Sustainable Facility Management Research Articles

The relative importance of servicescape in fitness center for facility improvement

The purpose of study was to examine the relative importance of servicescape, identify the optimal combination, and predict the market share in fitness centers. We conducted a conjoint analysis on users of fitness centers located in Seoul. As a primary result, it was found that the spatial layout, particularly ‘sufficient exercise space’, was considered most important. Secondly, cleanliness, specifically ‘well-maintained fitness equipment’, was deemed important following spatial layout. Next, users emphasized the importance of ambient conditions, especially ‘well-managed heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning’. However, aesthetics, specifically ‘Attractive interior design’, was not considered as significant compared to other attributes. The optimal combination of servicescape was identified to be ‘sufficient exercise space, well-maintained fitness equipment, and an attractive interior design within a well-managed heating, ventilation, and air conditioning’. Finally, the combination of ‘sufficient exercise space, attractive interior design, well-managed heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, and well-maintained fitness equipment’ was associated with the highest market share. From an academic perspective, this study holds significance in reaffirming the meaning and impact of servicescape on consumers. Additionally, it provides practical implications that assist in determining the direction for sustainable facility improvement and management of the fitness center.

Web-Based Management of Public Buildings: A Workflow Based on Integration of BIM and IoT Sensors with a Web–GIS Portal

In this paper, we present the final results from the research project “Urban Abacus of Building Energy Performances (Abaco Urbano Energeticodegli Edifci–AUREE)” aimed at supporting the renovation process and energy efficiency enhancement of urban building stocks. The crux of the AUREE project is a Web–GIS GeoBlog portal with customized semantic dashboards aimed at sharing information on an urban built environment and promoting the participation of local stakeholders in its improvement. As the latest development of this research, a workflow that integrates the AUREE portal with BIM authoring and an open-source IoT platform is implemented and applied to an experimental case study concerning a public building in Carbonia (Italy). The headquarters of the Sotacarbo Sustainable Energy Research Center was selected as the case study. The presented results proved that it was possible to create a valid open system, which was accessible to both specialist and unskilled users, and aimed at guiding, through a progressive knowledge deepening, common end-users toward proper conscious “energy behaviors” as well as public administrations and decision-makers toward sustainable facility management. Later, the proposed open system could also be suitable to be used as an effective tool to support the rising “energy communities”.

Sustainable Facility Management in UN Development Goals

Facility Management (FM) is currently focusing on sustainability through the adoption of the newly recognised United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) when making business decisions. Strategic Sustainable FM has the potential towards the realisation of the 17 SDGs at all levels of organisation in the FM sector. However, the FM sector is also encountering potential barriers to the implementation of the relevant SDGs. Standardised and strategic level support is crucial for the smooth adoption of sustainable FM. This paper is aimed at discussing the role of facility management in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This viewpoint paper, whereby content is dependent on the authors’ opinion and interpretation, focuses on new emerging disciplines that will affect the operations phase of buildings and the people working therein. The SDGs can help to objectively quantify the added value of FM to the core business and the global FM industry including impact of ISO standards and stakeholders (clients, service providers and researchers).

Quality of Life: alignment of FM with the SDGs

The ISO 41000 series of Facility Management (FM) standards, with 51 countries participating, contributes directly to the future of the FM profession and its value proposition. These FM standards, with seven (7) published plus five (5) more under development in 2022, provide a common language and framework for FM worldwide to support the consistent delivery of services, enhanced performance and the managing of risks. The United Nations 2030 Agenda has at its heart the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries, developed and developing, in a global partnership to meet the challenge. The development of ISO/TR 41019 ‘The role of FM in sustainability and resilience’ (2022 working title) will be a technical report demonstrating the alignment of FM standards with the SDGs for improved effectiveness, efficiency and wellbeing of organisations and individuals. Australia has taken the lead on the delivery of this defining project for Sustainable FM in the pursuit of a more productive, sustainable and liveable Built Environment for all.

Global trends of the research on COVID-19 risks effect in sustainable facility management fields: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract This study used bibliometric analysis to investigate global research trends regarding the effect of COVID-19 risks in sustainable facility management fields. Between 2019 and 2021, the Scopus database published 208 studies regarding the effect of COVID-19 risks on sustainable facility control fields. VOSviewer software was used to analyse the co-occurrence of all keywords, and Biblioshiny software allowed getting the most relevant affiliation using the three-field plot. The results show the contribution by authors from 51 countries, and 73 keywords were identified and organised into six clusters, such as the effect of COVID-19 risks on human health, supply chain in construction projects and industry, disaster risk management in a changing climate, sustainable supply chain benchmarking, facility management and quality control, and, finally, sensitivity analysis & decision-making.

