Emerging sustainable facilities management practices in health-care sector

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Sabrina Fathima Nazeer ◽  
Thanuja Ramachandra ◽  
Sachie Gunatilake ◽  
Sepani Senaratne
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Sustainable Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Space Planning ◽  
Importance Index ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
Sector Data

Purpose Health-care (HC) is one of the most polluting industries and recognised as the second energy-intensive sector, emitting 8 per cent out of total 40 per cent of total carbon emissions. Integrating sustainability to facilities management operations is imperative and could significantly contribute to reducing energy consumption, waste and day-to-day operational costs of buildings. The integration of sustainability into FM practices depends on factors such as facility type, organisational scale, business sector and organisation characteristics. This paper aims to explore the SFM practice with a specific focus on HC-specific FM services and respective sustainable practice that could be integrated into FM operations. Design/methodology/approach A Delphi survey was administered to ten experts in two rounds, who are specialised in FM and sustainable practices in the HC sector. Data gathered from the survey were analysed using the Relative Importance Index to identify the most significant FM services and sustainable practices. Findings The study found 9 significant FM services and 49 sustainable in HC. The top three significant FM services include “building services (BS)”, “space planning (SP)” and “quality management (QM)”. Further, “identifying applications for energy-saving measures” and “ensure onsite, off-site storage and transport of wastes” were found as the topmost significant sustainable practices. The relevancy of these identified sustainable practices to the principles of sustainability was determined. The results showed that 22, 18 and 09 sustainable practices were relevant to environmental, social and economic principles of sustainability, respectively. Originality/value There is a dearth of literature that integrates sustainable FM practices in HC sector, and this study fulfills this research gap. The study is novel in offering a framework to integrate sustainability into FM practice in HC sector.

scholarly journals Framework for successful supply chain implementation in healthcare area from provider’s prospective

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ik-Whan Kwon ◽  
Sung-Ho Kim
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Inventory Management ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Cost Of Care ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Financial Health ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Supply Chain Finance

Purpose This paper aims to explore avenue where suppliers and manufacturers are aligned with health-care providers to improve supply chain visibility. Supply chain finance is explored to link suppliers/manufacturers with health-care providers. Design/methodology/approach Existing literature on supply chain visibility in health care forms a basis to achieve the study purpose. Alignment calls also for financial health where supply chain partners’ working capital is readily available to execute joint supply chain plan. Findings There is a disjoint in supply chain alliance between suppliers/manufacturers and providers where providers are unable to trace the origin of supplies. Quality care suffers and cost of care rises as providers search for supplies on an emergency basis. This paper provides a framework where solution can be formulated. Research limitations/implications Suppliers/manufactures form a direct strategic alliance with providers where product visibility enables health-care providers with a better patient management with lower cost of supplies. Inventory management and logistics cost will be lowered as better planning/forecasting is in place. This paper does not call for testing any hypothesis. Perhaps, next move along this line will be to investigate financial health of supply chain partners based on supplier relationship management practices. Originality/value This paper proposes health-care supply chain as an alternative solution to achieve the following twin purposes: controlling the cost while improving quality of care through supply chain finance. As far as we know, this study is the first attempt to achieve the goals.

Facilities management in Malaysia

Facilities ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 490-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nik Elyna Myeda ◽  
Michael Pitt
Keyword(s):  
Facilities Management ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Participation Constraint ◽  
Study Methodology ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Method Approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the facilities management (FM) industry in Malaysia, looking at the development and focus in the industry in contrast with other countries where the FM industry is mature. The paper also focuses on the development hierarchy and initiatives taken by the Malaysian Government regarding public service in FM. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a mixed method approach. The first method used is an FM literature review; this is followed by a survey of Malaysian FM practitioners, which also acts as a preliminary study for this research. Findings – The paper proposes a set of elements in understanding FM development in Malaysia. These are categorised into seven key factors: level of growth, practice, service, profession, opportunities, demands and challenges. Research limitations/implications – The preliminary survey was carried out to ascertain the research gap and viability of the study. Although there was a participation constraint, it is believed that the responses have contributed significantly in indicating the way forward for this research. Practical implications – There is a lack of FM studies in the Malaysian context, which limits the knowledge and exploration of the research scope. This study gives more opportunities for future researchers to embark on research in this area. Originality/value – The paper gives comprehensive key factors defining development or progress of the FM industry in Malaysia. A further study exploring the element of FM service performance will be conducted based on a case study methodology.

