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The purpose of this paper is to show that general‐ and special‐purpose properties have to be dealt with differently by the public sector.

Application of standard economic theory concerning pricing of properties and infrastructure. The issues are analyzed based on experiences from Swedish state‐owned properties.

The distinction results in quite different public property management strategies. Special‐purpose properties have no short‐run alternative use and have limited rental and capital values, unlike general‐purpose properties. Thus, to apply a required rate of return based on assumed capital values universally will lead to inefficient use. For special‐purpose properties, short‐run marginal costs (SRMCs) should be charged – no more.

General properties owned by the state represent a suitable case for privatization. For special‐purpose properties, only SRMCs should be charged.

The paper makes a distinction between two kinds of state‐owned properties; general‐ and special‐purpose properties, and analyzes the important consequences in property management.

The Swedish central government has implemented a radical market‐oriented reform of its real estate management. Authorities are free to rent premises from private firms, and stateowned properties have been allocated to a number of entities that lease their properties to authorities on conditions similar to those on the open market. The background and experience from these reforms are described in this paper. Local authorities and county councils have also reformed their real estate management systems in the same direction, but not as radically. There were many unexpected problems with implementing these systems, related for example to difficulties in writing good contracts for special purpose buildings, conflicts about rent setting and differences in bargaining power between the property‐owning units and the tenants/authorities. The general view is, however, that the reform created necessary economic incentives for the authorities in the public sector to economise on premises, but that it is very important to think through the details and to adjust the system to changing circumstances. An example is that the introduction of school vouchers created problems for some systems of setting internal asset rents.

Notes an increasing interest in valuation of publicly owned real estate, and also controversy about the relevance of different concepts of value, especially for special purpose properties. Argues that it is important to distinguish between different contexts before taking a stand on this issue. Discusses three such contexts: external information, asset management and introduction of buyer‐provider models for real estate services within the public sector. Concludes that there is no type of public property for which the question of asset value is unimportant, and also that the information provided by aggregate values and a traditional balance‐sheet is small.

The purpose of this paper is to study the use of potential scope reductions in major construction projects for special-purpose buildings. Scope reductions may result in buildings that are less fit for purpose; this will be negative according to a facilities management perspective. The paper discuses to what extent this is the case. Potential reductions of project scope have been a tool for cost control of governmental investments in Norway since 2001.

The study is based on lists of possible reductions that were identified in the early phase of the projects. Information about the outcome of these possible reductions is collected from eleven public building projects.

In the studied projects, reduction lists were equivalent to 2.7 per cent of projects budgets, ranging from 0 to 9 per cent. Contingencies for these projects were 9.5 per cent on average, ranging from 5 to 13 per cent. The reduction lists were typically smaller than the contingencies’ lists. Seven of 11 studied projects had reduction lists established during the front-end phase. Only two projects implemented some of the reductions. These reductions were general reductions of the quality of spaces.

Empirical research results are based on Norwegian experiences. Results are compared to international practices. Future research can include comparisons between facilities projects and other types of investments.

The Norwegian reduction lists can be seen as a type of value engineering. The studied potential reductions are based on an unusually high degree of specification of the potential actions for cost control. International best practice is more concerned with general approaches. The practice of identifying specific potential reductions has little use as an active tool for controlling costs. General reduction options work better than specific reductions. The potential scope reductions do not appear to be a threat in a facilities management perspective.

This is the first study of how potential reductions have been used in public building projects. The findings are of interest related to cost control of major investments in facilities.

Integrating construction and site layout planning in mechanized tunnel infrastructure projects is essential due to the mutual impacts of construction planning and site layout decisions. Simulation can incorporate site layout planning and construction planning of tunneling projects in a unified environment. However, simulation adoption by industry practitioners has remained relatively limited due to the special skills required for building and using simulation models. Therefore, this paper aims to create a simple-to-use simulation tool that supports site layout and construction operation planning of tunneling projects. This tool intends to promote the simulation application in site layout planning.

The current paper proposes simulation as a decision support tool (DST) to provide an integrated environment for modeling tunnel construction operations, site layout and capturing the mutual impacts. A special purpose simulation (SPS) tool was customized and developed for typical mechanized tunneling projects, by tunnel boring machines, to facilitate building the model and allow access to users with limited simulation knowledge.