Compatibility of Sustainable Facility Management and Building Information Modeling Applications: The Role of Naming Conventions

This research focuses on data transfer from Sustainable Facility Management (SFM) to Building Information Modeling (BIM) applications—specifically BUILDER SMS to Autodesk Revit—where the BIM models are created for existing buildings. BIM models were created for ten existing buildings to support initial data transfer based on different object parameters: (a) alphanumeric identifier (five buildings); and (b) name (five buildings). The identifier is randomly assigned by BUILDER SMS. The name is derived from the cardinal direction for exterior components and room names for interior components. The comparison of the methods was accomplished by observing times to ensure data compatibility, complete Revit models, and transfer data from BUILDER SMS to Revit. The name method was faster regarding data compatibility, but no statistical evaluation could be made. The identifier method resulted in shorter model completion times, but the difference was not statistically significant. It was also faster for first-time data transfer, but, again, no statistical evaluation could be made. The difference in total effort required by the methods was not large. Furthermore, the first data transfer for either method can transfer the other parameter, i.e., a name-based data transfer can add the identifier to the Revit model and an identifier-based transfer can add the name. The name method may be slightly better than the identifier method because object names follow an intuitive and logical standard naming convention (specified in the SFM application). The process of ensuring data compatibility by manually entering object names may be less error-prone compared to manually entering alphanumeric identifiers; however, that was not demonstrated here as all of the resulting models were error-free regarding data transfer. The methods described provide useful insights for other SFM/BIM transfer scenarios, such as other applications and models generated during the design phase.

Global Trends of the Researches on COVID-19 Risks Impact in Sustainable Facility Management Fields: A Bibliometric Analysis via VOSviewer

Global Trends of the Researches on COVID-19 Risks Impact in Sustainable Facility Management Fields: A Bibliometric Analysis via VOSviewer

Enhancing a Building Information Model for an Existing Building with Data from a Sustainable Facility Management Database

This study investigates the feasibility and benefits of transferring data between Autodesk Revit (used for building information modeling (BIM)) and BUILDER SMS (used for sustainable facility management (SFM)). Two data transfer methods were evaluated using a case study; one involved entirely manual data transfer, the other a combination of manual and automatic. Of the data transfer methods evaluated, the manual/automated hybrid was determined to be the best option, especially when regular updates are envisioned. The case study produced an enhanced BIM model that can be used to support sustainable facility management, called here an SFM-enhanced BIM model. An integration workflow is proposed for efficiently creating future SFM-enhanced BIM models. A focus group of facilities management professionals evaluated the case study BIM model. The focus group was most interested in the visualization capabilities—e.g., filtered views for condition assessments—and the ability to view the BIM model on a tablet/mobile device during on-site operation and maintenance activities.

A Sustainable Facility Management Outsourcing Relationships System: Artificial Neural Networks

The Contingency Outsourcing Relationship (CORE) model originated from the Four Outsourcing Relationship Types (FORT) model; the CORE model is used in the globalized Facility Management (FM) industry, while the FORT model is originally used in the global information technology industry. The purpose of this paper is to thoroughly analyse the simulated case studies of the four different categories (i.e., in-house, technical expertise, commitment and common goals) of the CORE model from the perspective of the various clients. This study builds on the previous work on the outsourcing relationships between a client and a globalized FM service provider. It further explores the application of this model with the aid of artificial neural networks (ANNs) towards a sustainable future. A quantitative methodology through a survey is used to analyse eight outsourcing strategies for the four outsourcing relationships. A set of revised rules of the CORE is introduced and discussed regarding the approaches to investigate the four simulated outsourcing relationship systems. The study further reveals that an interesting understanding of the four outsourcing categories can be systematically and efficiently implemented into the FM outsourcing relationships through the methodology of scientific Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is concluded that FM outsourcing categorization may help to define the appropriate relationships. This further detailed outcome generated from the ANN can be clearly considered a strong and solid reference to define and explain the existing outsourcing relationships between the stakeholders and the service providers with the aim to assign an outsourcing category to the FM relationship between the client and service provider based on the learnt rules.

