related to the flexible workspace. From Facilities Management (FM) perspective, FWA is the biggest consequence of Covid-19, but it also presents opportunities and certain challenges to incorporate a new office environment and employees’ needs in terms of FWA into the corporate culture.

Affective, cognitive, behavioural and situational outcomes of social procurement: a case study of social value creation in a major facilities management firm

While there is an emerging body of research on social procurement in construction, there is little empirical research from a facilities management perspective. This is despite the enormous untapped potential of the facilities management sector to create social value in the communities in which they operate. To address this gap in research, this paper presents an in-depth case study of an innovative social procurement initiative developed by a major Australian facilities management organisation. Integrating research in the fields of employment studies, facilities management and social value, it provides new empirical evidence of the significant affective, cognitive, behavioural and situational social value outcomes which can be generated through facilities management. These are best achieved through new hybrid partnerships between business, government, not-for-profit, community and educational organisations which create shared value, underpinned by a common interest in maximising social value for the communities involved. More research is needed into the types of attributes, skills and resources that facilitate such outcomes, the attributes of organisations most likely to be able to collaborate and the types of cross-sector partnerships which work.

Defining a niche for Facilities Management in Smart Cities

A wide variety of disciplines engage in Smart Cities as the scope and breadth of it is broad. Within the built environment, there is much discussion on how planning and construction phases influence Smart Cities. There is little discussion on the role of Facilities Management (FM). However, there has been much work on the influence FM has on design phases to ensure functional and usable buildings. Neglecting to scale up the influence of FM from individual buildings to city scale may have long term consequences on sustainability of cities. Taking a mindset of including an FM perspective early in the development of a Smart City is considered here in terms of social aspects of required services. The work draws on ideas of Urban FM to operationalize local needs which also responds to the need to link to broader city sustainable strategies. The starting point is from the development of two districts in Trondheim, Norway. In a three-day workshop, students interpret the needs of the area based on their own knowledge-based perspective, guidance from tutors of Urban FM and through engagement with local users of the area. The work highlights the potential of including an FM perspective in the development of cities.

Green building information modelling technology adoption for existing buildings in Sri Lanka. Facilities management perspective

ABSTRACT The aim of this research is to develop a framework for the implementation of Green BIM technology for existing buildings in Sri Lankan context. A multiple case study was conducted under a qualitative research approach. Two existing buildings were selected for the cases. Autodesk Revit was used to design the BIM models of the cases. As Green BIM techniques solar analysis and energy analysis were conducted using Green Building Studio simulation software. Solar simulation results included cumulative insolation as 463,825 and 480,538 kwh, PV energy production as 231,659 and 111,024 kwh/year, energy savings as $34,749 and $16,654 and pay pack periods as 18.5 and 15 years for case 01 and 02, respectively. Further, research revealed the challenges during the application of Green BIM for existing buildings when building data are not adequately available. Moreover, this study proposed the solutions that are taken during the study to overcome the challenges. This study justifies the potential of Green BIM implementation for existing buildings through an in-depth analysis of challenges and possible solutions with a framework that can be used. This encourages building owners and facility managers towards using Green BIM for existing buildings.

Performance indicators for facilities operation and maintenance (Part 1)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper (Part 1 of 2) is to classify and map, in a systematic manner and from a facilities management (FM) perspective, the performance indicators that are applicable to evaluating facilities operation and maintenance (O&M) in commercial buildings.Design/methodology/approachForming part of a multi-stage research project, the applicable performance indicators that had been identified from an extensive literature review were consolidated and defined. Based on a phase-hierarchy (P-H) model – a fundamental classification framework comprising three phases of facilities services delivery and three hierarchical FM levels – the indicators were systematically classified, and a map showing their distribution along the phase and hierarchy dimensions was obtained.FindingsThe P-H model enabled systematic classification of the 71 applicable indicators. Mapping the indicators with the model showed that more indicators concern the input or output phase of facilities services delivery. Indicators at the strategic level, which have a wide span of control, are small in quantity, compared to the large number of indicators at the operational level.Research implicationsThe P-H model, which proves useful for classifying performance indicators for facilities in commercial buildings, may be applied to similar research on other types of buildings or infrastructures.Practical implicationsThe method of classifying the performance indicators and the mapping result of the indicators are useful reference for different levels of FM practitioners.Originality/valueThis paper illustrates a novel attempt that made use of the P-H model to classify O&M performance indicators.

