Emerald | Facilities

Developing a sustainable approach to FM Practice in Nigeria.

Yewande Adetoro Adewunmi, Modupe Omirin, Hikmot Adunola Koleoso — 2012-03-29 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The paper examines common environmental practices and strategies for implementing sustainable FM among Nigerian FM practitioners.Design/methodology/approach - A review of literature on sustainability and environmental management was undertaken. Data collection was through self-administered questionnaires directed to a sample of 150 facilities managers who are members of the International Facilities Management Association, (Nigeria Group) Lagos, Nigeria. Structured interviews with top facilities management professionals were also conducted. Data collected were analyzed using frequency counts, means, z-test, repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and relative importance index. The survey achieved a response rate of 30%.Findings - Survey revealed that many of the practitioners put a premium on achieving energy efficiency as a very vital environmental practice within their organizations. Strategic management procedure is more important for the implementation of environmental management in Nigerian FM industry. Originality/value - There is paucity of literature in sustainability within facilities management in Nigeria. An integration of sustainability considerations into FM practice is required to promote development of suitable environmental initiatives and practices within Nigerian cities as many facilities managers are employed by companies whose activities harm the environment

Decision Support Tools in Energy-Led, Non-Domestic Building Refurbishment: Towards a Generic Model for Property Professionals

Megan E Strachan, Phil Banfill — 2012-03-19 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - Pressure is growing globally for larger businesses to improve the energy performance of the buildings in which they operate. Property or facility managers are usually responsible for these improvements through energy-led refurbishment. The number and complexity of possible interventions pose challenges that these professionals attempt to meet by using Decision Support Tools (DSTs). The work aims to identify key features of DSTs for energy-led building refurbishment and define an optimum approach. Design/methodology/approach - A desk study examined ten DSTs reported in the available literature and evaluated them against a set of desirable attributes that a property or facility manager would value for this task.Findings - The results of the desk study concluded that no DST offers every feature and that there is an opportunity for a new DST for energy-led refurbishment. An optimum DST template is proposed, consisting of a seven step process from assessment of the existing state of the building through to continuous evaluation and improvement of the refurbished building.Originality/value - The work combines the best features of available DSTs into a novel optimised strategy for energy-led refurbishment of non-domestic buildings, which is geographically non-specific and could be applied anywhere in the world.

Critical Social sustainability factors in urban conservation: the case of the Central Police Station Compound in Hong Kong

Hiu Kwan ESther Yung, Hon Wan Edwin Chan — 2012-03-19 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - To identify the critical factors for enhancing social sustainability of the conservation of built heritage projects and to highlight the importance of addressing social sustainability in urban conservation.Design/methodology/approach - First of all, a list of social sustainability factors is shortlist from international literature and then verified by a panel of experts in the field of heritage conservation and laymen thru a pilot study in Hong Kong. Afterwards, through a questionnaire survey carried out in Hong Kong for an urban conservation project, the citizens’ responses were obtained and evaluated. Results were derived from Factor analysis.Findings - The results indicated that social considerations should be incorporated for achieving social sustainability in urban heritage conservation. "Educational and Local Cultural Promotion Means", "Meanings of the place", "Social Inclusion and Psychological Needs" and "Public Participation and Opportunity for Skills Development" were found to be the significant underlying factors for enhancing social sustainability of the case study project. Originality/value - The case study provides a valid basis for an interesting analysis on the relevance of the social sustainability aspects to an unban conservation project which also provides insights for other urban conservation projects of similar nature. The idenified factors can form an evaluation framework to measure the social sustainability level of a significant urban conservation and revitalization project in practice. The case also provides

Carbon audit: a literature review and an empirical study on a hotel

Joseph H.K. Lai, Francis W.H. Yik, C.S. Man — 2012-03-22 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - Worldwide many carbon audit guidelines have been developed, but comparative reviews of these guidelines and empirical findings of carbon emissions from hotels remain limited. The aim of the study reported here was to bridge these knowledge gaps.Design/methodology/approach - A comparative review of the legislations and guidelines for carbon audits in Australia, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong was made. An empirical audit, which entailed a series of site visits and interviews for collecting the record data of a typical hotel in Hong Kong, was conducted to identify the sources and amounts of carbon emissions from the hotel. Findings - Conduction of carbon audits for buildings in Hong Kong is entirely voluntary. Reporting of certain scopes of carbon emissions is at the sole discretion of the reporting party. Purchased electricity for the hotel is the dominant source of carbon emissions. Research limitations/implications - Audits in future may follow the reported audit process to identify the carbon emissions from other hotels to enlarge the pool of empirical findings, which are prerequisite to developing carbon emission benchmarks and carbon footprint analyses. Practical implications - The suggestions made for overcoming the obstacles found from the audit are crucial for performing smoother and more proper audits in future. Originality/value - The review findings and the practical problems identified are useful information for the stakeholders of carbon audits, including the policy makers and the facilities management practitioners.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for the Sustainability of Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit (BEER) in Hotel Buildings in China

Peng Peng XU, Hon Wan Edwin Chan, Queena, Kun QIAN — 2012-03-19 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit (BEER) not only provides excellent opportunities to reduce overall energy consumption of buildings in a city but also encourages environment protection, rational use of resources, and occupants’ healthcare, which all contribute towards sustainability of existing buildings. However, there is a lack of effective performance indicators to measure sustainability of BEER projects. The aim of this paper is to formulate a list of key performance indicators (KPI) for the sustainability assessment of BEER in hotel buildings at project level.Design/methodology/approach - Firstly, literature review and in-depth interviews with industry experts and academic researchers were conducted, which filters the performance indicators for assessing sustainability. Secondly, questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from various groups of experts for analyzing the significance of the selected performance indicators. Finally, a model based on the Fuzzy set theory was designed to identify the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for sustainability of BEER.Findings - 8 KPIs have been identified based on the Fuzzy set theory in this study. They are: (1) Quality performance, (2) Hotel energy management, (3) Cost performance, (4) Project profitability, (5) Energy consumption & resources saving, (6) Health and safety, (7) Stakeholders’ satisfaction, and (8) Innovation and improvement.Practical implications - The KPIs of sustainability of BEER identified for hotel buildings in China in this study can be useful reference for other similar research. However, with the different requirements for building types and building ownerships, the KPIs of sustainability of BEER for different buildings may be variable. Findings in this study may not be directly relevant to other types building.Originality/value - Key Performance Indicators for the sustainability assessment of BEER in hotel buildings in China are identified and analyzed in this study. The KPIs can help decision-maker to identify an optimal solution between alternatives, which presents maximum sustainability performance.