were in favour to this approach was to be expected given that the respondents were all practicing in the FM Sector and would be in favour of promoting their own role.
3%
37%
61%
0%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
No Minor Major No Opinion
Facilities Manager have a role in the design / construction
Process
Ph.D Thesis 141 Barry McAuley 2. A cross-tabulation was performed in IBM SPSS to compare the Facility Managers routine involvement in the design / construction process against the impact they can make from their early involvement. The results are show in table 6.2.
Table 6.2:Cross tabulation of early involvement of the Facility Manager against the perceived benefits of their involvement in the construction process.
The results show that those who regularly to routinely see the Facility Manager involved in the construction process have claimed that there could be major benefits realised.
The majority of respondents who indicated they have seen the Facility Manager somewhat involved have also indicated he/she could have a major impact.
3. Respondents were encouraged to explain their answer. A list of the most informative answers can be found in Appendix 3. Some of the key responses included that “by getting insight from the Facility Manager in the early construction / design stages could highlight areas that could be changed to improve the running costs of the building”.
Others noted that their involvement would be “important in relation to more complex M&E systems, where one would expect FM issues to be considered by the designer”
and their “in depth knowledge of the FM in running of the client’s business makes perfect sense to utilise their expertise in the design and construction”.
Further positive contributions include that their involvement may result in the “better utilization of the work space and more practical layout of the office from the services point of view”.
One respondent acknowledged that “it was vital that the FM has a major involvement in the installation of M&E in a facility as they are the ones who will have to live with consequences. This was especially important in relation to the provision of power and heat with regards to prioritising life cycle costs”.
The responses from respondents who have seen somewhat to routine involvement of the Facilties Manager in the construction process, have seen the greatest benefits come from the elimination of non-required items in regards to M&E, improved selection of
Ph.D Thesis 142 Barry McAuley O&M and practical applications, contributing to floor layouts and determining plant equipment. There was a concern in regards to the cost of this approach and the realisation that such costs would be dictated by the client and may be eliminated to save money. The consensus though was that the Facilties Manger should have role in the construction process, as their diverse knowledge could offer a professional service that could impact the building output. These findings were aligned with the literature review were it was suggested that the Facility Manager has the potential to become a critical strategic tool for an organisation (Madritsch and Ebinger, 2011 and Saleh et al., 2011).
Q4. It is accepted that almost 4 % of improvements in productivity of the facilities of a building would be equal to the total cost of design, construction and operation of the facility.
It is suggested that the Facility Manager is in a position to address some of these improvements and help increase productivity. In what way can the Facility Managers make a major or minor contribution to the design and construction phases to increase productivity?
This open ended question sought to provide a better understanding of where the Facility Manager can have the greatest impact in the construction process. The suggested areas from the survey respondents in where the Facility Manager can have the greatest impact have been assigned accordingly based on reviewed literature in were the Facility Manager can best contribute to the design process. From the analysis of the results the following observations can be made.
A summary of the key responses are shown in Table 6.3.
Ph.D Thesis 143 Barry McAuley
Area Contribution
M&E Ensure that selected equipment was not only functional but can be easily maintained and spares easily sourced. This will result in no downtime of M&E items impacting on the organisation financially.
Ensure that all items specified were affordable and easy to repair.
Provide first-hand knowledge of service layouts.
O&M Provide knowledge of the building that other professionals may not have in regards to ongoing maintenance issues. This can help address problems that may impact the business in the future.
Highlight areas of concern in regards to common running costs and target these areas before they impact on the financial goals of the organisation.
Improve the selection of the maintenance and practical applications through previous knowledge of similar equipment / items.
Energy Management
Practical advice about energy saving strategies that work/don't work in similar buildings.
of this type. This can position the organisation moving forward in regards to ongoing legislation changes.
Space Management
Contribute practical knowledge to floor layouts and utilising workspace layouts. This will increase worker.
productivity and ensure spaces were correctly utilised.
Occupant Behaviour
They can provide designers with information on how users will interact and therefore address user concerns from the beginning i.e. amount of people working.
Can help streamline the design process, as they know what the clients want and therefore avoid costly design.
Table 6.3: Suggested areas in were early Facility Manager involvement can contribute to the design stage.
The Facility Manager as evident from the responses could contribute to the M&E and O&M design. He/she have a unique skillset that can be applied in selecting plant that can be easily maintained and help highlight areas of maintenance concern through knowledge of existing buildings. Further comments suggest he/she can impact the energy consumption by contributing to sustainability strategies and also help in enhancing space utilisation through applying their practical knowledge to floor layouts. A common thread within the responses was that the Facility Manager has a strong understanding of occupant behaviour and this knowledge can help streamline the design process, as he/she know what the clients want therefore avoiding costly design changes. A detailed list of the responses can be found in Appendix 3.
