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The UAE is among the fastest-growing facilities management (FM) markets globally. Nevertheless, conclusive evidence on this market is scarce in the literature. Therefore, this paper aims to provide an in-depth insight into the FM market in the UAE.

Fourteen interviewees were purposively selected to provide insight into FM status through their field experiences. A SWOT analysis of their answers held place.

Interviewees revealed that the main trends of FM in the UAE include interests in sustainability, integration of technology, health and safety, outsourcing FM, switching to total facilities management (TFM), and performance management systems use. Besides, the quality of the service in the FM market is driven by the real-estate boom, services sophistication, the increasing awareness of FM and focus on the quality of services. Furthermore, the interviews found that the recruitment of poorly skilled labors can threaten the FM market to meet the allocated budget, misperception of FM, the value of money, the lack of continuous follow-up with recent advancements in technologies and the lack of performance measurement models.

This paper highlights the major trends, drivers and threats of the FM market in the UAE, and the implications of its findings can direct FM organizations and researchers in their practices.

Amidst the complicated nature of the UAE’s facilities management (FM) industry, the need to recalibrate the existing performance measurement (PM) system measures and criteria has been resonating to ensure their ability to capture the FM industry trends and dynamics, thus enhancing organizational excellence. Therefore, this research aimed to propose a specific PM tool to the country’s FM industry to accurately assess performance and establish strategic enhancements.

The study reviewed literature on the available PM systems to gather the available measures, which were presented to a focus group of seven participants, who were purposively selected based on their expertise in FM and PM implementation in the UAE to adjust them and add ones relevant to the UAE’s FM industry.

The focus group conducted various changes, from retaining certain measures and criteria, renaming them to simplify or make them more representative of the industry, ranking them based on their importance to limit their numbers, to finally categorizing them as enablers or results. Consequently, the final proposed tool was composed of nine dimensions with 51 measures as performance enablers and three dimensions with 11 measures as performance results. Seven measures were added by the experts, who highlighted their increasing popularity in the UAE’s FM industry.

Through addressing the critical void in literature, this paper develops a specific PM tool aligning with the intricacy of the UAE’s FM industry, thus providing proactive contribution to the industry’s effective and sustainable growth.

The provision of facilities management (FM) services, facilitated by a well-suited sourcing strategy, significantly influences the optimization of dwelling unit performance, augmentation of occupants’ living experiences and the establishment of a secure and comfortable environment. Consequently, this study aims to examine the sourcing approach used for delivering FM services in social housing within Nigeria’s semi-arid climate and to assess the effectiveness of the chosen sourcing approach in the provision of FM services.

Data collection involved one-on-one interviews conducted with five principal/senior staff members of the Borno State Housing Corporation in Maiduguri, Northern Nigeria. For data analysis, the NVivo R1 software package and Stata 13.0 were used. Thematic analysis was applied to the data, and the findings were presented through narrations and direct quotes from participants. Logistic regression analysis was subsequently used to assess the effectiveness of the adopted in-house approach in providing FM services in the context of social housing.

Administrators of social housing in the semi-arid climate of Nigeria exclusively adopted an in-house sourcing approach for providing FM services. Nevertheless, the in-house approach was conclusively determined to be ineffective in delivering FM services within the specific context of social housing in the semi-arid climate of Nigeria.

This investigation centred on examining the sourcing strategy used by social housing administrators for delivering FM services in social housing within a semi-arid climate of Nigeria. Additionally, the study delved into evaluating the efficacy of the chosen sourcing approach in the actual provision of FM services.

Compared to low-rise and mid-rise buildings, commercial high-rise buildings have severe maintenance management deficiencies due to the complex nature of the structure and building services incorporated. Previous studies have shown that implementing lean in maintenance is a recognised prominent strategy to enhance maintenance performance. Thus, this study aims to investigate how lean maintenance can be applied to improve maintenance management in commercial high-rise buildings in Sri Lanka.

This study adopted a case study method. Three commercial high-rise buildings were selected to conduct the empirical study. An expert survey is also conducted to validate the findings.

The findings of the study revealed that out of the eight cardinal types of lean maintenance waste, six are rooted in the selected cases: (i) excessive preventive maintenance, (ii) waiting (maintenance resources, tools, procuring of additional supplies and documentation and permits), (iii) transportation due to centralised maintenance, (iv) poor inventory management, (v) poor information handling and (vi) poor utilisation of labour. Then the study revealed strategies to eradicate identified lean maintenance wastes.

The findings of this study can be used to guide maintenance practitioners in implementing lean maintenance in Sri Lankan commercial high-rise buildings. Furthermore, the proposed strategies can be directly applied to mitigate identified maintenance wastes.

This paper provides information on how high-rise commercial buildings in Sri Lanka can enhance their maintenance management by mitigating lean maintenance wastes.