The results show that the developed SPS tool is of great assistance to construction industry practitioners to analyze a variety of site layout and construction plan scenarios and make informed decisions based on its comprehensive and intuitive outputs.

The main contribution of this research is to promote simulation application in site layout planning of tunneling projects through the development of a simple-to-use tool, which has sufficient details for site layout planning and constraints. The developed DST enables planners to make decisions simultaneously on the site layout, other construction planning variables and identify the most efficient plan.

The purpose of this article is to critically evaluate maintenance strategies and determine to what extent models from other sectors can be applied to building maintenance.

The paper is a theoretical paper based on a number of Swedish studies, both case studies and questionnaires. From these a number of stylized facts have been identified and the purpose is to explain and draw conclusions from these.

The main finding is that there are a number of specific uncertainties that affect building maintenance planning making more detailed long‐term plans less meaningful. A new structure for maintenance is proposed focusing on long‐term strategies goals for various buildings/components and then short run adjustments when new information comes up.

The case for the new model needs to be strengthened by further studies, including studies from other countries.

Maintenance activities will be more important as the large building stock from the 1950s and 1960s needs to be renovated or demolished. A rational structure and realistic expectations concerning maintenance planning is then important.

The most important contribution of the article is to underline the importance of different types of uncertainty for the structure of maintenance planning for building.

Delivering housing to resource-constrained communities (RCCs) is a complex process beset with difficulties. The purpose of this study is to use a complexity lens to examine the approach taken by a social enterprise (SE) in Australia to develop and manage a housebuilding supply chain for RCCs.

The research team used a longitudinal case study approach from 2017 to 2022, which used mixed methods to understand the phenomenon and gain an in-depth understanding of the complex issues and problem-solving undertaken by an SE start-up.

Balancing mission logic with commercial viability is challenging for an SE. The supply chain solution that evolved accommodated the particulars of geography and the needs of many stakeholders, including the end-user community and government sponsors. Extensive and time-consuming socialisation and customisation led to a successful technical design and sustainable supply chain operation.

Analysing supply chain intricacies via a complexity framework is valuable for scholars and practitioners, assisting in designing and developing supply chain configurations and understanding their dynamics. Meeting the housing construction needs of RCCs requires the SE to place societal focus at the centre of the supply chain rather than merely being a system output. The developed business model complements the engineering solution to empower a community-led housing construction supply chain.

This longitudinal case study contributes to knowledge by providing rich insights into the roles of SEs and how they develop and operate supply chains to fit with the needs of RCCs. Adding a contextual response dimension to an established complexity framework helped to explain how hybrid organisations balance commercial viability demands with social mission logic by amending traditional supply chain and governance practices. The case provides insights into supply chain configuration, needed changes and potential impacts when an SE as a focal actor inserts into a traditional for-profit construction supply chain.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the analysis of portfolios of office properties using measures of business outputs, namely occupation efficiency and staff satisfaction.

Satisfaction is measured using a proprietary online survey instrument that has proved highly reliable and repeatable in three separate trials. The data on 192 buildings are analysed using data envelopment analysis.

Instant and significant differences are revealed between clusters of buildings and individual properties. The approach reveals inefficiencies that are concealed by more conventional cost‐based metrics.

The study has proven to be of use in gaining organisational commitment to strategic property improvements.

The authors are not aware of this approach having been applied elsewhere in either research or application.

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of a number of studies about owning vs leasing in the Swedish public sector and relate this to more general determinants of the choice between owning and leasing.

The empirical results presented are primarily based on a number of case studies.

The research shows that there have been a number of “rational” reasons for moving from owning to leasing: primarily better risk allocation and more efficient management of complex properties with both public and private tenants. In other cases, the excess supply of capital and the need to strengthen the balance sheet seems to have been more important.

The result is based on a rather small number of case studies and this limits the possibility to generalise the results.

The results also indicate that moving from owning to leasing can reduce flexibility and that it is very important for careful analyses about the pros and cons in specific situations.

The paper offers insights into the choice between owning and leasing in the Swedish public sector.

THERE are signs that are only too welcome that the workers of the world, tired of or fearful of continual depression, are at last prepared to take positive steps towards their solution.