Investigation of facilities management practices for providing feedback during the design development and review stages

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 597-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fadi A. Fatayer ◽  
Mohammad A. Hassanain ◽  
Abdullatif Abdallah ◽  
Abdul-Mohsen Al-Hammad
Keyword(s):  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Integrated Design ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Building Projects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Current Practices

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the current practices of the early facilities management (FM) involvement during the design development and review stages (DDRS), and recommend activities aimed at achieving better integration.Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive literature review was conducted to ascertain the challenges faced by the integrated design team (IDT) in the absence of the facilities managers’ review of design solutions, and underscore the significance of the early involvement of facilities managers during the DDRS. A questionnaire survey was then developed for collecting data on eight aspects of the current practices of early FM involvement during the DDRS. The questionnaire survey was administered to the FM departments of 13 long established, public universities in Saudi Arabia. Ten responses were obtained and analyzed.FindingsThe findings suggest that the early involvement of the FM department enhances the operation and maintenance of facilities. This has been measured through reductions in the number of architectural, structural, electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilating and air conditioning defects.Practical implicationsRecommendations were provided to facilitate the process of integrating the practices of two influential stakeholders of building projects. These recommendations encompass the need for maintainability considerations at the early schematic stage, the necessity of direct contact between the two parties and the necessity of facility managers’ increased familiarity of the design stage activities, among other recommendations. In this way, the study promotes the awareness of the significance of integrating FM with the IDT at the DDRS.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature and practice by presenting a detailed analysis of the integration process between the FM department and the IDT. Furthermore, the outcomes of the integration between the parties were measured to assess the effectiveness of the collaboration and highlight the possible areas of improvement.

Qualitative identification of associated words with the respective online service ratings

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-531
Author(s):  
Diya Guha Roy ◽  
Sujoy Bhattacharya
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Tacit Knowledge ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Online Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Investment ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Good Review ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
Further Development

Purpose Collectively knowledge is mentioned to surpass the traditional assets such as workers, property and financial investment. The research studies on how the existing knowledge can be merged with new knowledge for further development of organizational progress is moving from nascent to active state. In this context, the applications of online data pose a research gap in the domain of hospital review ratings. The purpose of this study is to explore how this raw tacit knowledge can be transformed to explicit keywords associated with individual review ratings of the hospital. Design/methodology/approach The authors have attempted to decrypt the tacit knowledge extracted from Facebook page of nine Indian hospitals (sources for the nine hospitals) using NVivo 12.3 to explain the resources associated with the poor or good review ratings. Findings Distinct patterns emerged with review ratings and associated words, which can be used to improve the facets of health-care services. Research limitations/implications The data used are only from India catering to national and international patients. Originality/value The sentiment analysis and word cloud associated with individual review rating can be further used for devising finer branding scales, as well as be practically used for real-time branding efforts by health-care industry.

Five focus strategies to organize health care delivery

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti Peltokorpi ◽  
Miika Linna ◽  
Tomi Malmström ◽  
Paulus Torkki ◽  
Paul Martin Lillrank
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Delivery ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
System Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Requisite Variety ◽  
Care Outcomes ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Focus Strategies