Teleworking, working from home and flexible work have gained popularity over the last few years. A shift in policies and practices in the workplace is required owing to the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating current trends in work-from-everywhere (WFE) research. This article presents a systematic literature review of WFE research from 1990 to early 2023 to understand the transformation of the field.

The Web of Science database was used to conduct this review based on rigorous bibliometric and network analysis techniques. The prominence of the research studied using SPAR-4-SLR and a collection of bibliometric techniques on selected journal articles, reviews and early access articles. Performance and keyword co-occurrence analysis form the premise of cluster analysis. The content analysis of recently published papers revealed the driving and restraining forces that help define and operationalize the concept of WFE.

The major findings indicate that the five established and accelerated trends from cluster analysis are COVID-19 and the pandemic, telework(ing), remote working, work from home and well-being and productivity. Driving and restraining forces identified through content analysis include technological breakthroughs, work–life integration challenges, inequality in the distribution of jobs, gender, shifts in industry and sector preferences, upskilling and reskilling and many more have been published post-COVID in the restraining forces category of WFE.

A key contribution of this pioneering study of “work from everywhere” is the linking of the bibliometric trends of the past three decades to the influencing and restraining factors during the pandemic. This study illustrates how WFE could be perceived differently post-COVID, which is of great concern to practitioners and future researchers.

A wide range of publications on WFE and multiple synonyms can create confusion if a systematic and effective system does not classify and associate them. This study uses both bibliometric and scientometric analyses in the context of WFE using systematic literature review (SLR) methods.

The issue of energy efficiency is becoming increasingly prevalent globally due to factors such as the expansion of the population, economic growth and excessive consumption that is not sustainable in the long run. Additionally, healthcare facilities and hospitals are facing challenges as their operational costs continue to rise. The research aim is to develop strategic frameworks for managing green hospitals, towards energy efficiency and corporate governance in hospitals and healthcare facilities.

This research employs a qualitative case study approach, with a sample of ten hospitals examined through interviews with senior management, executives and healthcare facilities managers. Relevant data was also collected from literature and analysed through critical appraisal and content analysis. The research methodology is based on the use of grounded theory research methodologies to build theories from case studies.

The research developed three integrated conceptual strategic frameworks for managing hospitals and healthcare facilities towards energy efficiency, green hospital initiatives and corporate governance. The research also outlined the concepts of green hospitals and energy efficiency management systems and best practices based on the conclusions drawn from the investigated case studies.

The study is limited to the initiatives and experiences of the healthcare facilities studied in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The research findings, conclusions, recommendations and proposed frameworks and concepts contribute significantly to the existing body of knowledge. This research also provides recommendations for hospital managers and policymakers on how to effectively implement and manage energy efficiency initiatives in healthcare facilities.

This paper aims to highlight the expanding link between facility management (FM) and building automation and control systems (BACS) through a review of literature. It examines the opportunities and challenges of BACS for facility managers and proposes solutions for mitigating the risks associated with BACS implementation.

This paper reviews various research papers to explore the positive influences of BACS on FM, such as support with strategic decision-making, predictive maintenance, energy efficiency and comfort improvement. It also discusses the challenges of BACS, including obsolescence, interoperability, vendor lock-in, reliability and security risks and suggests potential solutions based on existing literature.

BACS offers numerous opportunities for facility managers, such as improved decision-making, energy efficiency and comfort levels in office buildings. However, there are also risks associated with BACS implementation, including obsolescence, interoperability, vendor lock-in, reliability and security risks. These risks can be mitigated through measures such as hardware and software obsolescence management plans, functional requirement lists, wireless communication protocols, advanced feedback systems and increased awareness about BACS security.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no prior academic research has been conducted on the expanding link between FM and BACS. Although some papers have touched upon the opportunities and challenges of BACS for FM, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of these findings by consolidating existing literature.

This paper aims to design a hybrid model of knowledge-based performance management system (KBPMS) for facilitating Lean Six-Sigma (L6s) application to increase contractor productivity without compromising human safety in Indonesian upstream oil field operations that manage ageing and life extension (ALE) facilities.

The research design applies a pragmatic paradigm by employing action research strategy with qualitative-quantitative methodology involving 385 of 1,533 workers. The KBPMS-L6s conceptual framework is developed and enriched with the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to prioritize fit-for-purpose Key Performance Indicators. The application of L6s with Human Performance Modes analysis is used to provide a statistical baseline approach for pre-assessment of the contractor’s organizational capabilities. A comprehensive literature review is given for the main pillars of the contextual framework.

