A Survey of O&M Practices for High Performance Buildings in the Building Industry

ABSTRACT Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to document in part the study that was conducted for a research project ASHRAE RP-1650, which investigates the training requirements for sustainable high-performance building (HPB) operations and maintenance (O&M). This paper documents the intent, procedures and findings of a portion of the research project, which includes a survey of O&M practices for high performance buildings in the industry. The purpose of the survey as reported in this paper was to confirm and refine the level of understanding of KSCs for operating HPBs as perceived by O&M personnel in the industry. The details of the survey and the results are presented in this paper. The survey was sent out to facility managers in the industry who are involved with the O&M of HPB systems and equipment. 221 facility managers were surveyed in this study. Design/methodology/approach — This study utilizes a concurrent mixed-method research, which considers both qualitative and quantitative responses. Findings — The study found that while most technicians were ‘moderately well' to ‘very well' trained for the configuration and components as well as the installation, repair and replacement of different high performance equipment and systems, they lacked essential knowledge to address issues such as: controls; tracking of variables; programming and operation of modulation devices implemented in high-performance systems and equipment. This finding implied a lack of ‘Systems Thinking' approach, which the study found to be pertinent and essential for the O&M of HPB systems and equipment. Originality/value — The study is utilized to identify gaps between the training requirements for O&M of HPBs identified from the literature review of the research project and the current industry practices. The identified gaps are valuable to develop learning objectives for training programs that are aimed to train personnel responsible for the O&M of HPBs.

Leadership core competencies for higher education facilities managers

ABSTRACT The higher education facilities manager has a broad spectrum of leadership responsibilities for maintaining the institutional campus, which includes the management of buildings and grounds maintenance as well as people and customer service management. Leadership core competencies for the higher education facilities manager can be just as varied as the job duties. Therefore, a literature review was conducted to determine the leadership core competencies for higher education facilities managers. A data analysis using a two-stage qualitative thematic coding of the available literature contributed to the development of eight leadership master core competencies, which are: Physical Asset Operational Knowledge, Organizational Effectiveness, Strategy/Vision Leadership, Human Resources Administration, Relationship Cultivation, Communicative Expertise, Governance Acumen and Decision Making/Conflict Resolution. Higher education facilities entities can utilize the set of eight competencies as parameters for hiring managers into the profession, for employee evaluation and development initiatives and for internal leadership succession planning.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) for Facility Management (FM): Industry Survey of Building Assets

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to discover the current methods that facility managers use to manage and track assets and identify a set of attributes for Building Information Modelling (BIM) that can improve the efficiency of the current facility management (FM) practice. A survey of over 100 facility management professionals addressed demographics such as industry sector, number of buildings managed, and use of industry standards or internally developed guidelines for data management. This information is correlated with their current asset management strategies to identify minimum sets of attributes that may be used for an FM-specific BIM. In addition, the survey asked the FM professionals their opinion on the importance of specific asset attributes and data management information that could be included in a BIM for FM. The findings of this paper indicate that there is a consensus on basic information (asset type, unique identification, manufacturer, model number, serial number) needed for asset management, and that there is no generally accepted system on how this is done in current practice. FM professionals and software providers may use the information in this paper to establish baseline sets of data to include in BIM during the design phase of projects. This paper provides insight and data as to the current practice of asset management by facility managers. Understanding the actual needs of the FM industry will assist in future research to implement BIM for FM.

An Educational Framework for Healthcare Facility Management: Preparing Future Professionals

ABSTRACT Purpose— The purpose of this research is to better understand learning outcomes essential for college students to be effective entry-level healthcare facility managers, establishing a healthcare FM education framework to further open FM academic programs as a sustainable source of new talent for the healthcare FM industry. Design/methodology/approach— A Delphi method was used for this research to draw upon the collective knowledge and experience of 13 experts over three iterative rounds of input. Phone interviews were also employed. Findings— This study shows that gaps exist in student learning outcomes for a comprehensive healthcare FM education; key technical topics specific to the healthcare industry are not being addressed by organizations accrediting construction and facility management academic programs. Many of these student learning outcomes could be readily combined into existing learning outcomes or used to develop a comprehensive healthcare FM education covering accreditation, regulatory and code compliance, infection control, systems in healthcare facilities, healthcare construction project management and methods, and clinical operations and medical equipment. Interestingly, academics in the field of FM generally disagree with industry professionals that these technical topics are important student learning outcomes. Consequently, FM academics prefer to teach students general FM principles with the expectation that specific technical knowledge will be gained in the workplace after graduation from college. Nevertheless, candidates attempting to enter healthcare FM without industry specific knowledge are disadvantaged due to industry perceptions and expectations. University-industry linkage must be improved to successfully attract students into the field of healthcare FM and open colleges and universities as a sustainable recruitment source in helping address FM attrition. Originality/value— This paper is valuable in establishing a healthcare FM education framework to elucidate college student learning outcomes upon graduation for successful employment as an entry-level healthcare facility manager. These student learning outcomes provide a framework for healthcare FM education to be used by industry and academia in preparing future professionals.

