Editorial

Citation

Lai, J.H.K. (2016), "Editorial", Facilities, Vol. 34 No. 3/4, pp. 122-123. https://doi.org/10.1108/F-12-2015-0091

The seven papers of this issue of the journal, covering various areas of facilities management, come from different regions across the world.

Authored by Ameyaw and Chan, the first paper is centred on public-private partnership (PPP). Intended to provide a tool for evaluating the likelihood of success of PPP water supply projects, a study comprising Delphi surveys and factor analyses was carried out, resulting in the identification of five critical success factor groups: commitment of partners, strength of consortium, asset quality and social support, political environment and national PPP unit. A fuzzy synthetic evaluation tool was developed for assessing the chance of a successful project and the study result shows an excellent correlation between achievement of the factor groups and project success.

Reported in the second paper is a pilot study aimed at measuring the performance of property management companies in managing high-rise flats. Using a logic model and based on visual inspections and interviews with building management staff in Hong Kong, Ho and Liusman found that the factors contributing to the companies’ performance outcomes are the outputs, ages and rehabilitation statuses of buildings. According to the authors, the performance outcomes of the logic model can help homeowners easily understand the property management performance of the companies.

A paper from Denmark, which is contributed by Nielsen and Galamba, is based on a study that explores the role of public facilities managers and examines how an empowerment process can help facilities management employees develop collective competences for sustainable facilities management (SFM). After a literature review and an action research process, a framework for an SFM code of conduct was obtained. Embraced in the framework includes the need of facilities management organisations to navigate a complex work life filled with strategic contradictions, dilemmas and incomplete information.

A new workspace strategy was implemented in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council, UK. To investigate how successful the strategy was, Giddings and Ladinski carried out a post-occupancy survey. Workspace transformation, office workspace utilisation and employees’ satisfaction were analysed. It was found that the employees are generally satisfied with their new workspace. Whereas the changes in working practice are unproven, the strategy delivered space savings and efficient use of the property assets.

A paper from Kajalo and Lindblom of Finland is about a study examining how consumers view various formal and informal surveillance practices in shopping malls. The practices were classified according to the Crime Prevention through Environmental Design theory. Data of 200 shopping mall visitors, gathered through a survey, were analysed using principal components analysis and cluster analysis. The study reveals that customer experience of safe retail environments reflects the distinction between informal and formal surveillance and that consumers have different preferences towards surveillance practices.

Building information modelling (BIM) has gained popularity in recent years. The study of Golabchi, Akula and Kamat, which is aimed at demonstrating the potential of using BIM to automate decision-making for facilities management applications, adopted a case study approach. A BIM plug-in using a fault detection and diagnostics algorithm was used to automate the process of detecting malfunctioning heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment. The result shows that automated BIM approaches, such as the one developed in the study, can increase productivity in HVAC operation and maintenance while reducing costs associated with facilities management decision-making.

A study team comprising Dixit, Culp, Fernandez-Solis and Lavy authored a paper for emphasizing the importance of a life cycle approach in facilities management practices to reduction of carbon footprint of built facilities. Taking a literature-based discovery approach, the results of published case studies from around the globe were analysed. It was found that decrease in operating energy may increase embodied energy. The finding that about 10 per cent of the total US carbon emissions was influenced by facilities management practices shows the important role of facilities management professionals in curbing carbon emissions.