The research results were in agreement with statements made previously by Hodges (2005), Enoma (2005), Mohammed and Hassanain (2010) and De Silva (2011) in that failure to address FM problems right from the design stage can result in the maintainability issues further down
Ph.D Thesis 144 Barry McAuley the lines.There was an understanding as discussed within the literature by Meistad and Valen (2012) that the Facilities Manager can help address these issues.
Q5, What are the main arguments for and against for the Facility Manager being strongly involved in the early stages of the construction process?
This open ended question further establishes the argument for the inclusion of the Facility Manager in the construction process. It also provided the opportunity for any concerns to be raised. A summary of the key points raised both for and against the earlier involvement of Facility Managers are shown below.
For
The building can be tailored to meet the exact requirements of the occupants and they can ensure the Clients requirements were met.
First-hand knowledge of service layouts.
Streamline the design process.
Feedback on how the building was used and practicality of operating the facility.
Optimise a building layout to increase performance.
Against
Too many bodies already involved in the construction process with the addition of another ultimately resulting in another person required to sign off on particular aspects.
The Facility Manager may have a personal opinion that they may try force on the design team.
Not enough construction experience and too much interference, while also lacking the technical and material cost skills.
Will result in a cost increase upfront but in the long term the running costs will be lower.
In regards to respondents who have seen little to no involvement of the Facility Manager some arguments made included:
For
Zoning areas and locating points for servicing units.
Building can be designed to be proactive to daily requirements instead of being reactive.
Ph.D Thesis 145 Barry McAuley
The Facility Manager has an in-depth understanding of how the building has been used so will be best placed to assist in design decisions.
Early intervention and collaboration can result in less potential disruption and ensure all possibilities and requirements were covered.
Against
Arguments against would be that he/she were taking some of the overseeing role away from the project architect.
The Facility Manager may slow down the design process with obscure suggestions i.e.
their focus was entirely on cost or sustainability, to the detriment of the overall whole.
An additional fee and further party added to the team.
Lacking in knowledge of the construction process.
The Facility Manager may not understand the cost of installation.
What was their qualification? Do they hold PI insurance? Whom were they employed by?
There was no doubt from the analysis that there was a high level of support for the inclusion of the Facility Manager in the construction process. Despite this there were still significant concerns towards their involvement. These concerns range from a lack of understanding of the construction process, to a lack of confidence of their contribution to the design process. There was also a fear that they may disrupt the flow of information between the different professionals, as they aim to establish their contribution and, therefore, become a hindrance. A detailed list of the responses to this question can be found in Appendix 3.
6. There are at present initiatives in Ireland, so as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20% by the year 2020.By the end of 2018 the public sector must own or rent only buildings with high energy-saving standards and promote the conversion of existing buildings to "nearly zero" standards. How much of an impact can the Facility Manager play in ensuring these targets are achieved if introduced in a consultant role at the beginning of the project?
Figure 6.5 clearly shows that the majority of respondents agreed that if they were involved earlier in the design and/or construction process they could contribute to an overall reduction in the generation of greenhouse gases.
Ph.D Thesis 146 Barry McAuley
Figure 6.5: Contribution of the Facility Manager in reducing carbon through earlier involvement
Some of the key responses include that “the FM can drive a programme to reduce energy savings” and can advise on “energy saving strategies that work in similar buildings of this type”.
Other positive contributions involve them “specifying operations and maintenance regimes”
and “advice on user behaviour and requirements” on similar buildings that could help target energy concerns before they arise.
A number of respondent’s state that the Facility Manager can impact the M&E specification as they “can be more prescriptive in developing the performance specification and be involved in the approval process”.
A number of concerns raised include that they may have “too much influence and affect delivery of the construction project” and what their contribution to the design would be considering “why a professional design team comprising of the different professions cannot make appropriate decisions during the design stage”.
The general consensus was that despite these concerns the Facility Manager has a unique knowledge base that can influence a design team to help realise a more sustainable structure.
A detailed list of responses can be found in Appendix 3.
Once more there were a number of positive contributions which the Facility Manager could provide if integrated into the contraction process. However, there was concerns in that he/she might have an adverse effect on other design disciplines. Table 6.4 expands, on table 6.3, and combines the responses from the open ended questions received from the first six questions of the survey. This table details both the contributions and concerns that were predicted because of including the Facility Manager in the design process. This table will form an important part of the research later in the thesis.