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Heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and cooling (HVAC) systems are crucial in daily health-care facility services. Design-related defects can lead to maintenance issues, causing service disruptions and cost overruns. These defects can be avoided if a link between the early design stages and maintenance feedback is established. This study aims to use experts’ experience in HVAC maintenance in health-care facilities to list and evaluate the risk of each maintenance issue caused by a design defect, supported by the literature.

Following semistructured interviews with experts, 41 maintenance issues were identified as the most encountered issues. Subsequently, a survey was conducted in which 44 participants evaluated the probability and impact of each design-caused issue.

Chillers were identified as the HVAC components most prone to design defects and cost impact. However, air distribution ducts and air handling units are the most critical HVAC components for maintaining healthy conditions inside health-care facilities.

The unavailability of comprehensive data on the cost impacts of all design-related defects from multiple health-care facilities limits the ability of HVAC designers to furnish case studies and quantitative approaches.

This study helps HVAC designers acquire prior knowledge of decisions that may have led to unnecessary and avoidable maintenance. These design-related maintenance issues may cause unfavorable health and cost consequences.

Organizations involved in facility management (FM) can use building information modeling (BIM) as a knowledge repository to document evolving facility information and to support decisions made by the facility managers during the operational life of a facility. Despite ongoing advances in FM technologies, FM practices in most facilities are still labor intensive, time consuming and often rely on unreliable and outdated information. To address these shortcomings, the purpose of this study is to propose an automated approach that demonstrates the potential of using BIM to develop algorithms that automate decision-making for FM applications.

A BIM plug-in tool is developed that uses a fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) algorithm to automate the process of detecting malfunctioning heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. The algorithm connects to a complaint ticket database and automates BIM to determine potentially damaged HVAC system components and develops a plan of action for the facility inspectors accordingly. The approach has been implemented as a case study in an operating facility to improve the process of HVAC system diagnosis and repair.

By implementing the proposed application in a case study, the authors found that automated BIM approaches such as the one developed in this study, can be highly beneficial in FM practices by increasing productivity and lowering costs associated with decision-making.

This study introduces an innovative approach that leverages BIM for automated fault detection in operational buildings. FM personnel in charge of HVAC inspection and repair can highly benefit from the proposed approach, as it eliminates the time required to locate HVAC equipment at fault manually.

Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems account for approximately half of all energy usage in the operational phase of a building's lifecycle. The disproportionate amount of energy usage in HVAC systems against other utilities within buildings has proved a huge cause for alarm, as this practice contributes significantly to global warming and climate change. This paper reviews the status and current trends of energy consumption associated with HVAC systems with the aim of interrogating energy efficiency practices for improving HVAC systems' consumption in buildings in the context of developing countries.

The study relied predominantly on secondary data by analysing the relevant body of literature and proposing conceptual insights regarding best practices for improving the energy efficiency of HVAC systems in buildings. The systematic review of the literature (SLR) was aided by the PRISMA guiding principle. Content analysis technique was adopted to examine germane scholarly articles and finally grouped them into themes.

Based on the SLR, measures for enhancing the energy efficiency of HVAC systems in buildings were classified based on economic considerations ranging from low-cost measures such as the cost of tuning the system, installing zonal control systems, adopting building integrated greenery systems and passive solar designs to major approaches such as HVAC smart technologies for energy management which have multi-year pay-back periods. Further, it was established that practices to improve energy efficiency in buildings range from integrated greening system into buildings to HVAC system which are human-centred and controlled to meet human modalities.

There is a need to incorporate these energy efficiency practices into building regulations or codes so that built environment professionals would have a framework within which to design their buildings to be energy efficient. This energy efficient solution may serve as a prerequisite for newly constructed buildings.

To this end, the authors develop an integrated optimization conceptual framework mimicking energy efficiency options that may complement HVAC systems operations in buildings.

The aim of this research is to investigate the impact of thermal, acoustic and HVAC upgrades on the perception of the quality of life among residential building occupants.

The present study used a quantitative research approach, utilizing a questionnaire as the research instrument. A survey was conducted with 1,119 residential apartment building occupants in Prishtina, Kosovo, using a stratified random sampling method for selection of participants.

The present study used quantitative research with a questionnaire as the research instrument. The survey was conducted with 1,119 residential apartment building occupants in Prishtina, Kosovo, using stratified random sampling. The study found that thermal retrofits, acoustic retrofits and HVAC upgrades as a whole model affect the perception of the quality of life of residential building occupants in Prishtina, Kosovo. However, the study found that not all dimensions of the constructed research model (thermal, acoustic and HVAC) affect the perception of the quality of life of residential building occupants. Specifically, thermal retrofitting seems to strongly influence the perception of quality of life, while HVAC upgrades do not seem to have an impact on the quality of life of occupants. Finally, acoustic retrofits also influence the perception of the quality of life, although not to the same degree as thermal retrofitting.