Purpose – The focused factory is one of the concepts that decision-makers have adopted for improving health care delivery. However, disorganized definitions of focus have led to findings that cannot be utilized systematically. The purpose of this paper is to discuss strategic options to focus health care operations. Design/methodology/approach – First the literature on focus in health care is reviewed revealing conceptual challenges. Second, a definition of focus in terms of demand and requisite variety is defined, and the mechanisms of focus are explicated. A classification of five focus strategies that follow the original idea to reduce variety in products and markets is presented. Finally, the paper examines managerial possibilities linked to the focus strategies. Findings – The paper proposes a framework of five customer-oriented focus strategies which aim at reducing variety in different characteristics of care pathways: population; urgency and severity; illnesses and symptoms; care practices and processes; and care outcomes. Research limitations/implications – Empirical research is needed to evaluate the costs and benefits of the five strategies and about system-level effects of focused units on competition and coordination. Practical implications – Focus is an enabling condition that needs to be exploited using specific demand and supply management practices. It is essential to understand how focus mechanisms differ between strategies, and to select focus that fits with organization’s strategy and key performance indicators. Originality/value – Compared to previous more resource-oriented approaches, this study provides theoretically solid and practically relevant customer-oriented framework for focusing in health care.

Developing facilities management (FM) competencies for Malaysia

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syahrul Nizam Kamaruzzaman ◽  
Nik Elyna Myeda ◽  
Emma Marinie Ahmad Zawawi ◽  
Rozita Mohamed Ramli
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Service Level Agreement ◽  
Service Level ◽  
Facility Management ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Space Planning ◽  
Operational Space ◽  
Technology Service ◽  
Management Association

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the significance of facilities management (FM) competency levels from three different stages, namely, strategic, tactical and operational levels, to propose a set of FM competencies for an enhanced FM industry in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach The overall focus for this paper is to discuss on the area for each level of competencies for asset and facilities management (AFM). This is done through a questionnaire survey focusing on the competency areas posed by FM companies in Malaysia and a comparison review of all FM levels as outlined by the international professional bodies, namely, International Facility Management Association, British Institute of Facilities Management and Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. This paper also looks at formulating a holistic framework for an effective AFM for the benefit of FM industry in general and Malaysian FM industry specifically. Findings The findings indicate that among the significant factors for the respective strategic, tactical and operational practice of FM are strategic: managing change, benchmarking and strategic facilities planning; tactical: risk management, emergency preparedness, FM technology, service-level agreement and supply management; and operational: space planning and management. This study also proposes a set of holistic FM competency areas which can be implemented by the FM industry in Malaysia. Originality/value This research sets a baseline for a set of FM competencies, an area of FM which has not been regulated in the FM practice in Malaysia.

Information management practices in public tertiary health-care facilities: an empirical investigation from the state of Kuwait

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dari Alhuwail
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Care Organization ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Standard ◽  
Care Facilities

Purpose This paper aims to gain insights about information management practices in public health-care organizations in Kuwait and offer recommendations to improve these practices. Design/methodology/approach This study involves secondary analysis of quantitative and qualitative accreditation-related data pertaining to the compliance with the Information Management standard at seven public tertiary health-care facilities over two accreditation cycles. Findings Overall, organizations improved their compliance with the Information Management standard. However, issues exist with effectively and efficiently transmitting data, aggregating clinical and administrative data and using the information for both strategic planning and quality improvement initiatives. Research limitations/implications The analysed data set does not provide information about the improvements done between the accreditation cycles. Caution should be applied before assuming generalizability of the results, considering the context and social constructs around the health-care system is essential. Practical implications Compliance with predetermined criteria through accreditation can improve information management practices. Without proper management of information at health-care facilities, achieving safe and effective patient care is futile. The role of health information technology (IT) should not be sidelined; robust health IT solutions can help support good information management practices thereby improving care quality and aiding health-care reform. Originality/value Concerning information management, health-care organizations providing focused services have clear advantages over organizations providing general care services. Considering the type of care organization (general vs specialized) can provide insights into how information management practices can affect the operations of the organization.

