Applying metaheuristic strategies in construction projects management

This work deals with the application of artificial intelligence instruments in a building schedule. In this article there was presented an original optimization scatter search algorithm taking into consideration both technological and organizational restrictions. This algorithm was applied to the real analysis of the industrial building project realization

Exemplary change management practices used during corporate outsourcing specifically related to integrated facility management

Too many outsourcing models fail to deliver expected results in Integrated Facility Management (IFM) models. IFM is a type of outsourcing model that transfers in-house work to an outside company that performs it onsite as if it were part of the client’s organization. This process requires collaboration, coordination, and communication, merging 2 corporate cultures into 1 cohesive business model. Managing the change process related to an IFM outsourcing arrangement is crucial because changing an organizational culture can heighten risk and potentially produce unsatisfactory results. Creating, changing, and managing an IFM outsourcing model require acceptance, coordination, and a clear understanding of expectations from both the client and the service provider. People in general are apprehensive about change, especially when they don’t understand it. IFM, being a complex process, requires the proper training and education in order to avoid resistance that creates leadership challenges. According to the literature, effective leadership was the solution to mitigate the resistance to change associated with outsourcing but little research exists to explain the phenomenon experienced by leaders during the initial transition (first-generation) to an IFM model. This descriptive, qualitative study was conducted in order to determine what strategies and practices leaders employ during a first-generation IFM outsourcing initiative. Additionally, challenges associated with implementation, measurement of success, and recommendations from leaders of IFM outsourcing was explored. Fourteen IFM leaders were interviewed and asked 10 questions. These interview questions yielded results such as leadership, communication, and clarity in scope of work as some of the dominant themes

The performance gap in energy-efficient office buildings: how the occupants can help?

Rising demand and limited production of electricity are instrumental in spreading the awareness of cautious energy use, leading to the global demand for energy-efficient buildings. This compels the construction industry to smartly design and effectively construct these buildings to ensure energy performance as per design expectations. However, the research tells a different tale: energy-efficient buildings have performance issues. Among several reasons behind the energy performance gap, occupant behavior is critical. The occupant behavior is dynamic and changes over time under formal and informal influences, but the traditional energy simulation programs assume it as static throughout the occupancy. Effective behavioral interventions can lead to optimized energy use. To find out the energy-saving potential based on simulated modified behavior, this study gathers primary building and occupant data from three energy-efficient office buildings in major cities of Pakistan and categorizes the occupants into high, medium, and low energy consumers. Additionally, agent-based modeling simulates the change in occupant behavior under the direct and indirect interventions over a three-year period. Finally, energy savings are quantified to highlight a 25.4% potential over the simulation period. This is a unique attempt at quantifying the potential impact on energy usage due to behavior modification which will help facility managers to plan and execute necessary interventions and software experts to develop effective tools to model the dynamic usage behavior. This will also help policymakers in devising subtle but effective behavior training strategies to reduce energy usage. Such behavioral retrofitting comes at a much lower cost than the physical or technological retrofit options to achieve the same purpose and this study establishes the foundation for it

Optimal Performance-Based Building Facility Management

It is a great challenge to efficiently manage and operate the facilities of a set of buildings, which are of different structural types, ages, and locations and serve for different functions required by different users, over a long-term planning horizon using limited resources to achieve multiple and often conflicting objectives. This article proposes an optimization system for the management of facilities in a set of buildings. First, a systemic approach is taken to standardize the various kinds of facilities in the set of buildings into a hierarchical structure, the condition states of these facilities into a state space, and the alternative management actions on different facilities in different condition states into an action set. Second, infinite- and finite-time linear programming models are formulated to maximize the long-term performance of the set of buildings subject to a number of technical and economic constraints. Third, life-cycle management policies are established for both infinite- and finite-time planning horizons. Finally, an illustrative example is provided to discuss the application and usefulness of the proposed optimization system for facility management in a set of buildings