Emma Marinie Ahmad Zawawi

Development of facilities management in Malaysia

Purpose – This paper aims to provide better understanding of the practices and experiences of facilities management (FM) in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approach – The paper discusses contemporary roles, issues and future challenges facing FM in Malaysia. It also reviews other western countries where FM is better and more effectively managed. In addition, the paper generates ideas on the future plans and strategies for the development of FM in Malaysia.Findings – The paper finds that Malaysia still lacks a maintenance and facilities culture. Many things need to be established in order to satisfy both the public and private sectors. Out‐sourcing is identified as one of the best options for FM in Malaysia, which may involve more companies, with more contracts being tendered out.Originality/value – This literature review offers insight into FM in Malaysia. It is suggests that more technical expertise in this field should be encouraged in order to improve the status of FM in the country.

A review of Critical Success Factors in building maintenance management of local authority in Malaysia

Critical Success Factors (CSF) is used to measure an organizations performance in achieving its mission. In building maintenance, CSF is important as it can identify the cause of failure as well as improving the system. The aim of this paper is to derive a generic concept of CSF in maintenance management to be used by various organizations in Malaysia. This paper reviews the current practices of maintenance management in local authorities in Malaysia. The focus is the management of maintenance including setting up an organization, policies and quality standards. The target group for sampling of data are the local authorities in Selangor. Two stages are involved in the study and this paper presents the first stage of data collection. Based on a literature review and the findings, the critical factors for success are identified. It is believed that CSF can enhance the management process and work planning, which would result in a more economic use of resources and a corresponding reduction in the total cost of maintaining buildings.

Occupants’ satisfaction toward building environmental quality: structural equation modeling approach

It is accepted that occupants who are more satisfied with their workplace’s building internal environment are more productive. The main objective of the study was to measure the occupants’ level of satisfaction and the perceived importance of the design or refurbishment on office conditions. The study also attempted to determine the factors affecting the occupants’ satisfaction with their building or office conditions. Post-occupancy evaluations were conducted using a structured questionnaire developed by the Built Environment Research Group at the University of Manchester, UK. Our questionnaires incorporate 22 factors relating to the internal environment and rate these in terms of “user satisfaction” and “degree of importance.” The questions were modified to reflect the specific setting of the study and take into consideration the local conditions and climate in Malaysia. The overall mean satisfaction of the occupants toward their office environment was 5.35. The results were measured by a single item of overall liking of office conditions in general. Occupants were more satisfied with their state of health in the workplace, but they were extremely dissatisfied with the distance away from a window. The factor analysis divided the variables into three groups, namely intrusion, air quality, and office appearance. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was then used to determine which factor had the most significant influence on occupants’ satisfaction: appearance. The findings from the study suggest that continuous improvement in aspects of the building’s appearance needs to be supported with effective and comprehensive maintenance to sustain the occupants’ satisfaction.

Assessing the readiness of facilities management organizations in implementing knowledge management systems

– This paper aims to assess the readiness of Malaysian facilities management (FM) organizations in implementing knowledge management (KM) systems. , – The questionnaire survey was used to retrieve information on the readiness of FM organizations in Malaysia. , – The findings reveal that, although many FM organizations were capable and ready in terms of information technology, lack of human behaviour and organizational policy is still seen. Technology, policy and human behaviour are the factors that have a strong influence on the successful outcome of KM. , – This paper fulfils an identified need to study in implementing KM systems.

The impact of IEQ on occupants’ satisfaction in Malaysian buildings

This paper focuses on the importance of occupant satisfaction with indoor environmental quality in buildings as well as the effect of indoor environmental quality towards occupants’ satisfaction. This research applied post-occupancy evaluation as a method to indicate the building occupants’ needs, their satisfaction and comfort level. The research is based on a case study approach whereby a questionnaire survey was conducted among 25 organizations involved in managing office buildings. A total of 115 questionnaires were returned for evaluation of occupants’ overall satisfaction from aspects of indoor environmental quality in these buildings and to determine the occupants’ satisfaction level within these buildings. The findings revealed that indoor environment factors that could contribute to occupants’ satisfaction consists of lighting, air quality and aesthetic perception. These classifications were made based on the factor analysis done with 22 attributes of the indoor environment. The majority of occupants are satisfied with their health conditions and do not face any serious health problems. However, occupants highlighted that some environmental conditions, health effects, air movement, ventilation and air freshness are important criteria for their satisfaction and comfort. This study provides insights into how occupants perceive their indoor environment and comfort, and identify problems that could arise in buildings.

Theoretical framework for ICT implementation in the Malaysian construction industry: Issues and challenges

This paper presents a literature review on the issues and challenges of ICT implementation in the construction industry. The objectives of this study are identification of the current types of ICT application used in the construction industry, Analysis of ICT training programs and identification of benefits, weaknesses and challenges against ICT implementation in construction industry. The study identified 17 types of ICT application identified for use during overall construction process, for example an e-tendering system used by contractors to find opens tenders electronically. In addition, three ICT training characteristic were found: Training company support, ICT training mode preferences, and ICT competences expectation. Eventually only seven weaknesses were identified: for example some of the software is too expensive. This research also aims to understand the trends and issues in current ICT usage in the Malaysian construction industry.

Developing Facilities Management (FM) competencies for Malaysia: reference from international practice

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the significance of facilities management (FM) competency levels from three different stages, namely, strategic, tactical and operational levels, to propose a set of FM competencies for an enhanced FM industry in Malaysia.,The overall focus for this paper is to discuss on the area for each level of competencies for asset and facilities management (AFM). This is done through a questionnaire survey focusing on the competency areas posed by FM companies in Malaysia and a comparison review of all FM levels as outlined by the international professional bodies, namely, International Facility Management Association, British Institute of Facilities Management and Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. This paper also looks at formulating a holistic framework for an effective AFM for the benefit of FM industry in general and Malaysian FM industry specifically.,The findings indicate that among the significant factors for the respective strategic, tactical and operational practice of FM are strategic: managing change, benchmarking and strategic facilities planning; tactical: risk management, emergency preparedness, FM technology, service-level agreement and supply management; and operational: space planning and management. This study also proposes a set of holistic FM competency areas which can be implemented by the FM industry in Malaysia.,This research sets a baseline for a set of FM competencies, an area of FM which has not been regulated in the FM practice in Malaysia.