On the difficulties of evaluating the effect of school facility conditions on student outcomes

ABSTRACT This paper presents various empirical strategies used to analyze the effect from school facilities on student outcomes, and discusses strengths and weaknesses by the methods. A key challenge in studies of student outcomes is that outcomes are affected by many factors and that many of these factors are correlated with each other. Moreover, some factors are difficult to measure, and cannot be observed in data. Hence, it is difficult to avoid problems related to omitted variables bias and the estimated correlations can thus often not be interpreted as causal effects. It is important to be aware of how difficult it is to move on from a correlation to a causal effect. If researchers wrongfully draw causal inferences one risks misleading policy makers into allocating resources to the wrong factors.

Implementing BIM and Finite Element Analysis in a Structural Integrity Investigation of Curtain Walls

ABSTRACT Evaluating the structural integrity of curtain walls during the life cycle of a building project can assist architects in developing better designs, help contractors establish better installation methods, and allow facility managers make informed maintenance decisions. This paper presents an effort to develop a process which combines three types of technologies: 3D laser scanning, Building Information Modeling (BIM), and Finite Element Analysis (FEA), to evaluate the structural integrity of a curtain wall. In a case study, a 3D laser scanner was used to scan the curtain wall, the resulting set of point clouds was used to create an actual as-built BIM model. This “as-is” BIM model is different than a construction as-built BIM model in that the former model captures existing deformations developed during construction, installation, and maintenance phases. Then further analysis was completed using simulation with FEA using the BIM model to potentially predict any future structural issues. Wind loads on the building façade and their effect on unintentional stresses built into the glass panel were studied. The final results inform of deformities in the curtain wall and show the amount of wind load the structure can support before there is a risk of structural damage. The contribution of this study is that the harmonious three-step technique quickens the entire process of identifying the risks to a building element. An additional use for these common software packages would be beneficial to all the stakeholders involved in the life cycle of the building, especially those concerned with the facilities management and the building life cycle.

Performance evaluation for hospital facility management: literature review and a research methodology

ABSTRACT Underpinning the quality of health services is a wide range of facilities services that require effective management. With the importance of such facilities management (FM) increasingly recognized, research on healthcare FM has grown, with many that attempted to develop some performance frameworks or key performance indicators (KPIs) for hospital FM. A credible scheme that is tailored for evaluating the holistic FM performance of hospital buildings, however, is yet to be seen. In order to establish such a performance evaluation scheme, a research project was initiated. A review of the literature germane to hospital FM and the groundwork completed by the research team, based on which the project was formulated, is reported in this paper. The research methodology of the project and the five stages of rigorous research work, including a multi-pronged approach to data collection, the method for processing the data with an analytic network process (ANP) and the steps for establishing the intended evaluation scheme, are also described.

Evaluating the Impact of Facility Management Credentials

ABSTRACT The field of facility management (FM) has existed alongside other related fields, such as engineering and construction, yet its place within traditional education pathways is less formalized than is the case with other areas of the built environment. As such, those seeking entry into the profession will discover that it is largely undefined and a function of experience, with many professionals looking to supplement their experience with credentials and continuing education to better prepare themselves for advancement in the FM profession. To better understand and evaluate the impact and value of FM credentials in the industry and for its members, data were collected through two online international surveys of FM professionals and FM organizations. The research was commissioned by the International Facility Management Association (IFMA). The results indicate that FM professionals experience value in attaining a credential, and their employers also benefit. The return on investment of the IFMA credentials was calculated to be 15:1 over five years.

The US Healthcare Facilities Management Industry's State of Hiring from Facilities Management Academic Programs

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to better understand the current state of US healthcare FM industry hiring practices from FM academic programs. A national survey was distributed to healthcare FM directors to collect quantifiable information on healthcare organizations and their hiring practices from FM academic programs. Survey respondents that hired directly from an academic program were contacted for phone interviews. Results indicate that the healthcare FM industry is hiring very few college interns and new college graduates for entry-level management jobs. This paper is valuable in establishing the current state of the US healthcare industry's hiring practices from FM academic programs. Results will be used to better understand the needs and barriers of entry-level FM employment from FM academic programs as a potential source for new talent to the healthcare FM industry.