The present study contributes to understanding the role that thermal retrofits, acoustic retrofits and HVAC upgrades play in the perception of quality of life by building occupants in an understudied region with a booming real estate sector such as Kosovo. The study also highlights the need for further analysis to understand why HVAC upgrades do not seem to influence the perception of quality of life by residential building occupants in Kosovo.

The present study is the first to quantify the impact of thermal, acoustic and HVAC upgrades on the perception of the quality of life of residential building occupants in Prishtina, Kosovo.

The purpose of this study was to examine how data from the World Health Organization, United States Environmental Protection Agency and Center for Disease Control have evolved with relation to engineering controls for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems to mitigate the spread of spread of aerosols (specifically related to the COVID-19 pandemic) in occupied buildings.

A document analysis of the pandemic-focused position documents from the aforementioned public health agencies and national HVAC authorities was performed. This review targeted a range of evidence from recommendations, best practices, codes and regulations and peer-reviewed publications and evaluated how they cumulatively evolved over time. Data was compared between 2020 and 2021.

This research found that core information provided early in the pandemic (i.e. early 2020) for engineering controls in building HVAC systems did not vary greatly as knowledge of the pandemic evolved (i.e. in June of 2021). This indicates that regulating agencies had a good, early understanding of how airborne viruses spread through building ventilation systems. The largest evolution in knowledge came from the broader acceptance of building ventilation as a transmission route and the increase in publications and ease of access to the information for the general public over time.

The promotion of the proposed controls for ventilation in buildings, as outlined in this paper, is another step toward reducing the spread of COVID-19 and future aerosol spread viruses by means of ventilation.

The purpose of this study is to show manufacturers and dealers of residential air‐conditioning systems how to raise the equity of their brands, enabling them to sell more premium systems and increase their revenues and profit margins.

For such products the consumer decision‐making process is complex and high involvement, and most purchasers are unacquainted with brands. A self‐administered survey was developed to assess which attributes were most important to consumers, to what degree brand influenced the price they would pay, and where they searched for product information, as well as demographic characteristics.

In total, 140 homeowners showed that reliability, serviceability and energy‐saving features were the attributes consumers desired most. Brand name communicated quality to them, but was not an important choice criterion. However, consumers were willing to pay more for an air‐conditioner with a reputation for quality. Results also indicated that consumers searched for product information from friends and family, manufacturers' websites and brochures, but not from the Yellow Pages or through salespeople. However, dealers were highly influential during the decision‐making process by helping consumers to refine their choice criteria and choose systems that satisfied their end goals.

If consumers were better informed about the important attributes of a particular brand (reliability, serviceability and energy efficiency), they would be willing to pay more for it. To raise brand awareness, HVAC manufacturers should use broadcast media that include television and radio frequently and seasonally, and supplement them with outdoor or print to gain brand awareness and knowledge, thus increasing the likelihood that brand becomes a criterion in the decision‐making process. All advertising and promotion should steer consumers to the manufacturers' website, which should be filled with home‐owner‐oriented information about the features and, most importantly, the benefits of the brand. Manufacturers can raise brand equity among consumers through comparative executions that spell out the positive attributes of their system versus other brands. This will differentiate their brand(s) from competitors, and position themselves differently in the minds of consumers.

The study showed that brand name was not an important criterion in the consumer decision‐making process for purchasing replacement residential air‐conditioning (HVAC) systems. Since consumers are not knowledgeable about air‐conditioning brands, they assume homogeneity and shop for price.

Despite discussions about the universal work station, there is increasing workplace dynamics in US organisations. These dynamics include space configuration changes, space enclosure changes, changes in occupant density and increasing equipment density. At the same time, building infrastructures have not evolved to meet these demands, with little flexibility in the heating, ventilation and air‐conditioning (HVAC), lighting, or electrical/telecommunication systems of new or existing office buildings. This paper examines the effects of organisational workplace dynamics and building infrastructure flexibility on the environmental and technical quality of offices. Resulting from extensive field studies in US buildings, the authors contend that there are numerous statistically significant issues for the design and management of buildings for the dynamic organisation. The study identified numerous factors that affect thermal, air, lighting and technical quality in offices. In relation to infrastructure, for example, occupants who work in office areas provided with greater cooling capacity and more supply air volume, and combined with smaller HVAC zones, appeared to have higher levels of thermal satisfaction. Those who work in areas with higher outlet densities gave higher technical quality ratings; and those provided with relocatable outlets (raised floor and furniture based) gave significantly higher technical satisfaction ratings than those provided with least‐first‐cost ‘tombstones’. In relation to organisational dynamics, increasing occupant densities in existing buildings are related to more thermal and air quality complaints, more complaints about outlet accessibility, as well as more complaints about inadequate light levels on work surfaces. This paper will outline the major findings of a study linking organisational dynamics with building infrastructure, moving towards the definition of innovations in facility design that will more effectively support dynamic organisations.