STATUS QUO AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS OF FACILITY MANAGEMENT: A BIBLIOMETRIC – QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

Facility management (FM) has received extensive attention from practitioners and researchers. While FM is continuously maturing as a scientific discipline and relevant studies are constantly growing, there are no holistic reviews of current research. The information in previous studies is generally scattered, and existing literature reviews mostly focused on specific aspects of FM. It is necessary for researchers and practitioners to obtain a thorough view of the current status in the FM field and future development trends that have been summarized and discussed in depth. Using a bibliometricqualitative analysis, a total of 724 academic journal papers on FM, between 1995 and 2018, were reviewed. A number of the latest advancements and emergent trends were identified based on knowledge maps in FM, including changing circumstances, enhancing information technology, all-around facility manager, strategic performance management, sustainable FM and innovative FM practice. It is hoped that this review can help researchers understand the current body of FM knowledge. The future directions were also highlighted in this study to help researchers identify areas where research is most needed. This study could also help practitioners to address upcoming challenges in the FM field.

Implementing sustainable facility management

Purpose The development of sustainable facilities management (FM) practices requires active and integrated engagement of the FM organization. Building on a three-year research project (2015-2018) within Nordic Built that aims to strengthen FM competencies in the Scandinavian countries, this paper aims to list and document the challenges and barriers of implementing sustainability as identified by the Scandinavian FM practitioners who took part in this research. Design/methodology/approach The paper builds on the understanding gained from using an interpretive sociological approach and uses qualitative mixed methods to collect data from four workshops, group sessions and expert group discussions with a mix of representatives including owners, property managers, facilities managers, consultants, teachers and academics. Four case studies were completed of refurbishment projects implementing sustainable solutions; these encompassed in-depth interviews with the stakeholders, site visits, observations of meetings and gathering project documentation. The data were complemented by a systematic literature review on a selection of topics focusing on articles referring directly to FM, the sustainability of FM, ends-user and stakeholder involvement, energy performance and sustainability. The challenges and barriers identified in practice were compared to those found in the literature. Findings The concept of sustainability, and its different dimensions and implications, seems to be well understood now by the practitioners who participated in this study, who claimed they were able to provide the required solutions. What seems to be lacking, though, is the possibility of convincing the end-users, who are expected to operate and maintain the facilities, to act according to the standards that these solutions require. It appears to be easier to focus on the technical aspects than on the end-users’ behaviors. The practitioners reported a shortage of social competencies and tools to deal with the situation, and despite an increasing awareness of smart technology, they lacked solutions to engage the end-users in optimizing the facilities. Besides, not all FM companies were well equipped to face the challenges imposed by the sustainable agenda; the small and medium enterprises in particular seemed to be struggling to implement the different dimensions of sustainability. Research limitations/implications The limitation of this research rests in the chosen research approach as it focuses on the FM practitioners. The contribution of the end-users’ perspective is not strongly represented or systematically explored, but is identified as a new topic that needs to be investigated further to provide further insight. This study focuses on refurbishment and/or retrofit of existing buildings and the operation of facilities. The authors do not embrace the design phase or the construction phase of new buildings. Practical implications The paper underlines the need for frameworks and concrete tools to help FM practitioners to integrate the social and cultural aspects of sustainability. It identifies end-users, both in housing and in offices, as creating a bottleneck to the implementation of sustainable FM. To gain insight into this bottleneck, the authors suggest implementing a sociologically inspired method using an integrative approach. Highlighting such issues will mean that future research will be able to define further solutions for managing and maintaining existing and future built assets and fulfilling sustainability requirements by engaging end-users. This study also emphasizes the need to introduce these topics as part of the curriculum for FM education. Originality/value This paper provides an update on the level of the development of sustainable FM in the three Scandinavian countries. This is highly relevant for Scandinavian practitioners, but the authors consider this relevant for international practitioners, researchers, academics and teachers and developers as well. Practitioners and researchers are invited to join in these efforts to explore how to find practical frameworks, tools, policies and instruments and new services that will improve sustainable FM practices.