Nauvoo Illinois Historic Site: A Facilities Management Perspective

ABSTRACT As the execution of facilities management becomes more sophisticated, specialized skill in managing specific types of buildings has become necessary. Maintaining historic structures and sites falls into this type of specialized classification. This paper is a case study review of the unique “best practices” at the Nauvoo Historic Site located in Nauvoo, Illinois. It outlines a facilities management model of common core practices that was developed by the author following an assessment of various similar historic preservation campuses and their responsibilities to accurately display historic culture while observing modern-day facilities management techniques. Although these best practices are of great value in Nauvoo, they are proposed to be valuable to other sites as well. The current Nauvoo Facilities Management (NFM) organization will be reviewed and will focus on the unique challenges associated with historic restored and reconstructed structures. The paper will also examine the use of specific facilities management techniques, visitor events, livestock, workforce dynamics, finances, managing NFM within the corporate structure of a worldwide religious organization, and the part that NFM plays in community relations.

Reduction lists as tool for cost control in public building projects

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to study the use of potential scope reductions in major construction projects for special-purpose buildings. Scope reductions may result in buildings that are less fit for purpose; this will be negative according to a facilities management perspective. The paper discuses to what extent this is the case. Potential reductions of project scope have been a tool for cost control of governmental investments in Norway since 2001.Design/methodology/approach– The study is based on lists of possible reductions that were identified in the early phase of the projects. Information about the outcome of these possible reductions is collected from eleven public building projects.Findings– In the studied projects, reduction lists were equivalent to 2.7 per cent of projects budgets, ranging from 0 to 9 per cent. Contingencies for these projects were 9.5 per cent on average, ranging from 5 to 13 per cent. The reduction lists were typically smaller than the contingencies’ lists. Seven of 11 studied projects had reduction lists established during the front-end phase. Only two projects implemented some of the reductions. These reductions were general reductions of the quality of spaces.Research limitations/implications– Empirical research results are based on Norwegian experiences. Results are compared to international practices. Future research can include comparisons between facilities projects and other types of investments.Practical implications– The Norwegian reduction lists can be seen as a type of value engineering. The studied potential reductions are based on an unusually high degree of specification of the potential actions for cost control. International best practice is more concerned with general approaches. The practice of identifying specific potential reductions has little use as an active tool for controlling costs. General reduction options work better than specific reductions. The potential scope reductions do not appear to be a threat in a facilities management perspective.Originality/value– This is the first study of how potential reductions have been used in public building projects. The findings are of interest related to cost control of major investments in facilities.

University campuses in spatial transformation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of spatial transformation in the Network Society on facilities management principles in the context of an interdisciplinary university campus. Design/methodology/approach – This study reports a holistic case study with eight embedded units in one interdisciplinary university campus in Finland through a business model approach. Findings – The findings propose that spatial development projects should be examined holistically on three facilitation layers, namely, social, physical and virtual, through five business model lenses of Offering, Customers, Revenue Streams, Resources, and Cost Structure. Based on the findings, four main business model types can be identified and distinguished mainly in terms of collaborating with different partners and supporting a different core task of the university. Research limitations/implications – The cases are highly context-dependent, and their business models are ever evolving, which is why the dynamics of the development processes should be studied in more detail. The types of business models differ fundamentally, which is why their evaluation criteria could be tailored accordingly. Practical implications – The results suggest that the spatial transformation requires multiple supporting processes and principles, expanding the roles of the campus managers: finding a balance between localization and globalization, and individualism and communalism; collaborating with internal and external parties; identifying potential grass root spatial development projects to be supported; and engaging users in their expertise. The strengthening impact of social facilitation is capable of opening new business opportunities. Originality/value – This study indicates that the spatial transformation is happening in practice and offers guidelines for dynamically reacting to it from the facilities management perspective.