The mediation effects of finance on the relationship between service quality and performance of hospital facilities management services

Facilities ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Amos ◽  
Cheong Peng Au-Yong ◽  
Zairul Nisham Musa
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Mediation Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose With rising health-care costs and the financial constraints in most developing countries, prioritization of needs have become an issue of strategic importance in public hospitals. As a result, there is the intense competition of scare resources between core health care and non-core facilities management (FM) services. Given that financial resources are needed to facilitate the smooth operation of the FM department, this paper aims to investigate the direct and indirect effects of finance on the relationship between service quality and performance of hospital FM services. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a quantitative approach following a general questionnaire survey which was conducted on the research population. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to investigate the relationships between service quality and performance of hospital FM services. Findings The study highlights the relevance of service quality to improving FM performance and demonstrate the direct and indirect influence of finance to ensure quality FM services delivery to improve core health care outcomes in hospitals. Practical implications The result of this study should motivate hospital management to prioritize attention on FM in scare resources management in public hospitals to create and maintain a decent health-care environment for better health outcomes. Further, managerial commitment to facilitate employee training, empowerment, incentives, awards and compensation should be strengthened in the quest of ensuring quality services delivery. Originality/value The paper extends knowledge by mediating the influence of finance on the relationship between service quality and FM performance. Proposes a parsimonious financial mediation framework which can easily be adaptable to several developing countries health-care FM management.

scholarly journals The effects of local culture on hospital administration in West Sumatra, Indonesia

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rima Semiarty ◽  
Rebecca Fanany
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
Local Culture ◽  
Senior Administrators ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hospital Leadership ◽  
Conflicting Demands ◽  
West Sumatra

Purpose Problems in health-care leadership are serious in West Sumatra, Indonesia, especially in hospitals, which are controlled locally. The purpose of this paper is to present the experience of three hospitals in balancing the conflicting demands of the national health-care system and the traditional model of leadership in the local community. Design/methodology/approach Three case studies of the hospital leadership dynamic in West Sumatra were developed from in-depth interviews with directors, senior administrators and a representative selection of employees in various professional categories. Findings An analysis of findings shows that traditional views about leadership remain strong in the community and color the expectations of hospital staff. Hospital directors, however, are bound by the modern management practices of the national system. This conflict has intensified since regional autonomy which emphasizes the local culture much more than in the past. Research limitations/implications The research was carried out in one Indonesian province and was limited to three hospitals of different types. Practical implications The findings elucidate a potential underlying cause of problems in hospital management in Indonesia and may inform culturally appropriate ways of addressing them. Originality/value The social and cultural contexts of management have not been rigorously studied in Indonesia. The relationship between local and national culture reported here likely has a similar effect in other parts of the country.

The effect of facilities management of common areas on the environment domain of quality of life or older people in private buildings

Facilities ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 234-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei-yung Leung ◽  
Qi Liang ◽  
Jon Pynoos
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Older People ◽  
Information Acquisition ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Recreational Facilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Care Accessibility ◽  
Environment Domain

PurposeThe world was facing significant aging challenges. Aging in place has long been advocated which reflected the preference of older people to stay in their own home as long as possible. A huge amount of older people resided in private buildings that consist of both indoor settings (i.e. individual unit flats) and outdoor settings (i.e. common areas like lobby and corridor). The effect of indoor environment on the quality of life of the older people has been investigated, while this paper aims to examine the different effect of common areas environment for the older people.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was administered among over 300 older people living in private buildings. Multiple statistical techniques, including reliability test, correlation coefficient and multiple regression models, were used to analyze the collected data to determine the interactions between facilities management of the common areas in private buildings and the environment domain of quality of life for older people.FindingsThe final results were concluded based on the congruence of all the statistical results, which covered the identification of facilities management factors in common areas of private buildings that could influence the environment domain of quality of life for older people, including overall environment, health-care accessibility, information acquisition and transportation aspects; the overall environment was positively predicted by space and security in common areas of private building; health-care accessibility was positively affected by space, barrier-free facilities and recreational facilities; the information acquisition was only positively predicted by security; transportation was positively predicted by distance and recreational facilities; and building services of common areas in private buildings had no effect on the environment domain of quality of life for older people.Originality/valuePractical recommendations have been made to improve the facilities management of common areas in private buildings to ensure the quality of life for older people, including provision of walking assistance, motion or infrared controlled systems and so on. This study contributed to enhance current understanding of the interactions between the older people and their living environment.

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