Expected learning outcomes are as follows: to understand the nature of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) manufacturing industries based on Al Junaid Industrial group when considering entering such businesses. To understand how unexpected short-term shocks such as a global pandemic may require long-term changes in a company’s outlook and planning. Discuss the marketing mix strategy that the Al Junaid Industrial group business products and services elements follow. To understand the competitiveness of Al Junaid group’s business environment and to identify the potential for business growth. To gain skills at developing a marketing strategy using the products, price, place and promotion model.

Al Junaid Industrial group is a small to medium-sized HVAC manufacturing company created over 12 years ago, in the United Arab Emirates. It has a production line company in the Sharjah industrial area with a capacity of 5,000 ft. The company not only manufactures air conditioning and its accessories but also provides installation and maintenance services. As for its international connections, it imports raw materials such as aluminum and exports air conditioning grills and accessories, offering installation services to many destinations, including Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council. The company has recently suffered a setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020 its net revenue and profits decreased by an average of 40%. As a result, Al Junaid Industrial group currently faces several internal and external challenges affecting its business performance such as high operating expenses, low market demand and stiff competition. Due to these challenges, this case study argues that Mr. Obaid Al Junaid, the Chief Executive Officer, should develop a new marketing strategy aimed at raising revenues to levels closer to those observed before the onset of the epidemic.

This case could be used in undergraduate and graduate classes of the business management field, as well as in development programs for managers in small to medium-sized enterprises (SME). Students (final year students of an undergraduate program for a bachelor’s degree) are expected to have a basic knowledge of Strategic management and business in general. It is preferred that the students have basic knowledge about small-to-medium businesses. Additionally, the managers in SME should be familiar with operational management, business management and marketing strategy and some of the challenges faced by managers in industrial businesses.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

The Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system is a significant energy consumer in built environments, and the building energy consumption could be minimised by optimising HVAC controls. Hence, this paper aims to investigate the applicability of Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) air conditioning systems for optimising the indoor comfort of buildings in Sri Lanka.

To address the research aim, the quantitative approach following the survey research strategy was deployed. Data collected through questionnaires were analysed using descriptive statistical tools, including Mean Rating (MR), Relative Important Index (RII) and Standard Deviation (SD).

The findings revealed that VRF systems are popularly used in Sri Lankan apartment buildings. Furthermore, energy efficiency and comfort were recognised as the most significant top-ranked benefits, while ventilation issues and initial cost were recognised as significant challenges. Moreover, the allocation of trained technicians and provision of proper ventilation through a Dedicated Outdoor Air System (DOAS) were highlighted as applicable mitigation strategies for the identified challenges in VRFs.

The study recommends VRF systems as a suitable technology to ensure energy efficiency, reduce GHG emissions and achieve climate performance within the built environment. The opportunities for adopting VRF systems for developing countries could be explored based on the research findings. The identified challenges would assist the design engineers and facilities professionals to devise suitable strategies to mitigate issues of VRF systems in developing countries.

This research provides empirical proof of the energy efficiency and comfort aspects of VRFs. The study has explored and recommended VRF technology as a beneficial application to overcome the persistent energy crisis in developing countries.

The purpose of this study is to obtain the optimal frequency for low-frequency transmission lines while minimizing losses and maintaining the voltage stability of low-frequency systems. This study also emphasizes a reduction in calculations based on mathematical approaches.

Telegrapher’s method has been used to reduce large calculations in low-frequency high-voltage alternating current (LF-HVac) lines. The static compensator (STATCOM) has been used to maintain voltage stability. For optimal frequency selection, a modified Jaya algorithm (MJAYA) for optimal load flow analysis was implemented.

The MJAYA algorithm performed better than other conventional algorithms and determined the optimum frequency selection while minimizing losses. Voltage stability was also achieved with the proposed optimal load flow (OLF), and statistical analysis showed that the proposed OLF reduces the frequency deviation and standard error of the LF-HVac lines.

The optimal frequency for LF-HVac lines has been achieved, Telegrapher’s method has been used in OLF, and STATCOM has been used in LF-HVac transmission lines.