Proposed Model of Sustainable Construction Skills for Engineers in Chile

The training of engineers in sustainable construction (SC) is becoming increasingly studied, since sustainable construction not only improves the quality of life of people, but also provides comprehensive solutions to the environmental problems we face today and thus takes care of the needs of future generations. This research is in line with the National Strategy for Sustainable Construction (NSSC) from the Chilean Government. One of the NSSC challenges is the training of engineers capable of adapting to the SC requirements. Although the competences in sustainability for the training of engineers has been discussed in other researchs, it has not been specifically in sustainable construction and it have not been grouped in a model that considers their degree of importance. The purpose of this article is to present a conceptual model can be used to design and evaluate engineering training programs in SC. The methodology to establish the skills and the proposed training model consists of three stages: Theoretical Phase, Methodological Phase and Validation Phase (surveys and interviews). 113 professionals who performed activities related to SC answered the survey. Interviews were conducted with five experts in training in different SC aspects. Three global skills are identified as: Sustainable Evaluation, Sustainable Construction Certification, and Sustainable Facility Management. In addition, the degree of importance of skills associated with these global skills was identified and assessed. There are five skills necessary for the future engineer, among them, two stand out: teamwork (collaborative) and ethics. Finally, the order of importance of the topics in SC is: energy, environment comfort, water, waste, and construction materials. A future investigation is recommended to apply the proposed conceptual model to current engineering training programs, both national and international.

A guideline for interpersonal capabilities enhancement to support sustainable facility management practice

Facility management is the key phase in the development cycle of an assets and spans over a considerable length of time. Therefore, facility managers are in a commanding position to maximise the potential of sustainability through the development phases from construction, operation, maintenance and upgrade leading to decommission and deconstruction. Sustainability endeavours in facility management practices will contribute to reducing energy consumption, waste and running costs. Furthermore, it can also help in improving organisational productivity, financial return and community standing of the organisation. Facility manager should be empowered with the necessary knowledge and capabilities at the forefront facing sustainability challenge. However, literature studies show a gap between the level of awareness, specific knowledge and the necessary skills required to pursue sustainability in the facility management professional. People capability is considered as the key enabler in managing the sustainability agenda as well as being central to the improvement of competency and innovation in an organisation. This paper aims to develop a guidelines for interpersonal capabilities to support sustainability in facility management practice. Starting with a total of 7 critical interpersonal capabilities factors identified from previous questionnaire survey, the authors conducted an interview with 3 experts in facility management to assess the perceived importance of these factors. The findings reveal a set of guidelines for the enhancement of interpersonal capabilities among facility managers by providing what can be done to acquire these factors and how it can support the application of sustainability in their practice. The findings of this paper are expected to form the basis of a mechanism framework developed to equip facility managers with the right knowledge, to continue education and training and to develop new mind-sets to enhance the implementation of sustainability measures in FM practices.

Volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur in winkelsentrums in Pretoria

Although sustainable facility management is increasingly gaining recognition in developing countries and is implemented in new buildings, in particular, hardly any information is available regarding sustainable practices in facility management that are applied locally in South Africa, and particularly in Pretoria. In this article, five key areas for sustainable facility management in shopping centres are investigated, namely energy consumption, water consumption, materials and resource management, internal environment quality management, and location management. This study also established which sustainable facility management strategies and methods are currently being applied and what perceptions property managers in shopping centres in Pretoria have regarding sustainable facility management. Questionnaires and one-on-one interviews with property managers and centre managers and owners were employed to obtain qualitative information such as the perceptions and knowledge of the respondents, as well as quantitative information such as quantities and percentages. The sample and data collected for the study are limited to shopping malls in Pretoria with a commercial area of 10 000m² or more, which yielded a total of 69 shopping centres. Completed questionnaires were returned by approximately a quarter of the total sample population, representing a lettable area of 765 835m2 and 1 663 stores. Nearly 90% of the respondents indicated that the ‘property’ management function is done internally, compared with over 94% that internally manage the ‘facility’ management function. It was found that sustainable facility management practices are being applied in shopping centres in Pretoria, but that there is a clear preference for widely applied practices that lead to financial savings. Practices that contribute to social and environmental objectives are applied to a much lesser extent, due to the perception that such practices do not result in financial savings or contribute to the management of the centres and are, therefore, regarded as less important. *This article is written in Afrikaans.

