Search results

The purpose of this study is to create a knowledge base for decision-making in healthcare design by seeking, analyzing and discussing the preferences of facility managers of healthcare facilities regarding floor finishes and their selection criteria. The goal is to enable a simplified and holistic selection of floor finishes based on multiple criteria. The authors studied floor finish selection in three healthcare units: emergency, surgery and in-patient units.

The authors completed a literature review to identify types of floor finishes currently used in healthcare facilities and the criteria applied for their selection. Using the literature survey results, a questionnaire was designed and administered to healthcare facility managers. The descriptive statistical analysis and the Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests were used for reporting and analyzing the survey data.

The top five floor finishes used in the healthcare sector were identified as vinyl flooring, vinyl composite tile (VCT), rubber, linoleum and ceramic flooring. The top five selection criteria for floor finishes were durability, infection control, ease of maintenance, maintenance cost and user safety. The non-parametric test results show that the floor finish rankings and selection criteria were similar in the three healthcare units under study.

The most significant contribution of this research is to the design decision-making process of healthcare facilities. These results offer an understanding of what floor finishes are preferred by healthcare facility managers and why. This knowledge is crucial for designers and facility managers to make informed choices and floor finish manufacturers to keep their product line relevant to the industry.

The purpose of this paper is to identify, analyze and discuss floor finishes used in health-care facilities and their selection criteria in the form of advantages and disadvantages. The authors also identify the top three health-care floor finishes and selection criteria based on the literature review results. Although flooring materials have a considerable impact on the life-cycle cost and indoor environment of health-care facilities, what criteria may be used for such flooring choices is not thoroughly studied.

The authors performed a systematic review of the literature on certain flooring systems currently used in health-care facilities and the criteria applied for their selection. Peer-reviewed studies and articles published after Year 2000 consistent with the research design were included.

Sixteen different selection criteria that influence the choice of floor finishes in health-care facilities were determined and discussed. The results show that the top three-floor finish materials preferred in health-care facilities are sheet vinyl, rubber and carpet, and the top three selection criteria for floor finishes are indoor air quality, patient safety and infection control.

The results of this study will assist building owners, architects and interior designers with implementing an informed design decision-making process, particularly in relation to floor finish selection. The findings will also provide guidance to floor finish manufacturers to improve their products based on facility managers’ preferences.

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance of a life cycle approach in facilities management practices to reduce the carbon footprint of built facilities. A model to holistic life cycle energy and carbon reduction is also proposed.

A literature-based discovery approach was applied to collect, analyze and synthesize the results of published case studies from around the globe. The energy use results of 95 published case studies were analyzed to derive conclusions.

A comparison of energy-efficient and conventional facilities revealed that decreasing operating energy may increase the embodied energy components. Additionally, the analysis of 95 commercial buildings indicated that nearly 10 per cent of the total US carbon emissions was influenced by facilities management practices.

The results were derived from case studies that belonged to various locations across the globe and included facilities constructed with a variety of materials.

The proposed approach to holistic carbon footprint reduction can guide facility management research and practice to make meaningful contributions to the efforts for creating a sustainable built environment.

This paper quantifies the extent to which a facilities management professional can contribute to the global efforts of reducing carbon emission.

Researchers and standardisation bodies are key to accelerating societal transition and contributing to society’s demands for sustainability, resilience and digitalisation. Standards are the agreed-upon best practices published by national or international bodies and are key enablers of transformation. Scholars have not yet identified a relationship between standards and facilities management (FM) research. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of formal standards in FM research.

A literature review was conducted to identify journal articles addressing standards and FM. A total of 198 journal articles published from 2010 to 2021 were identified. After screening these articles, 27 journal articles were considered the most relevant for data analysis.

The findings show that the role of standards in research can be analysed thematically, categorically, textually, methodologically and directionally. Standards are relevant to research by defining terms, creating backgrounds, guiding research, supporting the development of new standards and encouraging more collaboration between research and standardisation. Some studies have shown how standards influence research, but only a few have explored how research influences standards.

This research provides examples that inspire stronger collaboration between people and processes in research and standardisation.

The articles collected and analysed in this study comprise original research. A limited preliminary study of ten core articles was presented at the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction World Congress 2022. This presentation of this work provides an expanded framework for analysing the roles of standards in research. This framework includes (1) categorical analysis of research and standardisation streams; (2) thematic analysis of the topic of interest; (3) textual analysis of the use of the term “standard”; (4) methodological analysis of the influence of standards on the research method; and (5) directional analysis of the intended audience.

This study aims to investigate critical spatial factors that may affect the utilization rate of graduate student study space in higher education institutions (HEI). It is anticipated that the results of this study could promote research productivity by more effectively engaging research space dedicated to graduate students.

A comparative quantitative analysis based on survey results was implemented. The quantitative study compares the results of Department A of the university under study with other departments on the same campus. Logistic regression is used for quantitative translation of the categorical data.

Noise level and furniture quality (both for comfort and layout design) are almost equally the most significant factors for attracting graduate students to study lounges. Based on the results from this study, with quality improvements of noise level or furniture, the probability of user occupancy rates in graduate lounges would triple.

Being a case study, the quantitative results are only applicable to the one university studied. However, the significance of noise and furniture quality as the prime factors for successful graduate study lounges could be bolstered with findings from other case studies around the nation and the world.

This study attempts to pay close attention to graduate lounge spaces within HEI. With the rising pressure on universities to offer greater benefits with the same space assets, this study helps facility managers create more efficient spaces at universities tailored for the modern style of education.

The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that impede the integration of facilities management (FM) into building information modeling (BIM) technology. The use of BIM technology in the commercial construction industry has grown enormously in recent years. Its application to FM, however, is still limited. The literature highlights issues that hinder BIM–FM integration, which are studied and discussed in detail in this paper.

A review of literature is conducted to identify and categorize key issues hampering the application of BIM to FM. This paper has also designed a questionnaire based on a literature review and surveyed FM professionals at two industry events. Using the collected responses, these issues are analyzed and discussed using non-parametric statistical analyses.

A total of 16 issues are identified through the literature review of 54 studies under the four categories of BIM-execution and information-management, technological, cost-based and legal and contractual issues. The results of the survey of FM professionals (with 57 complete responses) reveal that the single most important issue is the lack of FM involvement in project phases when BIM is evolving.

The findings of this study could assist the construction industry (e.g. building-material and equipment manufacturers, design professionals, general contractors, construction managers, owners and facility managers) with creating guidelines that would help in BIM–FM integration. BIM is a virtual database that contains important design and construction information, which can be used for effective and efficient life cycle management if building data are captured completely and accurately with a facility manager’s involvement.