The KBPMS-L6s concept has given an improved hierarchy for strategic and operational levels to achieve a performance benchmark to manage ALE facilities in Indonesian upstream oil field operations. To increase quality management practices in managing ALE facilities, the L6s application requires an assessment of the organizational capability of contractors and an analysis of Human Performance Modes (HPM) to identify levels of construction workers’ productivity based on human competency and safety awareness that have never been done in this field.

The action research will only focus on the contractors’ productivity and safety performances that are managed by infrastructure maintenance programs for managing integrity of ALE facilities in Indonesian upstream of oil field operations. Future research could go toward validating this approach in other sectors.

This paper discusses the implications of developing the hybrid KBPMS- L6s enriched with AHP methodology and the application of HPM analysis to achieve a 14% reduction in inefficient working time, a 28% reduction in supervision costs, a 15% reduction in schedule completion delays, and a 78% reduction in safety incident rates of Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR), Days Away Restricted or Job Transfer (DART) and Motor Vehicle Crash (MVC), as evidence of achieving fit-for-purpose KPIs with safer, better, faster, and at lower costs.

This paper does not discuss social implications

This paper successfully demonstrates a novel use of Knowledge-Based system with the integration AHP and HPM analysis to develop a hybrid KBPMS-L6s concept that successfully increases contractor productivity without compromising human safety performance while implementing ALE facility infrastructure maintenance program in upstream oil field operations.

The aim of this paper was to study current practices in FM work order processing to support and improve decision-making. Processing and prioritizing work orders constitute a critical part of facilities and maintenance management practices given the large amount of work orders submitted daily. User-driven approaches (UDAs) are currently more prevalent for processing and prioritizing work orders but have challenges including inconsistency and subjectivity. Data-driven approaches can provide an advantage over user-driven ones in work-order processing; however, specific data requirements need to be identified to collect and process the functional data needed while achieving more consistent and accurate results.

This paper presents the findings of an online survey conducted with facility management (FM) experts who are directly or indirectly involved in processing work orders in building maintenance.

The findings reflect the current practices of 71 survey participants on data requirements, criteria selection, rankings, with current shortcomings and challenges in prioritizing work orders. In addition, differences between criteria and their ranking within participants’ experience, facility types and facility sizes are investigated. The findings of the study provide a snapshot of the current practices in FM work order processing, which aids in developing a comprehensive framework to support data-driven decision-making and address the challenges with UDAs.

Although previous studies have explored the use of selected criteria for processing and prioritizing work orders, this paper investigated a comprehensive list of criteria used by various facilities for processing work orders. Furthermore, previous studies are focused on the processing and prioritization stage, whereas this paper explored the data collected following the completion of the maintenance tasks and the benefits it can provide for processing future work orders. In addition, previous studies have focused on one specific stage of work order processing, whereas this paper investigated the common data between different stages of work order processing for enhanced FM.

This study aims to review the status quo, current state of research, research hot themes and research gaps in sustainable facilities management (SFM) in the built environment (BE) through an extant literature review.

To map and analyze knowledge paths in the context of SFM research, a sequential explanatory mixed-method review involving bibliometric and content analysis was used to help identify current research trends, research hot themes and knowledge gaps. The Scopus search engine was used to find 169 relevant articles. For a better understanding of the literature accumulated, a bibliometric analysis was carried out by using VOSviewer to reveal current research themes, the status quo and current state of research as well as research gaps.

Through the literature review and content analysis, the current research themes on SFM revealed from the study include green building technologies, assessment methods of SFM, smart buildings and building information modeling. The research hot themes in SFM include smart buildings and green building technologies, green buildings (GB), architectural and building designs in the university sector, assessment methods in buildings and decision-making and the adoption of asset and facility management in the university sector. Indoor air pollution, intelligent buildings, climate change, maintenance, environmental management, facilities, historic preservation, environmental performance, energy management, etc. are the research gaps identified from the study, and these serve as potential areas for future research studies under SFM. It was recognized that facilities managers are increasingly involved with sustainability policies within their organizations and are developing sustainability agendas to keep up with the changing nature of the facilities management (FM) profession.

The findings of this study hold relevance to the FM practice, as the integration of SFM by facilities managers can lead to waste reduction, decreased operating expenses and reduced energy consumption. In addition, occupants of sustainable buildings experience improved conditions that contribute to better health and productivity, thus boosting their overall well-being. Consistent with the themes of smart buildings and green technologies, revealed to be the hot themes in the SFM research scope, properties with sustainable features can command higher rental rates and property values, appealing to a broader range of stakeholders. SFM practices in universities can aid in saving money from reduced facility operational costs and improve the image of institutions while creating better indoor environments for students and staff. The analyses of countries involved in research can open doors for the establishment of research groups and the development of collaboration between universities in different countries researching similar topics of interest.

The geographical scope of this study is not limited and, therefore, encourages broad applicability of the findings to the global sustainable BE.