A new approach to measure sustainability in German facility management

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to present the development of an action and assessment framework to make sustainability in German facility management (FM) transparent, measurable and assessable.Design/methodology/approach– The underlying research project’s approach to develop the new action and assessment framework consisted of a three-step methodology: to define and substantiate sustainability in FM, to operationalise and quantify sustainability in FM and to validate the developed system draft through an initial pilot study.Findings– The main result of the presented research project is a set of 24 criteria, organised into the separate areas of environmental, economic and sociocultural quality, as well as the quality of FM organisation and the sustainability of building/contract-specific facility services. The assessment methodology reflects the strategic approach of a plan–do–check–act loop to create a transparent and objective appraisal and a practical action framework.Research limitations/implications– The outcome of the study is initially only a measurement and assessment framework. To transform the finalised system draft and assessment tool into a certification system, further steps of development are necessary.Practical implications– The newly developed action and assessment framework is able to cure the blind spot that the relevant players (building owners, users and service providers) suffer from while developing, purchasing and comparing concepts for sustainable FM. The results and practical experiences of its initial pilot study show that this new framework can make the building operation phase and its processes transparent, measurable and assessable.Social implications– The guideline is also able to establish a crucial basis for the development of corporate sustainability strategies and sustainability reporting. This is an important step in closing the existing gap in numerous corporate social responsibility reports.Originality/value– Due to its assessment methodology and the calibration of its criteria, this new action and assessment framework both diversifies and completes the range of existing sustainability certification systems.

A Multiuser Shared Virtual Environment for Facility Management

Facility management (FM) is a critical component of building sustainability because a late response to the FM needs will add unnecessary wastes. A lack of communication has been criticized as an impediment to improving the common understanding of FM requirements among the stakeholders and in turn affects the efficiency of FM. Recent developments in Virtual Reality (VR) have encouraged the utilization of interactive building visualization in the design, construction, and maintenance of different types of facilities. This study finds the interpersonal interaction in the VR environment to be a critical factor in the effective communication in FM by creating a shared immersive experience. To prove the concept, a Building Information Modelling (BIM)-based VR environment tool was developed to bring remotely located stakeholders – building occupants, facility managers, vendors and designers – together to walk through in the same virtual building. It enables real-time interactions of remote stakeholders in the same environment, with a shared immersive walkthrough experience. This tool offers an alternative communication method for sustainable FM. Unity 3D was used to create the interactive environment, and Photon Unity Networking (PUN) was used to implement the cross-platform multiuser function. A case study has shown that this alternative communication method can help stakeholders examine the same facility in remote locations and improve the efficiency of communication.

A Study to Develop Critical Success Factors of Roads Maintenance Management System for Sustainable Facility Management

The issues of sustainability in road maintenance management have been widely discussed in recent years. In some countries the maintenance of roads were based on selected indicators or commonly known as key performance indicators. In some countries such as Indonesia the allocation of budget and road maintenance planning were based on the age of these roads. The budget for and the planning of roads based on age have resulted in poor road conditions in Indonesia. The main objective of this study is to develop a sustainable road maintenance and management model (SRMM model) for the city of Padang, West Sumatrea that are in consonant with the vision, mission and goals of road authority towards meeting sustainable road maintenance management program. Using data obtained from selected roads in that city, after reviews of literature to identify key factors that contributed to the sustainable maintenance and management of roads, an opinion survey was conducted. Eleven experts in the field of road infrastructure and facilities management were selected as respondents. These experts were asked to identify the key factors that contributed to the quality of road maintenance management. Using the cut-off point approach, ten KPIs listed from the reviews are connected with the vision, mission and goals of the Directorate General of Highways, Ministry of Public Works Republic of Indonesia as the road authority. Respondents were asked to provide an assessment of the criticality level of the KPIs to the vision, mission and goals. Based on the calculation results, ten CSFs were identified to develop the (SRMM) model. The use of SRMM model based on statistically selected CSFs by the road authority is anticipated to help develop a reliable and sustainable road maintenance management system in Padang.

Sustainable facilities management within event venues

PurposeThe article aims to provide an insight into concepts, frameworks and processes related to sustainable facility management (FM) within event venues. A further objective is to determine whether, to the degree that this is possible, in which degree there is consensus in relation to the above aspects amongst the literature findings and what is followed in practice.Design/methodology/approachA review of current literature was conducted in order to determine current trends in the sustainable FM sector that concern venues from a design, facility manager, organisation and stakeholder perspective. It is equally addressed to academics, students, practitioners, suppliers and investors.FindingsIt was found that although in literature, there is an abundance of good practices to follow, in many cases this is not possible due to costs or lack of focus of the organisation.Practical implicationsEven if guidelines are followed, there should be a greater standardisation of prerequisites and publication of detailed results so best practice within the industry can be looked up to. Managers, owners, etc. should have more of these and publish them as well.Originality/valueThe article contributes to an understanding of the elements of sustainable FM as well as their interconnectivity and importance. It also offers examples in order to investigate the applicability of current literature.