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The purpose of this study is to explore the role of effective communication and the use of customer-friendly periodic report as tools for managing cordial relationship between facilities management (FM) operatives and their customers. FM functions require effective management of the relationships between the customers, workplace interface and support facilities, to facilitate the achievement of the objectives of the organisation. This suggests that FM operatives should continuously marry their performance priorities with the customers’ priorities and perception; otherwise, the FM operatives may be toiling without objective recognition of service or achieve improved customer satisfaction.

The case study method of qualitative research was adopted. The data were collected using the combination of in-depth interviews and evaluation of FM’s periodic reports from two universities in South Africa.

The FM units in both universities have a suitable operational system and use a modern computer-aided FM tool. However, the units have not been able to manage relationships with customers, largely because they have not been able to “deliver on promise” and have not learnt to use the soft skills of effective communication. The quality of the periodic reports from the units does not provide sufficient educative information for the end-users; the structure is not stakeholders-friendly.

The paper identifies that though FM units spend considerable time in the development, maintenance and effective running of support facilities, they pay little attention to documentation, reporting and use of the soft skills of effective communication, which are necessary ingredients for improved customer relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to review the present municipal solid wastes (MSWs) management system, from an engineering management (EM) perspective, for the City of Kitwe while proposing a levers-driven sustainable municipal solid waste management (MSWM) model focussing on improving waste management (WM).

The research work involves four stages. First, a comprehensive review of literature is conducted on MSWM. Second, structured interviews are conducted with key experts in solid waste management in the City of Kitwe in order to enhance the knowledge inputs. Third, direct observations and an interview with a WM driver are conducted in order to understand; the collection, disposal and treatment options for MSWs. Lastly, a sustainable model for managing MSWs is proposed

The research findings indicate that the existing MSW system for the city is highly unsustainable and lacks EM methodologies. There are still a number of challenges in the management of MSWs which include: lack of proper collection and storage of MSWs; lack of an engineered landfill; lack of waste recovery and treatment systems; and lack of public education aimed at reducing and separating MSWs.

A correct and detailed database for waste generation, collection, treatment and disposal is needed for the City of Kitwe. The system is necessary for WM resources allocation as well as for planning sustainable WM projects. The proposed model has been developed based on the actual observations, data collection and analysis.

The research identifies a gap in the management of MSWs for the City of Kitwe. This work is original as no similar MSW model has been proposed globally and specific for a developing economy such as Africa.

The research paper aims to unveil the practical use of Lean Six Sigma and its effectiveness as a business survival strategic tool by a chemical product realization concern, as well as to establish the market and business performance impacts on the manufacturing entity.

A case study approach was pursued with a multi-national chemical manufacturing entity in South Africa. A comprehensive literature research was undertaken to establish the contemporary tools used for implementing Lean Six Sigma, and the classification and flow of tools and steps undertaken to ensure the successful and effective application of Lean Six Sigma in a manufacturing organization and the benefits derived. The critical success factors and reasons of ineffective use of tools are reviewed. To ensure that a comprehensive research was conducted which is relevant to the body of knowledge in engineering, recent articles on the application of Lean Six Sigma were selected and reviewed during the progress of the study to add impetus to the relevance of the findings.

The research findings were mainly based on the inferences obtained from a chemical product manufacturing concern in South Africa, to distinguish the efficacy and relevance of Lean Six Sigma as strategic business survival tool and imputing strategic resonance to corporate strategy.

This research was limited to distinguishing Lean Six Sigma as a business survival strategic tool and an ultimate enhancer of market performance for a chemical product manufacturing entity. The implementation and evaluation of the Lean Six Sigma methodology as a business survival strategic and market performance enhancement option for the case study organization was entailed as the corollary of deductive resemblance to similar entities.

This study enables continuous improvement practitioners to evaluate the Lean and Six Sigma practices. The advantages posed by the simultaneous and optimized application of the two approaches versus individual application were assessed and verified to produce enhanced continuous improvement. This poses further challenges to scholars and academics to pursue further researches on the practicality of applying Lean Six Sigma as a strategic option.

The paper prompts the efficacy of well publicized methodologies and evaluates their implementation for strategic performance for manufacturing organizations. The practical application, constraints and resultant effects of deploying Lean Six Sigma were reviewed to give impetus to the methodology.

All built facility begins to show signs of deterioration immediately after the facility is completed and put to use, thus necessitating routine maintenance. Increase in defects due to age, usage, and other factors, requires extensive maintenance activities known as renovation. The data used for a typical renovation plan can be collected using the condition assessment (CA) tool which depends on physical inspection of the defects or through a facility condition index which hinges on harnessing and analyzing the information in the operational history of the facility. The purpose of this paper is to examine the quality of a typical renovation plan using both tools.

The single case study of qualitative research was adopted. The data were collected through the principle of semi-structured questionnaire complemented with interviews and document analysis. The documents include periodic operational reports and a CA report used for planned renovation exercise of the Facilities Management (FM) Unit in a higher education institution in South Africa.

The findings revealed that although the FM Unit produces periodic reports, but there was no evidence of detailed analysis of the reports. Therefore, the programmed renovation exercises are based purely on the information from a CA.

This research is a single site case study of qualitative research; the data collected are limited and not sufficient for generalization of the results. Furthermore, the lack of record of the analysis of the operational history in the periodic reports negatively affected the computation of facilities condition index (FCI). Thus it was not possible to demonstrate the strength of FCI over CA from empirical information.

The quality of a typical renovation plan is influenced by the tool used for data collection. Although the CA tool is commonly used, experience shows that the renovation exercise developed from such records is prone to many execution setbacks, such as frequent scope changes and the associated cost and time overruns. These setbacks can be minimized if the FCI is used as the tool for data collection.

There are latent fears that in a Delphi exercise, the opinions of participants might be impaired due to the proximity of other participants. However, the thoughtful selection of participants and effective communication during the process can guarantee the independence of the participants’ opinions. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The single site case study method was adopted and the participants for the Delphi exercise were chosen from the strategic and tactical levels of leadership. The professional, positional experience and responsibilities of the participants guaranteed the quality of their opinions.

Although some of the facilities management participants are from the same division, the data collected demonstrate the opinions of independent minds, thus guaranteeing that consensus was achieved without complicity.

The research shows that it is possible to achieve consensus of opinion in a Delphi exercise without complicity, even when the participants know each other. This can be achieved through the painstaking selection of appropriate participants, the skills of the research coordinator and transparent communication between the rounds and in the final report.