Conserving cultural values of heritage buildings from the facilities management perspective in Malaysia

Purpose– The paper describes how expert views were elicited in developing a conceptual framework of conserving cultural values of heritage buildings (CVHB) from the facilities management perspective (fm). It proposes the manifestation offmperspective ofpeople,place,process, andtechnologyas a tool to sustain the physical condition and integrity of a HB and its CV according tofmdimension before a HB is endorsed as a heritage. The linkages betweenfmand CVHB will help to produce a guideline for conserving CVHB fromfmperspective (CVHBfm) at the initial phase of conservation in Malaysia. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach– The study opted for an exploratory approach; three expert interviews were conducted from three levels of conservation practitioners drawn fromstrategic,tactical, andoperationallevels. A matrix thematic was used to manifest the qualitative variables in mapping the conceptual framework. The respondents will provide views and linkages between eight criteria of CVHB (social,economic,political,historic,aesthetical,scientific,age, andecological) andfmdimension (people,place,process, andtechnology) in conserving a HB at the preliminary phase of conservation. The responses from these respondents will provide insights into howfmperspective manifest and epistemological construct with CVHB variables that will be integrated in a case study method for further investigation inquiry.Findings– In this paper, the study indicates anfmperspective ofpeople,place,process, andtechnology, associates and epistemological constructed with CVHB criteria ofsocial,historic,aesthetical, andscientificin sustaining the physical condition and integrity of CVHB fromfmdimension in Malaysia. The respondents from three levels of conservation practitioners (strategic,tactical, andoperational) have explained and elaborated briefly the connotation between CVHB andfmin mapping the framework. It also provides insights into howfmdimension manifests with those CVHB variables in conserving a HB before it is endorsed as aheritageat the initial stage of conservation.Originality/value– Moving from this exploratory study, further research will be undertaken. In-depth interviews will be carried out with a rigorous emphasis onfmand eight criteria of CVHB with a greater number of experts on HB conservation fromstrategic,tactical, andoperationallevels in Malaysia. Documents suggested during the initial study such as The National Heritage Act 2005 (Malaysia) and UNESCO's outstanding universal values (OUV) will be analysed and framed in mapping the conceptual framework. Further investigation will assist Malaysia in advancing the application offmperspective to enhance the conservation of HB and its CV by highlighting the role offmas a robust tool in sustaining the integrity HB in Malaysia.

Inter-agency governance risk in managing hospital responses to extreme weather events in New South Wales, Australia: a facilities management perspective of shared situational awareness

Extreme weather is predicted to become more frequent and severe into the future. While our understanding of hospital infrastructure vulnerability to such events has advanced considerably in recent years, current approaches to healthcare facilities management treat hospitals in isolation from their surrounding governance infrastructure. However, recent research indicates that if hospital resilience is to be properly understood, health infrastructure must be managed holistically, as part of a much larger governance system of interdependent organizations. The inter-agency governance risks associated with this system are currently ignored in the facilities management literature. To explore these risks, an in-depth case study of 24 agencies in the state of New South Wales, Australia is presented. The results show that facilities managers are embedded in a highly complex and dynamic array of governance boundaries which are largely unresolved and misunderstood. A number of practical strategies are presented which could be adopted to significantly improve facilities manager’s integration into this system. These include: mapping hospital dependency on other agencies to build surge capacity; resolving overlapping operational boundaries with other agencies; proactive risk reduction for critical external support infrastructure; understanding potential conflicts with the objectives external agencies in responding to an extreme weather event.

Structural holes in hospital organisations

Purpose – The delivery of high quality healthcare services to the community requires the integration of information from a wide range of sources within a complex and highly dynamic environment. Using structural holes theory the challenges and opportunities of integration are explored from a facilities management (FM) perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Using a critical realism methodology, structured interviews with hospital stakeholders are undertaken in a case study of a large tertiary hospital in Australia. Data are analysed using social network analysis to explore the existence of structural holes. Findings – Effective FM in the health sector requires intrapreneurial skills to broker connections between functionally and culturally distinct actors located in a highly disconnected communication network structure. Originality/value – This research reveals, for the first time, the detailed communication structure of relationships among FM services in a hospital. By identifying the existence of structural holes in hospital organisations, it illuminates significant untapped brokerage potential of facilities managers in facilitating greater integration. These insights into communication structure have important implications for the practice of FM in better supporting healthcare service delivery.

Strategic Management Applications in Rejuvenation Efforts of South-Western Nigerian Hotels: Facilities Management Perspective

A survey was conducted of probabilistically determined fifty-seven hotels of various ‘stars’ in South-Western geo-political zone of Nigeria to investigate the responsiveness of the hotel organizations to strategic property management practices in particular level of use of facilities management, level of commitment to business development, use of information and communication technology and support services procurement methodology. Data were collected from hotel organizations through their general managers, staff and customers with the aid of questionnaires. A combination of stratified and cluster sampling techniques were used. Kothari’s formula was adopted to determine the appropriate sample size while descriptive statistics and balanced score card were used for data analysis. It was found that use of facilities management as a strategic management instrument is at low ebb (36%), the same is true of level of commitment to business development (46%), use of information and communication technology (39%) and support services outsourcing (46%). The use of balanced score card principle shows that the four variables all less than 50% may be balanced but in a negative sense suggesting non-responsiveness to the use of strategic management practices. This discovery also affirms that receptivity to FM is at low-ebb in the hotel sector of Nigeria’s economy and a pointer to ignorance of FM as instrument of strategic change. The study recommended that International Facilities Management Association (Nigeria Group), hotel organizations and Governments at all levels in Nigeria should be conscious of this development and put in place strategic actions to educate the gentries on the efficacy of FM in running hotel businesses. The hotel managements are also encouraged to be responsive to new ways of doing things especially when such a method would have a tremendous impact on the performance of the hotels.

Thesis title: An investigation of cultural learning during the hospital process from a facilities management perspective

Thesis title: An investigation of cultural learning during the hospital process from a facilities management perspective

Briefing from a facilities management perspective

PurposeTo identify the management tools and variables that impact briefing, assess the nature of current briefing practices, review the need for more structured techniques and determine the place of facilities management in briefing.Design/methodology/approachA detailed literature review to analyse and critique the briefing process was followed by a brainstorming session to explore relevant technical frameworks. A questionnaire survey investigated opinions of structured approaches to briefing.FindingsThe facilities manager operating within the strategic framework of the client organisation and having the necessary skills is a natural choice as brief writer. Facilities managers’ involvement is not strongly reflected in this research, indicating perhaps that they do not consider briefing a natural role or that they do not possess the skills for its undertaking. It is concluded that while briefing remains an unstructured investigative process, the skills for which are learned through experience, then architects and project managers will continue to dominate the activity.Practical implicationsCurrently, briefing is unstructured, iterative, and uses a variety of media for its exposition. More formalised processes recognising strategic and project briefing are advocated in the literature. Options for improvement include a structured approach to investigative briefing and facilitated value management.Originality/valueThe limited involvement of facilities managers in briefing prompted this research. This paper identifies the structure and variables impacting the briefing process and concludes with options for formalised approaches to briefing.

Controlling healthcare associated infections (HAI) and the role of facilities management in achieving “quality” in healthcare: a three‐dimensional view

PurposeTo explore the role of facilities management (FM) in the control of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) and then to discuss a three‐dimensional approach which can be used for FM services in the control of infections (HAI).Design/methodology/approachMost of what is put forward in this paper is based on a research project which is at its early stages. The discussions are therefore grounded on a thorough review of literature accomplished as part of the research project. Unstructured interviews with experts (sample – 25) in infection control in National Health Service in Scotland (NHSS), carried out concurrently as a pilot study, also provided useful insights when writing up this paper.FindingsIt is suggested that integrating FM effectively with the core services is vital in avoiding duplication of work carried out by the healthcare workers. Continuous measurement and management of performance of FM services is also vital in the control of HAI. In addition, it was identified that managing knowledge is important to retain, develop, organize, and utilize the organization's capability of managing HAI. Overall, an increased concerted effort; better integration of processes and practices between clinical and non‐clinical activities in the healthcare sector and effective dissemination of knowledge are all vital in controlling HAI to achieve “quality” in healthcare provisions. More empirical research is needed to explore the many complex and significant ways in which FM can be exploited for improved control of HAI.Research limitations/implicationsBoth targeted guidelines on the role of FM in the control of HAI as well as the paucity of relevant literature on related areas are limitations.Practical implicationsThe culture of healthcare managers and functional level staff is a major implication when operationalizing the three‐dimensional approach introduced in the paper.Originality/valueThe paper focuses on one of the major issues in healthcare, i.e. HAI. Few have taken an FM perspective on this issue. This paper therefore adds significantly to our understanding of the control of HAI from a non‐clinical perspective.